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The Angels traded Martin Maldonado to the Astros earlier this week, whether the club makes any additional moves is yet to be seen.
It appears, though, that the Angels have a few relievers available: Blake Parker and Jose Alvarez.
Among RPs known or believed to be in play (partial list):
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2018
CIN: Iglesias, Hernandez, Hughes
CWS: Avilan, Cedeno
LAA: Parker, Alvarez
MIA: Barraclough, Conley, Ziegler
MIN: Rodney
SD: Stammen, Yates
STL: Norris
TB: Romo
TEX: Kela, Diekman, Leclerc
TOR: Clippard, Osuna
Blake Parker, whose salary is $1.8 million, is controllable through 2020 and Jose Alvarez, whose salary is $1 million, is controllable through 2021.
Parker broke out in a big way in 2017 but has taken a step back this year, even though he is still outperforming peripherals. His four-seam fastball has dropped a tick but its effectiveness is much, much lower, per Pitch Info pitch values (16.3 wFA in 2017, -2.9 in 2018). Parker has regressed to a 3.42 ERA and 4.09 FIP, becoming more susceptible to the long ball (1.52 HR/9) in a year in which league-wide home runs have decreased. His strikeouts are down (10.27 K/9) and walks are up (3.04 BB/9).
Alvarez, on the other hand, holds much more value as a 29-year old above-average left-handed reliever controllable for three additional seasons. One probably would not want him to pitch to righties, per se, but unlike a LOOGY, he is not limited to exclusively facing left-handed hitters.
Jose Alvarez splits
Time Period | FIP vs LHH | FIP vs RHH |
---|---|---|
Time Period | FIP vs LHH | FIP vs RHH |
Career | 3.54 | 3.92 |
2018 | 3.65 | 2.89 |
Source: Angels receiving interest in RHP Blake Parker. Reliever having a second straight strong season for Los Angeles.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 26, 2018
Justin Anderson, too, is another name that appears to have come up in conversations.
Source: Red Sox, like many contenders, have checked in on Angels relievers. Blake Parker, Justin Anderson among the guys who could be dealt.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 26, 2018
As it is, the Angels are in a precarious situation. Eight games back of the second wild card, the club needs to go on a tear to get back in the hunt—selling off relief pieces would be counter to that approach.
Billy Eppler is a self-described opportunist as far as trade markets are concerned; don’t be surprised if a soft-sell is in order or if reliever trades return MLB-ready pieces. Anything is possible.
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