Angels acquire pitching prospects from Rangers, Mets
Halos pick up right-handers in exchange for international slot money
ANAHEIM -- The Angels used their international slot money to acquire a couple of right-handed-pitching prospects Thursday, the first day of the 2015-16 international signing period.
The Angels sent $879,500 in pool money (the value of the Nos. 30 and 60 slots) to the Rangers for Jason Hoppe and $239,400 (the No. 90 slot) to the Mets for Gaither Bumgardner, according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.
By adding Cuban shortstop Roberto Baldoquin with an $8 million signing bonus last offseason, the Angels forfeited the right to spend more than $300,000 on any prospect in the next two international signing periods. The Angels entered the international signing period with a bonus pool of $1,968,600, the lowest in baseball by virtue of their Major League-leading 98 wins last season.
Hoppe, 23, was drafted in the 27th round out of Minnesota State University in 2014. Through parts of two seasons at the Rangers' Class A Short Season affiliate, Hoppe has posted a 4.97 ERA, a 1.39 WHIP and a 3.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 38 innings.
Bumgardner, 24, was a 23rd-round pick in 2013 out of the University of South Carolina. In three seasons in the lower levels of the Mets' system, he posted a 3.84 ERA, a 1.39 WHIP and a 1.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 65 2/3 innings, all in relief.