Angels acquire left-hander Dillon Peters, designate right-hander Alex Meyer for assignment
The Angels on Wednesday acquired left-handed pitcher Dillon Peters from the Miami Marlins in exchange for minor league pitcher Tyler Stevens.
Right-hander Alex Meyer, who was once one of the Angels’ brightest pitching prospects but hasn’t pitched since undergoing shoulder surgery at the end of the 2017 season, was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Peters on the team’s 40-man roster.
Peters, 26, was selected by the Marlins in the 10th round of the 2014 draft out of the University of Texas. He has a 3.37 ERA in 67 minor-league starts.
Peters battled command issues upon making the Marlins’ opening day roster last season and spent the year shuttling between triple-A and the big league club. He had a combined 5.94 earned-run average over 26 games (24 starts) in 2018 and did not earn a September call-up. He has 285 strikeouts and has issued 79 walks in the minors.
Peters typically pitches up in the strike zone, but adhering to that formula didn’t help him much last year. The amount of line drives he induced jumped to nearly 23 percent in triple-A in 2018 from about 14 percent in the minor leagues in 2017, according to Fangraphs.
Peters is listed at a height of 5 feet 9, which a scout said might limit his ability to consistently deceive batters.
Still, Peters could come into a role with the Angels as a long reliever or spot starter. He throws a fastball that tops out at 94 mph and a curveball that last year had a high spin rate of 2,860 revolutions per minute, according to MLB’s Statcast system.
Peters had elbow ligament repair surgery before being drafted in 2014 and missed playing time with a fractured left thumb in 2017. He was ranked by Baseball America as the Marlins’ 11th-best prospect after the 2017 season.
The Angels’ wish list for the offseason is mostly binary. They need starting pitching to supplement a rotation that has been decimated by injuries for consecutive seasons and they need a catcher who can provide not only sterling defense but also offensive production. General manager Billy Eppler’s recent moves — waiver claims from the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds netted catcher Kevan Smith and right-handed pitcher Austin Brice, both major league-ready players — have helped to plug those holes.
But those transactions, including Wednesday’s acquisition, should not stop the Angels from pursuing options in the free-agent market or via other trades.
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