The Angels completed their trade for outfielder Justin Upton on Friday, sending right-handed pitching prospect Elvin Rodriguez to the Tigers. The Tigers also received right-hander Grayson Long in the deal.
Rodriguez, 19, was ranked No. 22 in the Angels’ system by MLB Pipeline. He spent the bulk of his 2017 season in rookie-level Orem, where he went 5-1 in 11 starts and commanded a 2.50 ERA, 1.8 BB/9 and 8.2 SO/9 through 54 innings. While his big league debut is still several seasons away, his continued consistency merited a jump to Single-A Burlington in August, where he issued nine runs, three walks and struck out 12 of 63 batters in his first 14 innings.
According to MLB.com’s Jason Beck, the Tigers are still waiting to complete two trades from the last several months. They’re due cash or a player to be named later from the Cubs after dealing Justin Wilson and Alex Avila, and will need to supplement the Astros’ acquisition of Justin Verlander with cash or a PBTNL as well.