The Angels are coming off the worst season in franchise history. They lost 99 games for the first time. Only the White Sox, Rockies and Marlins had a worse run differential. The Angels are playing like a rebuilding team, even if they haven’t gotten here intentionally.
Halos brass continues to resist the rebuilding label. Owner Arte Moreno said two weeks ago that he plans to approve a payroll increase and expects the team to compete for a playoff spot. General manager Perry Minasian expressed similar sentiments at his end-of-season press conference. The Angels aren’t about to tear the roster to the studs. At the same time, they can’t run things back while only tinkering with the bullpen (as they did last offseason) and expect markedly better results.
Whether they embrace a short-term reset or look to balance the MLB roster without dealing from one of the league’s worst farm systems, there’s a case for moving Taylor Ward. The 30-year-old left fielder has been the subject of trade speculation dating back to last offseason. The Pirates and Royals reportedly checked in at the most recent deadline. Nothing came together. Pittsburgh ended up acquiring Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins instead. The Royals didn’t address their outfield at the deadline but claimed Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off waivers a few weeks later.
Trading Ward over the summer would have been selling a bit low. After a strong first couple months, he had a dismal stretch between June and July. From June 1 to the start of play on deadline day, Ward hit .175/.280/.313 while striking out at a 28% clip. He had a .227/.309/.401 season line at that point. He wasn’t trending well as a lineup boost for a contender.
Ward hit much better once the deadline passed. From July 30 on, he turned in a stout .282/.348/.471 slash over 230 plate appearances. He cut his strikeouts to a more manageable 23.9% clip and drilled nine home runs. Ward concluded the season with 25 longballs and a .246/.323/.426 showing that’s about in line with his career trajectory. He’s a slightly above-average hitter who plays roughly league average defense in left field. He has crushed left-handed pitching (.315/.374/.509) over the past two seasons while putting up league average numbers (.229/.314/.399) without the platoon advantage. It’s not a star profile, but that’s a valuable regular.
The Halos control Ward for another two seasons. He qualified for early arbitration in 2023 as a Super Two player, so he’s already in line for a notable salary. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $9.2MM sum next season, the highest in the Halos’ arbitration class. He’ll probably be in line for around $12-14MM in his final year of club control.
Ward isn’t too dissimilar from Lane Thomas, whom the Nationals traded to the Guardians at this year’s deadline. Thomas was a little more affordable, playing on a $5.45MM deal in his penultimate arbitration year. The midseason trade meant Cleveland was picking up a year and a half of his services rather than two full seasons. Washington landed a trio of prospects, headlined by recent second-round pick Alex Clemmey and upper minors utility infielder José Tena. That’s a general comparison point for what the Angels could seek for Ward if they were willing to move him for prospects.
Based on Moreno’s and Minasian’s comments, that might not be a consideration. The Angels haven’t merely said they believe they can compete in 2025. Their deadline activity backed that up. Los Angeles didn’t trade anyone who was not an impending free agent despite fielding interest in players like Ward, Luis Rengifo and Tyler Anderson.
Even if the Halos don’t want to make a trade with a firm eye to the future, they could look to deal Ward to net big league pitching. The Angels have one of the worst rotations in MLB. They’ve tended to shy away from significant free agent investments in pitchers, an organizational preference that seems to stem from ownership since it crosses multiple front offices. Trading prospects for rotation help only continues the trend of short-sighted moves that got them in this position.
There aren’t many players they’ll probably be willing to move off the MLB roster. They’re not going to trade Logan O’Hoppe or Zach Neto. Rengifo’s value dropped when he underwent season-ending wrist surgery in August. Anderson had a poor second half and has minimal appeal on a $13MM salary. Trading him for a modest return subtracts one of their few stable sources of innings.
The Angels aren’t exactly overflowing with outfield talent either, but left field is a comparatively easier position to address. That could come internally. Mike Trout has already said he could move off center field in an effort to stay healthy. His arm probably fits better in left than in right. Even if they move Trout to right (or kick Ward to that corner so Trout can handle left field), that could block one of the simplest paths to adding some punch to the lineup. This is a decent class for free agent corner outfielders, with players like Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O’Neill and Michael Conforto available. Trading Ward for a starter would clear a path for a free agent pursuit from someone in that group.
Pittsburgh and Kansas City could renew their interest. The Bucs got very little out of De La Cruz, while Grossman and Pham are free agents. The Reds, Phillies, Braves, Blue Jays and Padres are other teams that could look for corner outfield help this winter. The Tigers and Red Sox are among the teams that’ll be seeking right-handed bats.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
aragon
He was one of very few worth watching. Don’t trade him.
bloomquist4hof
Well if they were realistic then they probably would trade him but sounds they plan on contending and there is some chance they actually can with the current wildcard format even if it’s still quite the long shot.
raulp
The eternal wannabe contenders
bloomquist4hof
I mean if Trout is healthy and they can drum up some decent pitching, it could happen even if even it’s a bit of the stars aligning type luck required
gold masters
I would keep Taylor ward
MarkTwain60
Keep Tyler Ward, trade Tyler Ward or make him Anaheim’s manager- how does that matter? The Angels have the oft-injured Rendon ( maybe the worst tens of millions of $ contract in baseball) , Trout busy working on his tens of millions $ golf course with Tiger Woods in New Jersey, and a bunch of guys whose prior upper curve potential was to get signed by a Mexican League team or sell insurance.
If anything, the remaining Angels fans are typically so old they fondly remember Gene Autry for his movies and radio station empire.
Is it really that much different than the A’s( Campy Campaneris could be an infielder for this stupid clown owner), the Marlins( Livan Hernandez is an upgrade to that Marlin rotation) or some of these other vampire owned teams.
Why ( not to pick on a possibly talented Taylor Ward) such drivel supporting owners just making bank on stupid fans?
baked mcbride
That was comedy worth your name! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
kellin
They need to trade Ward for pitching. An argument can be made that he should be kept as insurance for when Trout goes back down, but the Angels need some serious starter help and this is the best way to get it. Who they can get? I dunno.
vtadave
Not going to get much for him that is big league ready. May as well deal him for prospects.
Samuel
t appears that in 2024 the only team in the AL that the Angels were better than was the record-setting Chicago White Sox.
Saying they’re going to radically improve and contend next year by increasing payroll is what I read here regularly from posters writing about what their cheap team owners need to do. Apparently even the posters know that it won’t work in the case of Arte Moreno / Angels
….and that’s saying something.
It’s quite possible that this is the party line because the sale of season tickets very probably pulled back – if not plummeted – when Shohei Ohtani’s contract ran out (very possibly not only the only decent FA Arte ever signed, but one that very probably exceeded his wildest expectations), followed by the Angels performance in 2024. A good chance the marketing department has informed Arte that 2025’s season ticket sales are looking worse than anyone thought.
–
Arte should go through with the sale of the team. As bad as the entire organization is, it’s still a MLB franchise in Southern California and arguably the wealthiest market of the 3. He’ll get an exceptional price for the franchise. Let some well-heeled investors come in and bankroll an upgrade of the entire organization; with the 40 man player roster for the coming season being the lowest priority until a quality, professional structure is in place to evaluate, acquire, and develop players at all levels.
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
Ward is like their only outfielder worth a damn besides Trout and you don’t know how many games you’ll get out of him.