The Angels lost an 80-grade name yesterday, trading away fan-favorite Jett Bandy for Martin Maldonado and minor league pitcher Andrew Gagnon.
On the surface, swapping two at-best platoon catchers seems like a mind-numbingly pointless exercise, especially when considering that Bandy had five years of team control to Maldonado’s two. And at that point one would say to him or herself, well, is the prospect good enough to justify the difference in value?
So there one is, looking up Andrew Gagnon’s stats only to find out that he owns a career 1.375 WHIP to go along with a 4.65 ERA in six minor league seasons...stats so bad that could only lead someone to believe that he is not even organizational depth, but just a warm body.
And at this point, I imagine the everyday Angel fan was lamenting their favorite Bandyman being replaced by someone of similar caliber but several years older. I know because I too had a similar initial reaction, until I took a look at their advanced defensive metrics.
Take a look at Jett Bandy’s defensive metrics. Though he does record a positive in throwing runners out (1.7 throwing runs), he was also a poor pitch framer (-1.3 framing runs). Ultimately, Eppler wasn’t confident enough in him or Carlos Perez’s pitch framing abilities (-2.5 framing runs) enough to fill the Angels’ needs during the season.
While I can’t promise that Maldonado has the better name, I can say that Maldonado does one thing extremely well, and that’s pitch framing. Take a look at his defensive profile. Since 2012, Maldonado has been a well above average pitch framer, averaging 6.42 framing runs since that time (though it is worth noting that Maldonado had a career-low 2.1 framing runs in 2016).
It’s a huge difference and it’s not even close: Maldonado destroys Bandy (and Carlos Perez) in pitch framing. Ultimately, with them both playing a similar amount of playing time this year, Maldonado holds the edge in WARP by 0.6 (Baseball Prospectus is the only major site that incorporates FRAA, or fielding runs above average, into their WAR metric. Fangraphs doesn’t incorporate pitch framing and Baseball Reference doesn’t to BP’s extent).
Pitch framing is crucial to the current state of baseball because it helps pitchers get borderline strike calls. With hitters feasting on pitches inside the zone, an above average pitch framer will help our more ground-ball heavy starting rotation live vicariously on the corners, resulting in more pitcher’s counts and borderline strike calls in our favor. In the end, this defense and run prevention maximizes the efficiency of our pitchers, allowing them to throw less pitches, be less fatigued, and better utilize the assets on the team.
And sure, one could make the argument that Bandy still has a lot more room to grow as a player but I for one don’t see it. Though he has power, Bandy would be better off taking a doubles approach but instead pigeon-holed himself into a home-run approach for much of the season, to the extent that he batted .221 in August and .163 in September. Perhaps the most proof of this is his 3 wRC+ in September. And no, that’s not a typo.
He had a nice 10% walk rate in July, but that only shows how bad his plate discipline was in the other months - he finished the year with a 5% walk rate. Maldonado, on the other hand, has consistently higher walk rates (kudos to hitting in front of the pitcher in the NL) but also much higher strikeout rates. No matter what Maldonado’s average is, if he can maintain a .315+ OBP like he did last year this trade will be a net benefit.
All in all, Bandy has more power potential but it’s not significant enough to overcome the difference in their pitch framing abilities.
At the end of the day, Bandy will be worth more to the Brewers over five years than Maldonado over two because of how much more playing time he will have. But the Angels were never losing that much: platoon-type catchers are plentiful on the free agent market, especially those that don’t have a particular strength. The Angels are trying to maximize Maldonado’s value in these two years while the Brewers are spreading out Bandy’s value as a backup over five - simply allocating their assets a different way.
In that regard, Bandy’s floor is his ceiling - a reliable platoon catcher that doesn’t do anything in particular well.
And, some more news on the prospect Andrew Gagnon, per Taylor Blake Ward.
Gagnon has a low-to-mid 90's fastball that he commands well. In short stints, it has reached 95 miles per hour. His curveball has a short break, and will need to tighten up to become more than an average offering. Using a deceptive delivery, his changeup has drastically improved from his amateur years to become his best pitch. If he's used as a starter, he could be as a swingman or innings-eater in the back of a rotation.
No matter what you think of this trade, its effects are marginal at best and marginal at worst. The chances of Bandy breaking out into a bona fide starter are quite slim, as are the chances of Maldonado suddenly becoming replacement level.
This trade doesn’t necessarily make us gain or lose significant assets, it just rearranges the puzzle so that the Angels get more of an immediate return where as Milwaukee’s is dispersed more evenly over time.