Major League Baseball

Hector Santiago trade paying early dividends for LA Angels

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Most LA Angels fans were not very happy when the Angels announced they had traded popular left-handed pitcher Hector Santiago to the Twins just before the July trading deadline.  In return the Angels received veteran righty Ricky Nolasco and up and coming pitching prospect Alex Meyer.

When LA Angels fans looked at the deal, many looked at with their heart as Santiago had long been a fan favorite the past couple of seasons.  This was do in large part to his friendly demeanor and his willingness to interact with the fans both at the ballpark and through social media (Twitter and Instagram).

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If you looked at it from a baseball prospective it was also quizzical as Santiago had been the Angels hottest pitcher in July going a perfect 6-0 and was 10-4 overall with a 4.25 ERA. Nolasco on the other hand was 4-8 with a 5.13 ERA.  As for Meyer he hadn’t pitched since May due to an arm injury so he was considered the great unknown.

Both Santiago and Nolasco had matching contracts as far as years left which is one (Nolasco has club option for 2018).  Nolasco is scheduled to make 12 million dollars each of the next year and Santiago is scheduled to make 9 million dollars.  The Twins gave the Angels 3 million dollars in cash for next season to make the contracts equal out so financially the trade was a wash.  The key to the deal was said to be the potential of Meyer as he was one of the Twins top pitching prospects.

So what has happened since the trade?  Santiago took an immediate nose dive as he went 0-4 with an 8.17 ERA in August not winning a game for the twins until September 3rd in his sixth start with them. Overall Santiago is 2-6 with a 6.22 ERA giving up 38 earned runs in 55 innings and is 12-10 with a 4.87 ERA for the season.

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Nolasco also started slowly with the Angels going 1-4 with a 4.38 ERA in August and he did not get his first victory as an Angel until August 31st in his sixth start as well.  However in September Nolasco has been stellar going 2-2 with a 2.42 ERA.  Overall with the Angels Nolasco is 3-6 with a 4.09 ERA.  giving up 25 runs in 55 innings. For the season Nolasco is 7-14 with a 4.60 ERA.

While Nolasco’s record is nothing to write home about but if you look deeper into the numbers especially in September he has been nothing short of dominant. Nolasco has a 0.82 WHIP with 20 strikeouts and only six walks in 26 innings.  Opponents are batting .196 against Nolasco in September as well.  If not for the Angels, at times anemic offense he would be at least 5-4 with the team as he as a hard-luck loser in two starts losing 3-1 and 2-1.

If you want to go even further into the numbers Nolasco has pitched at least six innings in in nine of his 10 starts for the Angels which no pitcher other than Matt Shoemaker can boast that kind of durability.  With the heavy workload that the Angels bullpen has endured this season due to the plethora of injuries to Angel starters it is comforting to know that you can rely on someone to pitch at least six innings each time out.

The surprise part of the trade has been the quick progression and development of Alex Meyer.  After two lackluster appearances with the Twins early in the season, Meyer was the great unknown.  Meyer was pretty effective in his short first outing pitching 3.1 innings giving up only one run on one hit striking out five batters.  His only issue was four walks which led to a high pitch count of 68. (37 strikes 31 balls).

In Meyer’s second start against Seattle he got rughed up a little bit giving up four runs on five hits in 4 innings with two walks and three strikeouts.  Meyer however bounced back in his next start pitching five shutout innings against Toronto on September 18th giving up two hits and three walks while striking out seven. Meyer got his first major league win in a 4-0 Angels victory.  In his last start Meyer again was stellar through five innings only allowing three hits and one run.  However in the sixth he walked two batters and allowed one hit leaving with the bases loaded. The bullpen allowed all three runners to score so Meyer’s line ended up being 5.1 innings four hits and four runs with four strikeouts.

Both Nolasco and Meyer will pitch one more time (Tonight Nolasco and tomorrow Meyer) this season.  However, the future looks bright for both of these pitchers and thus far the Angels have gotten the better of the deadline deal.  Let’s hope so.

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