Angels acquire LHP Thatcher and OF Campana from Diamondbacks

Well, there deal didn’t make quite as big a splash as the one between the Oakland Athletics and the Chicago Cubs but the Los Angeles Angels and the Arizona Diamondbacks did a little Independence Day business Saturday morning.

The Angels acquire Joe Thatcher, a left-handed reliever who had been on quite a few teams’ lists for the trade deadline, and outfielder Tony Campana from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The trade sent minor-league outfielder  Zach Borenstein and right-hander Joey Krehbiel to Arizona. 

The 32-year old Thatcher is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA and a strikeout to walk ration of 25:3 in 24 innings of work. The Angels bullpen has been their weakness this season. Thatcher will bolster their bullpen and give them a lefty specialist.

Campana is a 28-year old outfielder who has spent time in both Triple-A and with the Diamondbacks in parts of both this season and last season. He’s hitting just .150 in 26 games for the D-Backs this year but was hitting .288 in the 47 minor league games. The possibility of getting him more big league at-bats and having his average rise is highly likely.

As compensation the rebuilding Diamondbacks got two young players in Borenstein and Krehbiel. Borenstein at almost 24-years of age, was invited to spring training with the Angels and had worked his up to Triple-A at the time of the trade. He’s been ranked as the Angels’ ninth top prospect and was chosen as their Minor League Player of the Year in 2013, when he was also named MVP of the Single-A California league.

Krehbiel is just 21-years old. After having a rough start during his first two years in the rookie leagues, posting a 14.21 ERA in 2011 and a 5.12 ERA in 2012, Krehbiel settled into professional pitching and has posted an ERA of 2.00 since being in Single-A with five saves. Should he continued to trend in this direction, it will only be a year or two until he can contribute to the Diamondbacks’ bullpen.