Recent baseball transaction

I'm not talking about Gary Matthews going to the Mets, or Rick Ankiel to the Royals, but Athletics prospect Grant Desme going to the Padres.

Not the San Diego Padres. The real Padres.

Desme is leaving the game at a time when his fortunes seemed to be rising fast. He batted .288 with 31 home runs and 89 RBIs in 131 games last year. Then he starred in the Arizona Fall League, where some of the game’s top prospects compete. He likely would have started this season at Class AA.

“Here’s a kid that’s on the brink,” Fai said over the phone from Vancouver, B.C., where he works as the assistant general manager for the Oakland affiliate there. “This would probably be an easier decision for someone who was maybe going through the motions in the minors. “But if you know Grant, the spiritual side of his life has always been a priority. I don’t know if there was a tipping factor that made him wake up and say, ‘Today’s the day.’”

Regardless, today is the day: As first reported by FOXSports.com, the 23-year-old star prospect has informed the A’s that he will retire and become a priest.

As the article said, this would be an easier decision if the kid stunk on ice. But Desme may be giving up a legitimate shot at the bigs. That's renouncing the world for you.