The first deal of baseball's virtual winter meetings is in the books, as the Los Angeles Angels acquired closer Raisel Iglesias from the Cincinnati Reds for reliever Noe Ramirez and a player to be named later or cash considerations.
ESPN baseball reporters Alden Gonzalez and David Schoenfield weigh in on the deal and discuss what's next for the Angels and Reds.
What grade do you give the Reds for this deal?
C. The Reds do pick up three years of team control with Ramirez versus just one for Iglesias, and Ramirez has proven to be a solid workhorse as far as relievers go, but he's a reliever with a sub-90 mph fastball who has had home run issues in the past (24 in 151 innings over 2018-19). That could be a big problem as he moves from a pitcher-friendly park in Anaheim to a home-run park in Cincinnati. -- David Schoenfield
I'll go C+ because of this factor: By trading Iglesias and non-tendering Archie Bradley, the Reds have saved somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 million in 2021 salary commitments by parting with two relievers who were a year away from free agency. If they reinvest those savings in more long-term solutions, that's a good thing. If they simply made those moves in order to trim payroll -- which seems to be the case for most middle-America teams -- then certainly not. -- Alden Gonzalez
What grade do you give the Angels?
I'll give them a B. They filled their need at closer, but only for 2021. Iglesias will make $9.125 million in the final season of the three-year, $24.125 million contract he signed to price out his three arbitration years, then venture into free agency. But he's coming off arguably his best year, which included a career-high 6.20 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a career-low 0.91 WHIP. Iglesias did a better job of generating ground balls in 2020, and a Reds source noted that he was more effective attacking the zone and generating swings-and-misses with his slider. -- Gonzalez
B. The reverse applies here for Iglesias as he gets to move to the better pitcher's park after serving up 24 home runs in 139 innings over 2018-19 (although as Alden pointed out, he had a huge improvement in his ground-ball rate in 2020, from 30% to 41%). The only thing to question here is why the Angels gave up something of some value for a reliever when there are so many available in free agency, including some good closers in Liam Hendriks, Brad Hand and Alex Colome. If the Angels believe Iglesias has more upside then those guys -- a reasonable assessment -- then go ahead and make the trade. -- Schoenfield
What do you think the Reds will do next?
The early returns point to the Reds trimming payroll -- they non-tendered Archie Bradley and now have traded Iglesias -- and the Sonny Gray trade rumors are out there. Gray is making $10.8 million the next two seasons, which makes him an affordable trade option for just about any team. Given the lack of starting pitching in free agency, there would be interest. Sadly, the Reds were probably hurt by the COVID season more than any organization. They had spent big in free agency for the first time in forever (spending more in one offseason than they had the entire previous decade) and while they snuck into the playoffs, it ended with two shutout losses to the Braves. The offense is not good, and now the pitching staff is down two good relievers, will be without Trevor Bauer and possibly will be without Gray. It may be a rough 2021 in Cincinnati. -- Schoenfield
Reds general manager Nick Krall told local reporters multiple times that trading Iglesias stemmed from a desire to "reallocate resources." If that's the case, then the Reds should look to address their pitching depth and add a premier shortstop. We'll see if it was just corporate jargon. -- Gonzalez
What do you think the Angels will do next?
The Angels, under new general manager Perry Minasian, addressed two of their biggest needs in less than a week, acquiring Raisel Iglesias five days after plucking slick-fielding shortstop Jose Iglesias from the Baltimore Orioles. They sacrificed very little for both and are only tied to each player for one season, which frees L.A. up to address the starting rotation. The Angels need starting pitching. Lots of it. You've probably heard that before. Trevor Bauer is the big prize in free agency, but the trade market is ripe with options. They'll explore anything and everything. -- Gonzalez
Yes, it's all about filling out the rotation. I'm still skeptical Bauer will want to sign with an organization that hasn't finished over .500 since 2015, but if there's one thing we know about Arte Moreno, it's that he's not afraid to spend in free agency. Maybe bringing in two starters from the second-tier market -- Jake Odorizzi, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, Masahiro Tanaka -- is the way to go in lieu of signing Bauer. -- Schoenfield