The Angels need prospects badly. This has been a rebuilding year, with the young guys getting playing time mixed in with mostly journeymen. It would be wise to capitalize on the value of a few players that are performing well, and don’t have a ton of service time left. I’ll discuss some potential trade candidates, teams that would make sense to deal with, and return possibilities/wants.
*Note: I think many of these trades could be combined with relievers, making the return a bit different. I cannot predict combos, so I avoided them.
Luis Rengifo
Rengifo has had a really strong year. He’s a FA after the ‘25 season, and although he is arguably our best player right now, smart teams capitalize on value.
Potential Fits:
- Cincinnati Reds– there is a perception they have a ton of infielders, but their infield offense has been horrible
- Chase Petty: young righty that can light it up. Acquired from Minnesota
- Sal Stewart: 2b/3b
- Ty Floyd: not sure if he’s eligible to be traded since he’s hurt, but has great stuff
- Hector Rodriguez OF- young player, good season thus far. Helium
- Jay Allen: has dropped in their rankings quite a bit, but has figured it out this year and has a ton of potential.
- Minnesota Twins– could fit at 2b, fill in at 3rd.
- Luke Keaschall: having a great year across A+ and AA. can play 2b and outfield
- Emmanuel Rodriguez: this is who I would target, not sure Minn would go for it.
- Charlee Soto/Marco Raya
- Seattle Mariners– probably won’t trade in division, but seattle’s offense stinks
- If you trade with them, you have to make it hurt. That means a top 7 guy and another top 15 guy minimum.
- LA Dodgers– Arte will never sign off, but it’s a pretty decent fit. Can spell Muncy and Lux, and replace Chris Taylor who might be the worst hitter in the league.
- They have a ton of guys in their system. Rushing and De Paula are probably off limits
- Landon Knack, Kyle Hurt, Thayron Liranzo, Maddux Bruns, etc etc.
- Chicago Cubs– After a great year last year, the Cubs are teetering a bit. Rengifo is a big upgrade over Madrigal
- Jefferson Rojas
- Michael Arias
- Kevin Alcantara
- Boston Red Sox– With Story out, their middle infield has been shuffled a ton. Rengifo would add some stability.
- Nick Yorke
- Mikey Romero
- Wikelman Gonzalez
- Padres– Xander most likely out a while (didn’t look good). HSK struggling. Rengifo is way better than Tyler Wade and others. Adam Mazur: I doubt the Pads give him up, but he would be who I ask for
Tyler Anderson
Anderson has had a bounce back season. He has one year left on his deal at $13 mil, which is fairly reasonable with the amount of innings he can provide. He’s not a big strikeout guy, but keeps the team in the game and his changeup has been fantastic. We can take two approaches here: take a lesser package of prospects for salary relief or take on some of his deal for a better return.
Potential Fits:
- Atlanta Braves: They have openly said they are going to shuffle around the 5th starter spot and see what happens. Maybe they want some stability and give their minor leaguers time to develop in the minors.
- A Cade Kuehler and Dave McCabe scenario was floated out there. I don’t hate that return
- I would really take any top 10 guy, highest as possible, plus cash. (international $ would be great)
- Baltimore Orioles: They have had some rotation injuries, and are relying on young pitchers with not a lot of innings. Anderson would give them some stability and innings
- Dylan Beavers: I can’t imagine Anderson would net us any of the top 6 prospects. Would they be desparate enough for an arm that we could get their #7 guy? I’d try to add a bullpen guy along with Anderson to try and snag him
- International money: speaks for itself
- Comp pick: I don’t know the value of these picks, but I’d love to snag another in the top 100.
- Houston Astros– division trades don’t usually happen, but their rotation has been a mess. If they are in it, they might try and go for it one last time.
- I admittedly don’t know much about their system. I do like Brice Matthews, but that’s a bit rich for Houston. Their system is pretty thin, I’d expect a top 10 guy.
- Texas Rangers– injuries to Scherzer and DeGrom are a concern and how they will bounce back. Also have injury history with Gray, and their other starters (besides Eovaldi) all have question marks.
- They dont have a deep system, but I would insist on a top 10 guy at the very least
- Arizona– they have been a bit lackluster so far. Gallen, Kelly and Monty are fine, but they could use another arm
- Deyvison De Los Santos: Would be a great get, doubt AZ would do it.
- Landon Sims: add to the pen
Bullpen Guys: Strickland, Cimber, Moore, Garcia, Estevez
I would not expect any kind of big return for any of them, but most every team could use a bullpen arm. All free agents after the season. Get the best prospect you can.
Kevin Pillar
Pillar has been stellar, and really brought excitement and clutch to this team. He’s a journeyman, and would not return a whole lot, but maybe there is a team out there that thinks they can use his hot start and fit it into their rotation.
Potential Fits:
- Atlanta Braves– Acuna injury, need a guy in the rotation that’s not expensive. It worked out when they won the WS, maybe they see if lightning strikes twice
- Drue Hackenburg
- Garrett Baumann
- Cinci– injuries have hurt them. Can always use a vet to help the young guys along.
- Any top 15-20 would be a good get
- Cleveland– Pillar just seems like a Cleveland guy, and they can use as much offense as they can get
- Kahlil Watson: Former top pick that fell out of favor in Miami, he’s still young and super talented. Worth a flier IMO
- Jhokensy Noel: basically Miguel Sano 2.0. Can play 1st and 3rd and some outfield. Hits mammoth homers, but has some swing and miss
- Giants– I don’t think it’s a great fit, but they could use some outfield help and some experience. Seems like the Giants love to platoon and use guys in a variety of ways to get the best out of them.
- Wade Meckler: Has fallen out of favor a bit with a couple cups of coffee. Has a good track record in the minors and could use a change of scenery.
Brandon Drury
Drury is a tough one to figure out. He’s had a tough start to the year (per usual for him tbh) and has been injured. If he bounces back to his normal self, he could be a great option for a team looking to shore up their offense at 2b, 1b, and DH.
Potential fits: (similar reasoning as Rengifo)
- Boston
- Cincinatti
- Seattle
- Minnesota
- San Diego
- Chicago
Wild Cards
Taylor Ward
Ward is on pace for a 30 homer season with 100 RBI’s. I don’t anticipate a trade, but if we want to capitalize on return and get a good haul, now is the time. He has a little more control, which would up the return. Trading him would signal a rebuild, but if you get a couple of high end guys for him, that would cushion the blow.
Potential fits:
- Atlanta Braves– This is the obvious one, with Ronal Acuna Jr. out for the season. The Braves have said they will go with Duval, Kelenic and Harris full time, but they could still swing a deal. Perry and AA have an obvious relationship, having swung many trades already.
- Hurston Waldrop: any trade with Ward, this is the guy you have to get or there’s no deal
- Cade Kuehler: Former teammate of Neto. Good arm.
- Luis Guanipa: Highly rated international prospect last year. Tons of ability. One of the few position players have in their system with promise
- Cincinnati Reds– struggling offense mixed with injuries. Do the Reds go for it in a weak division? They also have a ton of young players that would interest the Halos.
- I think Lowder is off limits, but I would inquire there.
- Noelvi Marte: suspended right now, not sure he’s worth the risk, but would be a great get
- Edwin Arroyo SS
- Cam Collier: I don’t think they would include him, but have to give up something to get something.
- Cleveland– They need offense, and Ward would fit nicely behind Jose Ramirez
- Ralphy Velasquez: 1b and C, young hitter with good feel. Also a local kid (HB). Might be a bit rich for them, but with Naylor and Manzardo, not sure where he fits in.
- Juan Brito: basically a carbon copy of Rengifo with less speed. Coming into his own this year.
- Joey Cantillo: a little older (24), but his stuff has improved a ton since the trade to Cleveland.
- TBD: if a team sustains an injury in the outfield and are in contention, they might come calling.
Griffin Canning
Canning started the year horribly, but his last 5-6 starts have been really good. He only has one year of control left, and could command a good prospect or two for a contending team in need of a starter.
Potential fits: (essentially the same as Anderson)
- Atlanta Braves
- Would have to get JR Ritche, plus another top 15 guy
- Baltimore Orioles
- Connor Norby: I think the top 3 guys are almost untouchable. He can play 2b and OF, and is a bit overlooked in their system with all the talent they have
- Heston Kjerstad: got a cup of coffee in the bigs, but the O’s have so much talent that there really wasn’t a spot for him. I suspect they will let Santander go this offseason to open a spot for him, but if they go for it, this would be a great add.
- Astros
- Brice Matthews would be a nice get
- Luis Baez would be a good get. Their #2 prospect is a big ask, but their system is very very thin
- Rangers
- Have to make this one hurt. Foscue and Walcott are off limits I’m sure. I would target Brock Porter and Jack Leiter in any talks
- Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
With a lame duck GM, curious how much inertia Perry will put in acquiring players he will likely will never have the opportunity to manage
that’s not really how that works
Will Perry trade guys under team control or just the obvious one and done. Not knowing his future in the organization may limit him to the latter. I hope the plan is to reset and trade pieces under team control.
I don’t like to root for a team that is tanking, even if I realize it can help the team later on. That said, I see three players as not tradable no matter what: Neto, O’Hoppe and Soriano. These three are young enough and play positions it would be hard to replace. I see three players as already gone: Rengifo, Ward and Anderson. Those three are doing well enough to be trade targets and have replacements available, if not able to duplicate their statistics. Everyone else is a possibility though I’d rather keep players under age 27, except for relief pitchers. All of our relief pitchers, save for maybe Silseth, are people that could be replaced when the team is ready to compete for a playoff spot.
We gave up a lot for Giolito. A rental. Anderson is much better, and has another year of control. Thus, the return should be better!
Of course this presumes there is another trader out there at least as dumb as ours…
Excellent points. For a guy like Anderson or Rengifo, they need to get credible players back that that, you know, actually play. Not guys that are 2-3 years away from maybe becoming players. Otherwise, it isn’t worth it. Although one can argue with Rengifo that once Drury, Trout, and Rendon come back, Rengifo isn’t as important anymore so reading him for a recent return could make sense. But real players in return. For example, if you trade Anderson to give the Orioles their shot at a WS, you don’t settle for their seventh best prospect pitcher. Needs to be a top 3-4 arm. They get Anderson for two years at a nice price. That’s the mentality you need to have.
I want THE PAIN!!!
I want to watch CTPG Guy live through a true rebuild. I also just want a true rebuild. While it’s the case that Rendon and Trout are immovable I want to trade ANYBODY we can for prospects…. or young players.
And no. I don’t give a shit about hurr durr urr deeverrrlopmert sux. Prospects bust. Hell, just look at yesterday…. two names, Spencer Torkelson and Jay Groome. Both failing to develop. I follow a lot of teams MiLB systems. I like prospects. But I also know that even GOOD systems like the Indiguards have guys who fail to develop or fail to stay healthy pretty much half the time.
Thus I want quantity of some quality. I want our “veterans” to be Neto and Adell. Sure, we’ll still have the heavy contracts, we’ll also pepper in a few veterans as stop gaps. But we are shooting for the team being good when we have to start thinking about extending Adell, Logan, Zach, etc. Having a pile of fairly solid High A to AA talent coming in behind those guys will help a lot.
The team will likely suck for at least another year.
The good news is, when successful, the team has the money to extend young talent AND sign some FAs when it makes sense.
So trade all of the Angels players above if we can. Trade them for as many prospects that we rate higher than Kyren Paris and Mason Erla as we can get. Trade within the division or West, I don’t care because most of the guys we’re talking about will be free to sign with the Mariners or Doyers by the time we’re good anyway. Most of the guys we’re talking about here are players I like. It will suck to watch this team if they all go.
It’s also true we’re not getting a prospect like Petty unless there’s a much larger market for Ward/Anderson/Rengifo than we thought.
But still. The Doyers may need arms. The Padres, the Rays, The Tigers, The Royals, The Cubs, The Guards, The Twins, The Brewers and the Red Sox could all benefit from snagging some of our players for a post season run and all of them have prospects in the mid-range of their top 30 I’d love for us to get. None of them are “game changers” that make us a top 5 farm, but I think if we trade four or five players and get a group of eight to ten solid prospects that aren’t 17 years old we could get 3-4 solid contributors to a hot young team in 2026.
Let’s trade em all baby!
I believe it’s the only workable path out of this mess.
Exactly!
We’re going nowhere in the next couple years. Teams that turn it around have solid minor leaguers to bring up. We’re starting with very little.
Bringing in multiple solid prospects with longer arrival time frames sounds better than fewer prospects closer to mlb. In 2-3 years, some of them should work out. Now if we could just scout well and take advantage of our draft position..
So, curious how you know that “we’re going nowhere the next couple of years”?
Is there anyone we can package with Arte and Perry?
Perry?
OK, How about Arte and Carpino?
In order to do this right, you really need to have a plan for what time in the future you’re shooting for and that will influence who you trade and who you trade for. Definitely should be looking to trade Rengifo, Anderson, and Canning, as they expire after next year. I think you should hold onto Ward and Sandy as they are still under control for two years after this unless you get offered something you can’t refuse. If the Angels keep Ward, then they probably need a DH, a middle of the order RF, a 1B, a 2B, and a 3B, position player wise to be competitive, unless Schanuel turns into something he currently is not. That’s a lot. They may draft a college player this year who fills one of those slots, and it’s possible Adell recovers to fill another. But that’s what you’re looking at not counting pitching. I’m becoming a little more optimistic about the starting pitching but we will be losing Canning and Anderson after next years and Sandy the following year.
The fact that Ward and Sandy are still under team control for 2 years is what makes them valuable. That is when the Angels should have traded Ohtani. The biggest mistake is holding onto players that are gone anyway too long.
So just to be clear, you don’t believe the Angels will be competitive until 2027 and you’re writing off the next two years after this one? That is one school of thought and I am not being critical just clarifying. In that case, Ward and Sandy have no value to you other than trade value. And you’ll need 2 OFs instead of one. It also means we’re likely tanking for at least 3 years counting this one. I would support that if I thought it was a real plan, not for you, but for the club. The hard part for me is that this team has never been willing to trade players that still had value in the last 15 years, even when the team wasn’t any good. As much as it makes sense, I’m having a very difficult time seeing the team even trade Anderson, Rengifo, or Canning. This team has never operated with the future in mind, It always focuses only on the present.
2026 is the absolute earliest I can see this team being competitive.
Keep in mind the Angels are horrible at every single level of baseball right now other than AA and the AA roster isn’t exactly loaded with top talent.
We could potentially add a lot of talent to the AA level by trading Anderson, Ward, and Rengifo then going super heavy on college players in this upcoming draft. Then give that talent a year or two to move up.
I think I’d keep Sandoval. His trade value can’t be all that high and we will need somebody to throw the ball.
Best case scenario is a trade bonanza plus back to back college heavy drafts has the team competitive in 2026.
If the team wants to target 2026 that means trading for prospects currently in High A or above, preferably AA.
Given how bad this organization is at developing talent, I’d definitely shoot for prospects at the AA level that have already been coached by better organizations.
Unless we’re going to have a 300M payroll I absolutely agree. Get ready for another year like this in 25 and maybe even another one in 26.
You did your homework for sure; I can see Rengifo and Ward and Anderson packaged together for a return of top young minor leaguers from the Orioles. No mention of Adell, is it he has zero worth or just an over site? Atlanta could be a landing spot for Adell. Estevez and Sandoval and Moore have some upside to helping a team get to a better position in the Playoffs possibly also.
Adell has more potential than trade value. The Angels are better served keeping him and letting him play than trading him for peanuts.
Ward is an established MLB quality player with 1.5 years of service time ahead of him. That’s the guy a team like Atlanta wants for a playoff push.
Too bad. F_ Atlanta.
I don’t care about what they want. How would a Dodgers fan or Yankees fan respond if some team wanted to pry Volpe away, or better yet Luis Gil ? Too many people here (not talking about you Jeff) are happy to trade away our best players. There needs to be resistance to doing this.
Just look at the Doyers. They consistently shoot teams down who try to trade for guys they (the Dodgers) like who are established or whom they feel have great potential. When they trade they usually give up/give away the guys they want to give away. We have to start thinking like this. It can be done and it IS done, even it not all the time.
on the other hand, look at the rays… they traded guys with years of control left for packages to reset and retool. Not all best players are the same, especially in the situation we are in
Yankees are in first place, of course they aren’t going to trade Gil or Volpe. We aren’t contending, and probably not next year either, which is why you could/should trade players with significant value and get the best return to retool.
Well, number one I disagree that we can automatically throw the 2025 season out the window already right now. In fact I strongly disagree with that idea. I have brought up the KC Royals on more than one occasion and they are proof of the kind of turnaround that can happen in only one season. This is why I am loath to trade Tyler Anderson. He can still be a very valuable part of our rotation next year. Now, if we reach late June or July of 2025 and we are not in the race, then that would be different.
As for the Yankees, that was just one example. I understand they are in a race, but it goes beyond that. It is about organizational approach and philosophy. In our case, I think it is really more about the fans and less about our GM etc. It seems nearly all of our fans (at least the vast majority who frequent this site) all have a hard on to trade away our best players. And for what ? Nobody ever suggets what specifically we would get back. They usually just say “prospects.” To me “prospects” = shit. In fact, about 90% of the time that is accurate. So, unless a player is a FA at the end of THAT SEASON, and has intimated that he wants to leave, or flat our said so, we should have a default position of trying to retain productive players.
Statistically speaking that is just better for the organization. Most people here on CTPG are like bored housewives and they talk about trading talent away the way the bored ladies gossip about neighbors. It is entertainment. But as far as whether it helps the team or not, as stated, most of the time you trade established talent for an unproven player or players you come out on the losing end.
When I mentioned the Dodgers and Yankees it was more about an attitude. They play hardball when it comes to deals and trades. And the fanbases generally follow suit and act the same way. If somebody expects to get one of their young players or even vets they are incredulous. They expect or ask for the moon. I think there is value in that approach. You set high expectations and it tends to lead to better results.
People here just like to fantasize about what might be in a trade, just like buying a lottery ticket. They do this instead of looking at the harsh reality that in most cases prospects don’t pan out.
i see what you are saying, especially as far as the royals. My point I guess with the trades is that just because you trade someone doesn’t mean there is just an irreplaceable hole. Anderson and sandy for example; if you go after pitching in the offseason, those guys are being replaced, and you have the added benefit of having the prospects/players that you received in return to fill other spots.
The problem with trading an asset and creating a hole is that you are basically robbing Peter to pay Paul. And I have said this before as well ; if you create a new hole in attempting to fill a different one what have you really gained ? Just expecting that “we can fill that hole in the off-season” is very risky. I always say “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” Here we could say “A Ward in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
And especially when it comes to pitching (our biggest need by far) we can’t afford to give up Anderson, who is really the only solid starter we have right now. Sure Detmers might bounce back next year, and Sandy might as well. But we need pitching and that is one area we should not be trading.
Whether you trade them or not, the holes are going to be there anyway, so why not attempt to fill them.
Frosty, your view is one way of looking at things. Many others, including myself, disagree with your position. That doesn’t make either one right or wrong, just different. Neither viewpoint can be proven right or wrong because they involve the future. No one who has disagreed with you has called you names or referred to you, your position, or your argument as in any way inferior, just a different position. Those who disagree with you have valid points and arguments, and referring to them as “bored housewives” immediately makes you sound silly and your position look as if it has no substantiation. The fact is that most people here don’t believe the Angels will be good next year, and very possibly the year after, effectively reducing the value of anyone whose contract expires during that time. Not trading those individuals would mean that they would be gone and you would be starting over in two years instead of now. I realize you disagree, so be it. None of us have a say, we are just providing our thoughts. Hanging on to players who will be gone anyway in 1-2 years makes no sense to some of us if the team isn’t going to win anyway and it could be rebuilding for when they leave. Hanging on to players is exactly what the club has been doing for the last 15 years and that has definitely not worked. In your Kansas City example, they did not turn things around in one year. Yes, they only won 56 games in 2023, but they only won 65 games in 2022, and 74 games 2021. Using that as an example, last year we won 73 games and this year we will be in the 50s and 60s, and then we should be looking forward to at least one more 50-60 win season next year, possibly more. KC has been building for a while, I have no idea how long. The year that we turn it around will look just like this year and last year does for KC, but it clearly won’t be next year. And although things may be down for our division this year, it has historically been much tougher.
As regards the “bored housewives” comment ; if the shoe fits, wear it …
Nice Frosty, Thanks for confirming for me what the others here already know.
Thanks Roy, for doing your best to be the adult in the room.
Lol. What about my post was inappropriate ?
I find it interesting that you feel that comment was directed at you. Because it wasn’t directed at any person in particular.
And yet you clearly took it personally. Hmmmm. Maybe some insecurity there, perhaps.
I get that but the Dodgers shy away from trading young players. Vople is 23 and has 6 years of club control.
Ward is already 30.
If it takes the Angels another 2-3 years to be competitive the Angels will need to extend Ward to keep him in the fold. Then they are paying for his age 33 on seasons, which isn’t a smart thing to do.
Adell was definitely an oversite, I wrote this about a week ago.
I’ve been pretty vocal that I don’t think Adell is very good, so I would absolutely trade him
I don’t see Baltimore as a fit for Rengifo or Ward. They already have way too many outfielders, and they have Mayo and Jackson if they need an infielder.
Any trade that the Angels can do where they can nab Mayo from the O’s would be a coup. He’ll be the Angels’ 3B of the future, and maybe even present.
I’d love it, just very unlikely,
Nice work.
I’m OK with trading Rengifo to Seattle as the Angels won’t be good during the 1.5 years Seattle is guaranteed to have Rengifo.
In looking at MLBPipeline, the Seattle system is very top heavy. Jonny Farmelo is rated their sixth best guy and only carries a future value of 50, meaning he’s another Nelson Rada level guy.
I like the Twins options there and would target the same guy. Twins likely say no.
Excellent work cook…thanks!!
would love to hear some feedback!
Also if you can think of any other things I can write about, lmk!