Angels trade for Shane Victorino

The Angels have traded for Red Sox Shane Victorino, taking him off the market. The Pirates were connected to Victorino yesterday, but for the Bucs, trading for Victorino wouldn't have been particularly inspiring even as an attempt to bolster the bench. Fittingly, the Angels aren't giving up much, just Josh Rutledge (a 26-year-old infielder who hasn't played for them this year), and the Red Sox are paying all but $1.1 million of Victorino's remaining salary. If the Pirates were interested in Victorino, they couldn't have been too interested. The Angels' offer wouldn't have been a hard one to top. The Pirates will likely continue to look elsewhere for offensive help.

The other key trade today was the Mets' acquisition of reliever Tyler Clippard. Given that Clippard has struggled with his control this season, the Athletics did pretty well in the deal, getting Casey Meisner, a young and very tall former third-rounder with a good performance record in the low minors.