Angels get 7-foot-1 Dutchman to complete Brian Fuentes trade

Last week the Angels traded Brian Fuentes to the Twins for a player to be named later, with the two sides announcing today that the player is Loek Van Mil. Van Mil isn’t much of a prospect, ranking No. 39 on my annual list of the Twins’ best prospects coming into this season and having a miserable year between high Single-A and Double-A. On the other hand his full name is Ludovicus Jacobus Maria Van Mil, he’s 7-foot-1, and he’s from the Netherlands, so he qualifies as “intriguing” regardless of how well he pitches. Minnesota designated Van Mil for assignment last week to clear him from the 40-man roster and he went unclaimed on waivers, so in terms of prospect stock he’s little more than a throw-in flier at this point. For the Angels the real value of dealing Fuentes was simply to clear the $1.8 million left on his contract for this season off the books. They can use some of that money to pay for Van Mil’s custom uniforms.