The Los Angeles Angels traded Jayvien Sandridge to the Yankees, and once again the return for the reliever is cash.
The Los Angeles Angels have traded left-hander Jayvien Sandridge to the Baltimore Orioles for cash, as per an announcement from both teams based on a report from Nick Deeds of MLBTradeRumors.com. The Angels designated Sandridge for assignment just before Opening Day, and the Orioles already had an open space on the roster so no subsequent move was required.
Sandridge has actually become baseball’s version of a cash-back player, as the Angels got him for cash from the New York Yankees back in January. He’s been with the Orioles as well, having been a 32nd-round pick back in 2018, after which he spent parts of the next two seasons in the Orioles organization.
He was released from the minors in 2020 as the season was cancelled during the pandemic, and Sandridge did a brief stint in college baseball before signing with the Cincinnati Reds. He spent a lot of time climbing the ladder with the Reds, Yankees and San Diego Padres, until he finally made his MLB debut last season with the Yanks.
It didn’t go well, as he recorded just two outs while surrendering two runs, and his work at Triple-A with the Yankees last season wasn’t all that impressive, either. He posed a 4.55 ERA despite having a 33.1 percent strikeout rate, according to Deeds, and those numbers caught the attention of the Angels, who were shuttling relievers in and out at a steady rate during the offseason.
But Sandridge was just as bad during spring training with the Halos as he gave up five runs in just two innings of work. Now he’s back Baltimore as a depth piece, probably because the Orioles are short on left-handed relievers at the moment. Their two lefties right now are Dietrich Enns and Grant Wolfram, with Keegan Akin on the shelf, with means Sandridge is now the only lefty on Baltimore’s 40-man roster.
He could get a look at the big-league level if he can improve his control after posting a 12 percent walk rate in Triple-A last year. Baltimore’s only other lefty reliever with big league experience is Josh Walker, but he’s on a non-roster deal, which means a roster move would have to be made to add him. Sandridge’s only other threat is left-handed starter Cade Povich if the Orioles decide they want to try Povich in relief.
As for the Angels, they’re still sorting out their bullpen after giving up 20 runs in the last two games of their opening series against the Houston Astros. Reliever Walbert Urena was sent back to the minors after a disastrous inning against Houston on Saturday, and more moves are undoubtedly coming.