Angels acquire former Gold Glover in trade with NL contender

The Los Angeles Angels are keeping busy as they await Shohei Ohtani’s final decision.

Jeff Passan of ESPN reported Friday that the Angels are acquiring veteran first baseman Evan White in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. Lefty minor league arm Tyler Thomas is also going to the Angels while infielder David Fletcher and catcher Max Stassi head back to Atlanta.

White, 27, is the bigger get here for the Angels. He was a Gold Glove Award winner as a rookie with the Seattle Mariners in 2020 but has struggled with injuries and poor hitting in recent years. Thomas, also 27, has yet to make his MLB debut but has significant experience in the minors and posted a 2.86 ERA over 24 total relief appearances last season.

Meanwhile, Fletcher, 29, had fallen out of favor in Anaheim with young phenom Zach Neto and former Silver Slugger Award winner Brandon Drury commanding sizable roles in the middle infield. Stassi, 32, is a dependable defensive catcher but missed all of last year tending to a family matter and likely would have been blocked out of a regular role by exciting 23-year-old Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe.

On the Braves’ end of things, they are unlikely to keep Stassi around since they already have the tandem of Sean Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud at the catcher spot. But in any case, they are really working the phones lately, having recently completed a trade with another AL West team too.