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If you had "Saturday morning at 8:00 AM Pacific Time when the wind had swept heavy on the borderline" in the "When will the Angels rid themselves of the worst player in their history?" Pool, well... just like the Angels and every one of their fans, YOU are a winner.
Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto traded Catcher Jeff Mathis to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher Brad Mills on Saturday.
Before you get too excited that the Angels got anything of value for the least beloved catcher in club history, note the shocking even-ness of the trade:
- Mills has a career ERA+ of 51
- Mathis has a career OPS+ of 50
Can you name two general managers who read BaseballReferenceDotCom?
Dipoto has password to the internet and can be seen simplifying the pros and cons of making premium dumps instead of taking premium dumps.
In Mills, Tyler Chatwood has basically been replaced by a pre-arbitration 27-year old lefty and the catching situation of Anaheim now keeps hope alive. As for Toronto's motivations, SB Nation's Grant Brisbee breaks down that which may initially appear ludicrous:
The Blue Jays lost Jose Molina to free agency, and they were likely looking for a defense-first catcher to pair with J.P. Arencibia. But why go defense-first when you can go defense-only?
Full circle ex-Angel Molina Brothers karma takes a bite out of the thirty pieces of Napoli that Mister Post-Riccardi grabbed in January!
Brisbee looks a little deeper at the numbers MIlls has compiled in the majors and minors:
To get Mathis, they traded away Brad Mills, a 26-year-old starter, who owns an 8.57 ERA in 14 major league games. His stats in AAA were more encouraging, though, as he owned a 4.32 ERA with a respectable K/BB ratio. The ERA might seem high for AAA, but he played in Las Vegas, which is like Coors Field, but drunk.
Halos Heaven director of Social Media PATTIMELT broke the news here practically before sunrise.