6:52pm: Around $1.5MM is headed to head to L.A., per DiGiovanna (via Twitter).
5:47pm: The teams have announced the swap, with the Nats saying an undisclosed amount of cash will go with Escobar to Los Angeles.
4:25pm:Â Gott tweets that he’s been informed of the deal and is indeed joining the Nationals.
Righty Michael Brady is the other player going to Washington, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. Though he’s closing in on 29 years of age and was hit hard in a 17-appearance run at Triple-A in 2014, Brady is coming off of an impressive 2015 campaign at the Double-A level. He made 19 starts after working almost exclusively as a reliever in prior years, and ended up throwing 119 1/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball while logging 8.5 K/9 against 0.9 BB/9.
2:56pm:Â The Winter Meetings are wrapping up, but clubs still aren’t done dealing. The Angels and Nationals have reportedly agreed to a swap that will send versatile infielder Yunel Escobar to the Angels in exchange for hard-throwing young righty Trevor Gott and a second, yet-unnamed minor leaguer.
The 33-year-old Escobar will fill a significant need for the Angels while also allowing general manager Billy Eppler and his staff to remain flexible. Escobar is a capable defender at second base or third base — both positions of need to the Halos — freeing Eppler to pursue upgrades at either spot despite effectively already having filled one of the voids.
Escobar batted .314/.375/.415 with the Nats last season and saw all of his time on the field at third base, though there was also talk of playing him at second base before Anthony Rendon was sidelined for most of the season due to injury. Escobar hasn’t played second base since 2007 but has worked extensively at shortstop in recent seasons, though defensive metrics were down on his work there in 2014 with the Rays.
Escobar gives the Angels an affordable option in the infield, as he’s slated to earn $7MM this season and has a $7MM club option for the 2017 season as well. That should keep the Angels well below the luxury tax threshold, especially since the average annual value of his two-year, $13MM contract is a slightly lower $6.5MM.
The Angels were said last week to be in talks with David Freese about a reunion at third base, and while this doesn’t preclude that from happening due to Escobar’s stated versatility, he does have more experience at the hot corner. Additionally, he brings another right-handed bat to an Angels team that has, over the past six months, been said to be seeking some balance in the lineup, perhaps indicating that a left-handed second baseman would be a better fit than a right-handed third baseman. Indeed, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Angels’ plan is to use Escobar at third base, though he notes that the newest Halos acquisition could be moved to second base in the event of a Freese return.
For the Nationals, the deal continues president/GM Mike Rizzo’s efforts to revamp a bullpen that proved problematic throughout the 2015 season. Gott, 23, debuted with the Halos in 2015 and recorded a strong 3.02 ERA in 47 2/3 innings while averaging a blistering 96.2 mph on his fastball. However, in spite of that plus heat, Gott averaged just 5.1 K/9 while also averaging 3.0 walks per nine. Gott also averaged better than a strikeout per inning over the course of his minor league career, though, so there’s hope for additional missed bats as he gains more experience in the Majors. And, the Nationals have to be intrigued by his excellent 57.2 percent ground-ball rate.
Washington will control Gott for a full six seasons, as he fell shy of a full year of service in 2015. Not only that, but he finished the year with 114 days of big league service time, which should leave him shy of Super Two designation, meaning he’ll only be arbitration eligible three times. Gott will be one of several new faces in a re-worked Nats bullpen, joining lefty Oliver Perez and, presumably, right-hander Shawn Kelley (if his much-debated contract is ultimately finalized). Righty Yusmeiro Petit figures to see action in the bullpen as well, although he could also see some work in the rotation, depending on how the rest of the offseason shakes out.
Jon Morosi of FOX Sports first reported that the two sides were discussing a deal. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the agreement was in place (on Twitter). Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reported Gott’s inclusion in the deal (links to Twitter). Heyman tweeted that another minor leaguer was headed to the Nats.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Not too happy with this one. Escobar’s terrible defensively and his offense was helped out a lot by an unsustainable BABIP. Hopefully the halos didn’t give up too much
Are you kidding me? Looking past last years defensive metrics, escobar is a gold glove caliber defender.
Escobar has been absolutely horrendous in the field for a better part of 2 years.
Nats fan here – loved Escobar’s hitting and he had a fun personality, but his fielding was awful.. Sure if the ball came right to him, he’d make the play, but ZERO lateral movement.
Yeah not sure what metrics he was looking at. Awful 2 years running
He had a -24 DRS and -26 UZR/150 at SS in 2014 and a -11 DRS and -9.8 UZR/150 at 3B in 2015. Whatever defensive ability and range he had has gone out the window with age
Nats a big short of infielders, aren’t they? They gonna go with Turner full time at short, Rendon and Espinosa?
Maybe this signals that they’re gonna try to retain Desmond. Or go after someone cheaper, like freese, Murphy, or Howie Kendrick. Maybe even Sign jimmy Rollins and use him like the dodgers did as a bridge to seager, but with trea turner.
I think (and hope) the nationals will give Turner the starting job next year. They do now need to sign a second baseman however, who can at least platoon with Espinosa (who can than back up Turner at SS if necessary). I see Daniel Murphy as a good fit, although he might be expensive after his strong postseason.
Daniel Murphy is defensively challenged, or did you miss the World Series?
I think that’s the plan. Apparently they are looking at Jimmy Rollins as a stop gap (yuck), although if Desmond’s market dries up I’d be happy to take him back on a pillow contract.
If the angles only gave up gott, it’s a strong move by eppler.
Except the Angels already have a SS, they need a 3B who can hit. Escobar has been a below average hitter in 4 of the past 6 seasons,
I really liked Gott but I like the move as well
Strong move? The Angels already have Simmons so Escobar will be their 3B…3B is a power position and Escobar has little of that. His BA from last year looks nice until you realize it’s due to the .347 BABIP that he had. Take that down to his career avg and he’s back to a .270 hitter. So they could’ve signed Freese…..but lost 6 years of Gott…..for a player who plays 3B just as bad as Freese…..but with less power.
There is nothing in the baseball handbook that states 3B has to be a power position. Plus, good luck finding that ideal power at 3B in the current era. If they re-sign Freese, it’s very likely Escobar will move to 2B. Or, as Ken Rosenthal reported, Freese might actually move to 2B. Nothing wrong with this move at all. Angels are just making sure they have that versatility they were once notorious for having.
Horrible trade by the Angels. they already have a SS, Simmons, and Escobar does not hit well enough to warrant playing him at 3B. Waste of a per-arbitration reliever and 7 MM bucks!
Agree 100%. 5 years of control for a hard throwing reliever for 2 years of Escobar. You blew this one Eppler. Looks ike we’re not going to exceed the Luxury Tax this year. Guess the final move by Eppler will be to bring David Murphy back to platoon in left field with Craig Gentry. Absolutely horrible trade.
Absolutely horrible? A reliever for a solid regular? Escobar can play SS, but he will likely play 2B/3B for the Angels, which are empty positions for the team.
Never thought I’d say this but I would have preferred David Freese
Exactly my reaction. I hate this trade.
Also, taking into account the salaries involved, we just blew about $6m of our headroom to the cap. So we’ve got, what, $14m-$16m left? And we still have a big hole in left field. No shot at Heyward now. Maybe Gentry wasn’t intended to be a 4th OF after all.
If I’m David Murphy, I’m keeping my phone close. Eppler seems to be steering us towards some kind of Gentry/some-lefty platoon in left.
Escobar can play more than just SS. That’s the whole point.
Absolutely awful move by the Angels. Don’t know what Eppler was thinking on this one
Sucks for Escobar, wanted to be traded away from the A’s due to location, and now he’s going to have to play in their division anyways
Should have given up that batting practice pitcher by the name of Cam Bedrosian.
Escobar almost ruins how smart a hitter he is with how dumb a runner and fielder he also is. It’s maddening..
If there’s a team that could be fooled by Escobar’s 2015 I thought it’d be the Angels. Still, I hope this isn’t all the Nats got. Basically Blake Treinen part deux.
So what you’re saying is that Escobar’s 2015 was a fluke (not that I disagree there) but that the Nats should’ve been able to get a better haul? A young pitcher with six years of control for one decent year sounds good to me.
Just wait til you get a look at Gott. I promise you, you’ll feel a lot better about the deal then.
I’ll take your word for it. I’m hoping both he and Treinen figure out how to miss more bats in the future, considering the heat they bring. It’s not like they have to be efficient in the middle reliever role.
Hmm..Angels were fooled yet they didn’t pay much to get the guy. Maybe it’s more like the Angels weren’t fooled and so payed about what Escobar is worth.
So glad that the nats traded escobar. League average hitter with below average defense. They “Gott” a very promising reliever for him
a league average hitter does not hit .314 …
He does when his BABIP is an unsustainable .350. Escobar was very lucky last year on offense
He’s only two years removed from being a gold glove contender. So it isn’t too far fetched to be a bit optimistic with Escobar. But yeah, definitely a defense first guy.
The Angels have Simmons. The third baseman is not required to move lareally.