3:38pm: The Brewers have announced the trade.
3:07pm: Righty Drew Gagnon is the other piece of the deal, Hudson Belinsky of Baseball America tweets. The 26-year-old spent most of 2016 at the Triple-A level with Milwaukee, converting mostly relief work after spending most of his prior professional career as a starter. He worked to a 5.56 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 55 innings at Colorado Springs.
2:53pm: The Brewers have agreed to a trade with the Angels to acquire catcher Jett Bandy, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Heading back in return are fellow catcher Martin Maldonado and a minor-league pitcher, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
The 26-year-old Bandy has just one full season in the majors under his belt. He slashed .234/.281/.392 with eight long balls last year for the Halos over 231 plate appearances. Stat Corner rated him as an average framer, while Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) was slightly more bearish — though it gave him better marks as he came up through the system.
Maldonado, 30, is in his second year of arb eligibility. MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz project him to earn $1.6MM. Functioning mostly in a reserve capacity behind former Milwaukee backstop Jonathan Lucroy, Maldonado has posted a .217/.299/.342 batting line in 1,094 plate appearances over the last six seasons.
Though he is somewhat limited with the bat, Maldonado has high-quality framing metrics. He’s mostly average in other areas of catching defense (per BP, subscription required), but certainly comes with a quality overall reputation behind the dish.
Wtf are you serious Bandy is younger and bats better than Maldonado why did we just make this trade
I’m guessing the minor league pitcher is the difference
That’s a pretty crappy difference then.
For a pitching prospect
Yah I don’t really get this trade from the Angels’ pov. You’d think that if they were interested in Maldonado they could’ve have found a way to acquire him without trading Bandy and potentially harming their catching depth. I doubt Bandy will end up as anything special, but trading five years of control of a passable catcher for another catcher likely entering his decline phase and a throw-in pitcher doesn’t make much sense.
Lmao. The Brewers stole this one. Maldonado is never gonna get above .230 if he plays everyday.
And you’re never going to know how to evaluate players being stuck on batting average. Enjoy the past!
Oh yes they did. Maldonado may be a decent human being but he down right painful to watch at bat!
Wow-you took the words out of my mouth! This new GM has made questionable move after another! Besides Espinoza, I don’t get anything this guys done! Very sad as a longtime Angels fan!!
What other questionable trades has he made. Honestly this move reminds me of the Gott for Escobar trade. Everyone on the boards called it a win for Nats and most Angel fans were mad for trading away Gott. Turned out to be a great trade for Billy. Im going to wait for the season to start to see if both of these acquisitions benefit the Halos more than Bandy alone.
Not sure how you can call the Escobar trade a win when he compiled a 1.6 fWAR with horrendous defense. Eppler could have simply re-signed David Freese for around 4 MIL without giving any prospects up and he would’ve received more value in the long-run. Furthermore, the loss of Gott reduced what little bullpen depth the Angels had which they ended up sorely needing in 2016 and will probably need in 2017 as well.
Gott didn’t even have a full season with the Nats. Its a win. Freese took a deal that leads until 2019, Escobar is until 2017.
I think Freese received an extension for two years. I think the original deal only took him through 2017.
Gott was a lot like Morin, in that he came from nowhere and dominated, then seemingly lost his feel and became average. He had fallen off the Angels’ depth chart by the time of the trade and figures to be in SLC if he stayed.
Maybe he might have returned to form in SLC but he sure didn’t impress the Nate.
The trade was an unexpectedly massive win for the Angels. Two years from now, Gott may figure it out and dominate again, at which time the trade may look differently, but that is if and certainly not now.
Gott would have pitched for the Angels last year if he had still been on the team. The only reason he didn’t pitch for the nationals is because they had enough depth that they didn’t need him. Simply because the nats did not use him, does not mean the Angels won the trade. Also Freese’s original deal was a one year $3.8 MIL deal. The pirates signed him to a two year extension before the season ended
He didn’t pitch for the Nationals because he hasn’t figured it out. And he only would’ve pitched for the Angels because their staff was so banged up. Highly overrated prospect by a bad GM.
What planet are you living on? The Angels didn’t re-sign Freese because he foolishly demanded a multi-year deal for about $9 million a year. He priced himself out of his own market. That’s why the Angels moved on to Escobar.
he doesn’t play as good defense and maldonado plays better offensively
Because Mike Scioscia wants another version of Jeff Mathis.
Yeah, the pitcher better be darn good or I’m calling “mistake” here. Watched Bandy at 2a and the guy has some talent.
WHAT????NO!!!!!!NOT JETT!!!
Not Martin
Maybe they are clearing a spot to sign weiters. Otherwise, not a great move
This trade could come down to whoever the prospect is headed back to LA
considered that, as well, myself
no, eppler got maldonado to pair with perez and have 2 good defensive catchers. writers isn’t signing with angels
wieters*
I’ve come to realize that if a player has Boras as an agent, he’s not coming to the Angels. Weaver was the last of a breed.
That means no Harper or Machado in two years as well.
Bandy seemed like he could be productive if given the opportunity
I don’t see any benefit for the Angels in this deal. Is Bandy an extremely poor game caller and pitch framer? Could the PTBNL actually be somewhat decent, like a 15-25 prospect in Milwaukee’s system?
FYI Sherman is not in the Brewers’ Top 30 prospects per MLB.com
It’s Gagnon, not Sherman, and no he’s not in top 30. He may have been a couple years ago, but Brewers system has gotten much deeper since then and Gagnon hasn’t really progressed though his numbers at Colorado Springs have to be taken with a huge grain of salt.
Like the deal as a Brewer fan. Maldonado is what he is, a solid backup. He was on top of the depth chart by default when Lucroy was traded. Now Brewers will have two minimum salary guys Susac and Bandy battle it out for regular job.
Key to the deal appears to be “pitch framing”. This is the attribute GMs crave in catchers. While not everyone subscribes to the theory, a catcher who can pull back, say, 5 strikes in a game could save his pitchers many pitches in that game.
Don’t know that Bandy was destined for greatness, and my guess is team feels Ward will be ready by 2019.
It’s not a bad move. At worst, it’s running in place, and the upside could be big in a sneaky way.
Hey, as long as we’re not bringing back Scioscia’s Most Favorite Player Ever (Jeff Mathis), I don’t mind this deal.
That’s the reason Jeffy is still drawing a paycheck in MLB–he’s believed to be very good at pitch framing. God knows it isn’t for his bat.
Unless its the postseason and hes facing the Yanks.
Agree!! Awesome trade. They need a good frame work catcher to get those strikes to get our pitchers that not are the healthiest or the best to get better results. We need pitching and having a catcher not hitter will help.
Eppler is just not a good general manager IMO (unless Moreno is making him do this)
How do you determine that? With all do respect he doesn’t have much wiggle room or prospect resources to do anything. What he does have is an aging dead money contracts on the books. So it’s not like he was given much.
Yeah and he hasn’t done much with what he’s got either. The evidence will be in the slegnA win totals next year, or lack thereof.
I mean they are stuck in the middle. I guess we’ll see. I’m not even an Angels, but I can see how bad their situation is.
please give me an example of what he’s done that’s bad. trading bad prospects for maybin and danny? idk what your basing that statement off
Well, that appears to be a terrible deal for the Angels.
Win for the Crew
Makes sense for the Angels to have a solid veteran backup to whoever they sign to be their number one be it Wieters or Castillo. rather than an inexperienced guy. Maldonado is a very solid backup.
And a great deal for the Brewers. The Bandyman can swing the bat and there were many slegnA fans who saw him as the second coming of Napoli (a bat first catcher with a big stick).. To see them give him up for peanuts is LoL-inducing and typical for that organization.
SECOND COMING OF NAPOLI?! ARE YOU CRAZY!
The guy hit 42 homers in 1400 minor-league at-bats. His career OPS in MiLB is .759. He’s a mediocre bat at best, and if he’s not a great framer/caller, then he’s a journeyman at best.
Not saying Maldonado’s great either. But this isn’t like some major win for Milwaukee.
Hahaha those aren’t my words they were the words of angel fans on halosheaven.
Why are you trolling Halos Heaven?
@NineChampionsips Josh Donaldson
Nine championships you are hilarious lol please never talk baseball again
Josh Hamilton? Or did you mean Vernon Wells?
No Josh Donaldson. You know the 2015 MVP. The guy your A’s traded for who? Oh that’s right who knows who they are. Poor A’s. I see why your angry though. You should take it out on your team though not other teams. But whatever helps you sleep buddy.
nine champions, you can focus on what your teams got. ik it’s not much, but no angel fan wants to hear backlash from an A’s fan. lol
You mad bruh?
Not familiar with Bandy but I hope this actually opens up more playing time for Andrew Susac than anyone. Either way it is weird to see 2 backup/average catchers traded for each other.
Yes – Susac needs to play.
Maldonado will be missed as a defensive catcher but Bandy could be a starter for a while. Doesn’t hurt that he is cheaper also. First glance looks like a good move for the Crew.
Really do not know if other moves coming, let’s wait and see. Eppler with what given done pretty good like Jefrey Marte pickup, Yunel at third plus Maybin in left.
Billy has done a great job this off season so far. He literally was able to acquire 2 guys (Maybin and Espy) for nothing. The chances that either of the 3 pitchers we gave away in those trades turn out to be better than the players we acquired are slim to none. I know its not World series stuff but he can always swap these guys during the season for better prospects if they are being productive and out of the race. Hes been able to turn trash to at least bronze. It aint gold but i’ll take the bronze over nothing.
That’s really the point. This is about building a strong defensive center, starting with Trout in CF, then acquiring Simmons last year, and now adding Espinosa and Maldonado. The latter three out 35% of baserunners last season, and that ability reduces the workload on the pitchers. So does the pitch framing. Eppler made a move to get a good defensive catcher for cheap for two years.
No, it isn’t signing Bautista, but often the significant moves are the ones under the radar.
Would like to see him sign Valbuena now and trade Escobar. That would help both the defense and offense.
agreed diablo, i love billy eppler. I also completely trust him. which is why angel fans need to relax and just go with the moves he makes
I’m OK with that. Valbuena also can slot in multiple infield positions and brings the LH bat the Angels lineup needs right now.
Escobar is a lot of interesting people, but he’d fetch some sort of return from a team needing a productive bat in their lineup.
Finally! Some Angels fans making sensical comments always warms my heart. I’ve grown so tired of reading so many fans’ comments after the halos brass makes a move for a player who’s not an All-Star or future HOF’er (well, even then… but that’s a different convo). Point is, the Halos management don’t have much to work with, and it’ll take a little bit of time to right the ship. #bigpicture
PS. The Fregosi/Ryan trade isn’t quite apples to apples, but I get the point you’re making.
PPS. I tried posting this under GeoKaplan’s comment. Idk what happened here. Oh well.
Any options difference?
Bandy is the type of guy the Cubs could use. Moderately experienced. Can be sent to Triple-A.
Because that minor league pitcher is probably better than any other in your farm system.
Angels get Maldonado and organizational depth!! Championship!!
This move makes no sense. Why did the Angels trade a player with potential for a catcher who is hitting a robust .206 the past 2 seasons and a mediocre reliever?
I’m old enough to remember the Fregosi for Ryan trade. That wasn’t well-liked by Angels fans at the time, either. Not every deal is self-evident on the day of the transaction. Some play out over time.
But to answer your question, Bandy had value, while former 1st round pick Taylor Ward in climbing through the minors as a catcher. Maldonado is a free agent in two years, while Bandy could be at max value at this moment.
Angels got their protection in the lineup for Trout
And you’ll love Maldonados English or lack there of…
You do understand he’ll be playing half his games in Southern California, right? 50% of the fans will understand him without Jose Mota interpreting.
Bandy has the highest upside in this deal. As an Angels fan I don’t like
Horrible trade for the angels
Good riddance to maldy. Besides the occasional big homer he can’t hit and his defense while still good isn’t as good as it once was. I’m sure Jett will be a decent piece but nothing too exciting either. Drew gagnon sucks so don’t care about either piece we gave up
Crap trade unless Wieters is coming.
Can somebody tell me when all of a sudden Jett Bandy became a stud prospect? Wake up, people – he’s not that great. He was never ranked in the Angels Top 20.
He’s cheaper than Maldonado, who is a middling-or-worse backup catcher.
The Brewers save money, and get a guy that appears to be as good as Maldonado. And toss in a meh RP to get it done.
I’m fine with it from either side … not a big thing either way. I just don’t understand why Angels fans are losing their (minds) over it..
exactly l o l
cause they like bandy as a person. great guy
These kakabrainiacs just keep on digging the grave for this team deeper and deeper… Can someone explain to me the latest debacle of a “trade”?
Yes.
Bandy isn’t very good
Carlos Perez was better?
The Brewers have the best farm system in baseball and just commited highway robbery with the Angels who have the worst farm system in baseball lol
ok you guys need to relax first off Maldonado is a very good defensive catcher and when he gets regular ab he will be better offensively. As far as Gagnon you never know he may workout.
He’s 30 years old and he’s had stretches of extended playing time Due to Lucroy’s injury two years ago and then the trade last year and not improved. He is what he is offensively, he’s not suddenly going to blossom into a decent hitter.
highway robbery… be real, who do you think bandy is? he is not that good
The Angels unwillingness to trade Cron is just dumb. It reminds me of when the Angels were unwillingly to trade, McPherson, Wood and countless other guys you were supposed to be good.
I don’t know about Angels being unwilling to trade Cron, but it’s very unlikely Pujols will get many starts at 1B, and that’s after he rejoins the team, post surgery rehab, in May or so. Cron will be the starting 1B for most of 2017 at this point.
trading crib would just add another big hole in our lineup
cron*
If you take away Cron’s two week hot streak in the beginning of July, he was below average offensively. Marte given the opportunity could put up similar numbers, as Cron. A player hitting 250 with around 20 homers and around 70 RBI’s is good for a catcher, or corner outfielder. But not as a everyday first baseman. Maybe if he could play defense like JT Snow at first base, then I could see him playing every day. But he is worse than Trumbo defensively at first base. And we all know, Trumbo is known for his bat not his glove.
you really gonna feel better putting matte everyday at 1st base over cron? cmon now
You do remember Cron took a fastball on the hand and dealt with a broken hand for a chunk of the season. It takes time to get strength and timing back after something like that.
Cron may ultimately be little more than a cheaper version of Trumbo with lots of HR and Ks and low OPS, but he does a lot of things well at the plate and is developing well defensively too.
And no, he’s not worse defensively than Trumbo at 1B. That’s mean.
Ya, right. They traded Morales and Trumbo don’t forget. This time they’ll keep Cron. Overall, he looks to be better than the two above.
Really? Yes I remember that he got hit by a pitch, and his finger got broke. I also remember that he has had 3 seasons to prove that he can be an everyday player. And has yet to show that he should be an everyday player. Marte had around the same batting average, and hit one less homerun. Despite playing in less games. So yes give Marte a chance. And don’t make me laugh by saying that Cron will be just as good as Morales or Trumbo. Cron will be 27 next season. Now don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a complete bust, but he clearly isn’t an everyday player either.
can you angels fans relax about this trade? Put aside the fact that bandy is a very lovable player, maldando plays better defensively and better at getting on base. and even if you don’t like it, trust billy eppler. he’s doing what he thinks helps the team, and i really like him as a gm…much better than jerry
It’s fans who are still stuck in the era of batting average and wins for a pitcher. Fact is that Maldonado has great pitch framing ability and a gun for an arm, with the ability to get his OBP over .300 just by drawing walks at the bottom third of a batting order. He’s basically Chris Iannetta with good defense. You could say that’s been one of the Angels’ biggest problems because after Jerry Dipoto acquired Iannetta the Angels’ pitching plummeted due to bad pitch framing, stolen bases galore, and that was one of the conflicts between Dipoto and Mike Scioscia, along with Dipoto’s obsession with Grant Green’s horrible defense. Worst mistake the Angels made was making Dipoto their GM. They should’ve hired Billy Eppler instead. He was the runner-up in 2012.
Pretty much sews up the playoffs for the Brewers.
No playoff for this team until all the garbage they signed a few seasons back come off the books … maybe by then … they will spend wisely on FA and not like kids who all of the sudden won the powerball and sitting on a pile of cash don’t known what to do or how to spend it … and then end up blowing it on busts, over then hill rejects, and overpaying players who are hurt…
What “garbage” are you expecting to come off the books soon? Besides Hamilton, that’s it for big deals ending in 2017. That will leave Pujols, Trout and Simmons signed for the long term. Most of the players will be in arbitration or simply getting their contracts renewed.
The Angels are much younger and more flexible financially than the national sports media likes to say. The team will be $40M to $50M under the cap this time next year.
If playoff appearances hinge on the so-called ‘garbage’ you’re referring to then what would you say about what teams like the Rays did for years with such a small limited payroll? The Angels are at $170 million right now before the luxury tax. Josh Hamilton’s contract coming off the books lowers that to $155 million… I’m sure the A’s would’ve love that much money leftover during their Moneyball era…
Come on everyone, the likely scenario is that we are on the verge of signing a free agent catcher. This is why Billy dealt Jett now. My guess is that Matt Wieters is on his way to Anaheim on a 3yr/30mm deal which would be great for us.
Sign Conger 7/180 and offseason is done.
Now THAT is a winner!
Could it be a pre-curser to a Weiters deal? One could only hope. But based on what Ive seen so far…. Who knows?
4 or 5 years of Weiters on FA deal is the last thing this team needs.
why would this be a pre-curse to a catcher signing. if anything it should get rid of all your hopes that we signed wieters
Look at the farm system… With thasis and Ward solid down there we have Bandy to trade.. might as well get a solid defensive catcher while these guys develop plus a pitching prospect which is always good
Gagnon is 26, got demoted from AAA last season, has a career minors ERA of 4.64 and a WHIP of 1.38 and hitters have a .258 clip against him. He’s not much of a prospect. Depth piece and maybe someday a desperation bullpen arm at best.
Weiters to the Angels on a huge contract? Ain’t gonna happen…
I would hope Angels keep an eye on Matt though. Not sure if a team would be willing to give him what Boras is asking. 3 years 40 would be good to have him. But who knows what Boras has in mind.