With the postseason out of reach, Los Angeles may swap veteran expiring contracts for prospects as MLB insiders identify three key targets likely leaving Anaheim by August.
The Los Angeles Angels have a lot of questions ahead of the MLB trade deadline on August 3.
The Angels have a losing record and almost no hopes of making the postseason this year. On top of that, they have an interim General Manager in place and manager Kurt Suzuki nearing the end of a one-year contract.
The obvious decision would be for the Angels to trade as many expiring contracts as they can, regain some prospects to add to the farm system, and start over from scratch in 2027, if the season ends up taking place.
With just a few days left, it remains to be seen which Angels players will be traded, but MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand predicted that three players will be traded. Others could be moved as well, but the three Feinsand predicted are in his piece.
- RHP Kirby Yates
- LHP Brent Suter
- OF/DH Jorge Soler
Soler is still owed about $4 million for the remainder of the season, and that's a hefty price for a team to pay for two months of service.
Suter is an interesting case, especially when you look at his stats. He has a 1-2 record with a 4.42 ERA in 38 appearances, and he played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds before coming to the Angels for the 2026 season.
However, Feinsand added some other stats that make Suer more desirable, not to mention the fact that he is a left-handed pitcher.
"But Suter ranks in the top quarter of the league in hard-hit percentage (96th percentile), average exit velocity (93rd), walk percentage (80th), ground-ball percentage (81st) and barrel percentage (76th), while his 3.59 FIP and .323 BABIP are signs that he’s pitched better than his numbers indicate," Feinsand wrote.
The final Angels player on Feinsand's list is Kirby Yates, a well-known veteran who has lots of experience in the majors.
Yates has spent time with the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, although he struggled last season with LA.
Yates has an 0-5 record with a 3.65 ERA and three saves, but he could be a cheap acquisition for another team.
The biggest name among the three figures to be Soler, but he has not had success since the All-Star break.
There are other options, such as Jose Soriano and Zach Neto, although it all depends on whether or not the Angels want to move on from those two guys since they are still under team control going forward.
