Two Angels Stars Have High Trade Value, But Will A Deal Happen?

The Los Angeles Angels cleaned house at the trading deadline, as interim GM John Mozeliak was given the go-ahead by soon-to-be-former owner Arte Moreno to clear the decks with a team that was already well out of contention. 

The results was a 100-loss season, and more losses are coming. According to a recent list from Steve Adams, Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald of MLBTradeRumors com, the Angels have two of the top three players most likley to traded during the offseason, with starter Reid Detmers at No. 1 and shortstop Zach Neto at No. 3.  

The list was compiled with a combination of trade value and the likelihood of being moved, and it’s really hard to tell what the writers are thinking here. Both Detmers and Neto have high trade value -- the Angels got interest in both at the deadline, but according to Mozeliak’s comments after it passed they didn’t like what they’d be getting back. 

But the likelihood of either one being mvoed is very unlikely right now based on what we know, although that’s admittedly very limited. That’s exactly why they’re unlikely to be moved, however, as the Halos have yet to name a GM, a manager or a new farm director from outside the organization. 

The big question about all of this at the moment is how new owner Stan Kroenke and his group feel about the recommendations of Mozeliak, especially given that he was hired by Moreno. 

It took forever for the Angels to get around to firing manager Kurt Suzuki, probably because Moreno didn’t want to admit to hiring yet another bad manager then have to let go of him immediately. 

Mozeliak also thought the Angels were relatively close to contending, at least in the sense that they have some solid pieces in place, with both Detmers and Neto being among them. The interim GM didn’t think they needed to do a full rebuild, but it’s not hard to find experts around the league who think that’s wishful thinking. 

As for the actual trade mechanisms that would be involved here, those are rather murky at the moment as well. Most of the forecasts for the next month have plenty of action when it comes to free agent signings before the lockout starts on Dec. 1, but no one knows if deals will be made until a new system is in place to specify value, possibly in a way that’s completely different from the current system. 

The value here is unquestioned, but making actual deals seems far away right now for either Detmers or Neto right now.