The Angels have a new infielder.
Gio Urshela, who has played third base and shortstop, was traded to Anaheim from the Minnesota Twins on Friday in exchange for minor league pitcher Alejandro Hidalgo.
The Angels designated pitcher Jhonathan Diaz for assignment to make room for Urshela on the 40-man roster.
In acquiring Urshela, the Angels address a big problem they had through much of this past season: having another player on the left side of the infield who could provide offense.
Last season with the Twins, Urshela had career highs in hits (143) and walks (41) while playing 144 games, the most he’s played in a season. Urshela finished with a .285 average and a .767 on-base-plus-slugging rate. He had a particularly good second half of the season, batting .317, which ranked 11th in the American League.
Urshela, 31, played one season with the Twins after three seasons with the New York Yankees. He has also played for Cleveland and Toronto.
