The Angels have acquired 26-year old righty starting pitcher Tommy Hanson from the Atlanta Braves for 25-year old righty reliever Jordan Walden. Hanson pitched in 31 games (all starts) for the Braves last year and he was 13-10 with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has now pitched in 108 games (all starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 45-32 with a 3.61 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Hanson will step right into the Angels rotation behind Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson. Jordan Walden pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Angels last year and he was 3-2 with 1 save, a 3.46 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He pitched in 123 games (0 starts) in his three years with the Angels and he was 8-8 with 34 saves, a 3.06 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. This was a deal the Angels had to make as Hanson is really going to help them in 2013 and hopefully down the road.

The Angels have signed 27-year old righty starting pitcher Brandon Hynick to a minor league deal. He pitched in 22 games (21 starts) in A+AA+AAA-ball for the Rockies last year and he was 9-7 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Hynick has now pitched in 170 games (154 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 59-46 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He will likely start the 2013 season in AAA-ball, but he might help the Angels at some point in 2013.

The Angels have claimed 25-year old righty swinging SS Thomas Field off waivers from the Twins. Field played in 2 games for the Rockies last year and he was 0 for 2 (.000 avg, .333 OPS). He also played in 121 games in AAA-ball last year for the Rockies in which he was 107 of 435 (.246 avg, .715 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 8 homers, 49 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Field has now played in 18 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 13 of 50 (.260 avg, .575 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs. Field will get a shot to win a bench job next spring.

The Angels have signed 32-year old righty reliever Ryan Madson to a 1-year, incentive laden deal. Madson missed all of last season due to Tommy John Surgery. Madson last pitched in 2011 for the Phillies. He pitched in 62 games (0 starts) for the Phillies in 2011 and he was 4-2 with 32 saves, a 2.37 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has now pitched in 491 games (18 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 47-30 with 52 saves, a 3.59 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Madson is the favorite to win the closer’s job next spring over Ernesto Frieri.

The Angels have signed 27-year old lefty reliever/starter Jo-Jo Reyes to a minor league deal. Reyes pitched in 21 games (9 starts) in Rookie+A+AAA-ball for the Pirates last year and he was 6-2 with a 2.51 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2011 with the Blue Jays and Orioles. Reyes has pitched in 70 games (62 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 12-26 with a 6.05 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. He will get a shot to win a bullpen job for the Angels next spring.

The Angels have signed 29-year old righty starter/reliever Billy Buckner to a minor league deal. Buckner pitched in 27 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Red Sox last year and he was 12-9 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2010 with the Diamondbacks. Buckner has pitched in 36 games (21 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 6-11 with a 6.25 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. He will likely start the 2013 season in AAA-ball and be an insurance policy in case a starter goes down due to injury.

The Angels have signed 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder J.B. Shuck to a minor league deal. Shuck played in 115 games in AAA-ball for the Astros last year and he was 94 of 315 (.298 avg, .726 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 0 homers, 33 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. His only major league experience came back in 2011 with the Astros. He played in 37 games for the Astros in 2011 and he was 22 of 81 (.272 avg, .680 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Shuck will get a shot to win a bench job for the Angels next spring.

The Angels have signed 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Trent Oeltjen to a minor league deal. Oeltjen played in 61 games for the Dodgers last year and he was 14 of 71 (.197 avg, .646 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 6 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 99 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 36 of 164 (.220 avg, .684 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 5 homers, 11 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Oeltjen is going to get a shot to win a backup job next spring for the Angels.

The Angels have signed 32-year old righty swinging infielder Brendan Harris to a minor league deal. Harris played in 106 games in AAA-ball for the Rockies last year and he was 113 of 357 (.317 avg. .914 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 9 homers, 63 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Harris last played in the majors back in 2010 for the Twins. Harris has now played in 485 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 412 of 1,587 (.260 avg, .701 OPS) with 194 runs scored, 29 homers, 158 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Harris will get a shot to win a backup job next spring.

The Angels have signed 31-year old switch-hitting catcher Luke Carlin to a minor league deal. Carlin played in 4 games for the Indians last year and he was 3 for 14 (.214 avg, .500 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. He also played in 62 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 52 of 206 (.252 avg, .703 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 3 homers and 27 RBIs. Carlin has now played in 56 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 25 of 140 (.179 avg, .549 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 3 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Carlin will likely get a chance to battle for the backup catcher job next spring.