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One of the absolutely worst kept secrets around baseball this offseason is that the Angels are looking to upgrade their pitching staff. This isn’t a hard conclusion to come to since the team ranked next to last in fWAR in 2019 with a combined 5.8 fWAR which is...well....not good.
In addition to being heavily linked to the rumor mill surrounding the top pitcher on the market in Gerrit Cole (who does have roots in southern California), one positive note that has come out recently is that two way phenom Shohei Ohtani has been cleared to throw again. If he can approach the potential he has on the mound, that in itself is going to be a big addition to the Angels’ beleaguered staff.
However, the Angels are not taking any chances and today they made a move for a really interesting, if flawed arm.
#Angels have acquired RHP Dylan Bundy from the #Orioles, sources tell The Athletic. Triple A RHP Isaac Mattson in deal, heading to Baltimore.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2019
As a former 4th overall pick in the MLB Draft back in 2011, Bundy has long been thought of as a guy who has huge raw talent. However, he has dealt with injury issues throughout his time as a professional including Tommy John surgery back in 2013 and a shoulder issue in 2015.
However, Bundy has remained reasonably healthy over the last three season and two of those season (2017 and 2019) were pretty good as he north of 2 WAR in each of those seasons. He isn’t a front line guy, but for a piece to upgrade the back of a rotation, any team could do far worse than him assuming he can keep his injury issues behind him.
As for the Orioles part of the return, those details are known now.
Right-hander Dylan Bundy is headed to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for RHP Isaac Mattson, RHP Zach Peek, RHP Kyle Bradish and RHP Kyle Brnovich, sources tell ESPN. @Ken_Rosenthal had Bundy going from Baltimore to Los Angeles.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 4, 2019
For a guy in Bundy who has a couple years of team control, the Orioles did pretty well for themselves. They snagged a couple of recent college draftee arms in Peek and Brnovich and Isaac Mattson is a pitcher who just put together a stellar season in the minors. Across three levels, he posted a 2.33 ERA in 37 relief appearances with 110 strikeouts in 73.1 innings.