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Angels' Latest Trade With Cubs Reportedly Ships Out Yet Another Reliever
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- Angels' Latest Trade With Cubs Reportedly Ships Out Yet Another Reliever
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Los Angeles Angels are having an incredibly busy few hours leading up to the Aug. 3 Major League Baseball trade deadline.
The club first traded away catcher Logan O'Hoppe and right-hander Chase Silseth to the Texas Rangers last week, then dealt righty José Soriano to the Toronto Blue Jays in the early hours of Monday morning, followed up that trade by shipping out left-hander Brent Suter to the Atlanta Braves , then moved on from outfielder Jo Adell and has now traded away another reliever.
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"The Chicago Cubs are acquiring right-handed reliever Ryan Zeferjahn in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels ," ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Monday afternoon.
Zeferjahn has a 3.66 ERA with a 75-to-32 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .165 batting average against and a 1.20 WHIP in 51 2/3 innings pitched across 45 games this season.
The 28-year-old has spent the entirety of his professional playing career for the Angels, but was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2019 with the 107th overall pick.
In return for Zeferjahn, the Angels' beat writer reported that the Cubs are sending catcher/designated hitter Moisés Ballesteros and righty Mason McGwire to Anaheim. The later, the son of the legendary Mark McGwire.
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Ballesteros hit .231 with 12 extra-base hits including six home runs, 23 RBIs and a .688 OPS in 59 games for the Cubs this season.
The 22-year-old has split time suiting up for the Cubs and their Triple-A affiliate, Iowa Cubs, this season and has been called up a handful of times when the major league club requires his services.
McGwire had a 3.64 ERA with a 72-to-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .229 batting average against and a 1.23 WHIP in 59 1/3 innings pitched across 18 games between the Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans and the High-A South Bend Cubs.
The righty was ranked as high as the No. 18 prospect within the Cubs' farm system, and now has a chance to develop under the Angels.
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Los Angeles has now added multiple prospects to its farm system between the trades completed over the past few days and might not be done yet.
Left-hander Reid Detmers is still in plenty of trade rumors, as multiple contenders look to acquire starting pitching to aid them come October.
Shortstop Zach Neto has also found himself in many trade rumors , with the Boston Red Sox emerging as frontrunners to land the 25-year-old star.
With the shortstop considered to be a highly sought-after trade chip ahead of this year's deadline, the Angels continue to be a team to watch out for with just hours until the trade deadline comes to a close.
