Los Angeles Angels Make a Pair of Moves

It is officially the off-season, and the Los Angeles Angels are taking advantage, as they made a pair of moves on Wednesday. They dealt away catcher Hank Conger to the Houston Astros for a pair of prospects, Nick Tropeano and Carlos Perez. Then they moved Mark Sappington to the Tampa Bay Rays for bullpen help in Cesar Ramos.

The Angels have as weak a farm system as there is in baseball, but Tropeano and Perez help add a little depth, and both are big league ready. Tropeano actually made his big league debut in 2014 with the Astros, making four starts but posting a 4.57 ERA in 21.2 innings. He has a good fastball and solid change, but his slider still needs work. He looked very good in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League last season, winning the ERA title with a 3.03 ERA. He also struck out 120 batters and walked just 33.

Carlos Perez also spent the season in Oklahoma City of the PCL but only played 88 games. He is a perfect fit for Angels manager Mike Scioscia as Scioscia loves a good defensive catcher. Ramos is a very good receiver behind the dish and has a strong arm that could allow him to battle for the backup job in spring training. His bat is well behind his glove at this point as he is a career .277 hitter in the minor leagues and has never hit more than 6 home runs in a season, but he also hasn’t played more than 97 games in a single season.

Sappington has a power fastball, clocked as high as 97 mph, and a hard slider. He has also shown a changeup at times, but as he transitions from starter to reliever, that change will probably become a thing of the past, allowing Sappington to turn into a power guy in the late innings. He has bounced between High-A and Double-A the past two season, but now that he appears to have made the move to the pen, he could be a quick mover.

The Angels certainly need to make a bunch of moves this off-season to try and add depth to their farm system, so this certainly won’t be the last we hear from them.