I'll refrain from really passing judgement as I know fuck-all about what the Rays received from the Angels and it's possible that the Rays have more young pitching in the pipeline. We'll see.
The two minor leaguers, Alex Torres (a lefty starting pitcher) and Matt Sweeney (3B/1B) are well-regarded prospects, with Torres said to have the most upside. According the Angels' broadcast team, when the Angels are discussing a trade, the first prospect the other team always asks for is Torres.
Baseball America has Torres number 12 on their prospect Hot Sheet:
No. 12 ALEX TORRES, LHP ANGELS
Alex Torres
Team: Double-A Arkansas (Texas)
Age: 21
Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 8 SO, 3 BB, 1 HBP
The Scoop: A native of Venezuela, Torres spent nearly four full years playing in short-season ball. He entered the season with just 10 starts in the California League, but after 19 more this year he earned a promotion to Double-A, where he's teamed with Trevor Reckling to give the Travelers two top-flight lefties. Torres checks in at 5-foot-10 and his control needs refinement (he's walked nearly five batters per nine innings this season), but he still stands as the high Class A Cal League's ERA champion at 2.74. The only minor league lefties to strike out more than Torres' 149 are Matt Moore (Rays), Anthony Capra (A's), Christian Friedrich (Rockies) and Ben Hornbeck (A's).
The key to this deal might be the PTBNL. Maddon's quote from yesterday:
"We're very excited about the player that we can't name yet, but also about the other two," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "The lefty has a great arm, and Sweeney is one of the best hitters in the minors."
From this quote, many are speculating that the PTBNL is the center-piece of the deal. Keith Law says that the PTBNL in this trade is definitely more than a throw-in.
If the PTBNL ends up being Brandon Wood, I'm gonna shit. I mean, that would feel like a punch to the gut. I'd hate to see Sean Rodriguez go, too.
To me, this is a risky trade for the Angels, but I'm glad they've pulled the trigger and taken the risk. Trevor Bell and Sean O'Sullivan may be quality pitchers in a couple of years, but they were called up out of desperation and they got hammered.