The Los Angeles Angels have several right-handed bats it could trade at the deadline and they aren't as readily available as other groups of players.
The Los Angeles Angels enjoyed a nice 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night and were fueled by several trade candidates less than two weeks before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
The Angels put up a five-spot in the first inning and cruised to victory as rookie right-hander Walbert Urena tossed six innings of one-run ball on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
Los Angeles is 20 games below .500 at 41-61 and have accepted seller status, but many wonder to what degree. At this point, everyone knows that the demand for starting pitching is at an extreme high, but so is the demand for right-handed bats that have some pop.
Teams like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies are in search of a right-handed bat that can produce offensively.
ESPN’s Buster Olney and Jeff Passan stated that right-handed bats are the weakest position to acquire at the trade deadline as even when more teams drop out of contention, there isn’t a surplus of right-handed bats.
However, the Angels have at least three that could be available and would put the Angels organization in a great spot moving forward if they move some of them as well as left-hander Reid Detmers and/or right-hander José Soriano.
“Certainly, there are possibilities that attractive ones move,” Passan wrote Wednesday. “But so many of the potential players worth targeting are, at the moment, available only for an outlandish return.
“Should the Angels decide to deal Zach Neto, that would at least bring one impact type to the party. But as it stands now, there is not a single impactful right-handed bat who is certain to move by Aug. 3.”
Neto, designated hitter Jorge Soler and outfielders Jo Adell and Jose Siri fit the bill, although they may not be the exact “impact” bats teams are looking for. Each provide some power from the right side of the plate but have their struggles with strikeouts.
Neto is less likely to be moved because of his contract and age, but if a team is willing to overpay for an upgrade, he would bring back a haul. He leads the team with 19 home runs and 20 doubles while driving in 46 runs with a slash line of .238/.327/.445 (.772 OPS) in 99 games.
Soler has just 11 homers but has 45 RBI and drove in the first two runs last night with a double, his 14th of the season. He strikes out a ton, but the power is there. Soler is slashing .205/.294/.375 (.669 OPS) through 79 games.
Adell has 31 extra-base hits (15 homers, 15 doubles, one triple) and leads the Angels with 57 RBI while slashing .243/.289/.402 (.690 OPS) over 101 games. Siri has played in just 49 games but has nine XBH and 18 RBI while slashing .269/.324/.473 (.797 OPS), displaying solid defense and speed along the way.
