Thursday, July 26, the Houston Astros picked up some backstop insurance, dealing low minors LHP Patrick Sandoval to the Los Angeles Angels for 31-year-old veteran catcher Martin Maldonado. The Astros also sent $250,000 worth of international bonus pool money to the Angels.

Houston’s front line catcher, Brian McCann, is still working his way back from knee surgery, and while Max Stassi has performed admirably in his absence (with Tim Federowicz as backup), Maldonado’s addition gives the team some stability behind the plate. Federowicz was designated for assignment after the trade was announced.

Sandoval, 21, was not a ranking prospect for Houston but has instantly slotted in at #21 on the Angels’ Top 30 top prospects list (per MLB Pipeline), proving not only Houston’s depth but Anaheim’s lack of prospect depth.

Related: Maldonado May Be Astros’ Playoff X-Factor in ALDS vs. Cleveland

Return to The OC

Sandoval can thank the Astros for returning him to his old neighborhood. He attended Mission Viejo High School, a 20-mile shoot up the I-5 to Angel Stadium in Orange County.

Sandoval, 6’3″ and 190 lbs, excelled for the Diablos, leading them to a CIF Southern Section championship one year. He was an 11th-round pick of the Astros in 2015 and was signed for $900,000, about nine times the normal bonus for that round, as Houston lured him out of his verbal commitment to USC.

Sandoval began 2018 with Houston’s full season Class A Quad Cities in the Midwest League, going 7-1 with a 2.49 ERA. He was promoted to the Advanced-A Buies Creek Astros in the Carolina League in late June, and has logged a 2-0 record with a 2.74 ERA since then.

He has 97 strikeouts and 15 walks in 88 innings between his two stops this season. He’s been assigned to Anaheim’s A+ Inland Empire 66ers in the California League. The 66ers play their games in San Bernardino, 56 miles from his old stomping grounds.

Angels GM Billy Eppler told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin that Sandoval “touches 94 mph with a solid average curveball and slider. Looks like the changeup is a real weapon. Local kid. Chance to move quick. We’ll see where it all ends.”

Machete

“A little bit surprised, but at the same time I know I was going to be a free agent and we haven’t played the way we want to play,” Maldonado revealed to the Daily Bulletin after packing his bags in the Angels’ clubhouse. “It’s a business. They have to do what is best for the team.”

Martin (pronounced mar-TEEN) Maldonado will be known in Houston’s clubhouse as “Machete,” his nickname. He’s also been known to answer to the name “Cascajo,” meaning “gravel.” He was born in 1986 in Naguabo, Puerto Rico, providing a new countryman teammate to Astros shortstop Carlos Correa.

Maldonado won a Gold Glove in 2017, his first season with the Angels, after a late 2016 trade with Milwaukee (with whom he spent five years as a backup) brought him west.

The 6-foot, 230-pounder was hitting .223 with five homers and a .616 OPS this year. He (and McCann, for that matter) is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. Maldonado told reporters “the doors are open” to re-signing with the Angels over the winter. Houston holds a team option for McCann for the 2019 season.

The Los Angeles Times profiles “Machete” as a player who is “routinely lauded for his extensive preparation and ability to communicate with pitchers.”

Maldonado was second in baseball in innings caught before the trade, trailing only Willson Contreras of the Chicago Cubs, according to the Times. But he had permitted just 15 stolen bases (compared to 35 for Contreras) while throwing out 12. Among starting catchers, only Kansas City’s Salvador Perez has a better caught-stealing percentage this season than Maldonado does.

The Astros currently rank 22nd in the majors in caught-stealing percentage at 24.6 percent, but last season they ranked 30th at 12.1 percent. Opponents did little to exploit that weakness in the playoffs, attempting just six steals while succeeding on three.

“There’s no doubt that Martin had the respect of everybody, not only on the coaching staff but the players,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told the Times. “He contributed greatly to where we need to be on the defensive side.”