Angels trade David Fletcher and Max Stassi to Braves as part of a four-player deal

The Angels traded infielder David Fletcher and catcher Max Stassi to the Atlanta Braves for first baseman Evan White and right-handed reliever Tyler Thomas, both teams announced Friday.

Neither White nor Thomas has been added to the Angels’ 40-man roster. Cash considerations were not part of the deal, the Angels announced.

It remains to be seen how White and Thomas figure into the Angels’ 2024 plans. White, a former first-round pick, failed to live up to expectations in Seattle after signing a six-year, $24-million deal with the Mariners at the end of 2019. He is still owed $15 million over the next two seasons.

The first rookie first baseman to win a Gold Glove in 2020, White was traded from Seattle to Atlanta on Sunday.

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Thomas, who is 27 and hasn’t pitched in the majors, played independent ball part of last season. He was picked up by the Braves during the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday.

Fletcher has struggled since signing a five-year, $26-million contract with the team in 2021, the first big contract of general manager Perry Minasian’s Angels tenure. He missed significant time in 2022, undergoing surgery to repair the adductor muscles in both legs and an abdominal muscle.

Fletcher’s future in Anaheim fell into flux last season when the Angels sent him to triple A and called up rookie shortstop Zach Neto. He was brought back briefly in the middle of the season, then finished with the big league team amid a rash of injuries impacting infield depth.

Born and raised in Orange County, Fletcher has $15.5 million left on his five-year contract, which runs through 2025, with club options for 2026 and 2027.

Stassi did not play last season. He and his wife, Gabrielle, revealed in October their son was dealing with health issues after being born three months premature in April. On Saturday, the Braves traded Stassi and cash considerations to the Chicago White Sox, who will send cash considerations or a player to be named in the exchange.

Stassi’s absence made way for rookie catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who became the youngest Angels catcher to start for the team on Opening Day. The Angels’ primary catcher in 2022, Stassi was acquired from the Houston Astros in a deal at the 2019 trade deadline. He is set to make $7 million next season, with a club option for 2025.

Neto is expected to remain the Angels’ everyday shortstop, a position he impressed at in 2023. O’Hoppe — who missed nearly four months because of a torn labrum — is expected to remain the team’s primary catcher.