SAN DIEGO -- With Ramon Hernandez scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday on his left wrist, the Padres made a move to shore up their catching on Thursday, acquiring veteran backstop David Ross from the Pirates in exchange for Triple-A infielder J.J. Furmaniak.

Ross, 28, batted .222 this season in 40 games with the Pirates before being sent to Triple-A Indianapolis. With the Bucs, he had three homers and 15 RBIs in 108 at-bats, with a .380 slugging percentage and .263 on-base mark. Ross spent parts of the 2002, '03 and '04 seasons with the Dodgers and is a .211 career hitter with 19 homers and 50 RBIs.

His familiarity with the National League West Division is seen as a plus by Padres general manager Kevin Towers.

"[His knowledge of the division] definitely was a factor," Towers said. "We had three or four options, but we didn't want to hurt ourselves in another area of the ballclub. This guy knows the National League West, with the unbalanced schedule. He knows one of the clubs behind us [the Dodgers] very well.

"He's a good catch-and-throw guy, and he's got some raw power. We're looking at him probably splitting time with [Phil] Nevin and [Robert] Fick. Right now, we're not in a situation where we're into building confidence or developing players. It'll probably take him a while to get comfortable and get a feel for our starters and relievers."

Towers said it would be up to manager Bruce Bochy to work out the catching schedule. In Ross, the Padres are getting a capable receiver with a good arm -- he's thrown out 38 percent of would-be base stealers -- but not a guy who figures to bring the club out of its offensive slump with a rash of hits.

Towers, who said the club will focus on pitching in the days leading up to Sunday's trade deadline, hasn't abandoned the idea of finding another catcher.

"We're still talking trade with teams," he said, adding that he spoke with center fielder Dave Roberts and reliever Paul Quantrill, both former Dodgers teammates of Ross, about him before completing the deal with the Pirates.

"He's going to be so happy to be here," Roberts said of Ross. "He loves it in Southern California. He's from the South, from Georgia.

"He's very good defensively, and he's got some pop. He's a great clubhouse guy, a great guy. He's a guy who's going to do whatever 'Boch' asks of him."

Furmaniak, a multiple-position player who appeared in the Triple-A All-Star Game at shortstop, was batting .266 at Portland with 14 homers and 47 RBIs. He had committed 15 errors in 99 games. The Padres feel infield depth is one of their strengths with Geoff Blum, Eric Young and Damian Jackson. Second baseman Josh Barfield, hitting .293 at Portland, is considered one of their best prospects.

"J.J. for us was a utility guy if he got to the big leagues," Towers said. "He's put together a couple good years."

Towers, in his pursuit of pitching, keeps hearing the names Akinor Otsuka and Scott Linebrink coming back from the other end of the phone. With Chris Hammond [neck] and Rudy Seanez [shoulder] nursing injuries, Towers is highly reluctant to strip one of the club's strengths.

"It would have to be a deal that puts us over," Towers said.