Twins Acquire Jacob Pearson As Angels Add Money For Ohtani

In an attempt to add to their bid for touted Japanese righthander and slugger Shohei Ohtani, the Angels dealt one of their top picks in this year’s draft for a $1 million in international bonus pool space from the Twins on Wednesday night.

With the deal, the Angels now have $2.315 million they can offer Ohtani as a signing bonus, according to the Orange County Register.

The Twins had hoped to be involved in the Ohtani bidding, but once they were shut out, they turned around and used their international bonus money to trade for prospects. In addition to Pearson, they also acquired catching prospect David Banuelos from the Mariners in exchange for $1 million on Wednesday night. 

Twins acquire:
Jacob Pearson, OF (Rookie-level Arizona League)
Age: 19

The Angels’ third-round pick this year, Pearson was considered the top draft prospect in the Louisiana high school ranks. He got off to an awful start in pro ball, but started to make adjustments and put together better at-bats in the second half of the season. Pearson is unlikely to stick in center field long-term as he’s projected to slow down, but he has an advanced approach at the plate that gives him a shot to post solid on-base percentages. He didn’t hit a home run in his pro debut, but there’s some modest power potential, as he started lofting the ball better during his senior season of high school.