The Los Angeles Angels rarely make franchise-altering trades under Arte Moreno's ownership but a decade of mediocrity may have changed his mind.
The Los Angeles Angels completed the first big trade ahead of the trade deadline, sending catcher Logan O’Hoppe and right-handed reliever Chase Silseth to the Texas Rangers for a low-level prospect.
Many believe the Angels and interim general manager John Mozeliak didn’t get enough for a controllable right-handed hitting catcher and decent reliever, only receiving infielder Angel Arredondo in the process.
“Arredondo is not a highly rated prospect, prompting some evaluators to believe they did not get enough,” ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez wrote Wednesday.
“Regardless of whether that ends up being the case, though, one thing seems clear: Interim general manager John Mozeliak has more leeway from owner Arte Moreno to make drastic changes that impact the immediate future.”
Moreno often refrains from making moves that shake up his big-league roster, but the time is now. The Angels have been beyond bad for more than a decade and change needs to happen – that means moving on from your best controllable players and getting absolute hauls from desperate teams.
It's a good sign that the Angels are even just listening to offers on their top players that could warrant big returns.
The three main players everyone has been hearing about (and are probably tired of hearing about) are right-hander José Soriano, left-hander Reid Detmers and shortstop Zach Neto. Los Angeles has these players under club control at least through 2028 and their positions are ones of high demand.
All contenders need pitching, starters and relievers, and the Angels have two of the more coveted options out there while Neto is a right-handed bat that can mash home runs with the best at the position.
“Every contender is shooting their shot with the Angels because in a market without an overwhelming amount of high-impact talent, three well-above-average players with at least two years of team control is a very attractive proposition,” wrote ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“If markets are healthy for all three, all three could go. If markets falter -- and based on the way that Mozeliak has said some interested teams aren't a fit, that feels like a long shot -- all three could stay.”
If Los Angeles holds onto all three of their best assets, it would be a massive trade deadline failure. Passan touches on how painful it would be to watch them go, but it’s necessary at this point. The Angels have to gut the team and start fresh.
Maybe both starters don’t get moved, but at least one should be packing their bags and joining a contender. Neto is one of four shortstops gaining a lot of interest and seems like the most likely of them to go (Washington Nationals’ CJ Abrams, Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pena and Miami Marlins’ Otto Lopez). He would provide a huge power boost to the middle of a contending lineup.
