CLEVELAND _ The bottom line on two Twins deals completed before Monday's trade deadline: Hector Santiago and two minor-league prospects arriving, Ricky Nolasco, Fernando Abad and minor-leaguer Alex Meyer leaving.
The deals also allowed the Twins to add Jose Berrios to the 25-man roster to start Monday's game at Cleveland.
Nolasco and Meyer were traded to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Santiago, a veteran left-handed starter, and Class AA right-handed reliever Alan Busenitz.
Earlier in the day the Twins dealt Abad, a left-handed reliever, to the Red Sox for minor-league pitcher Pat Light.
The Twins will send the Angels $4 million to make up the difference between the salaries of the major leaguers in the trade. The Twins will also pay Nolasco's salary for the rest of 2016, while the Angels pay Santiago, who earns $5 million. Nolasco is owed $12 million in 2017 and has a $1 million buyout for the following year; Santiago is eligible for arbitration after the season and could be expected to make roughly $8 million.
Santiago, 28, is 10-4 with a 4.25 ERA in 22 starts this season, and has a 3.68 ERA over five major league seasons, two with the White Sox and three with the Angels.
Nolasco, 33, heads back to his southern California home after two and a half mostly disappointing seasons for the Twins. He pitched one of his best games of his Minnesota tenure on Friday, allowing three hits and one run over eight innings against the White Sox. But his three-season totals since signing a four-year, $49 million contract in December 2013: 15-22 and a 5.44 ERA.
Meyer, too, has been a disappointment since being acquired in November 2012 from the Nationals for center fielder Denard Span. A former No. 1 pick with a fastball that reaches 98 mph, Meyer has pitched only four games in the major leagues. His lone start, May 3 in Houston, lasted just eight outs, and included three hits, three walks and three runs.
The Twins know Santiago well; he's made 10 starts against them over the years, and is 3-2 with a 4.19 ERA. A former 30th-round pick of the White Sox, Santiago appeared in the middle of a breakout season a year ago, his ERA still 2.91 in mid-August before fading over his final eight starts.
Busenitz, a 25th-round pick in 2013, had a 1.93 ERA with three saves in 24 games for Class AA Arkansas before being promoted to Class AAA Salt Lake. In 10 games at that level, he has a 7.62 ERA, with 13 strikeouts in 13 innings. He'll be assigned to Class AA Chattanooga.
Abad, in his first season with the Twins, had emerged as one of their more effective relievers with a 2.65 ERA _ credentials that also made him attractive to potential contenders.
Light, 25, is a 6-5, 220-pound right-hander with a career 4.46 ERA in the minors. He's been effective in a relief role for Class AAA Pawtucket this season, posting a 2.32 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 31 innings.
