The Los Angeles Angels and the Kansas City Royals swung a deal to send Tucker Davidson to the American League Central in exchange for cash considerations.
Davidson was designated for assignment this past weekend, but the Angels found a trade partner in the Royals to continue his Major League journey. The former Atlanta Braves draftee was a throw-in during the 2022 season, spending nearly a year out West.
The lefty provided the Angels with needed appearances at various points, tossing 36.2 innings in 18 games (eight starts) in 2023. His 6.54 ERA, and 1.74 WHIP didn’t dazzle, and he wasn’t able to replicate the same success in April after he carried a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings to open the season.
The addition of both Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López from created a crunch on the roster, and with Davidson out of Minor League options, he was the odd man out. But finding a trade partner for the 27-year-old is the best case scenario for his career, as he can slot right into another Major League pitching staff.
He joins a Royals group that has a plethora of youth, and if Davidson can bring anything, it’s innings and an ability to pitch in multiple roles.
Angels acquire both C.J. Cron & Randal Grichuk from Colorado Rockies
Finalizing the deal on Sunday, general manager Perry Minasian fortified their growing number of right-handed bats by acquiring infielder C.J. Cron and outfielder Randal Grichuk.
The Angels reunite with Cron, who was originally drafted by the club with the 17th overall pick in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft out of Utah. Making his debut for the team in 2014, he’d go on to play in parts of 408 games.
Grichuk, garnered a lot of interest around MLB, mainly for his bat and ability to play each spot in the outfield. Since the All-Star break, he has a 1.118 OPS with eight home runs and 27 RBI.
The duo fills a number of needs on the Angels roster, mostly bridging the gap until Mike Trout is back from injury, and supplementing the loss of Taylor Ward, who was red-hot before going on the IL.
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