BALTIMORE, Md. - The Baltimore Orioles aquired minor league right-hander Garrett Stallings, a Grassfield High School product, in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday. The O's landed Stallings and Jean Pinto in exchange for veteran shortstop José Iglesias.
The Angels picked the 23-year-old Stallings in the fifth round of the 2019 draft out of the University of Tennessee, but he has yet to make his professional debut.
Garrett Stallings, the @cpschoolsva product, tells us it's a "dream come true" to be traded to the @Orioles organization & have the chance to pitch at Harbor Park with the @NorfolkTideshttps://t.co/nkmSsXjro1@WTKR3 @grassfield_hs @GrizzlyPTSA @gstallz @Vol_Baseball pic.twitter.com/wI4bhp7mpp
— Adam Winkler (@AdamWinkSports) December 8, 2020
"I think that we got two quality arms from the Angels," Orioles general manager Mike Elias said. "We’re sad to see Iggy go, but this is the business of getting this organization into a long-term period of stability.”
MLB.com ranks Stallings as the 26th-best prospect in Baltimore's organization, and projects him to reach the majors in 2022. The Norfolk Tides, just a few miles away from where Stallings grew up, serve as the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate - the highest level of professional baseball before reaching MLB.
According to CBSSports.com, Stallings was held out of competition in 2019 after signing with the team. Instead of pitching, he took time to focus on fitness and learning the organization's philosophy. He joined the Angels' 60-man player pool in 2020 but never appeared in an MLB game.
