Angels acquire righty Slegers from Rays
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ANAHEIM -- The Angels supplemented their pitching depth on Monday, acquiring right-hander Aaron Slegers in a trade with the Rays for a player to be named or cash. In a corresponding move, left-hander Dillon Peters was designated for assignment.
Slegers, 28, has experience as both a starter and a reliever and is coming off a solid season with the Rays. The 6-foot-10, 260-pounder posted a 3.46 ERA with 19 strikeouts and five walks allowed in 26 innings. He also allowed just one run over five innings in three postseason appearances with Tampa Bay.
TRADE DETAILS
Angels get: RHP Aaron Slegers
Rays get: Player to be named or cash considerations
Slegers isn't arbitration eligible until 2023 and is under team control through 2025. He has a career 4.66 ERA with 34 strikeouts, 13 walks and eight homers allowed over 58 innings in 20 appearances (six starts) with the Twins and Rays. He also has one year of Minor League options, which means he can be sent freely between the Majors and Minors this season.
Slegers could prove to be a valuable piece for the Angels, given his versatility as a swingman, which could be needed more often this year, considering pitcher’s workloads will be monitored with a full season coming after last year’s 60-game schedule.
Slegers doesn't throw hard -- his average fastball velocity was 90 mph last year -- but he’s among the best in baseball at inducing weak contact and has a solid ground-ball rate and miniscule walk rate. He’s simply a difficult pitcher to square up and surrendered just one homer last season.
Peters, meanwhile, made just one appearance last year, allowing three runs over 1 2/3 innings. He had a 5.38 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 72 innings with the Angels in '19. He was set to be out of options this season.
When a player's contract is designated for assignment -- often abbreviated "DFA" -- that player is immediately removed from his club's 40-man roster. Within seven days of the transaction, the player can either be traded or placed on irrevocable outright waivers.