The Angels roster going into the trade deadline was average, to say the least. Going into the deadline they decided to go all in and make moves to try and convince Shohei Ohtani they are a competitive team ready to be a playoff team. However, that experiment was for not as they have had one of the worst records since the trade deadline with them completely falling out of the race.
Since making those big moves their record has been 11-26 as they sit 15 games back of the AL West and 12.5 back of the last wild card spot. The Angels roster has looked worse since the deadline and it may get worse. So, what went wrong and where do the Angels go from here?
Where did the Angels Roster Fall Apart?
For the Angels, the goal was to get Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout into the playoffs so they could raise their stock with the Ohtani camp so he would stay with the Angels. They gave up multiple top prospects to get solid players such as Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Randal Grichuk, and CJ. Cron to help support their stars.
What did not help their cause was the injury bug that affected the Angels roster. Before the trade deadline, Mike Trout got hurt with a fractured bone in his hand. Shohei Ohtani then got hurt with a diagnosed partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament which shut him down on the pitching side. Ohtani being the most valuable player on this team both ways hurt the teams’ chances to make a run at the playoffs. Without him, they did not stand a chance against some of the powerhouses they faced down the stretch.
The Angel’s schedule did not help them along with the crucial injuries they had. They faced eight teams above .500 after the trade deadline including teams like the Orioles, Rangers, Astros, and Giants. It did not help that they did not take games from bad teams like the Oakland Athletics who they got swept by last week.
What Do the Angels Do Now?
The Angels traded a lot of their top prospects in the Lopez and Giolito deal so what can this team look like next year? A lot of teams will be in on Shohei Ohtani in the offseason including the Angels. However, the likelihood of him staying with the Angels is low because of not having the ability to get to the playoffs. Without Ohtani, the Angels may go into a full rebuild and attempt to get younger.
On Sunday, a recent report from Bob Nightengale suggested that the Angels are willing to trade Mike Trout if okay as a deal. That is the first shoe to drop in this saga of many exits the Angels may make to help this organization reset. If the Angels get rid of Trout the front office may look to get Anthony Rendon in a trade to try and slowly reset their money.
In these trades the Angels gave up a lot of young talent to acquire these veterans. In the Giolito and Lopez, the Angels gave up catcher Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush. In the Angels farm system, they were the number two and three prospects in their MLB pipeline. Now, looking at the current Angels roster Bush and Quero would not be able to fix the Angels starting lineup to try and make the playoffs.
Overall, this team should look very different next season. There is not a lot of current young talent in their farm system so it may take some time to recover from this mismanagement. The Angels had two of the best players of this generation and with mismanagement and injuries, they were never able to make it over the hump to get in the playoffs to be put on display for the whole world to see.
Main Image Credit
Embed from Getty Images
