The last week hasn’t been the best week for the Angels. The offense just seemingly disappeared overnight against the Dodgers for two games. Then Friday night, a critical error set the sage for the Rockies to hit a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the 8th. Friday night’s result may have played into the moves made Saturday morning. Here are the Angels’ transactions that were made Friday and Saturday.
Angels’ Transactions This Weekend
Friday Night: Eduardo Escobar Trade
The Angels had an issue going into the week with the infield alignment. They lost both of their third basemen in the same game. Then a few days later, it came out that Gio Urshela would be lost for the remainder of the season with a broken pelvis. The team looked to fix it internally for the first handful of games following the injuries. However, it seemed that that would not be the solution.
During the Mets game on Friday night, they struck a deal with the Angels for Eduardo Escobar. It didn’t take much for the Angels to get a new third-baseman. It only took 2 mid-level prospects from AA Rocket City. What matters is his line versus lefties .278/.317/.514. Just from those numbers alone, it looked like the solution to help a struggling Jared Walsh, but for now, he will be the everyday third baseman.
More on the prospects that went to New York, Coleman Crow, and Landon Marceaux. According to some sites, Crow was ranked 17th in the Angels system and some had him as high as eighth. He was signed in 2019 as the team’s 28th-round pick out of high school. He has been praised for his athleticism and plus slider. Marceaux was last year’s third-round pick from LSU. He sits in the mid-90s with his fastball and doesn’t walk a lot of guys, but he isn’t known for his strikeouts either.
OFFICIAL: The Angels have acquired INF Eduardo Escobar and cash considerations from the New York Mets in exchange for minor league right-handed pitchers Landon Marceaux and Coleman Crow. pic.twitter.com/ETR3KGEfpK
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) June 23, 2023
Saturday: The Return of David Fletcher
The Angels recalled David Fletcher and sent the struggling Jared Walsh down to AAA. Another move was Micheal Satfonic sent down. These moves put the Angels in an interesting spot on the field and in the batting order. With the demotion of Walsh, the Angels no longer have a primary first baseman on the active roster. Brandon Drury could slide back over to first, which creates a revolving door scenario.
As for the return of Fletcher, he was hitting well in Salt Lake. With a line of .378/.432/.478 over 197 PA. On the flip side of that coin, his BABIP was a shocking .407, Numbers in the Pacific Coast League are known to be a bit inflated, so time will tell if this was an adjustment made or just a product of a better hitting environment. Based on the numbers shown and the current middle infield situation, Fletcher deserved to get another shot at the big league level.
Hopefully, whatever changes were made while Fletcher was at Salt Lake will stick for the long term. The Angels’ infield situation went from deep to shallow overnight. Unfortunately for the Angels, they’ve lost a lot of hitters and have to retry the lineup from last year that didn’t yield a lot of offensive output.
Saturday Night: Mike Moustakas
After the offensive explosion the Angels had in Colorado, the Angels made another deal, this time for veteran lefty-hitting Mike Moustakas. The Reds released Moustakas in January, then he signed with the Rockies in March. In his 36 plate appearances with Colorado this year, he is posting a 101 wRC+.
He should have a handful of chances with the Angels for now. He might be the left-handed bat in a platoon at first base for now. Then when the team gets back to full health, he can play both corner infield spots plus second base. At this point, it would be pure speculation as to what the play is going forward with Moustakas, but he is another buy-low bat with some upside that could benefit.
The Angels are still in the division and wild-card races. The Houston Astros haven’t gotten it going yet, and the Rangers seem to be slowing down. Making intelligent moves that improve the team without giving up a lot of talent will separate the Angels from other teams that panic buy. The trade deadline and the All-Star break are on the horizon. Hopefully, by then, everyone will be back healthy, and the Angels will be a force in the league.
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Main photo credits:
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Players mentioned:
Gio Urshela, Eduardo Escobar, Jared Walsh, Coleman Crow, Landon Marceaux, David Fletcher, Brandon Drury, Mike Moustakas
