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Angels Acquire Drew Hutchison

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The Angels have acquired right-hander Drew Hutchison from the Twins, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Cash considerations went in return, per Morrie Silver of the Rochester Red Wings (via Twitter).

Hutchison, who’ll soon turn 29, will add to the depth for an Angels organization that has had to work to keep its MLB staff afloat. The staff has been taxed again recently by more injuries.

Conditions are tough for hurlers in the International League, where Hutchison has pitched all year long. He owns a 5.55 ERA in 108 2/3 frames, with 9.4 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9. Through 460 1/3 career innings at the game’s highest level, Hutchison carries a 5.10 ERA.

Angels Promote Patrick Sandoval

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AUGUST 5: The move is official. Roster space was created by moves involving a pair of right-handers. Luke Bard was placed on the 10-day IL with a right triceps contusion, while Pena was moved to the 60-day IL — no surprise given the recent diagnosis of a torn ACL.

AUGUST 3: The Angels are set to promote pitching prospect Patrick Sandoval to take the ball for Monday’s game in Cincinnati. Ryan Falla of Halo Hangout initially reported that Sandoval was due to be called up (Twitter link), and this report was confirmed by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A corresponding roster move has not yet been announced, but the Angels may have a ready-made fill-in in the event that Felix Pena–who was injured in tonight’s contest–ends up needing an IL placement.

Sandoval’s ascension to the big league represents something of a homecoming for the 22-year-old, who was developed at nearby Mission Viejo High School before being drafted by the Houston Astros in the 11th round of the 2015 draft. Acquired by Los Angeles in a 2018 deal involving Martin Maldonado, Sandoval has been identified by evaluators as a lefty with a reasonable ceiling as a back-end starter. Fangraphs has him ranked 15th in Los Angeles’s lightly regarded system.

Beginning the year with his second stint in Double-A, Sandoval overwhelmed hitters across his first five appearances, logging a 14.40 K/9 and 1.76 FIP in 20.0 innings before receiving a promotion to Triple-A. The PCL has been less kind to the southpaw, as his 6.41 ERA through 60.1 innings isn’t all that much better than his 4.97 FIP mark. Nevertheless, in a season challenged by pitching injuries, the Angels will look to provide MLB opportunity to this college-aged hurler.

Calhoun Not Dwelling On Option, Looming Presence Of Adell

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  • Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun knows that with Jo Adell looming, the team has an affordable alternative to his $14MM club option, but he tells Mik DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times that he’s focused more on his current play than his contractual status. “I’m worried about playing now, and what happens will happen,” said Calhoun. “[Adell] is definitely a great player. He’s a young guy, and we’ll see how he continues to develop, but the talent is there. He’s going to be a big league player for a long time.” Calhoun has been the Angels’ primary right fielder since 2014 and, with the exception of a down season in 2018, has been a generally underrated player. Still, it’s questionable whether the Angels or another club would value him at a net $13MM — the option has a $1MM buyout — in advance of his age-32 season. Free agents entering their mid-30s haven’t fared well in recent years, and corner bats in particular have struggled on the open market. Calhoun’s case is surely helped by the fact that a good bit of his value is tied to his glove and a 10.2 percent walk rate across the past four seasons.

Angels Place Simmons, Canning And Pena On IL

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11:20 am: DiGiovanna provides further updates on Simmons (via Twitter). The star shortstop has a bone bruise and left ankle sprain (in a different area of the ankle which sidelined him earlier in the season) and will be out “a least a couple of weeks,” according to manager Brad Ausmus.

10:36 am: Peña and Canning each have worrisome prognoses, DiGiovanna relays. Peña tore his ACL and is out for six to nine months, ending his season and putting his 2020 start in jeopardy. Canning, meanwhile, has inflammation in his throwing elbow. Fortunately, DiGiovanna adds that Canning’s UCL does not appear to be injured, so it seems he’ll avoid an especially serious absence.

9:38 am: The Angels have lost three key contributors, announcing the IL placements of Andrelton Simmons, Griffin Canning and Félix Peña, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). To replace that trio on the active roster, the club has recalled Wilfredo Tovar, Jared Walsh and Luke Bard, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

The news represents a devastating series of blows for the Halos, particularly the loss of the unmatchable Simmons. The defensive whiz was scratched from yesterday’s lineup with foot soreness, which has evidently proved more serious than initially hoped. It’ll be the second IL stint of the season for Simmons, who has otherwise put together a decent season. His .274/.315/.382 slash (88 wRC+) is unremarkable, but even that is reasonable when coupled with his otherworldly glove. Simmons also boasts one of the league’s lowest strikeout rates and had been a slightly above-average hitter over the past two seasons, so there was reason to believe he could offer even more offensively. That’ll be on hold for an undisclosed amount of time.

Peña left yesterday’s start with a sprained right knee, so it’s unsurprising to hear he’ll hit the shelf. He’s been serviceable in a swing role for the club this season, logging 96.1 innings with a 4.58 ERA. Peña’s strikeout, walk and ground ball rates are all solid but unremarkable.

The Canning news comes most surprisingly, as he just polished off a strong start against the Tigers Tuesday, although it explains the upcoming call-up of prospect Patrick Sandoval to start tomorrow night in his place. Canning, a former first-rounder, had some injury concerns as a draft prospect stemming from a heavy workload at UCLA, but his professional health record had been spotless until today. Regarded as a potential #3 starter as a prospect, Canning hasn’t been quite that good as a rookie but has nevertheless been dependable. Like Peña, Canning’s strikeout and walk numbers have hovered around average, although his 37.3% ground ball rate has led to some home run worries. Canning’s injury and prognosis aren’t yet clear.

Tovar is a utility infielder who can offer some shortstop assistance in Simmons’ absence. He’s never hit much, but he’ll be on hand to back up David Fletcher, who seems likely to handle the position in the near term. Walsh is a two-way player, a power bat who has raked in Triple-A this season and has come out of the Angel bullpen four times this year. He’s a uniquely versatile asset for the club. Bard, meanwhile, is a more traditional, fastball-slider reliever who’s been up-and-down during a challenging season.

Andrew Heaney To Throw Simulated Game Monday

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  • Angels’ left-hander Andrew Heaney will throw a 60-pitch simulated game Monday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Assuming that goes according to plan, Heaney could take the mound for the Halos next weekend in Boston, as the organization isn’t planning on sending him on a minor-league rehab assignment. Heaney, who was placed on the injured list two weeks ago with shoulder inflammation, hasn’t had a banner season, pitching to a 5.09 ERA over nine starts despite a strong 27.3% strikeout rate, as he’s been particularly susceptible to the home run ball (1.76 HR/9).

Simmons Injures Foot In BP

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  • Early in the day, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported that Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons was a scratch from Saturday’s game due to “left foot soreness”. Fletcher later relayed that Simmons injured his foot in the batting cage before Saturday’s loss to the Indians and that an MRI was set to follow. Any extended loss of the defensively stingy Simmons would obviously be a blow to the beleaguered Los Angeles club, who turned to David Fletcher to man short in today’s action. Simmons had been hitting .274/.315/.382 on the year while turning in typically strong defensive marks.

Felix Pena Suffers Right Knee Sprain

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In a 24-hour cycle that has seen big leaguers hitting the IL in droves, it may be time to declare the “dog days” as being officially upon us. Angels hurler Felix Pena–he of the emotionally charged combined no-hitter from earlier this season–is the latest athlete to endure an apparently serious injury, as the team announced via Twitter that Pena was removed from tonight’s game with a right knee sprain.

Given the events happening elsewhere in our nation this evening, it would be crass to make too much of a non-life-threatening injury sustained by an athlete on a baseball field. That said, when paired with the tragic loss of Tyler Skaggs earlier this year, Pena’s injury is just the latest episode in what has been a season from heck for Angels fans. The team in Anaheim has already seen injuries befall Andrew Heaney, Tommy La Stella, and several other contributors amidst a 56-55 campaign.

In addition to his part in that unforgettable no-hitter on July 12th, Pena has logged respectable numbers in his second Los Angeles season, with a 4.66 ERA that looks slightly worse than his solid 9.60 K/9 and 3.23 BB/9 markers. The 29-year-old had been working out of the rotation in tonight’s game with the Baltimore Orioles.

A’s Claim Dustin Garneau, Designate Ryan Dull

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The A’s have claimed catcher Dustin Garneau off waivers from the Angels, designated righty Ryan Dull for assignment, and released injured right-hander Andrew Triggs, among other roster moves, the team reports.

Garneau, designated for assignment Wednesday by Los Angeles, had slashed a solid .232/.346/.362 (98 wRC+) in limited action so far this year. It’s a stretch that far outstrips his previous work for three other MLB organizations (including the A’s) since his debut in 2015: the 31-year-old’s previous best was the 60 wRC+ he posted in 75 PAs for the 2016 Rockies. His work behind the dish has graded out mostly average since his debut, so perhaps the bargain-hunting A’s are convinced the mini-breakout is sustainable.

Dull, 29, had a solid 2016 season for the A’s but has hovered around replacement-level since. In 9 IP for the club this season, the 5’9 righty was tagged for four bombs en route to an ugly 12.00 ERA. Dull has long posted dominant K rates in the upper minors that haven’t translated to the MLB level: the 2019 campaign marks the third Triple-A stint in which the righty’s sat down over 11 men per nine.

Triggs, 30, boasts a rare high-strikeout, high-grounder mix, but the low-slot righty hadn’t been able to comfortably rebound from a thoracic outlet surgery late last season. He’d been designated for assignment by the club on Deadline Day.

Angels Designate Jonathan Lucroy

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The Angels have designated veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot goes to just-acquired receiver Max Stassi.

Additionally, the Halos announced that southpaw Adam McCreery was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. McCreery was designated for assignment recently.

Lucroy. 33, was designated for assignment right on the heels of his activation from the injured list. He had suffered a concussion and broken nose in a scary collision at the plate.

While the Halos forewent a chance to swap Lucroy at the deadline, it would have been tough to swing a deal due to the quick succession of transactions. Stassi only became available after the Astros added Martin Maldonado earlier that day. And it was the first game back for Lucroy.

Now, Lucroy can’t be traded. If and when he’s placed on outright waivers, rival organizations will have a chance to claim his contract, which would mean taking on the remainder of the $3.35MM he’s guaranteed this year. (The deal also includes bonuses based upon games started as a catcher and plate appearances.) If he clears, Lucroy can reject an outright assignment and keep his guaranteed money, signing on with another club as he chooses. In that case, the Halos would stand to save a pro-rated version of the MLB minimum salary for any time Lucroy spends on the MLB roster of a different team.

While Lucroy likely won’t be seen as a difference-maker, he’s an experienced veteran who could improve some contenders — or, at least, bolster the depth at a key position. Through 268 plate appearances this year, Lucroy carries a marginal .242/.310/.371 batting line that’s only slightly better than his output from the prior season.

Angels Acquire Max Stassi

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The Angels have agreed to a swap with the Astros to acquire backstop Max Stassi, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Stassi, 28, was pushed out of the picture in Houston when the club acquired backstop Martin Maldonado.

Outfielders Rainier Rivas and Raider Uceta are going to Houston in return, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).

With Maldonado rejoining the fray in Houston, the 28-year-old Stassi was evidently made expendable. He’d already been struggling to justify his spot on the active roster, with an abysmal .446 OPS in 98 plate appearances for this year’s Astros. That said, Stassi has made his living not as a formidable offensive player, but for his value behind the plate. Per Statcast, he’s posted top-of-the-line framing numbers behind the plate, one of the most sought-after skills in a catcher. DRS credits him as saving 9 runs last season and 2 runs this year. For his career, he’s caught 24% of would-be base-stealers—not a great mark, but passable considering his framing skills.

In Anaheim, he’ll replace Dustin Garneau, who was designated for assignment earlier Wednesday. The Angels’ everyday catcher, Jonathan Lucroy, is slated to make his return from the injured list. Kevan Smith, who has enjoyed a solid offensive season by backup catcher standards, is also on the active roster, though he lags behind Stassi as a defensive catcher. Both Smith and Stassi are out of options, so it appears that the Halos will move forward with three catchers on the 25-man roster, at least for the time being.

In Rivas and Uceta, the Astros will in turn receive two teenage outfielders from the depths of the Los Angeles minor-league ranks. MLB Pipeline doesn’t view either as one of the Halos’ top 30 prospects, though at just 18 years old, these are far from finished products. Both Rivas and Uceta are playing in the Arizona League with the Angels’ rookie-ball affiliate. Uceta has posted a .278/.341/.373 batting line in 138 plate appearances at the level, while Rivas has batted .400/.512/.543 in 86 PA.

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