Hunter Renfroe Traded To Angels For Three Pitching Prospects

Image credit: Hunter Renfroe (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

The Angels continued their busy start to the offseason on Tuesday night as they acquired veteran slugger Hunter Renfroe for a trio of pitching prospects in righthanders Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero and lefthander Adam Seminaris. Milwaukee is looking to move money off the books as it faces decisions on rotation stalwarts Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes in the coming years. With a strong crop of outfielders in the upper minors for the Brewers, Renfroe became expendable entering the final year of his contract.

ANGELS RECEIVE

Hunter Renfroe, OF
Age: 30

Now on his fifth team in the last five seasons, Renfroe has come to wear the journeyman label. Over that time Renfroe has been a highly productive player, and he’s tied for the ninth-most home runs in MLB since 2018 with 129. He has 25 or more home runs in each full season since 2017, and has seen his strikeout rate shrink over that time. While Renfroe is a fringy defender in right field, his plus throwing arm affords him some leeway. Renfroe fits into the classic power-hitting corner outfield profile, hitting for pop at the plate while providing fringe defense in a corner with a plus throwing arm. He’ll join an Angels lineup that features two of the top hitters in the game in Mike Trout and Shoehei Ohtani. The trio will form a powerful middle of the order for the Angels in 2023. With one year remaining on Renfroe’s contract and a deep crop of near major league-ready outfielders, Milwaukee viewed the outfielder as expendable heading into the 2023 season.

BREWERS RECEIVE

Janson Junk, RHP
Age: 26

Acquired by the Angels from the Yankees in the Andrew Heaney trade, Junk spent a majority of his 2022 with the Angels Triple-A Salt Lake club, and he also made three appearances over the course of 2022 with the major league club. Junk uses four pitches but relies primarily on his four-seam fastball and slider, Junk’s most used pitch. A low-80s sweeper, Junk’s slider sees nearly 50% of his pitch usage and has driven results at every level. His low-90s fastball has ride and cut but has struggled to perform at the same rate as his slider. He will blend in a high-70s curveball as well as a mid-to-high-80s changeup. It’s a tweener profile that can provide both starter and bullpen depth for the Brewers.

Elvis Peguero, RHP
Age: 25

Acquired alongside Junk from the Yankees in the Andrew Heaney trade, Peguero was shipped alongside Junk for a second time. Peguero has seen major league time with the Angels over the past two seasons, splitting his 2022 between Triple-A Salt Lake and the major leagues. Peguero struggled over his 17 major league innings in 2022, but possesses real major league-quality bullpen stuff. He works exclusively off of two pitches, leaning heavily on his low-90s slider as his primary offering and pairing it with a high-90s four-seam fastball he uses around 40% of the time. Peguero struggled with command in the major leagues, allowing a high rate of home runs during his time with the Angels in 2022. At just 25 years old Peguero still has time to develop into a major league-quality relief option long term.

Adam Seminaris, LHP
Age: 24

A fifth-round pick out of Long Beach State back in 2020, Seminaris has been a steady performer over his two seasons as a professional. He reached Triple-A by season’s end in 2022, making 24 appearances across three levels, producing a 3.54 ERA while striking out 97 over 101.2 innings. Seminaris uses four pitches with two fastball variations. His two-seam fastball sees a majority of Seminaris’ usage, sitting 88-90 mph. He mixes in a trio of secondaries in a low-80s changeup, mid-80s slider and high-70s curveball. Seminaris showcases advanced sequencing as he throws the kitchen sink at batters with five different pitch shapes. He’s likely a depth starter long term, but one with advanced pitchability.