The Los Angeles Angels cleaned house ahead of the Major League Baseball trade deadline, and now the organization has made a slew of roster moves.
The Los Angeles Angels were one of the busiest teams leading up to Monday's Major League Baseball trade deadline.
Trading away various MLB-ready talent for prospects was the goal set by the franchise in the weeks leading up to the deadline, and interim general manager John Mozeliak did exactly that.
For a team that has sat in the American League West basement for half of a decade, an organizational reset was long overdue. Now, the club can reap the rewards of this summer's firesale and look to compete in the years to come.
The moves began last week, when Mozeliak traded catcher Logan O'Hoppe and right-handed reliever Chase Silseth to the Texas Rangers for infielder Angel Arredondo, then Los Angeles shipped away righty José Soriano to the Toronto Blue Jays for highly-touted shortstop prospect Arjun Nimmala, outfielder Eddie Micheletti and righty Angel Rivero in a late-night swap.
In the coming hours, the Angels made a plethora of trades. However, shortstop Zach Neto, left-hander Reid Detmers and Jorge Soler were kept by the organization despite a belief that any of them could be moved. Now, the latter has been designated for assignment.
"According to my sources, the Los Angeles Angels have designated power hitter Jorge Soler for assignment. #Angels #JorgeSoler," MLB Insider Mike Rodriguez posted on X/Twitter on Tuesday.
Soler is hitting .203 with 29 extra-base hits including 12 home runs, 49 RBIs and a .664 OPS (89 OPS+) in 86 games for the Angels this season.
Soler made his way to Anaheim in Oct. 2024 when the Atlanta Braves traded him to Los Angeles for righty Griffin Canning.
The veteran's year-and-a-half with the Angels has been incredibly rocky, nothing like the first decade of his career.
While the move makes sense on paper, DFA'ing someone putting up the stats that he is, this does raise a few questions.
Yesterday's trade deadline was a clear sign of a rebuild, with the franchise sending away multiple members of the lineup in exchange for prospects. Logically, Tuesday's announcement of the DFA comes at a strange time.
Not including Soler in any of the trades made over the past week is a real headscratcher, as he might've been able to bring in a greater haul of prospects.
Whether Mozeliak did attempt to bundle him into one of the moves, or if he was even fielding calls for Soler, is yet to be seen.
One thing is certain, though: Soler must have been able to command at least something on the trade market.
Now, a former World Series MVP can be scooped up with the Angels receiving nothing in return.
It's not exactly clear what executives around the league value Soler's on-field contributions, but it's fair to question why he wasn't thrown into any trades if this DFA was on the horizon.
