Dominican outfield Juan Lagares will join the Los Angeles Angels and Cuban-American ranger Albert Almora Jr. moves to the New York Mets, both Major League Baseball teams confirmed on Sunday.
Angels and Lagares reached an agreement with the Minor League.
Lagares stands out for central defense and was recognized with Gold Glove in 2014 as a member of the Mets, and in the Angels he will be a backup for rookies Mike Trout, Justin Upton and Dexter Fowler.
The 31-year-old Lagares appeared in just two games with the Mets in the reduced Covid-19 campaign in 2020.
However, he comes from an excellent campaign in the Dominican Winter League with Águilas Cibaeñas, in which he was recognized as the most valuable player of the final after finishing with an average of .379, three rounds at home and 10 RBI in the seven series games.
Lagares also led the Dominican Republic team to the Caribbean Series title on Saturday, defeating Puerto Rico 4×1 in the final. He was also the MVP of the Caribbean tour.
The player has a historical average in the Big Top of .254 with 25 homers and 179 RBIs in 718 games.
On the other hand, the New York Mets agreed with Cuban-American outfielder Albert Almora. The pact is subject to Almora passing a medical examination.
Almora, an outfielder who excels in defense, gives New York depths in midfield and will be a straight shot. At 26, the baseball player had played all major league seasons with the Chicago Cubs.
In 28 games this season reduced to 60 games in 2020 by COVID-19, Almora reached just 0.167 on average. In his last full season of 2019, he hit .236 with 12 homers and 32 RBIs in 130 games. While his major record is .271 on average, with 28 fences and 134 RBIs.