Stop us if you’ve heard this before — the Angels and Braves made a trade. What prompted the Angels and Braves making yet another deal was the Angels acquiring Chuckie Robinson from the White Sox, and adding him to their 40-man roster. That put the Angels’ 40-man at 41 players, so they opted to designate Davis Daniel for assignment. The Braves wanted Daniel, and so much so that they sent the Angels an actual prospect instead of cash or just trying to claim Daniel straight up. LHP Mitch Farris will be added to the Angels’ pipeline.
The #Angels have acquired minor league LHP Mitch Farris from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for RHP Davis Daniel.
— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) December 20, 2024
DFAing Daniel comes as a surprise. It’s always slightly perplexing when a team DFAs a pitcher to make room for a position player, for one. Additionally, Daniel was serviceable for the Angels last year. He might not have the best traditional stats, but he could eat innings, hit spots (his Location+ was the top mark amongst Angels’ pitchers last season), and compete at a high level. He was also still on the mend from a shoulder injury in early 2023. The 27-year-old had an option remaining, and was going to be another year removed from that injury next season. Daniel was born and raised in Atlanta, so he should be pumped that he is now playing for his hometown team.
The Angels clearly value Chuckie Robinson’s intangibles off-the-field and how he navigates certain areas on-the-field like pitch-calling, framing, managing the pitching staff. He should mesh well with Sal Fasano, Travis d’Arnaud, Jerry Narron, Ron Washington, and the rest of the catchers and coaching staff during Spring Training. The Angels preferred locking up a third catcher over retaining Daniel, who was a legitimate long relief option for the big league squad coming out of Spring Training. So where does the bullpen stand as of right now?
CL: Joyce
SU/MR: Burke, Zeferjahn, Quijada, Crouse
Swing: Silseth, Bachman
Long: Suarez
There are obviously a litany of free agent relievers still available and plenty of time for Perry Minasian to make trades (probably with Atlanta) to acquire more help out of the bullpen, but that is about where the unit stands as of now. The wild card is Garrett McDaniels, who would be offered back to the Dodgers if he does not stay on the active roster. He could swap McDaniels in for Crouse, Silseth, or Bachman, who all have MiLB options remaining. McDaniels has no big league experience, but it’s not like Bachman has all that much. The Angels might want to retain the asset of McDaniels and have Bachman prove to them he is worthy of a roster spot next season.
