Angels acquire Street from Padres in six player deal

The Los Angeles Angels have acquired right-handers Huston Street and Trevor Gott from the San Diego Padres, in exchange for second base prospect Taylor Lindsey, who was ranked atop the Halos' top prospect list from Baseball America; righty R.J. Alvarez, who ranked fourth on BA's list; shortstop Jose Rondon, who is highly regarded due to his high potential; and right-hander Elliot Morris, the teams announced early this morning. The deal had been in the works for awhile. 

The 30-year-old Street and two-time All-Star has had a fantastic pedigree. On the season, he is 1-0 with a 1.09 ERA and a 2.90 FIP in 33 innings pitched. Street's 319 ERA+ suggests that Street's ERA is better than 219% of major leaguers, on a weighted basis through park factors. He has a 34 to 7 strikeout-to-walk ratio and uses control, not power, to finish out games. He has saved 24 games in 25 chances on the year. 

The addition of Street adds to the relievers the Angels have acquired within the past month or so. On June 27, the Angels added ex-Pirates closer Jason Grilli to their bullpen, and on July 5 they added Joe Thatcher from the Diamondbacks. The Angels bullpen currently has a 3.75 ERA, ranking 21st in the major leagues. The additions of Grilli, Thatcher, and now Street are ones to fill a need. They just might be the difference makers that changes the complexion of the Angels season. 

Street was drafted in the first round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Oakland Atheltics, and since first coming into the major leagues, he has been fantastic. Since his big league career started in 2005, Street has a 2.87 ERA, 3.20 FIP, and a 1.019 WHIP in 565 innings pitched. He has a 148 career ERA+ and boasts a fantastic 3.97 strikeout to walk rate. Street averages 32 saves per 162 games played, while posting a really good 86 percent save success rate. 

Street is in the final year of his five-year, $36 million contract he signed with the Colorado Rockies. It began in the 2010 season. He does have a $15 million team option for next season, but one risk for this acquisition by the Angels is if they cannot win the World Series this year, Street could leave via free agency. This is why the Angels also got a second player in return. 

The second player the Angels received is Trevor Gott, a 21-year-old minor league right-hander. On the season, Gott is 2-4 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.326 WHIP in 39 games between High Single-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio. Gott has a fastball that can reach 96 miles per hour, with good sink that keeps balls on the ground. The Padres have used Gott as a late-inning guy. He has experience in high leverage situations. MLB.com ranks Gott as the Angels 15th best prospect. 

The Padres got a really good return for a really good reliever. First, they received second baseman Taylor Lindsey. A former first round pick, Lindsey is currently hitting a .247/.323/.400 slash line with eight homers and 30 RBI in 333 plate appearances for Triple-A Salt Lake. Lindsey's plate discipline, one of the most important attributes in determining how well a prospect will translate to the big leagues, is pretty good. On the season, the 22-year-old has a 9.3 percent walk rate and a 13.2 percent strikeout rate, both good numbers that show promise. 

Jose Rondon, a shortstop prospect the Padres received as well, has the chance to be something special. Currently, for High Single-A Inland Empire, Rondon has a fantastic .327/.362/.418 slash line with no homers and 24 runs driven in. This is Rondon's breakout year. He currently ranks 9th of Padres top prospects (MLB.com). He has really good plate discipline, some of which that is considered well beyond his years. In terms of potential, he was likely the best piece the Padres got for Street. 

R.J. Alvarez and Elliot Morris are the other two minor leaguers the Padres receive. For Double-A Arkansas, Alvarez has a 0.33 ERA and a 0.852 WHIP in 27 innings pitched. The flamethrower--Alvarez can reach 97 miles an hour on the radar gun--averages 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings and only 3.3 walks per nine. If he shows good control, he could be a back-end reliever for the Padres in the near future. Morris is 3-3 with a 4.17 ERA and a 1.434 WHIP in nine starts for High Single-A Inland Empire. 

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