Angels Trade For Josh Lowe Was A Blueprint For Failure

The Los Angeles Angels didn’t make many real trades in the offseason, and most of the ones they did make didn’t work out all that well. The Halos’ typical m.o. under former GM Perry Minasian was to sign veteran players or failed prospects to minor league deals, but the trade for Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe was one of the few deals that was at least semi-serious. 

Charlie Wright of MLBTradeRumors.com did a review of the trade, and it’s a painful reminder of why things didn’t work out. The Angels were mostly facilitators in this deal, which was a three-team affair that also involved the Rays and the Cincinnati Reds. 

Specifically, the Rays sent Lowe to the Angels, with the Reds sending oufielder Gavin Lux to Tampa Bay and the Halos sending reliever Brock Burke to the Reds. 

The 30-year old Burke was “tremendous” for Cincinnati, per Wright, as he pitched to a 2.30 ERA across 74-1/3 innings, and he led the National League in appearances with 77 appearances. 

Burke became the Reds’ top left-handed option when reliever Caleb Ferguson opened the year on the IL,  and manager Terry Francona leaned on him “early and often,” according to Wright. Lux was a washout for the Rays, as he spent most of the year on the IL with a shoulder injury.

Meanwhile, Lowe was a complete failure for the Angels. He struggled to hit early, and the outfielder never did figure it out. The Angels even sent him down to Triple-A Salt Lake to give him a chance to find his stroke, but it never happened. 

Lowe wound up with a slash line of .209/.273/.360. He did hit 12 home runs, but Lowe also struck out 105 times in 311 at-bats, so he was mostly an out waiting to happen. 

He was good defensively, though. The Angels even game him a shot in center field when Mike Trout had to go on the IL, but he couldn’t hit enough to even be a bench player, and the Halos spent most of the year playing outfield roulette, especially after they moved Jo Adell to the Cleveland Guardians at the deadline. 

The trade wound up weakening the Angels in two position groups, as there were multiple times during the season when they desperately needed competent relievers. It’s one of the outcomes that will need to change under the new ownership group, whether GM is interim leader John Mozeliak or someone he recommends going forward.