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In his first season as an Angel, Deolis Guerra pitched quite alright: 53.1 innings, 1.11 WHIP, 3.21 ERA/3.77 FIP. His control was impeccable, as noted by his comically low 1.18 BB/9.
Five days ago, Guerra was designated for assignment in a trade that brought RHP Austin Adams over from Cleveland — and the decision to DFA him was a bit puzzling given that there were many more unknowns on the 40-man roster.
#Angels RHP Deolis Guerra has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A @SaltLakeBees.
— Angels (@Angels) February 15, 2017
The Angels’ front office must have figured that this was a possibility, right?
Given that Guerra doesn’t have a proven track record of success, there is a lot of risk that he cannot repeat the season he just had. But at the same time, his years of control in his prime years and his ridiculously good control smells like a missed opportunity by other general managers.
RE: Deolis Guerra. Although he cleared waivers, he still can decide whether to accept the #Angels outright or become a free agent.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) February 15, 2017
Should Guerra choose to accept the outright assignment, the Angels will have another arm with some experience in AAA Salt Lake and the Austin Adams acquisition will look that much better.
The bullpen is still an area of concern, but this would help, even if only a little bit.