The Los Angeles Angels made a move and acquired Touiki Toussaint from the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, adding depth to a pitching staff needing some reinforcements.
The Angels sent cash considerations to the Braves in exchange for the former 16th overall pick in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.
Toussaint spent his first four years in MLB with the Braves and posted a 5.46 ERA with a FIP of 5.37 over 145 career big league innings. He last pitched in the majors during the 2021 season and carried a 4.50 ERA in 11 appearances.
He spent all of 2022 with the Braves Triple-A affiliate, and in 41.2 innings with the Gwinnett Stripers, Toussaint struggled with a 6.26 ERA that ultimately contributed to Atlanta designating him for assignment on Saturday.
Toussaint’s usage flipped last season with the Braves and they dropped his four-seam fastball and opted to replace it with a sinker, a move that many around MLB are mirroring.
Unfortunately for Toussaint, his best season came during his rookie year in 2018, and has since regressed. But his stuff has not deviated from being, metric-wise, pretty solid. The results just have not been there for him and this deal is nothing more than a dart throw for the Angels who need innings from their pitching staff.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Angels DFA’d infielder Jack Mayfield, who was struggling to produce this season.
Angels sign infielder Jonathan Villar
The Angels and the Chicago Cubs agreed on a deal to send Jonathan Villar out west to join L.A. after just 46 games with the Cubs.
A career journeyman, the Angels represent Villar’s eighth team in 10 MLB seasons. His best years were between 2016 and 2019 with the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles. Since 2020, he has struggled at the plate, batting just .240 with a .677 OPS in 240 combined games with the Cubs, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Mets.
However, his defense and his bat could still provide a boost to the Angels, who have dealt with a disappointing production level from the non-Jared Walsh players in the infield.
After injuries to Anthony Rendon and David Fletcher, the grouping of Tyler Wade, Andrew Velazquez, Luis Rengifo, and Matt Duffy have struggled to keep the Angels lineup competitive beyond the top half. No one among this group owns a wRC+ higher than 92, meaning all have been below average at the plate in 2022.
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