After losing three infielders to injury within the last 10 days, the Los Angeles Angels have acquired veteran Eduardo Escobar from the New York Mets for minor-league right-handers Coleman Crow and Landon Marceaux, the team announced Friday. Escobar was traded in the middle of New York's game against the Philadelphia Phillies, but was not in the starting lineup.
Escobar, 34, is hitting .236/.286/.409 with four home runs this season, including .283/.339/.517 against lefties. The switch-hitter lost his third base job to top prospect Brett Baty earlier this season and has been a part-time player the last few weeks. The trade clears a roster spot for young Mark Vientos to come back to the big leagues, should they decide to go that way.
The Angels lost Zach Neto (strained oblique), Anthony Rendon (wrist contusion), and Gio Urshela (broken pelvis) to the injured list within the last 10 days. Urshela is likely done for the season. Escobar gives the Halos another capable body for third base, where Luis Rengifo has filled in the last few days. The light-hitting Andrew Velazquez has taken over Neto at short.
Baseball America ranked Crow and Marceaux the No. 17 and No. 20 prospects in the Angels' system, respectively, in their most recent update. Crow, 22, was an 28th round pick in 2019. He has a 1.88 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 24 Double-A innings this season. The 23-year-old Marceaux was a third round pick in 2021. He has a 4.88 ERA in 59 Double-A innings.
Escobar is owed the remainder of his $9.5 million salary this season and the Mets are covering all of it minus the prorated portion of the $720,000 league minimum, Mets GM Billy Eppler told MLB.com. Escobar's contract includes a $9 million club option with a $500,000 buyout for 2024.
"Steve (Cohen) makes stuff like this happen because he's willing to spend the money," Eppler told MLB.com, referring to the Mets eating the rest of Escobar's salary in exchange for better prospects.
The Angels entered play Friday with a 41-35 record and a half-game behind the third and final American League wild-card spot. The underperforming Mets are 34-40 and seven games out of a wild-card spot.
