The Los Angeles Angels are way more likely to sell than to buy despite having somewhat of a chance to compete for a playoff spot in a terrible American League this season.
The Los Angeles Angels have lost six consecutive games and probably halted any momentum it had going in the American League West division race as well as the AL wild card race.
The Angels have been at or near the bottom of the league standings since the end of April and because of how weak the AL is this year, Los Angeles had been within striking distance with a couple of solid weeks but has since faltered.
At 36-55, the Halos are 11 games behind the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West and 9.5 games back from the final AL wild card spot. Before general manager Perry Minasian was fired on June 27, he was firm about the team not trading away any bright young talent to start a full-blown rebuild.
Players like left-hander Reid Detmers, outfielder Jo Adell and center fielder Mike Trout (he isn’t a younger player, but there is no indication that he would’ve been made available either) that could generate huge franchise-altering compensation packages weren’t going to be available by the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
But, with Minasian out and John Mozeliak in, the Angels may pull back on that idea and field calls on any players with value. One of those players that wasn’t mentioned above is right-hander José Soriano, who had a phenomenal beginning to the season that placed him in early AL Cy Young contention talks but has since come back down to earth.
Soriano, 27, is under contract for two more seasons after this one and has showed that he can be one of the most effective arms in the sport. He is 8-5 with a 3.42 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 111 strikeouts to 49 walks through 18 starts (100 innings).
“The stuff still really plays, and plenty of organizations believe they can help work out the control kinks that can plague Soriano,” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan wrote Monday. “Add to that the two years of control and the same pitching-hungry organizations that want Detmers -- contenders and teams that intend to contend in the coming years -- will be interested in Soriano.”
McDaniel and Passan ranked the top 100 trade candidates and named Soriano the 16th best trade chip but cited his probability of being moved is just 20 percent, however that could change with every passing day until we understand the team’s plan closer to the deadline.
ESPN’s finest named 12 teams that would be the best fit for Soriano’s services: Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Athletics, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals and Toronto Blue Jays.
“A savvy pitching development team could realize tens of millions in value from acquiring Soriano and unlocking results that match the stuff/potential/flashes.”
More teams may have interest in Detmers, but Soriano could be a huge addition to a team that really needs a solid pitcher ahead of a playoff run.
