25-year old righty swinging 3B/SS Brandon Wood came to the majors with a ton of hype as he crushed a lot of homers in his minor league career. But it has not converted into any success at the major league level. Wood has played in 63 games for the Angels this year and he is 30 of 182 (.165 avg, .410 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 12 RBIs. He swings at everything as he has an utter lack of discipline at the plate as he has only walked 4 times this year while whiffing 54 times. Wood has now played in 149 games in parts of 4 seasons with the Angels and he is 73 of 406 (.180 avg, .479 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 10 homers, 31 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has walked 11 times now and whiffed 128 in his major league career to date. The Angels wouldn’t likely get much for Wood in a trade so the choice is really to keep him or cut him. It will be interesting to see what the Angels decide to do with him.

The Angels have dealt 34-year old lefty reliever Brian Fuentes to the Twins for a player to be named later. Fuentes pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Angels this year and he was 4-1 with 23 saves, a 3.52 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He pitched in 104 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Angels and he was 5-6 with 71 saves, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. The Angels will replace Fuentes at closer with 33-year old righty Fernando Rodney. Rodney has pitched in 55 games (0 starts) for the Angels this year and he is 4-1 with 6 saves, a 3.83 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Rodney is more than qualified to close for the Angels and I think he will do a good job for them.

UPDATE: (9/1/2010) - The Angels have acquired 25-year old righty reliever Loek Van Mil to complete this deal. Van Mil pitched in 26 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball this year and he was 1-3 with a 6.15 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. He has had some issues with control as he has walked 22 batters in only 33 2/3 innings. Part of the reason for his control problems could be because of the fact that he is 7′1″.

34-year old righty reliever Scot Shields has not looked good at all this season for the Angels. He has pitched in 40 games (1 start) for the Angels this year and he is 0-3 with a 5.48 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. He has given up 44 hits in 42 2/3 innings which isn’t too bad but he has also walked 36 batters and that has been a big problem. Shields came into this season having pitched in 448 games (14 starts) in 9 years with the Angels and he was 46-41 with 21 saves, a 3.03 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. The Angels were talking about cutting Shields but they will give him the rest of the year for him to prove that he has something left.

27-year old switch hitting 3B Alberto Callaspo and 29-year old righty starting pitcher Dan Haren have been o.k. so far for the Angels. Callaspo has played in 20 games for the Angels and he is 22 of 72 (.306 avg, .671 OPS) with 8 runs scored and 5 RBIs. The Angels expect him to hit for more power but it’s hard to be upset with a .300+ hitter. Dan Haren hasn’t had any luck for the Angels. He has started 5 games for the Angels and he is 1-3 with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Haren is pounding the strike zone so far for the Angels as he has 24 whiffs and only 4 walks in 34 innings. If he keeps pitching as well as he is now the wins will have to start coming soon for Haren.

31-year old righty swinging outfielder Juan Rivera lost his starting job when the Angels called up 23-year old top prospect Peter Bourjos. But, Bourjos has been overmatched in his first taste of the majors so far. He has played in 11 games for the Angels and he is 5 of 37 (.135 avg, .409 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. If Bourjos continues to struggle I have little doubt that the Angels will turn back to Rivera. Rivera has played in 96 games this year for the Angels and he is 86 of 334 (.257 avg, .729 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 12 homers, 43 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.