After weeks of rumors, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have come out as the winners of the pursuit of Arizona Diamondbacks' pitcher Dan Haren, reports ESPN.com. The deal, which includes major leaguer Joe Saunders, 25-year-old reliever Rafael Rodriguez who made one appearance in the majors this season, and prospect Pat Corbin. The deal also includes a Player to be Named Later, which all reports have as being Tyler Skaggs, who can not be traded until August 7th, which will be the one-year mark of when he signed after being drafted.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a scouting report on Corbin, who was a second round pick by the Angels in the 2009 draft. Corbin was able to be traded due to his earlier signing date, where as Skaggs, a supplemental first-round pick in the same draft, did not sign until later.
Corbin is a well-polished lefty for a 20-year-old who came out of a junior college program, and he continually demonstrates the ability to make his average stuff play up, thanks to good fastball command. Eddy hits the nail on the head when he says Corbin has "a future as a strike-throwing, mid-rotation starter," although ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required) says that will depend on whether Corbin can put on the necessary weight to provide that kind of durability. Skaggs, on the other hand, was a tall, lanky prep lefty pick who has more natural velocity than Corbin, and has used it to be effective in the low minors, despite below-average off-speed stuff to this point. His development as he progresses will depend on the development of the rest of his arsenal.
One interesting note about this deal - Arizona already had a stockpile of picks early in the 2009 draft (7 in the 1st, 1st supplemental, and 2nd rounds combined) and have now added two more, giving them 9 of the top 80 players selected in that draft. While this may not have been the haul many expected for an established front-of-the-rotation pitcher like Haren (it would have been nice to see at least one potential all-star in return for the one they traded away), the Diamondbacks have nonetheless restocked the depth of their farm system. What they are missing in quality, they have made up for in quantity, and while that's probably not what the people of Arizona want to hear, it is still better than nothing.
Ultimately, it is surprising that this was the best offer that Arizona could find for Haren, who is a very good pitcher with a very reasonable contract and a minimum of two more years of control. Haren had one of the more team-friendly contracts among available impact players, and that alone should have returned at least one top prospect, or at least some who were closer to being major league ready - someone along the lines of Hank Conger, Mark Trumbo, or Peter Bourjos for example from the Angels system. Instead, the Diamondbacks have two pitching prospects, neither of whom is any definitive lock to be a consistent member of a starting rotation.
