GARY, Ind. — The Gary SouthShore RailCats continued their offseason of wheeling and dealing Friday afternoon, beefing up their outfield by acquiring speedy outfielder Adam Klein in a trade with the Golden League’s Edmonton Capitals in exchange for rookie reliever Tristan Facer.

Klein, 26, was one of the Northern League’s chief pitcher pests in 2009 while a member of the Joliet JackHammers, leading the league with 58 walks and stealing 32 bases – good for second among all NL thieves.  The former Oakland Athletics farmhand played in a remarkable 94 of 95 games for the ‘Hammers last season and was also one of the league’s top defensive centerfielders, committing only six errors and rolling up 10 outfield assists.  In November, Klein was dealt to Edmonton as part of a four-player trade.

A top-of-the-order hitter, Klein carried an impressive .369 on-base percentage last year but even that was the lowest single-season OBP of his career, following a 2008 in which Klein batted .271 and drew a whopping 68 walks in 79 games for the Kane County Cougars (A), good for a .416 on-base percentage.  In three professional seasons, the Los Angeles native has a .264 average and .411 OBP, collecting 210 hits and 189 walks in 225 games, and has swiped 84 bases.

Originally selected in the 48th round of the 2007 Major League Entry Draft – he was the 1,409th overall pick – Klein reached as high as Double-A in his two seasons as an A’s farmhand.   Klein finished his college career at Division II Cal State-Los Angeles in 2007 when he was a Second Team All-Conference and All-Region pick while drawing a school-record 69 walks.

Facer, 24, joined the RailCats midway through last season and worked in 20 games out of the ‘Cats bullpen, going 0-3 with a 3.74 ERA.  The southpaw piled up 23 strikeouts in 21.2 innings of work and was especially tough of fellow leftys who went just 4-for-28 against him.

Klein will be one of at least 27 players in camp with the RailCats when they open Spring Training, May 6 at U. S. Steel Yard.  The RailCats begin the 2010 season back at The Steel Yard, taking on the Kansas City T-Bones Thursday, May 20 at 7 p.m.

The next chance for fans to see the ‘Cats is even sooner, however, at the second-annual Fan Fest, Saturday, February 20 at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza.  Discount presale tickets are on sale now by calling the RailCats at 219.882.2255 during regular business hours or going online to www.railcatsbaseball.com.