The Angels are one of many few apparent deadline sellers in the mean time, however even they won’t be totally open for enterprise. USA As we speak’s Bob Nightengale suggests that the membership prefers to carry onto outfielder Taylor Ward and starters Tyler Anderson and Griffin Canning, as a result of reality all three are signed/managed into subsequent season. If the Angels are reluctant to maneuver anybody signed or managed past the present marketing campaign, that might then lengthen to Luis Rengifo as properly. Anderson is signed by way of 2025 and incomes $13MM every season. Ward is managed by way of 2026 through arbitration. Canning and Rengifo are arb-eligible by way of the 2025 season.
It’s at all times potential, particularly this time of 12 months, that there’s some stage of posturing in that stance. The Halos are 15 video games below .500, 10.5 video games out of the division lead and 12 video games out of a Wild Card spot as of Monday morning. Their -78 run differential is the fifth-worst in MLB. Mike Trout has been on the injured checklist since late April. Patrick Sandoval and Robert Stephenson have each been misplaced to UCL surgical procedures. To say issues haven’t gone properly in 2024 can be placing issues mildly.
That stated, Angels proprietor Arte Moreno has lengthy appeared averse to embarking on any form of rebuilding effort. The Angels have commonly been lively in free company and on the commerce market over the previous decade, whilst their playoff drought has grown to the biggest within the sport. (They final certified for postseason play in 2014.) That development has spanned a number of basic managers — Jerry Dipoto, Billy Eppler, Perry Minasian — and thus appears largely attributable to possession. Whilst they have been confronted with dropping Shohei Ohtani in free company this offseason, Minasian decisively said that the Angels wouldn’t rebuild.
When contemplating that context, it’s simpler to see a state of affairs wherein the Angels would rebuff curiosity in names like Ward — even when there’s a robust logical case that they need to be capitalizing on commerce worth practically anyplace it exists on the roster. Because it stands, Nightengale writes that the Angels have been “bombarded” with curiosity in nearer Carlos Estevez and are additionally prone to commerce setup man Luis Garcia. Different rental gamers of word on the Halos embrace Matt Moore, Brandon Drury, Kevin Pillar, Hunter Strickland and Miguel Sano.
The 31-year-old Estevez is within the second season of a two-year, $13.5MM contract signed within the 2022-23 offseason. The longtime Rockies hurler has taken his sport to a brand new stage in Anaheim — notably in 2024. He boasts a tidy 2.89 ERA with a robust 26.9% strikeout price and a career-best 3.8% stroll price. Estevez averages simply shy of 97 mph on his heater, has picked up 16 saves this 12 months (and 31 final 12 months), and was named the AL Reliever of the Month in June after tossing 10 shutout innings and recording a 32.3% strikeout price with out issuing a stroll.
Garcia, 37, is on a one-year, $4.25MM contract. He’s pitched 36 innings and yielded a 4.25 ERA whereas recording 9 holds. The veteran righty has fanned a pointy 23.7% of his opponents towards a equally robust 7.9% stroll price. He’s saved the ball on the bottom at a hearty 49.5% clip. His sinker is down from the career-best 98.7 mph common he confirmed with the Padres in 2022 however nonetheless has loads of life, sitting at 96.4 mph, per Statcast.
Strickland, 35, has had an up-and-down profession with inconsistent year-to-year outcomes however is within the midst of a robust season. He’s pitched 40 innings out of the bullpen and logged a 3.60 ERA, 20.6% strikeout price, 6.3% stroll price, 35.3% ground-ball price and 0.90 HR/9. Over his previous 9 2/3 innings, he’s gone unscored upon and allowed just one hit and three walks whereas punching out 10 batters.
The 35-year-old Pillar was launched by the White Sox in April and has been a godsend in Anaheim. Since heading to Orange County, the journeyman outfielder has turned in an enormous .305/.360/.516 slash with six dwelling runs and 5 steals in simply 139 plate appearances. Pillar lately acknowledged that this may possible be his closing season, so it stands to motive that he’d welcome the chance to affix another playoff race and another likelihood to chase down a World Collection ring.
Not one of the different rental choices on the Angels’ roster are performing notably properly. Moore, Adam Cimber and Jose Cisnero all signed one-year offers within the offseason. Moore has seen his strikeout price plummet as he’s struggled to maintain his ERA below 5.00. Each Cimber and Cisnero have ERAs north of seven.00 and are presently on the injured checklist. Drury, hitting .172/.24/.227 within the second season of a two-year $17MM deal, is extra a launch candidate than a commerce candidate. Sano, again within the majors after not taking part in in 2023, is hitting .205/.295/.313 with a 37.9% strikeout price in 95 plate appearances.
