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Taylor Ward

Conflicting Reports On Angels Outfield Situation

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12:43pm: On the Baseball Insiders podcast, Robert Murray of FanSided says the Angels are not in fact close to trading an outfielder (hat tip to Sam Blum of The Athletic and Beyond the Halo on X)

9:28am: Yesterday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (X link) reported that the Angels seemed to be close to trading an outfielder. Nothing has come together yet but it’s possible that talks are still ongoing. It wasn’t specified which outfielder they were about to trade but Feinsand suggested that Taylor Ward would make sense since there have been rumors of other clubs being interested in him. However, Ward’s agent Joel Wolfe told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (X link) that he hadn’t heard anything about trade talks involving his client. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there aren’t discussions happening but members of the Atlanta beat like David O’Brien of The Athletic (X link) and Mark Bowman of MLB.com (X link) both report that, if there is an imminent Ward trade, it won’t be to Atlanta.

Ward has seemed like a logical trade candidate for a while now. As the Angels have struggled to compete in recent years, there has been natural speculation about the veteran players on the roster with shrinking windows of club control. Ward will be celebrating his 31st birthday this Saturday and can be retained via arbitration for two more seasons.

If the Angels were pivoting towards a sort of reset, it would make sense to trade Ward for younger and more controllable players. However, despite just losing 99 games in the most recent season, the Halos are clearly trying to contend in 2025. Both owner Arte Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian made it clear that was the plan for this winter and they have backed that up, acquiring Yusei Kikuchi, Jorge Soler, Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks and others already.

In that context, trading Ward becomes a bit more difficult to see. The outfield is already a fairly thin part of the roster, consisting of Ward, Mike Trout, Jo Adell, Mickey Moniak and perhaps Soler. Trout has become increasingly injury prone in recent years, having not played 120 games in a season since 2019. Soler is a poor defender and best suited to be the designated hitter more often than not. Adell and Moniak still have poor offensive track records overall.

Subtracting Ward from that group would make it even flimsier but clubs would certainly be interested if he were available. He has hit .259/.338/.440 over the past four years for a wRC+ of 118, indicating he’s been 18% better than the league average hitter in that time. His defense has also been graded around league average or above, allowing him to play at a pace of about two to four wins above replacement per year, according to FanGraphs.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Ward for a $9.2MM salary in 2025, a notable sum but still a bargain for a player like Ward. Free agent corner outfielders like Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández are likely to command multi-year contracts with average annual values double that. Ward would be in line for a raise in 2026, his final season before free agency, but that figure would still be a good deal if he continues to produce at his usual rates.

A trade coming together would naturally depend on what other clubs are willing to offer. Perhaps the Angels get offered some big league pitching or infield help that they feel is worth taking, but they would then have to pivot to replacing Ward in the outfield mix. The Pirates and Royals were both connected to Ward at the trade deadline with Kansas City reportedly still interested in him as of last month, though the Angels haven’t let go of him yet.

Some fans might hear about the Angels potentially trading an outfielder and jump to Trout but it’s hard to imagine a trade like that coming out of the blue. He has a full no-trade clause and has repeatedly said that he wants to stay and win with the Angels. It’s possible that he changes his mind at some point but there’s hasn’t been any public suggestion that has happened.

His contract is also hard to move from a financial perspective. Trout is paid at superstar rates but hasn’t been able to provide that production in a while. He’s always good when he’s on the field but hasn’t been out there enough to accrue counting stats at his previous levels. He’s set to make $35.45MM annually for another six seasons. Even for a marquee name like Trout, that’s a lot of money for a guy who’s now 33 years old with mounting injury concerns.

Even if Trout wanted to be traded, it would be a tricky spot for the Halos since they would likely have to settle for a middling return on a franchise player or eat money just to get a notable package, which isn’t a great P.R. position either way.

It’s also possible Moniak or Adell are the ones being discussed, though neither would have huge value right now. Moniak has stepped to the plate 908 times in the majors thus far with a .230/.272/.402 batting line and 32.3% strikeout rate. Adell has hit .211/.268/.381 in his career with a 32.2% strikeout rate.

It’s possible to see some improvement from Adell in 2024, as he popped 24 home runs while lowering his strikeout rate to 27.9%. His overall production was still subpar but his .244 batting average on balls in play was well below league average. It’s possible he took a meaningful step forward this past year and will break out with better luck in 2025 but he’s floundered so many times that teams might be reluctant to bet on that.

Royals Have Shown Interest In Alec Bohm, Taylor Ward

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The Royals have reportedly spoken to the Reds about a trade involving Kansas City right-hander Brady Singer and Cincinnati infielder Jonathan India, but that’s just one of multiple pursuits for Royals general manager J.J. Picollo, it seems. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports that while no deals are necessarily close as of this moment, the Royals have also spoken to the Phillies about third baseman Alec Bohm and to the Angels about outfielder Taylor Ward. Like India, both Bohm and Ward are right-handed bats with multiple seasons of club control remaining.

Bohm, 28, was the No. 3 overall pick back in 2018 and has settled in as a regular at third base in Philadelphia over the past four-plus seasons. He’s coming off an uneven 2024 season in which he was one of the game’s most productive hitters in April but followed it with five months of effectively league-average production. On the whole, he turned in a .280/.332/.448 batting line (115 wRC+). Over the past three seasons, Bohm has combined for a .278/.325/.427 slash, demolishing left-handed pitching along the way but producing at a roughly average clip against fellow righties.

Given his excellent bat-to-ball skills — 14.2% strikeout rate in 2024; 15.7% dating back to 2022 — Bohm is a sensible target for a Royals club that places a heavy emphasis on putting the ball in play. Kansas City had baseball’s third-lowest strikeout rate in 2024, and since 2021 only five teams have posted a lower collective strikeout rate than the Royals. Plugging Bohm in as a regular at third base would provide an offensive upgrade over slick-fielding Maikel Garcia, who’s arguably better suited as a utilityman, given his defensive chops.

Speaking of glovework, however, Bohm is something of a mixed bag on that front. The Royals have typically prioritized plus defenders in addition to their affinity for contact-oriented bats. Bohm has typically graded out as a poor defender at the hot corner, but he posted career-best marks in Defensive Runs Saved (0) and Outs Above Average (4) in 2024. If the Royals believe those gains can be sustained, he’d make all the more sense as a trade target.

Bohm is controlled for another two seasons. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.1MM in his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility in 2025. It’s a generally reasonable rate that shouldn’t be cumbersome, even for a mid-level payroll club like Kansas City. While the Royals have in-house options at third base (Garcia) and at second base (Michael Massey), their interest in India and Bohm suggests a desire to add at least one bat to that infield mix. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and, of course, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. aren’t going to be displaced, leaving second base or third base as the likely positions to be upgraded.

For the Phillies, trading Bohm wouldn’t be so much about shedding salary or moving on from an unproductive player as it would reimagining an offense that hasn’t gotten them over the hump in recent postseason trips. Bohm has hit well with men on base in recent seasons (hence consecutive 97 RBI campaigns) but offers average power and stark platoon splits. The Phillies, meanwhile, don’t have ample pathways to pursuing upgrades in the lineup. First base (Bryce Harper), shortstop (Trea Turner), designated hitter (Kyle Schwarber), catcher (J.T. Realmuto) and right field (Nick Castellanos) are all manned by expensive veterans. Third base (Bohm), second base (Bryson Stott) and the other two outfield spots (combination of Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Austin Hays) are the primary areas where president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski can look to bring about some form of change.

As for Ward, he’s an on-paper trade candidate for an Angels club that just finished dead last in the American League West. However, owner Arte Moreno and GM Perry Minasian have both expressed a desire to put forth a competitive club next winter. Ward, coming off a .246/.323/.426 (111 wRC+) showing in 2024 and a .259/.338/.440 line (118 wRC+) since 2021, is seemingly a part of that vision. Few outsiders see a path to contention for the ’25 Angels, but the team’s actions thus far — trading for Jorge Soler and signing Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks and Kevin Newman — suggest that they’re more focused on adding than on subtracting.

As MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored last month, there’s a scenario where the Angels move Ward and still make an effort to compete. Ward could be flipped for rotation help — a potential match with the Royals — or traded for younger talent, with the Angels reallocating his would-be salary to other areas of need. Swartz projects Ward for a $9.2MM salary in 2025, which isn’t unreasonable for a player of his ability but also isn’t a raucous bargain. The Royals could plug Ward into left field, providing a stark upgrade over MJ Melendez, and pair him with defensive standout Kyle Isbel in center and rebound hopeful Hunter Renfroe in right field.

There’s no telling just yet how it’ll all shake out, but it seems Kansas City is quite active on the trade front at the moment. In addition to the bats they’ve targeted, the Royals have received interest from other clubs in each of the aforementioned Garcia, Singer, right-hander Alec Marsh and left-hander Kris Bubic. Picollo and his staff seemingly have plenty of potential concepts to explore, with the end goal of bolstering a currently top-heavy lineup a fairly obvious priority.

Trade Candidate: Taylor Ward

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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.

Angels Notes: Rengifo, Ward, Pillar, Garcia, Trout

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Reports earlier this month indicated that the Angels were planning to move only their impending free agents at the deadline, and were looking to retain players controlled through the 2025 season or beyond.  The Halos have stuck to this plan to date by moving only Carlos Estevez to the Phillies, but it seems like the club is preparing to deal some longer-term assets, as rival executives tell MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that both Luis Rengifo and Taylor Ward are expected to be dealt.  “The Angels are listening to offers on” the duo, Feinsand writes.

The Red Sox and Dodgers are both reportedly in on Rengifo, the Pirates have had talks about Ward, and the Royals have previously been linked to both players in trade speculation.  With some interest percolating around the league, it stood to reason that the Angels might back down from whatever rentals-only stance they might’ve held earlier in the summer, if such a stance was even anything more than a negotiating tactic.

It is hard at this point to see the Angels returning to contention as early as next season, and therefore there seems to be little reason why the team wouldn’t be open to moving two of their better trade assets.  Rengifo is under arbitration control through the 2025 season and Ward won’t be a free agent until after the 2026 season, so this extra control would only add to their trade value, rather than perhaps act as a reason why Los Angeles should try to keep them with so many other glaring needs on the roster.

In terms of the Halos’ rental players, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes (X link) that Kevin Pillar is getting “lots of interest” from rival teams.  Playing in a part-time capacity since signing with the Halos in April, Pillar is hitting .287/.343/.481 over 199 plate appearances — this works out to a 130 wRC+, miles above the 86 wRC+ Pillar posted in his 11 previous Major League seasons.

It counts as going out on a high note for a player who is planning to retire at season’s end, and joining a contender would be a nice way to perhaps add a championship ring to Pillar’s resume.  Even if some regression is probably inevitable given how Pillar is hitting so far above his career norms, the veteran can still provide outfield depth along with whatever he can do at the plate.

The Orioles are known to be looking for right-handed hitting outfielders, and Heyman writes in a separate X post that Pillar is one of the names on Baltimore’s list of possible targets.  The Orioles added Cristian Pache as part of the Austin Hays trade with the Phillies, but the 2024 version of Pillar would bring a lot more pop than a defensive specialist like Pache.

The Estevez trade got the ball rolling on the Angels’ moves and also created a hole at the back of the bullpen.  Manager Ron Washington told The Athletic’s Sam Blum (X link) and other reporters that Luis Garcia will close games unless Garcia is himself traded, and Ben Joyce would then be next in line for save situations.  Garcia is another pending free agent and there is plenty of interest in his services, so since he’ll likely be in another uniform within a day’s time, thus opening the door for Joyce.  A classic flame-throwing reliever, Joyce has garnered “closer of the future” buzz ever since he made his MLB debut last season, and he has a 2.11 ERA over 21 1/3 innings this year, albeit with a lot of subpar advanced metrics.

In non-trade news about the Angels’ biggest star, Washington told the Associated Press and other reporters that Mike Trout hadn’t yet restarted his running program after a setback with his surgically-repaired knee halted Trout’s minor league rehab assignment.  Trout played two Triple-A innings last Tuesday before leaving the game, and an MRI taken on Friday was clean, with Trout telling MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other media that the knee issue was related to some breaking scar tissue.

“It’s a huge relief for me.  I just have to make sure it feels good and I’ll be back out there.  Scar tissue breaking up is a weird feeling and I’d never experienced that,” Trout said.

Trout was hitting .220/.325/.541 with 10 homers over 126 PA when his knee problems arose at the end of April, and the three-time MVP hasn’t played since, apart from his brief Triple-A appearance last Tuesday.  While neither Trout or Washington held much concern over this latest setback, there won’t be much comfort until Trout is back onto the field, given how multiple injuries have plagued the outfielder over the last few years.

Royals Interested In Luis Rengifo, Taylor Ward

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The Royals are looking to add a right-handed hitter, reports Jayson Stark of the Athletic (via Ken Rosenthal’s latest column). The Angels’ Luis Rengifo and Taylor Ward are under consideration, as is Washington’s Lane Thomas.

Rengifo is a switch-hitter who does more damage from the right side. Ward and Thomas are strictly right-handed bats. Rengifo is the most valuable of the trio. He’s having the best season of the group and provides the most defensive flexibility. Rengifo isn’t a great defender but he can bounce between second and third base and moonlight at shortstop. He wouldn’t need to worry about the latter position in Kansas City. The Royals have gotten very little offense out of Maikel Garcia at the hot corner. Lefty-swinging second baseman Michael Massey was playing well early in the season before slumping this month.

The 27-year-old Rengifo would be a significant offensive upgrade. He goes into play tonight with a .308/.352/.432 slash across 285 plate appearances. It’s his second straight above-average offensive performance. Rengifo makes a ton of contact, fitting the Royals’ general style of hitter. He topped 15 homers in both 2022 and ’23. This year’s production has been more OBP-oriented as he has cut his strikeout rate to a personal-low 13% clip. Over the past two and a half seasons, he owns a massive .328/.368/.555 slash against left-handed pitching.

Thomas and Ward have a more limited defensive profile as corner outfielders. The Royals could certainly look to upgrade in left field, where MJ Melendez was underperforming before landing on the injured list. Thomas might be more of a platoon target. He mashes southpaws but posts below-average numbers against same-handed pitching. Since landing in Washington at the 2021 trade deadline, he has tattooed lefties at a .310/.371/.525 clip. He’s hitting .231/.294/.398 versus righties in that time. Thomas has had similarly stark splits this season and has a league average .247/.323/.397 slash in aggregate.

Ward has looked like an All-Star caliber player at his best, highlighted by a .281/.360/.473 season two years ago. His production has been more pedestrian over the past season and a half, as his line has hovered around league average. Over 424 plate appearances this year, the former first-round pick has a .226/.309/.396 line. As with Thomas, Ward does an inordinate amount of his damage with the platoon advantage. He’s hitting .294/.365/.468 against lefties since the start of 2022. His .243/.328/.423 slash versus right-handed pitching over that stretch is more solid than elite.

All three players are under team control beyond this season. (Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweeted this afternoon that the Royals would be reluctant to relinquish players at the top of their thin farm system for rentals.) Rengifo and Thomas are eligible for arbitration through next year, while Ward is controllable until the 2026-27 offseason. They’re each similarly costly from a financial perspective. Rengifo’s the lowest-paid of the group at $4.4MM, while Thomas is most expensive at $5.45MM. The prospect cost should be highest for Rengifo, who’ll have broad appeal in a market that’s very light on infield talent.

Pirates, Angels Reportedly Discussing Taylor Ward Trade

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1:14pm: The Pirates are indeed interested in Ward, per Noah Hiles of the Post-Gazette, though he’s one of multiple targets on their radar and a deal isn’t near the finish line at present.

11:24am: The Pirates and Angels are in talks on a trade that would send outfielder Taylor Ward from Anaheim to Pittsburgh, reports Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and 93.7 FM The Fan. While a deal isn’t yet complete, Zeise adds that Pittsburgh is actively trying to get the deal across the finish line.

Adding to the outfield is a sensible pursuit for a Pirates club that is in the NL Wild Card hunt but has received poor production from its outfield. While Bryan Reynolds is having one of his best seasons (.280/.344/.486, 17 homers, 131 wRC+), the rest of the group has been lacking. Even with that standout production from Reynolds, the outfield has combined for a .225/.297/.357 batting line overall. The resulting 84 wRC+ indicates that Pittsburgh outfielders have been 16% worse than average at the plate. Each of Jack Suwinski (.187/.269/.349), Michael A. Taylor (.202/.259/.274) and Edward Olivares (.216/.285/.324) have struggled mightily in the outfield. Connor Joe has roughly league-average numbers on the whole but hasn’t hit well when tasked with patrolling the outfield (.205/.292/.270 on those days).

Ward, 30, would give the Bucs a steady bat to plug into a corner spot, with Reynolds manning the other. The 2024 campaign hasn’t been Ward’s best, but he’s hitting .238/.321/.417 (107 wRC+) with 14 homers on the year. And dating back to a 2021 breakout, the former first-round pick carries a .259/.340/.441 slash with quality defensive marks, particularly in left field. Ward’s below-average speed limits his range, but he has a strong and accurate arm that’s helped him to be a solid defensive contributor.

For a perennially cost-conscious club like Pittsburgh, Ward makes extra sense. He’s being paid a reasonable $4.8MM in 2024 and is controllable for two additional seasons beyond the current campaign. He’ll earn a pair of raises in arbitration for 2025 and 2026, but his price tag isn’t likely to balloon to untenable levels, even by the Pirates’ standards. Those extra two seasons of control make him a particularly appealing target for a club that doesn’t have a top-ranked outfield prospect knocking down the door at the moment but is teeming with young pitching talent that looks like the foundation for a competitive core.

The Angels are reportedly reluctant to trade their players who are controlled beyond the current season, though it’s always possible that stance is at least partially posturing. It’s also feasible that the Pirates feel Ward checks enough boxes for them that they’re willing to make an offer the Angels don’t feel they can pass up, even if their general preference is to only deal from their stock of rental players. That talks are ostensibly substantial even with three weeks to go until the deadline would suggest that Pittsburgh is at least willing to discuss the possibility of parting with some compelling names.

Latest On Angels’ Deadline Outlook

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The Angels are one of the few obvious deadline sellers at the moment, but even they might not be fully open for business. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggests that the club prefers to hold onto outfielder Taylor Ward and starters Tyler Anderson and Griffin Canning, due to the fact all three are signed/controlled into next season. If the Angels are reluctant to move anyone signed or controlled beyond the current campaign, that would then extend to Luis Rengifo as well. Anderson is signed through 2025 and earning $13MM each season. Ward is controlled through 2026 via arbitration. Canning and Rengifo are arb-eligible through the 2025 season.

It’s always possible, especially this time of year, that there’s some level of posturing in that stance. The Halos are 15 games under .500, 10.5 games out of the division lead and 12 games out of a Wild Card spot as of Monday morning. Their -78 run differential is the fifth-worst in MLB. Mike Trout has been on the injured list since late April. Patrick Sandoval and Robert Stephenson have both been lost to UCL surgeries. To say things have not gone well in 2024 would be putting things mildly.

That said, Angels owner Arte Moreno has long appeared averse to embarking on any kind of rebuilding effort. The Angels have regularly been active in free agency and on the trade market over the past decade, even as their playoff drought has grown to the largest in the sport. (They last qualified for postseason play in 2014.) That trend has spanned multiple general managers — Jerry Dipoto, Billy Eppler, Perry Minasian — and thus seems largely attributable to ownership. Even as they were faced with losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency this offseason, Minasian decisively stated that the Angels would not rebuild.

When considering that context, it’s easier to see a scenario in which the Angels would rebuff interest in names like Ward — even if there’s a strong logical case that they should be capitalizing on trade value nearly anywhere it exists on the roster. As it stands, Nightengale writes that the Angels have been “bombarded” with interest in closer Carlos Estevez and are also likely to trade setup man Luis Garcia. Other rental players of note on the Halos include Matt Moore, Brandon Drury, Kevin Pillar, Hunter Strickland and Miguel Sano.

The 31-year-old Estevez is in the second season of a two-year, $13.5MM contract signed in the 2022-23 offseason. The longtime Rockies hurler has taken his game to a new level in Anaheim — particularly in 2024. He boasts a tidy 2.89 ERA with a strong 26.9% strikeout rate and a career-best 3.8% walk rate. Estevez averages just shy of 97 mph on his heater, has picked up 16 saves this year (and 31 last year), and was named the AL Reliever of the Month in June after tossing 10 shutout innings and recording a 32.3% strikeout rate without issuing a walk.

Garcia, 37, is on a one-year, $4.25MM contract. He’s pitched 36 innings and yielded a 4.25 ERA while recording nine holds. The veteran righty has fanned a sharp 23.7% of his opponents against a similarly strong 7.9% walk rate. He’s kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 49.5% clip. His sinker is down from the career-best 98.7 mph average he showed with the Padres in 2022 but still has plenty of life, sitting at 96.4 mph, per Statcast.

Strickland, 35, has had an up-and-down career with inconsistent year-to-year results but is in the midst of a strong season. He’s pitched 40 innings out of the bullpen and logged a 3.60 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate, 35.3% ground-ball rate and 0.90 HR/9. Over his past 9 2/3 innings, he’s gone unscored upon and allowed only one hit and three walks while punching out 10 batters.

The 35-year-old Pillar was released by the White Sox in April and has been a godsend in Anaheim. Since heading to Orange County, the journeyman outfielder has turned in a huge .305/.360/.516 slash with six home runs and five steals in just 139 plate appearances. Pillar recently acknowledged that this will likely be his final season, so it stands to reason that he’d welcome the opportunity to join one more playoff race and one more chance to chase down a World Series ring.

None of the other rental options on the Angels’ roster are performing particularly well. Moore, Adam Cimber and Jose Cisnero all signed one-year deals in the offseason. Moore has seen his strikeout rate plummet as he’s struggled to keep his ERA under 5.00. Both Cimber and Cisnero have ERAs north of 7.00 and are presently on the injured list. Drury, hitting .172/.24/.227 in the second season of a two-year $17MM deal, is more a release candidate than a trade candidate. Sano, back in the majors after not playing in 2023, is hitting .205/.295/.313 with a 37.9% strikeout rate in 95 plate appearances.

Taylor Ward Drawing Trade Interest

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The Angels have begun “listening to inquiries” on players on the roster and one of them is outfielder Taylor Ward, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. Earlier this week, Jeff Passan of ESPN listed Ward and fellow outfielder Jo Adell as plausible trade candidates but said that general manager Perry Minasian is “asking for giant returns” for either of those two.

It’s unsurprising that the Angels are exploring a selloff this summer. Despite the departure of Shohei Ohtani in free agency, the club still made an attempt to field a competitive roster here in 2024. That has not panned out, thanks to some injuries and some underperformance. Face of the franchise Mike Trout has been on the injured list more than a month due to knee surgery. The club’s biggest offseason acquisition, Robert Stephenson, required Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire campaign. Players like Anthony Rendon, Brandon Drury and Chase Silseth are also on the IL. Meanwhile, Reid Detmers struggled enough to get optioned down to the minors while guys like Mickey Moniak and Nolan Schanuel have also underwhelmed.

All of those elements have combined to chip away at whatever chances of competing the club may have had at the start of the schedule. They are currently 24-38, 11 games back in the American League West and nine back of the final AL Wild Card spot. The FanGraphs Playoff Odds have the Angels down to a 0.6% shot at the postseason while the Baseball Prospectus PECOTA Standings have them down to a 0.1% sliver of a chance.

Last summer, the club was hovering around contention and decided to go for it while they still had a few months of Ohtani left. That ended up being a mistake and several players they acquired at the deadline wound up on waivers, but the move for this year is much easier. Minasian and his team will look to acquire some younger players that can help bolster the farm system and help in future seasons.

Ward is a sensible candidate for such a trade. He can still be retained for two seasons via arbitration but the Halos will have a hard time getting back into contention in that time frame, given that they have a poorly-regarded farm system. On top of that, Ward is a bit on the older side for a guy in his arbitration years since he was a late bloomer. He’ll turn 31 in December and will be on the cusp of his 33rd birthday by the time he reaches free agency.

But all that should make him appealing to clubs looking for an upgrade in the present. Ward has 11 home runs this year and his walking at a solid 9.7% clip. His .253/.322/.445 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 116, indicating he’s been 16% above league average this year. That aligns with previous seasons as well, with Ward having hit .265/.346/.449 over the 2021-23 campaigns for a 121 wRC+.

Defensively, Ward is no slouch either, having racked up three Outs Above Average in his career. His tally of -12 Defensive Runs Saved is less impressive but that metric has had him closer to league average since the start of 2023. He’s making a modest $4.8MM salary this year and, as mentioned, has two years of club control remaining beyond this one.

That salary could fit into the budget of just about any club and the extra control would make him appealing even to clubs that may be looking beyond 2024 to the next two seasons. With his strong work at the plate and solid defense, there should be plenty of clubs calling the Angels about him.

The Phillies have the best record in the National League but the outfield is a relative weak spot, with Brandon Marsh on the injured list while Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas are struggling at the plate. The Royals are 37-26 despite getting almost no contributions from their outfield, something that MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently explored in a piece for Front Office subscribers. The Mariners are leading the AL West but their offense is struggling so much that they recently fired their offensive coordinator and took a cheap flier on Víctor Robles. Atlanta’s looking for outfield help with Ronald Acuña Jr. out for the rest of the year. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Rangers, Diamondbacks and plenty of others could make sense as well.

A controllable position player can bring back plenty of value. Just over a month ago, the Marlins were able to trade Luis Arráez to the Padres for a four-player package. One of them, Woo-Suk Go, has already been outrighted off the roster, but they also got three intriguing youngsters who are each now listed in the top 10 Miami prospects at Baseball America. Ward is a few years older than Arráez and is arguably not the same level of hitter, but Ward brings an extra year of control and his salary is less than half the $10.6MM that Arraez is making this year.

With the expanded postseason and several teams hovering around .500, it has been theorized that there could be a seller’s market this summer. With the Halos clearly out this year, they could be in a good position to take advantage, with Ward one of their best chances to do so.

Who Could The Angels Trade This Summer?

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The Angels came into 2024 hoping to compete, despite losing Shohei Ohtani to free agency, but it’s not going well so far. It’s usually unwise to pour dirt on a club’s grave so early in the season, but the odds were against them even before the 2024 campaign started. They have piled up a few losses while Mike Trout is once again facing a significant absence, narrowing whatever contention window they had.

The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs gave them a 16.9% chance of making the playoffs prior to any games being played. Now that the club is 11-20 and Trout is set to miss weeks due to surgery to repair a torn meniscus, those odds have slimmed. As of this morning, their chances of cracking the postseason are down to 2.6%. The PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus are even more pessimistic, giving the Halos just a 0.3% shot.

Barring a miracle in the next few months, they are going to be deadline sellers in the months to come. There could be some speculation about Trout being available, but that’s a complicated situation. He has full no-trade protection and has said he wants to stay in Anaheim. Even if he changes his mind and wants out, facilitating a deal won’t be easy. Despite his immense talents, he actually has negative trade value right now. He is about to turn 33 years old, is making $35.45MM annually through 2030 and has frequently been injured in recent years.

The Angels would be in a tough spot, as they would likely want some notable prospect return in trading a face-of-the-franchise player like Trout, but they would have to swallow a significant portion of the deal to make that happen. On top of that, Trout’s no-trade clause means they would have to factor in his preferences, perhaps narrowing their options and reducing their leverage. Given how convoluted the factors are, a Trout trade isn’t likely to come together hastily, especially since he’s currently hurt.

On top of Trout, there are others who aren’t likely to be moved. Anthony Rendon has a massive salary and hasn’t been healthy in years. Robert Stephenson recently underwent Tommy John surgery and is out until the middle of next year, at least. Players like Logan O’Hoppe, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel are still in their pre-arbitration years, giving the club little reason to move them.

But that still leaves them with quite a few options that could hold appeal around the league:

Luis Rengifo

Rengifo is currently hitting .326/.376/.465 this year for a 142 wRC+. That’s at least partly a mirage because he won’t be able to sustain a .377 batting average on balls in play all season. But even with a bit of regression, he’d be on track for his third straight year of above-average offense. He hit a combined .264/.315/.436 over 2022 and 2023, with a 103 wRC+ in the first of those two seasons and a 114 wRC+ last year.

Defensively, Rengifo can play all over the diamond. He has spent time at the three infield positions to the left of first base, as well as all three outfield slots. He’s not considered especially strong at any one spot, but the ability to move around will help him fit in with other clubs. The fact that he’s a switch-hitter gives him extra versatility.

Financially, Rengifo is making just $4.4MM this year and can be controlled via arbitration for next year as well. Even if a club has financial concerns due to the competitive balance tax or lack of TV revenue, he won’t break the bank.

Carlos Estévez

Estévez is out to a rough start this year with a 6.23 ERA, but the numbers are good just about everywhere else. He is striking out 29.4% of batters faced on the year and hasn’t yet issued a walk. The runs are scoring at least partially due to a tiny strand rate of 48.4%. His 3.83 FIP and 2.70 SIERA point to him being the same lockdown reliever he has been in previous years.

The righty has a 4.51 career ERA but spent his entire career in Colorado until last year. He secured a two-year, $13.5MM deal with the Angels going into 2023. His first season in Anaheim saw him rack up 31 saves while punching out 27.8% of opponents, though walking 11% of them. He should be one of the better rental relievers available this summer. He’s making a salary of $6.75MM this year.

Tyler Anderson

Anderson’s up-and-down career is in a bit of an upswing right now, at least in terms of results. Through six starts this year, he has a 2.23 earned run average. But with a .194 BABIP and 90.9% strand rate, he likely won’t be able to keep that up. His 4.76 FIP and 4.80 SIERA suggest regression is coming, as his 18.5% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate are both subpar.

The lefty secured a three-year, $39MM deal with the Halos going into 2023. He had a 4.62 ERA through 2021 but then posted a 2.57 ERA with the Dodgers in 2022. That led to his deal with the Angels, but he regressed immediately with a 5.43 ERA last year. Though his results will likely dip a bit as the year goes on, pitching is always in demand at the deadline and the Angels could be able to eat some of his salary to get a deal done. His contract pays him $13MM annually and runs through the end of 2025.

Griffin Canning

Health has been the big question mark for Canning, but he showed positive development in that department last year. He missed the 2022 season entirely but then appeared in 24 games in 2023 — 22 of them starts — while logging 127 innings. All of those figures were career-highs. Beyond the quantity, the quality was also encouraging. He had a 4.32 ERA on the year with a 25.9% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate.

Unfortunately, things have backed up in 2024. Through six starts, he has struck out just 15.9% of opponents while walking 9.1%, leading to a 7.45 ERA. A 56.1% strand rate isn’t helping him, but even his 5.48 FIP and 4.96 SIERA aren’t amazing. He’ll have to get things back on track in the months to come but would have some appeal if he did. Because of the missed injury time, he’s making a modest $2.6MM salary this year and has one more arbitration season remaining in 2025.

Patrick Sandoval

Sandoval’s ERA is up at 5.91 this year, but the numbers under the hood are more encouraging. His 10.8% walk rate is a bit high, but he’s striking out 25.7% of batters faced and getting grounders on 47.3% of balls in play. Were it not for a .396 BABIP and 57.5% strand rate, he’d be in better shape, which is why he has a 3.17 FIP and 3.83 SIERA.

He’s a bit less of an obvious trade candidate since he’s controlled through 2026. He’s making $5.025MM this year and will have two more arb seasons before he’s slated for free agency. The Halos could hold him if they think they can compete again in that window, but his trade value will only decline going forward as his control window shrinks and his salary keeps rising.

Taylor Ward

Ward is in the same service bucket as Sandoval, meaning he has two years of control beyond this one. He’s had a bit of a stop-and-go career due to injuries but is often in good form when healthy. He already has seven home runs this year and is slashing .278/.313/.492 with a 126 wRC+. Going back to the start of 2021, he’s hit .267/.343/.453 for a 122 wRC+.

Similar to Sandoval, the Halos don’t have to move Ward, but there’s an argument for it. He’s making $4.8MM this year and will be in line for a healthy raise if he keeps hitting homers. Since his health has been so mercurial, they might be tempted to strike while the iron is hot, cashing him in for younger players if he stays healthy through July.

Matt Moore

Moore is continuing to enjoy a nice second act to his career after moving from the rotation to the bullpen. Since the start of 2022, he’s made 125 appearances with a 2.35 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate and 40% ground ball rate.

His strikeout rate has dipped to 21.3% this year, but in a small sample of 12 appearances. His 3.97 ERA is more passable than it is exciting and he’s making $9MM on the year. But every contender is looking for bullpen upgrades at the deadline and Moore will have suitors, especially since he’s left-handed.

Brandon Drury

Drury parlayed a 28-homer breakout in 2022 into a two-year, $17MM deal to suit up for the team he grew up cheering for. The first season went well, as he launched another 26 home runs last year while bouncing between multiple positions, but he’s out to a dreadful start here in 2024. He has battled some hamstring tightness and migraines while hitting just .176/.245/.235.

Those nagging injuries are surely playing a part in his struggles, as is a .209 BABIP. He could be due for a turnaround if his health and batted-ball fortune both improve. If that comes to pass, he could fit on multiple clubs around the league. He has played all four infield positions and the outfield corners in his career, so various teams could find a way to squeeze him in.

Luis García

Somewhat similar to Estévez, García is allowing more runs than he seemingly deserves. He has struck out 28.3% of opponents this year while walking just 5.7% and keeping 54.3% of balls in play on the ground, leading to a 2.52 FIP and 2.38 SIERA. But a strand rate of just 39.7% has helped push some runners across the plate, leading to a 5.54 ERA.

He’s a 37-year-old veteran and won’t fetch a huge return, but each contender needs bullpen help. He’s making just $4.25MM on a one-year deal and has a decent track record. Since the start of 2021, he has a 3.77 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 55% ground ball rate.

Adam Cimber

Cimber had a pretty solid run in 2021 and 2022, pitching over 70 innings in each of those seasons with a combined ERA of 2.53. He only struck out 18.8% of batters faced in that time, but he only walked 5% of them while his submarine delivery helped him produce a 47.9% ground ball rate and lots of weak contact.

He was hurt for a lot of 2023 and his ERA shot up to 7.40 when he was on the mound. The Angels took a shot on a bounceback which has mostly gone well so far, as Cimber has a 3.14 ERA this year. His 11.1% walk rate is uncharacteristically high, as he’s never finished a season above 7.8% in that department. If he can shake off the rust and rein in his control, perhaps he’ll be back in 2021-22 form in the months to come. He’s making just $1.65MM this year and could fit in the budget of any club.

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The Angels could also push further, depending on what their long-term plans are. Reid Detmers and Jo Adell haven’t yet reached arbitration yet, but they will this coming winter. Adell has struggled so much over the years but is in good form so far this year, which may tempt the Angels to listen to offers on him now in case he turns into a pumpkin. He’s slashing .290/.338/.565 for a 152 wRC+, with his 26.5% strikeout rate a big improvement compared to previous years.

Parting with Detmers could be painful since he seems to be breaking out this year. He has a 3.12 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 44% ground ball rate. With three more years of control beyond this one, there’s no rush to move him. But if the club is planning a significant rebuild, those years might be wasted in Anaheim. If they decide to pull the trigger, he would fetch a haul.

Taylor Ward Wins Arbitration Hearing Against Angels

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Outfielder Taylor Ward has won his arbitration hearing against the Angels and will earn the $4.8MM salary figure he submitted for the 2024 season rather than the team’s $4.3MM figure, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Ward is represented by Wasserman.

Ward, now 30, was a first-round pick of the Angels back in 2015 but it took him a while to establish himself at the big league level. By the end of the 2020 season, he had appeared in 94 games scattered across three different campaigns, hitting .214/.283/.351 in that time. In 2021, he showed some positive momentum, hitting eight home runs in 65 games at the big league level and slashing .250/.332/.438 for a wRC+ of 110.

That earned him some regular run in 2022 and he initially made the most of it, seeming like one of the best hitters on the planet for a time. Through May 20, he had hit nine home runs in 131 plate appearances and was slashing .370/.481/.713 for a wRC+ of 235. But it was at that time that he suffered a “stinger” in a wall collision and his performance dipped, though he still finished the season at .281/.360/.473 line for a wRC+ of 137.

Last year, he was performing at a solid level, though beneath his breakout 2022 season. He was hitting .253/.335/.421 for a wRC+ of 107 when, in late July, he was hit in the face by a pitch from Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays. Ward suffered facial fractures and required a trip to the injured list, from which he was not able to return, undergoing surgery while away.

He first qualified for arbitration after 2022 as a Super Two player. He and the Halos avoided arb by agreeing to a $2.75MM salary for the 2023 season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Ward for a bump to $4.5MM in 2024. The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement prior to the filing deadline and ended up submitting numbers pretty close to that projection, just a few hundred thousand on either side. But the arbiters aren’t allow to pick a middle ground and decided to go with the number from Ward’s camp, giving him the slightly higher raise.

Ward will be eligible for two more passes through the arb system before he’s slated for free agency after 2026. The Angels had two arb cases this year but it was reported last week that they defeated left-hander José Suarez. With Ward’s case now complete, their arb class is fully settled.

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