Acquired LHP Fernando Abad from Minnesota Twins in exchange for RHP Pat Light. [8/1]
Cut loose by the A's following a homer-filled 2015 season, Fernando Abad signed a minor-league deal with the Twins and made the team out of spring training in a middle relief role. He was brilliant early, throwing 12 consecutive scoreless innings to begin the season and maintaining a sub-1.00 ERA into mid-June. However, he's been limited by back problems recently, and in his last dozen appearances Abad allowed eight runs with more walks (8) than strikeouts (7).
His overall ERA is still pretty at 2.65, but that comes with a mediocre 29/14 K/BB ratio in 34 innings and Abad let 11 of 29 inherited runners score. He's struggled some versus right-handed hitters, but Abad's changeup is good enough that he's capable of being useful against them. And he's shut down left-handers, holding them to a sub-.200 batting average for the second time in three years. He's not reliable enough for a high-leverage role and he's better than a strict LOOGY, leaving Abad as a decent fit in middle relief for the second half and perhaps 2017 as well if the Red Sox like what they see. —Aaron Gleeman
Acquired RHP Pat Light from Boston Red Sox in exchange for LHP Fernando Abad. [8/1]
Taken by Boston as a supplemental first-round selection in 2012, Pat Light profiled as a potential back-end starter. After some turbulence in his first few seasons in the minors, Light was eventually moved to the bullpen, where he bumped his fastball velocity up to the mid-90s and scrapped his underwhelming slider in favor of his splitter. in his new relief role, he drastically improved his strikeout rate, moving from a 4.5 K/9 rate at High-A in 2014 to 9.7 K/9 the following season at Double-A.
The other shoe metaphorically dropped for Light as his control slipped away, and he has yet to harness the high velocity he can generate out of the pen. Light is a solid relief prospect who is knocking on the door to the majors. While volatility seems particularly inherent in his profile due to his high-voltage stuff, there’s a reasonable chance that he can slide into high-leverage innings if he manages to get his feet planted in the big leagues. —Will Haines
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Monday Morning Ten Pac... (08/01)
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