The Angels got busy at the deadline, and GM John Mozeliak talked about the results after the dust settled.
The Los Angeles Angels had one of the most eventful deadline days in baseball, and when the dust settled on the trade binge it became obvious that the Halos were taking a very different approach to doing business. It’s called a teardown, and after it was over interim GM John Mozeliak talked about the change in approach and some of the prospects the Padres acquired.
“I’m excited about what we're able to accomplish today,” said interim general manager John Mozeliak in an article written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB,com. “We knew that things had to be different. The direction of where the franchise was going needed to change, and this was an opportunity during the trade deadline to do just that.”
Multiple players under team control were moved, including starter Jose Soriano, outfielder Jo Adell, relievers Ryan Zeferjahn and Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O’Hoppe. The Angels did hold onto shortstop Zach Neto and left-hander Reid Detmers, although they did get offers for them, according to Mozeliak.
“We definitely listened to offers on them, but we were not comfortable with the offers we received,” Mozeliak said. “And given the talents of those two individuals, we are certainly happy they are part of our organization moving forward."
The big acquisition was shortstop prospect Arjun Nimmala, who came over from the Toronto Blue Jays in the deal for Soriano. He’s the No. 43 prospect in baseball, and Nimmala was the second-ranked prospect acquired by any team in a deadline deal.
“Nimmala was somebody that we had targeted in this process,” Mozeliak said. “And obviously getting a top prospect in a deal like this was super exciting for us.”
The overall effect was to restock a farm system that has been perilously thin in recent years, but Mozeliak did comment specifically about catcher Moises Ballasteros, who came over from the Chicago Cubs in the Zeferjahn trade.
“Catcher is an area we needed to upgrade,” said Mozeliak, who also mentioned catcher Jacob Cozart, who was acquired in the Adell deal from the Cleveland Guardians. “What we like about [Cozart] is he does have some offensive upside, but from a defensive standpoint, very strong. … Ballesteros is more bat first, defense second, but we spent a lot of time to understand what he’s been doing on the defensive side.”
Several players with local ties have been added, including pitching Mason McGwire, who is a SoCal product.
“We brought in players with some connection to the Orange County area, but also have real upside as players,” Mozeliak said. “It really did create a lot of depth, not only at the lower end but also closer to the big leagues.”
