ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels have acquired veteran outfielder Dexter Fowler from the St. Louis Cardinals for cash or a player to be named later.
The clubs announced the deal Thursday night.
Fowler batted .233 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 23 games last season, his fourth with St. Louis. The switch-hitting former Rockies and Cubs slugger is a career .259 hitter with 127 homers and 561 RBIs.
While Fowler, 35, can play all three outfield positions, he likely is a short-term solution in right field for the Angels, who have said they would prefer to give more minor league development time to Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh.
Adell, a 21-year-old who is the Halos’ top prospect, struggled in his major league debut last season as their every-day right fielder, batting .161 with a .478 OPS over 38 games.
Fowler is headed into his 13th full big league season in the final year of a five-year, $82 million contract. He has a $14.5 million salary in 2021, and St. Louis remains responsible for the two final $1 million installments of his $10 million signing bonus, due July 1 and Oct. 1.
As part of the trade, the Cardinals agreed to pay the Angels $12.75 million in 12 installments of $1,062,500 on the 15th and the final day of each month from April through September.
Fowler earned his only All-Star selection and his only World Series ring in 2016 with Chicago under current Angels manager Joe Maddon. His switch-hitting abilities will provide a counterpart to right-handed-hitting outfielders Mike Trout, Justin Upton and Adell.
Fowler has spent just one season of his career in the American League, having played for Houston in 2014.
