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The Atlanta Braves traded right-hander Ian Anderson to the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday for left-hander Jose Suarez.

Anderson, 26, was contending for a spot in the Braves’ starting rotation but has not pitched at the major league level since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2023.

He has walked 20 batters in 20 innings this spring, including two in three scoreless innings on Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles, with 10 strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA in six games (four starts).

“Before he got hurt, he was an up-and-coming, pretty good pitcher,” said Angels manager Ron Washington, who coached in Atlanta from 2017-23. “I don’t think he lost the ability to pitch. We were left-handed-heavy in our bullpen, and this gives us an opportunity to get a right-hander in there. Although Ian Anderson is a starter, I think he’ll certainly help us out of the bullpen. Just trying to get ourselves better as we move forward to Opening Day.”

Atlanta selected Anderson with the third overall pick of the 2016 MLB Draft. From 2020-22, he was 22-13 with a 3.97 ERA, 121 walks and 262 strikeouts in 272 1/3 innings over 52 regular-season starts.

He was a combined 4-0 in the postseason with a 1.26 ERA, 17 walks and 40 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings in 2020-21, including the Braves’ run to the 2021 World Series championship.

Suarez, 27, was 1-2 last season with one save, a 5.47 ERA, 27 walks and 56 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings over 22 games (three starts) as he converted from a starter to a reliever.

The native of Venezuela has spent his entire career with the Angels, making his debut in 2019 and compiling a 20-29 record with one save, a 5.47 ERA, 154 walks and 346 strikeouts in 376 2/3 innings over 99 games (61 starts).

“The Braves are getting a bulldog. We’re going to miss Suarez,” Washington said. “I’m not taking anything from Suarez, saying that ‘he was no good for us, that’s why we traded him.’ We do what we do to make us better, and he just happened to be the guy that we made a trade for him. Atlanta probably needed him, and we felt like we needed Ian Anderson.”

–Field Level Media