The Los Angeles Angels announced they have acquired infielder Luis Guillorme in a trade with the Atlanta Braves in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. To make room for Guillorme on the 40-man roster, the Angels moved Anthony Rendon to the 60-day injured list.
Guillorme, 29, was in his first season with the Braves after spending the first six years of his Major League career with the New York Mets. As a bench utility infielder for the Braves, Guillorme managed only 21 plate appearances in the team’s first six weeks. He posted a .440 OPS in that span, but joins the Angels likely assuming a larger role.
While the active roster move has not yet been made, this trade coming one day after infielder Brandon Drury was removed from Wednesday’s win over the Pittsburgh Pirates due to a hamstring injury does not seem coincidental. Drury said that his hamstring was in pretty significant pain and that further testing would be done later.
Guillorme has a career 90 OPS+ at the plate with 2020 and 2022 serving as his best Major League seasons. However, Guillorme is statistically a very good defender capable of playing second base, shortstop or third base. He has spent the majority of his career at second base, where he has a .996 fielding percentage and five defensive runs saved via Baseball Reference.
Rendon, meanwhile, moves to the 60-day IL, meaning his hamstring injury was worse than originally expected. The Angels had held off making this move in the hopes that he could return within a 60-day window, but clearly that was not viewed as possible.
The Angels will need to make room on the 26-man roster for Guillorme, and Drury appears to be the most likely candidate as of Thursday morning. The results of his testing on his hamstring have not yet been announced publicly.
Angels win first series in five weeks
The news of Drury’s possible injury, as well as the lead in to Guillorme’s trade, comes on the same day that the Angels secured their first series victory in well over a month. The Angels took two of three against the Pirates, signaling their first series win since sweeping the Miami Marlins in the second series of the 2024 season.
The Angels now have two series wins this season and move ahead with a four-game set facing the Kansas City Royals back in Anaheim.
