Angels acquire Drew Butera from Dodgers

After designating Drew Butera for assignment the Dodgers have traded the veteran catcher to the Angels for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Butera is a good catch-and-throw guy with a nice reputation in the clubhouse, but he’s one of the worst hitters in modern baseball history. For his career he’s hit .183 in 251 games, posting a .508 OPS that ranks as the lowest of anyone in the past 30 years:

.508 - Drew Butera
.513 - Brandon Wood
.526 - Kevin Cash
.530 - Rafael Belliard

Earlier this offseason the Angels traded backup catcher Hank Conger to the Astros, so Butera will presumably take over for him as starter Chris Iannetta’s caddy.

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The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Rangers and pitcher Jordan Lyles have agreed to a contract. ESPN’s Jeff Passan provided the details, reporting that it is a two-year, $16 million deal.

Lyles, 29, split last season between the Pirates and Brewers, performing much better with the latter. Overall, he compiled a 4.15 ERA with a 146 strikeouts and 55 walks across 141 innings. It was a return to full-time starting for Lyles, who had performed mostly as a reliever from 2016-18.

The Rangers also inked Kyle Gibson to a three-year, $30 million contract last week. Gibson and Lyles will join a rotation that also includes Mike Minor and Lance Lynn as well as youngster Kolby Allard.

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