The Angels have been concerned with who their third baseman of the future will be. With Kaleb Cowart quickly becoming an epic bust and David Freese a year away from free agency, they decided to address that concern. A deal has been struck where the Angels acquire Kyle Kubitza from the Atlanta Braves, along with Nate Hyatt in exchange for Ricardo Sanchez.
Trade is announced. #Angels are sending Ricardo Sanchez to Atlanta, also getting RHP Nate Hyatt.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) January 8, 2015
This is a big deal, despite it being a swap of prospects. Ricardo Sanchez is a very intriguing pitching prospect, was originally slated as the Angels #4 prospect according to MWAH’s rankings. He has impressive stuff and the potential to be a frontline starter. However, he is 17 years old, so he is light years away from the majors, which doesn’t much help a club hoping to win a World Series in the next three years.
Kubitza, however, is much closer to the majors, possibly even contributing this year. Baseball Prospectus ranked him Atlanta’s #8 prospect while Baseball America had him at #10. He profiles as a quality defender at third who draws a TON of walks. He’s got a little bit of pop, but also a bit of a strikeout problem. He’s basically a third base version of Chris Iannetta. He also hits left-handed, so he could end up being a platoon type of player, if not the outright starter at third in 2016.
As for Hyatt, he is a relief prospect with good strikeout numbers, but issues with walks. He could be a factor in the Angels bullpen in 2016.
This is clearly a win now (or close to now) deal for Dipoto, which certainly has to be somewhat of a symptom of his contract status, but it could be one that makes the Halos look real dumb seven years from now if Sanchez reaches his potential.
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