ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Los Angeles Angels acquired veteran outside defender Dexter Fowler of the St. Louis Cardinals for cash or a player to be named later.
The clubs announced the deal on Thursday night.
Fowler hit 0.233 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 23 games last season, his fourth with St. Louis. The former Rockies and Cubs hitter is a 0.259 hitter with 127 homers and 561 RBIs.
Although Fowler, 35, can play in all three field positions, he is probably a short-term solution on the right field for the Angels, who prefer to give Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh more development time in the minor leagues.
Adell, a 21-year-old who is the best prospect for the Halos, fought in his major league debut last season as the right field player, with 0.161 hits with 0.478 OPS in 38 games.
Fowler is entering his 13th full season in the major league in the final year of a five-year, $ 82 million contract. He has a salary of $ 14.5 million in 2021, and St. Louis remains responsible for the final two installments of $ 1 million of his $ 10 million signing bonus, due on July 1 and October 1.
As part of the exchange, the cardinals agreed to pay angels $ 12.75 million in 12 installments of $ 1,062,500 on the 15th and the last day of each month from April to September.
Fowler won his only All-Star selection and his only World Series ring in 2016 with Chicago under the command of current Angels manager Joe Maddon. His hand-hitting skills will become a counterpart to right-handed outfielders Mike Trout, Justin Upton and Adell.
Fowler spent just one season of his career in the American League, having played for Houston in 2014.