The Los Angeles Angels kept the trade deadline wheels spinning on Monday, dealing away another reliever as their roster overhaul accelerated in the final stretch before the Aug. 3 Major League Baseball deadline.
This latest move sends right-hander Carson Fulmer to the Chicago Cubs, according to a report from the Angels’ beat writer. In return, Los Angeles is getting catcher/designated hitter Moisés Ballesteros and righty Mason McGwire.
Fulmer’s season line with the Angels included a 3.66 ERA, a 75-to-32 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .165 batting average against and a 1.20 WHIP over 51 2/3 innings in 45 games. The 28-year-old spent his entire pro career in the Angels organization, though he was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2019 with the 107th overall pick.
Ballesteros arrives after hitting .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 moved between Chicago and Triple-A Iowa this year and has been called up several times when the big-league club needed him.
McGwire, the son of Mark McGwire, posted a 3.64 ERA with a 72-to-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .229 batting average against and a 1.23 WHIP in 59 1/3 innings across 18 games between Single-A Myrtle Beach and High-A South Bend. He was ranked as high as No. 18 in the Cubs’ farm system and now gets a shot to develop in the Angels organization.
The Angels have been busy for days. They first moved catcher Logan O'Hoppe and right-hander Chase Silseth to the Texas Rangers last week, then sent right-hander José Soriano to the Toronto Blue Jays in the early hours of Monday morning. That was followed by a deal sending left-hander Brent Suter to the Atlanta Braves, then a move involving outfielder Jo Adell, and now this trade with Chicago.
Los Angeles has added multiple prospects in those deals, and the possibility of more movement remains. Left-hander Reid Detmers is still circulating in trade rumors as contenders hunt for starting pitching help for October, while shortstop Zach Neto has also come up in plenty of speculation, with the Boston Red Sox emerging as frontrunners to land the 25-year-old star.
With Neto viewed as a highly sought-after trade chip, the Angels remain one of the most active teams to watch as the deadline clock keeps ticking.
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What sharpened the speculation was a small but notable development on the other side, where top Red Sox prospect Franklin Arias was scratched from his Triple-A start. It is the sort of move that can send a rumor mill into overdrive, especially when the Angels are looking at ways to shape their future in the middle of the diamond, but for now it remains only that - talk, not a completed trade. [Read more 🡒]