The Los Angeles Angels finally made some moves that will help the organization get healthier, but where do they stand after a busy trade deadline?
The Los Angeles Angels parted ways with several veteran players at the trade deadline earlier this week, setting the franchise up for a more organized rebuild, but where do the Angels stand after a busy deadline?
The Angels made six trades in the final days leading up to the Aug. 3 deadline, sending away catcher Logan O’Hoppe and reliever Chase Silseth to the Texas Rangers, right-handed starter José Soriano to the Toronto Blue Jays, lefty reliever Brent Suter to the Atlanta Braves, right fielder Jo Adell to the Cleveland Guardians, righty reliever Ryan Zeferjahn to the Chicago Cubs and right-handed closer Kirby Yates to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Los Angeles brought in seven prospects, including four new top 30 prospects in shortstop Arjun Nimmala (No. 2), right-hander Mason McGwire (No. 15), catcher Jacob Cozart (No. 19) and infielder Angel Arredondo (No. 28).
While most of the return was for minor leaguers, Los Angeles brought in 22-year-old catcher Moisés Ballesteros in the Zeferjahn deal, and he is the only player to be activated after being traded to the team.
Ballesteros played the whole series against the Baltimore Orioles and went 2-for-11, hitting as the designated hitter in the first two games and catching the final game, making two great plays.
With only one player playing from the fire sale, it’s unclear what the Angels have with the other players. Prospects are prospects for a reason, you never know who will truly hit in the big leagues.
So, where do the Angels currently stand after all the moves? ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle broke down where all teams stand after the deadline, breaking it up into tiers: top-tier contenders, second-tier contenders, teams just hanging on and teams looking ahead to 2027 and beyond.
Part of the rankings was based on roster completion, a percentage showing how close a team is from being a complete unit in the postseason. The Angels ranked dead-last (looking ahead to 2027 and beyond) and had nine percent roster completion.
“While it's nice to see someone running the Angels chart a clear direction and heading for it, things remain murky -- we don't know who'll be calling the shots after this season,” Doolittle wrote Friday. “There's not a unit on this team that doesn't need a whole lot of help.”
This roster was a mess before Los Angeles sold off a bunch of players, as Doolittle mentioned, but this is the best way to address that even if it takes a while. The Angels have spent the last 11 Octobers watching from afar and that trend was going to continue whether they held on to everyone or not.
A rebuild is good for the Angels, and moving on from lefty Reid Detmers, shortstop Zach Neto and hopefully center fielder Mike Trout (who wants to stay) will make that process even better.
