The Alberto Callaspo Trade

The Trade Deadline is quickly approaching, and some teams have already started making deals.

Earlier this week Alberto Callaspo was traded to the Angels. Here is a brief run-down of the trade.

Angels get:
Alberto Callapso (2B, 3B)

Royals get:
Sean O'Sullivan (RHP)
Will Smith (LHP)

The Angels were desperately in need of an upgrade at third with the way Brandon Wood has played so far this season, and Alberto Callaspo certainly represents that. Callapso is not the most patient of hitters, having only drawn 19 walks thus far this season in 89 games. He also does not strike out much either though, striking out only 29 times over that same span. His current line is .275/.308/.410, and if he stays on that same space he will certainly represent an improvement over the .168/.185/.225 line that Brandon Wood has been putting up.
The other bonus is that the Angels will hold on to Callapso for a number of years. I could not find how much longer the 27-year-old Callaspo has before he reaches free agency for the first time, but I did find out that he won't be a free agent this off-season, or next year, representing a pretty good deal for the Angels in that he is (at minimum) locked up through the 2012 season. It will probably be hard for the Angels to make the post-season this year, although Callaspo probably slightly improves their chances. This move seems to have more impact on the next couple of seasons, in that the Angels had a big question mark at third base.

The Royals also seem to have come out pretty alright in this deal. O'Sullivan and Smith are both fairly young, and have decent upsides, although both have struggled to find any consistency this year. O'Sullivan is only 22 and has already spent some time in the major leagues, albeit with not the best results. Smith is a little further from getting a call-up, more than likely, but he projects as someone who will make it to the major leagues some day.

Overall, I think I'd put the Angels as the winners of this trade because they filled a major need they had and did not have to give up any of their biggest prospects. They did give up a couple of guys who will probably be serviceable major leaguers some day, but they received (at least) two and a half years from a proven major league player at their weakest position, who will probably hit around .280 every year with lots of doubles.

In coming years if Smith and O'Sullivan prove to have the ability to be more than solid major league pitchers, then maybe the Royals finally did some good scouting before a trade.