Angels acquire reliever from Giants

2:10 p.m.: The Angels announced that they have acquired Baumann from the Giants for cash considerations.

2:00 p.m.: The Angels are acquiring right-hander Mike Baumann from the Giants, reports Robert Murray of FanSided on X. The righty was designated for assignment by the Giants a few days ago. It’s unclear what that club is receiving in return. The Angels have open 40-man spots and won’t need to make a corresponding move.

Baumann, 28, spent his entire professional career with the Orioles before 2024 but has spent the year bouncing around the league. He exhausted his final option year in 2023 and has therefore found himself on the transaction logs many times. He was designated for assignment by the O’s in May and has since gone to the Mariners, Giants and now Angels in small trades after DFAs.

Pitching for three different clubs this year, he has a 4.84 earned run average in 35 1/3 innings. His 20.8 percent strikeout rate, 10.7 percent walk rate and 40.2 percent ground-ball rate are each a bit worse than the league average.

But he seemed to be a solid bullpen piece as recently as last year. He tossed 64 2/3 innings for Baltimore with a 3.76 ERA, 22.3 percent strikeout rate and 42 percent ground-ball rate, though the 12.1 percent walk rate was on the high side.

The Angels traded away Carlos Estevez recently and could make further subtractions from their pitching staff. Tyler Anderson and Griffin Canning are each controlled through 2025 and could be moved on Tuesday. 

Players like Matt Moore and Hunter Strickland are impending free agents. Bauman will finish this year with over two years of service time, meaning he could be retained for four further seasons if he continues to hang onto a roster spot.