The Los Angeles Angels held on for as long as they could, but the team needs to sell, especially with interim GM John Mozeliak at the helm.
The American League is wide open, but after a rough last few weeks, the Los Angeles Angels feel like a team that is no longer in the running for the playoffs.
Things could change in the second half, but at 38-59, it’s hard to paint a picture where the Angels even get back to .500 at this point. Being sellers at the trade deadline would be extremely beneficial and ownership may finally give clearance for a fire sale.
Interim general manager John Mozeliak took over for Perry Minasian after nearly six full seasons with the team and is tasked with getting the Angels back on track. Given Mozeliak’s track record and the state of the Angels organization, it’s obvious that he wants to trade away players of value to build up Los Angeles’ weak farm system.
Minasian may have just been a yes man for owner Arte Moreno, but neither showed a desire to move off any good veteran players. But with Mozeliak at the helm, a guy who is known for making uncomfortable but necessary trades to help organizational health, Moreno may give in.
According to Jim Bowden, columnist for The Athletic and former prominent executive, the Angels are one of six teams that are poised to sell and named three players that have drawn calls from other teams: right-hander José Soriano, left-hander Reid Detmers and outfielder Jo Adell.
“The only way the Angels are ever going to get better is to trade some of these veteran players for multiple good prospects,” Bowden wrote Friday. “A good template for them to follow is the one recently used by the Chicago White Sox, who traded ace Garrett Crochet to the [Boston] Red Sox before last season.
“In that deal, they landed four prospects who have helped them go from 102 losses last year to first place this year. With the trade market so thin, the Angels should do well if they deal both pitchers.”
Tons of teams would love to get their hands on either starter, as both have multiple years of team control and have shown great stuff this season. Soriano looked like an early Cy Young candidate and Detmers is one of the elite strikeout pitchers in the game right now. Both would elicit a hefty haul.
Bowden noted that while Adell doesn’t excel at much, he is a power-hitting right-handed bat that teams could be interested in. Many teams need power from both sides of the plate, not just from the left side, so look for Adell to go to a team like the Philadelphia Phillies.
Bowden mentioned that while center fielder Mike Trout to the Phillies is something a lot of people want to see, he “gets the strong impression” from Mozeliak that a move of that nature isn’t happening during the season. Adell could be the guy Philly goes after instead.
