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Trade Targets: The Angels are in desperate need of a rebuild

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It’s hard to imagine a predicament in which a team that has missed the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons is just now starting a rebuild. 

However, that’s the situation the Los Angeles Angels are currently facing, as they’ve gone 15 straight years without winning a post-season game. This is despite having Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, two of the best talents this sport has ever seen, on the same roster for six seasons.

Unlike the other two teams we’ve looked at in this series, the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics, the Angels have quite a few players who could contribute to a playoff-calibre MLB team. But first, let’s look at how the team did in 2024.

A brief overview of the 2024 season for the Angels

If you think the Toronto Blue Jays were never in play for Shohei Ohtani, imagine being the Angels. A player who legitimately may go down as the greatest player in the history of the sport not only departed from your team, giving you just a second-round pick, but he also departed for your cross-town rivals and made the World Series in his first postseason.

Before the 2023 trade deadline, the Angels were just three games back of the final Wild Card. They traded a litany of their top prospects in an already weak farm system for the likes of Lucas Giolito, C.J. Cron, Eduardo Escobar, Randal Grichuk (who was drafted by the Angels a pick before they selected Trout), and many others. By the end of the season, the Angels fell to 15 games behind the final Wild Card spot, designating most of those players for assignment to avoid going over the competitive balance tax.

From the get-go, the 2024 Angels were bad, even more so after Mike Trout missed the majority of the season thanks to injury. Overall, they finished with a 63-99 record, second-worst in the American League and fourth-worst in MLB.

Moreover, according to MLB Pipeline’s mid-season update, their farm system ranked as the second-worst in the league. So yeah, it’s time for the Angels to trade players in arbitration to kick-start this rebuild.

Luis Rengifo

Of any player not named Mike Trout with 100 plate appearances, Luis Rengifo’s 117 wRC+ ranked as the best for the Angels.

Overall, the 27-year-old utility player slashed .300/.347/.417 with six home runs in 304 plate appearances, with a 5.3 BB% and a 14.5 K% for a 1.4 fWAR. There’s power potential there as well, as he hit 16 home runs in 2023 and 17 home runs in 2022.

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Rengifo also plays all over the field, mainly playing third base and second base in 2024, but having experience at shortstop, and each of the three outfield spots. With that being said, Rengifo has one season of arbitration left before becoming a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. He’s expected to make $5.8 million according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Taylor Ward

Taylor Ward is probably the best obtainable position player from the Angels, as he slashed .246/.323/.426 with a career-high 25 home runs in 663 plate appearances for the team this season. Moreover, he had a 9.5 BB% and a 24.6 K% for a 111 wRC+ and a 2.7 fWAR.

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The 30-year-old’s best season was in 2022 though, as he slashed .281/.360/.473 with 23 home runs in 564 plate appearances, along with a 10.6 BB% and a 21.3 K% for a 136 wRC+ and a 3.7 fWAR.

Ward spent the entirety of the 2024 season playing in left field, posting 0 Defensive Runs Saved and 3 Outs Above Average in 1241 innings. Like Rengifo, Ward is set for arbitration and is expected to make $9.2 million. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the 2026 season.

Mike Trout

When healthy, Mike Trout is arguably the best player currently in the sport, maybe even the history of it. Despite that, his team has never won a postseason game in his 14-season career.

Aside from 499 plate appearances in 2022 when he had a 176 wRC+ and 40 home runs, Trout hasn’t played even half a season since 2019. Statistically,  it wasn’t a great season for Trout when he was healthy, as he slashed .220/.325/.451 with 10 home runs in 126 plate appearances for a 139 wRC+, but he still would’ve been one of the best Blue Jays’ hitters.

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The 33-year-old signed a 12-year extension in 2019 and makes $35.542 million towards the luxury tax annually. Not only does the salary pose a significant issue to the Blue Jays unless the Angels send an infinite number of Brinks trucks, but he also has a full No Trade Clause and 10-and-5 rights.

It’s not happening, but imagine a healthy Mike Trout on the Jays.

Carson Fulmer

The Jays need some thump in their bat, but they also need a significant overhaul of their bullpen this off-season if they wish to contend in 2025. Carson Fulmer could be a fit for the Blue Jays. 

Last season, the 30-year-old righty had a 4.15 ERA and a 4.51 FIP in 86.2 innings pitched (37 appearances, eight starts). Moreover, his K% sat at 21.4% while his BB% was on the rather high side of 10.6%. Still, he gets outs, eats innings, and could pitch in a long-man role for the Jays if they were to acquire him.

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Despite pitching at least one inning every year except for 2022 since 2016, Fulmer only has just over three years of service time. He’s entering his first off-season with arbitration and is expected to make $1 million according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Tyler Anderson

One area where the Jays don’t really need help is in their rotation, as Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos, Bowden Francis, and Yariel Rodríguez have it locked down. However, all five of those pitchers are right-handed pitchers, and getting a lefty could be of use.

Enter Tyler Anderson, who had a solid season with the Angels last year. In 31 starts, Anderson had a 3.81 ERA and a 4.66 FIP in 179.1 innings pitched, along with an 18.6 K% and a 9.5 BB% for a 1.6 fWAR.

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His best season came in 2022 with the cross-town Dodgers, where he had a 2.57 ERA and a 3.31 FIP in 178.2 innings pitched, along with a 19.5 K% and a 4.8 BB%. Anderson is under contract for the 2025 season before becoming a free agent and makes $13 million towards the luxury tax.

There are worse left-handed starter options for a higher price.

Reid Detmers

Sometimes, you just need to give Blue Jays pitching coach a task to fix a left-handed starter with good stuff and poor results. Reid Detmers could be that player, as the 25-year-old lefty had a 6.70 ERA and a 4.72 FIP in 87.1 innings pitched last season, along with a 27.9 K% and 9.7 BB%.

Detmers best season was in 2022 where he had a 3.77 ERA and a 3.79 FIP in 129 innings pitched, with a 22.6 K% and a career-best 8.5 BB%. He gets a ton of whiffs and strikes out a ton of batters, featuring a 93.8 mph fastball, a slider, a curveball, and a changeup.

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There’s more positive news in a hypothetical Detmers trade to the Blue Jays, as he has three more seasons of team control remaining. In his first arbitration off-season, he’s expected to make $1.9 million according to MLB Trade Rumors.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.