The Los Angeles Angels' need to bolster their bullpen has affected the Arkansas Travelers again.
With teams inching closer to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, the Angels acquired veteran closer Huston Street from the San Diego Padres late Friday night in exchange for four prospects, a group that includes Travs reliever R.J. Alvarez.
It's the second time in two weeks the Angels have traded a Travs player to improve their bullpen. Their move to acquire Street, the 30-year-old All-Star who has 24 saves this season, came after Travs outfielder Zach Borenstein was involved in a trade to acquire Joe Thatcher from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Alvarez was sent to the Padres along with Class AAA Salt Lake second baseman Taylor Lindsey, who helped lead the Travs to the Texas League Championship Series last year, and shortstop Jose Rondon and right-handed pitcher Elliot Morris, both of Class A Inland Empire
"Clearly, they were four guys we liked, and we liked them a heck of a lot," Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto told the Orange County Register. "It's always painful giving up young players we believe will play in the big leagues and have long careers. It's not a simple thing. ... We feel strongly about the return, and Huston Street helps us that much now."
Dipoto told reporters that right-handed pitcher Trevor Gott, who the Angels acquired along with Street, will begin with the Travs. Gott, 21, has a 4.63 ERA in 10 appearances at Class AA San Antonio. But the Travs bullpen -- which has been a strength of their team -- will miss Alvarez, a third-round-draft pick by the Angels in 2012 who had a 0.33 ERA in 21 appearances this season with 38 strikeouts in 27 innings.
"He's been very good," Angels assistant general manager for player development Scott Servais said last week while visiting the Travs.
Alvarez, ranked by Baseball America as the Angels' No. 4 prospect, missed more than three weeks this season with a minor elbow injury, which is part of the reason he wasn't one of five Travs pitchers who have already pitched for the Angels this season.
During a visit at Arkansas last week, Servais addressed how prospects must handle the final weeks before the trade deadline when the major-league team is in contention.The Angels were in second place in the American League West going into Saturday, trailing the Oakland Athletics by 1 1/2 games, and led in the wild-card standings.
"They know how the game works," Servais said. "They have to go out there and perform and understand that they're performing for the team here in Little Rock, but every night there are scouts in the stands for other teams that we're in active trade talks with."
The recent effect on the Travs is similar to what happened in 2012 when the Angels traded for Milwaukee Brewers starter Zack Greinke. The price was shortstop Jean Segura, who was an All-Star with the Brewers last season, and starters Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena.
The Angels failed to reach the playoffs in 2012, and Greinke signed in the offseason with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This time the Angels have made three moves to improve their bullpen. They acquired reliever Jason Grilli for struggling closer Ernesto Frieri in June, then Borenstein was one of two prospects sent to the Diamondbacks for Thatcher.
Friday's trade, which was completed during the Angels' 16-inning victory over the Seattle Mariners, came with the biggest price tag as the Angels dipped into their plethora of minor-league relievers.
"Obviously, it's the strength of our organization right now," Servais said Wednesday. "We're coming up on the trade deadline. The positive thing for us is that our big-league club is playing very, very well. We want to do everything we can to get to the playoffs and get deep in the playoffs."
Street is 35-27 with 258 saves and a 2.87 ERA in 10 major-league seasons with Oakland, Colorado and San Diego. He has converted 109 of his past 117 save chances, the best mark in the majors in that span. He is fifth on the active list in saves and 31st overall.
Sports on 07/20/2014