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″.

The Angels have acquired 29-year old righty starting pitcher Dan Haren from the D-Backs for 29-year old lefty startiner pitcher Joe Saunders, 21-year old lefty starter Patrick Corbin, 25-year old righty reliever Rafael Rodriguez and a player to be named later. Haren gives the Angels another quality workhorse for the top of the rotation. He has pitched in 21 games (all starts) for the D-Backs this year and he is 7-8 with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He’s much better than he has pitched this season which is evidenced in his career stats. Haren has pitched in 217 games (208 starts) in his 8 years in the majors and he is 86-70 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Joe Saunders has been a solid pitcher for the Angels but he has not been to good this year. He has started 20 games for the Angels this year and he is 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. In his six years with the Angels, Saunders has pitched in 115 games (all starts) in which he was 54-32 with a 4.29 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Patrick Corbin was the Angels’ #12 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 20 games (all starts) in A-ball this year for the Angels and he is 13-3 with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Corbin has now pitched in 33 games (32 starts) in his two years in the minors for the Angels and he was 17-5 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Rafael Rodriguez started this season as the Angels’ #22 prospect according to Baseball America. Rodriguez pitched in 37 games in AAA-ball for the Angels this year and he was 5-3 with 10 saves, a 3.04 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He also pitched in 1 game in relief for the Angels this year and he was 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Rodriguez pitched in 19 games (0 starts) in his two years for the Angels and he was 0-1 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. The player to be named later is expected to be one of the Angels’ top prospects. The Angels certainly paid a big price for Dan Haren but he’s a clear upgrade on Saunders and the Rangers are a pretty damn good baseball team so this was a deal the Angels had to make.

UPDATE: (7/26/2010) - The Angels will reportedly will send 19-year old lefty starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs to the D-Backs to complete this deal as the player to be named later. Skaggs was the Angels’ #8 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Skaggs pitched in 24 games (16 starts) in his two years in Rookie+A-ball for the Angels and he was 8-4 with a 3.41 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

The Angels have acquired 27-year old switch hitting 3B Alberto Callaspo from the Royals for 22-year old righty starting pitcher Sean O’Sullivan and 21-year old lefty starting pitcher Will Smith. Callaspo played in 88 games for the Royals this season and he was 96 of 349 (.275 avg, .718 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 8 homers, 43 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 396 games in his five years in the majors and he is 375 of 1,324 (.283 avg, .738 OPS) with 152 runs scored, 19 homers, 145 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Callaspo will without a doubt be the starting 3B for the Angels because they paid a hefty price for him. This move will allow Maicer Izturis to play all over the field which is a role he’s pretty good at. Sean O’Sullivan pitched in 5 games (1 start) for the Angels this year and he was 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He pitched in 17 games (11 starts) in his two years with the Angels and he was 5-2 with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Will Smith came into this season as the Angels #15 prospect according to Baseball America. Smith has pitched in 19 games (all starts) in A+AA+AAA-ball this year and he was 5-8 with a 5.53 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Smith pitched in 55 games (52 starts) in three years in the minors for the Angels and he was 23-15 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The price was kind of high to land Callaspo but he will fill the Black Hole that has been 3B for the Angels this year.

The Angels have designated 29-year old lefty swinging 1B Paul McAnulty for assignment. McAnulty played in 9 games for the Angels this year and he was 3 of 22 (.136 avg) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. The Angels have activated 29-year old switch hitting infielder Maicer Izturis off the D.L. to replace McAnulty on the roster. Izturis has played in 30 games for the Angels this year and he is 24 of 105 (.233 avg, .691 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers, 15 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Izturis will likely get a lot of P.T. at 3B right away for the Angels.

The Angels have placed 2B/SS/3B Maicer Izturis on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left forearm and they have designated 32-year old lefty swinging outfielder Michael Ryan for assignment. Izturis’ injury really hurts the Angels as he was going to be the starting SS for a while due to Erick Aybar’s recent injury. Izturis has played in 30 games for the Angels this season and he is 24 of 103 (.233 avg, .691 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers, 15 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Angels have activated Brandon Wood from the D.L. and he started at SS last night for the Angels. They need him to live up to his “ability” this time around or they need to get rid of him. Wood has played in 41 games this season for the Angels and he is 20 of 128 (.156 avg, .379 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Wood has whiffed an amazing 37 times this season while only walking 2 times. Michael Ryan played in 22 games for the Angels this season and he was 8 of 39 (.205 avg, .527 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Ryan is a victim of all of the injuries the Angels have suffered in the infield as the Angels called up 1B/3B Rob Quinlan to replace him on the roster. Quinlan has played in 17 games this season for the Angels and he is 4 of 31 (.129 avg, .375 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Quinlan is a much better hitter than he has shown this season and the Angels need him to step up.