The Los Angeles Angels have acquired their second Iglesias in a week. Five days after acquiring shortstop Jose Iglesias from the Baltimore Orioles on December 2, the Angels acquired closer Raisel Iglesias from the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Noe Ramirez and a player to be announced according to Madeline Fening of WCPO Cincinnati.
Jose Iglesias and Raisel Iglesias are not related. Remarkably, they are both 30-year-old natives of Cuba, who were born one day apart. Raisel Iglesias was born in Isla de la Juventud, Cuba, on January 4, 1990. Jose Iglesias was born in Havana, Cuba, on January 5, 1990.
Raisel Iglesias has spent the last six seasons with the Reds. In 2020, he had a record of four wins, three losses, and eight saves, with an earned run average of 2.74. In 22 games and 23 innings pitched, Iglesias gave up 16 hits, seven earned runs, and five walks, along with 31 strikeouts, two holds, and a marvelous WHIP of 0.91. This was the first time in Iglesias’s career that he had a WHIP under one.
There is no doubt that Iglesias is used to finishing games. During the 2019 Major League Baseball regular season, he led the National League with 55 games finished. In 274 career games with the Reds, Iglesias has finished 202 of them.
Ramirez, a native of Los Angeles, CA, will be joining his third Major League Baseball team. In addition to the Angels, Ramirez has played for the Boston Red Sox. Like Iglesias, Ramirez is switching leagues for the first time. It will be interesting to see if the pitchers will need to adjust much by pitching in a new league.
In 21 games this past season, Ramirez had a record of one win, zero losses, and an earned run average of 3.00 with the Angels. In 21 innings pitched, he gave up 15 hits, seven earned runs, nine walks, and had 14 strikeouts, one hold, and a WHIP of 1.14.
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