Report Yankees Closing Secret Deal To Sign Los Angeles Angels MVP In A Blockbuster Trade
At last season’s trade deadline, the Los Angeles Angels were stuck between a rock and a hard place. On July 31st, the Halos were 56-51 and 4.5 games off the pace in a jumbled AL West picture. Should they trade Shohei Ohtani for a haul of prospects to kickstart a rebuild? Or should they push in their chips, attempting to capitalize on their last ride with the one-of-a-kind superstar?
They chose door number two, trading four of their top 30 prospects to bring in supplemental pieces Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, CJ Cron, and Randal Grichuk. It was a fateful decision that backfired almost immediately. Giolito posted a 6.89 ERA in six starts before getting DFA’d, Cron managed only a .519 OPS in his return to LA, and Ohtani tore his UCL as the Angels finished 73-89 with nothing to show for having landed the most talented player of his generation.
At this year’s deadline, expect no such uncertainty. Languishing near the bottom of the AL and with their last remaining star, Mike Trout, still recovering from a torn meniscus, the Angels will assuredly be sellers this time around. But what will the perpetually moribund franchise have to offer other teams, even in what is expected to be a seller’s market?
The top two names likely to be moved are Taylor Ward and Tyler Anderson. After a breakout 2022 campaign, Ward endured a disappointing and injury-marred season last year. The 30-year-old left fielder has returned to form this season, slashing .245/.327/.447 with 14 home runs and a 116 OPS+. He’s also graded out surprisingly well in the field, recording 4 DRS, though his career -12 DRS entering the season suggests that may be unsustainable. Under club control through the 2026 season, Ward offers a reasonably high-floor outfield bat.
It’s a similar story for Anderson. After an unremarkable, journeyman start to his career, the southpaw went 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA in 2022 with the Dodgers. After inking a three-year deal to join the pitching-starved Angels, he had a dreadful 2023 in which he posted a 5.43 ERA in 27 appearances. This year he’s looked much more like the pitcher who was an All-Star for the other LA team, pitching to a 2.63 ERA and 160 ERA+ in 16 starts. Now 34, Anderson can immediately slot into the middle of a contender’s rotation.
The Angels’ bullpen is filled with relievers in their 30s (Carlos Estévez, Luis García, Matt Moore, Hunter Strickland, Carson Fulmer, and Adam Cimber) who should be on the block as well. Estévez, the Halos’ closer and only bullpen arm who’s been above league average by ERA+, is the clear prize of the bunch. A free agent after this season, the right-hander has a 3.24 ERA and 15 saves in 25 innings while his strikeout-to-walk ratio of nine ranks seventh in baseball among relievers. Griffin Canning, a 28-year-old with 79 career starts at a 97 ERA+, is under control through next year and provides viable innings-eater potential at what would likely be a low cost.
Among position players, Luis Rengifo is following up a solid 2023 with an even better 2024, slashing .308/.357/.419 while slotting in at second and third base. The 27-year-old, who carries with him another year of club control, should be a desirable commodity for teams with infield trouble. 35-year-old outfielder Kevin Pillar is having a career year with the bat, posting a .873 OPS on the strength of a .393/.433/.696 slash line against lefties. While that level of performance is likely a blip, his career numbers against lefties (.283/.314/.472 slash line, 121 OPS+) indicate he could be a valuable platoon piece for a lefty-heavy contender. Former Yankee Brandon Drury has been a disaster this year, slashing .173/.233/.236, but his 118 OPS+ over the previous three seasons and positional flexibility could be cause enough for a team to take a flier on him.
Then, of course, there’s the elephant in the room. Trout, the future Hall of Famer perpetually at the center of trade rumors, is a shell of the man who won three MVPs in his 20s. Now a few weeks from his 33rd birthday, he did show he can still rake, swatting 10 home runs in just 126 plate appearances before landing on the IL yet again. But, considering Trout’s status as the Angels’ greatest icon and the diminished value that would come from trading him in the midst of another season derailed by injury, it’s highly unlikely they move him in-season this year.
For the Yankees, Rengifo is the most intriguing position player fit. With DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, and Anthony Rizzo’s struggles (and the latter’s injury), the infielder could slot in at either second or third, allowing some combination of LeMahieu, Torres, Rizzo (when healthy), Ben Rice, and J.D. Davis to man the other position as well as first base. In theory, Drury could be a fit along the same lines, but adding another struggling veteran to the mix seems unlikely to help the situation.
New York is expected to seek bullpen help as well. Estévez would be the biggest splash, but given their track record with bullpen reclamation projects, it seems more likely the Yankees would target someone like García, whose 50.5-percent ground-ball rate ranks in the 82nd percentile in baseball and whose sinkerballing style aligns with previous success stories like Clay Holmes.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll see if the Yankees target any of these players or look elsewhere to augment their roster. But this Angels team is a reminder that, even on the most disappointing of teams, there is substantial talent to be pillaged.
MORE FROM PINSTRIPE ALLEY
