The Los Angeles Angels annual tradition of missing the playoffs will continue in 2024 due to their normal combination of injuries and underachieving. If they want to have any shot of turning it around d in 2025 (or even 2026), the Angels trade deadline should be a fire sale. Mike Trout is hurt again. Since the beginning of 2021, Trout has only played in 47 percent of the team’s games. Since the beginning of 2021, Anthony Rendon has only played in 29.6 percent of the team’s games. They’ve earned a combined $290 million in that time. Their Opening Day starter, Patrick Sandoval, needs Tommy John surgery. He’ll be out until 2026. Only four starters from Opening Day haven’t spent time on the Injured List.
Why the Angels Need to Sell
Many of the Angels young players have been inconsistent, but the list of veteran underachievers sunk the team’s chances. Aaron Hicks was DFA’d in late April due to a .415 OPS. Brandon Drury has struggled with staying healthy and struggled more with the bat. He currently sports a .470 OPS and a -0.7 bWAR. Mickey Moniak has followed his career year with a .542 OPS, though he has recently shown signs of turning it around. Jo Adell looked like he had finally broken through when he posted a .979 OPS through April, but since then, he has slashed .131/.196/.301/.497 over his last 46 games. On the pitching side, things haven’t been much better. After an excellent start to his season, Reid Detmers was optioned to Triple-A after posting an 8.93 ERA over his last eight starts. Jose Suarez was demoted, too. The bullpen is one of the worst in baseball.
Simply put, the Angels need to sell at the trade deadline if they have any chance of rebuilding.
Angels Potential Trade Candidates
Tyler Anderson
Contract: Signed through 2025; Pro-rated $13 million for this and next season
Tyler Anderson has been incredible in 2024. Over 16 starts, he’s posted a 2.63 ERA and a 3.9 bWAR that currently is tied for the best in baseball. FanGraphs doesn’t think as highly of him due to his low BABIP number, but at least a dozen teams would love to add Anderson to their stretch run rotation. Last year, the Angels gave up catcher Edgar Quero and starting pitcher Ky Bush for rentals Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. Quero and Bush were the team’s #2 and #3 prospects. The Angels trade deadline would be a huge success if they could find something of similar value by trading Anderson.
Taylor Ward
Contract: Arbitration eligible after the season. Team control through 2026. Pro-rated $4.8 million salary in 2024
Taylor Ward is the perfect trade chip for the Angels to speed up their rebuild. He’s a 30-year-old outfielder who is about to be arbitration-eligible. Any team trading for him will have him through the 2026 season. Ward brings stability to the Angels lineup, but since there is very little chance of success in 2024, the Angels should use him to recoup some of the lost prospect capital from their bungled 2023 trade deadline. Since the start of the 2021 season, Ward has a .787 OPS, which is 17 percent better than the league average during that stretch. Teams with playoff aspirations and underwhelming outfields (Kansas City, Tampa Bay) or injuries (Atlanta) would likely jump at the chance to have a solid producer locked into their starting lineup.
Carlos Estévez
Contract: Free Agent after season; Pro-rated $6.75 million in 2024
Carlos Estévez struggled in late April and early May, but he has been electric over his last nine appearances. The soon-to-be free agent has allowed just one hit and zero walks over his last nine appearances (9 innings pitched) while striking out ten. Closers are always at a premium during the trade deadline, and Estévez is likely to be one of the top names available. The Texas Rangers gave up Cole Ragans and a prospect to rent Aroldis Chapman for the remainder of 2023. While that would be a best-case scenario, they can find MLB-ready pitching by trading Estévez.
Luis Rengifo
Contract: Arbitration eligible after the season. Team control through 2026. Pro-rated $4.4 million salary in 2024
Luis Rengifo is similar to Taylor Ward in that he is in the perfect position to be traded during the 2024 Trade Deadline as something more valuable than a short-term rental. Rengifo is a versatile infielder, and his offensive numbers have improved in the last three seasons. At 27 years old, Rengifo will be entering arbitration after this season, so the Angels should look to take advantage of his career highs in batting average and on-base percentage. Because of his defensive versatility, he could play second base in Boston or third base in New York. Rengifo should easily bring back two prospects who are in the top 30 in their organization.
Griffin Canning
Contract: Arbitration eligible after the season. Team control through 2026. Pro-rated $2.6 million salary in 2024
Griffin Canning wouldn’t have been on this list at the end of April. Given his age and contract, there would have been zero reason to sell low as the UCLA-alum struggled to a 7.45 ERA. Since then, Canning has posted a 3.38 ERA over 58.2 innings in ten starts. His last start has been his best this season, as he allowed only one run over a season-high seven innings. Canning wouldn’t be the biggest trade. However, the Angels trade deadline should be focused on the movement of arbitration-eligible veterans for prospects who can help refill the fledgling farm system. Canning is a player who can help the Angels accomplish that goal.
Kevin Pillar
Contract: Free Agent after season; Pro-rated $811,776 in 2024
Kevin Pillar is more of a rental option for teams that balk at the price tag for Ward. Pillar is certainly not as good as his current one.875 OPS would indicate, but he would be a luxury fourth outfielder for playoff-caliber teams. The Atlanta Braves, who have major injury issues, could certainly be helped by Pillar. It shouldn’t take too long to pry him away, but the Angels should be shooting for high-risk, high-reward prospects in these trades.
Matt Moore
Contract: Free Agent after season; Pro-rated $9 million in 2024
Matt Moore has struggled throughout the 2024 season but still provides value for a team that needs a veteran lefty out of the pen. If the Angels hope to gain a prospect of any value, they’ll likely have to pay some Moore’s salary. Given the Angels poor farm system, that should be their approach to maximize the prospect capital they receive. Moore is an excellent change of scenery candidate, given that he posted a 2.20 ERA over the last two seasons.
Hunter Strickland
Contract: Free Agent after season; Pro-rated $795,180 in 2024
Hunter Strickland is the type of guy that Kansas City, Texas, and Seattle should all be looking to acquire. He’s making the veteran’s minimum, he won’t cost much in terms of prospects, and he can save your high-leverage relievers by eating up innings in non-competitive games. The Angels can give those innings to young relievers who have yet to prove themselves. Strickland will bring back more organizational depth for the Angels struggling farm system.
Brandon Drury
Contract: Free Agent after season; Pro-rated $8.5 million in 2024
Brandon Drury would most likely be a salary dump, given his atrocious play in 2024. He’s been on the IL for a decent stretch, and when he’s been healthy, he has not produced. A team with infield depth issues could look to acquire him and hope he bounces back to his 2023 level, where he had a .803 OPS. The best the Angels can hope for is a little bit of savings.
Angels Trade Deadline
The Angels are not going to make the playoffs in 2024, and they have one of the worst farm systems in 2024. These two things cannot be fixed with another $300 million contract. Every veteran who is a valuable trade piece should be a trade candidate during the trade deadline. Luis Guillorme, Miguel Sanó, and Luis Garcia should be offered up for the right prospects, and a full-fire sale is what the doctor has ordered in Anaheim.
Main Photo Credits: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
