LA Angels Kole Calhoun: Potential Trade Candidate?

The MLB All-Star break is around the corner. With the LA Angels being in 4th place of the AL West, will they be buyers or sellers for the upcoming trade deadline? 

Lets face it LA Angel fans, it hasn’t been a very spectacular season and we didn’t really expect it to be one. Currently, the LA Angels are sitting 4th in the AL West division and have a record of 29-37.

They are 12.5 games back of the AL West leading Texas Rangers and are 8 games back of even reaching the .500 mark. With so many injuries to the pitching staff and outfield, we can only hope that the Angels can pick up some speed before it is too late.

However, it seems unlikely that the LA Angels can make a playoff run with the roster they have. Without Richards, Heaney, and Skaggs commanding the mound, the starting pitching staff looks very inconsistent as well as a batting lineup who is struggling to produce runs, these factors look like a failed season.

Keeping that in mind, the LA Angels must be sellers coming into the All-Star break which is around the corner starting July 12th. Having the worst farm system in the league (by far), trading a consistent player, such as Calhoun, can only provide us with hope for the future with the prospects that he commands.

Kole Calhoun is a viable trade piece for a few good reasons. For one, his bat is usually consistent. His batting AVG is currently .293 and he has an OBP of .366 which is not half bad.

He’s got a little pop at the end of his bat as well knocking in eight homers and has a slugging percentage of .455. Calhoun is also a viable RF in terms of defense. Playing in all 65 games this year, Cole has only committed four errors and has a few assists to go along with his solid defense in right field.

Kole is also a very consistent player as he rarely is injured. He has started every game so far this year and also started 157 games last year which shows that he is unlikely to injury.

Now, who would be interested in Kole Calhoun and what type of trade pieces could the Angels get out of him?

Well, a few teams come to mind when thinking of outfield help. One team being the San Francisco Giants. With Hunter Pence out with a hamstring injury, the Giants can look to upgrade that position as they make another surge towards the playoffs.

Another team that could use some out-fielding help would be the Cleveland Indians. With Marlon Byrd being suspended for the rest of the season and Michael Brantley re-injuring his surgically repaired shoulder, per source Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, they could possibly be another trade candidate for our Halos.

Lastly, the crosstown rival LA Dodgers could make a move to add another bat to their lineup and a consistent outfielder to help them get into the postseason. Keeping those teams in mind, it’s hard to say what pieces we could get out of of Kole.

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But frankly, the LA Angels need help everywhere. The Angels could use some consistent relief pitching prospects as well as possible mid-rotation armed prospects. Having the worst farm system in the league, the Angels could use help almost anywhere down their roster to help bolster their weak farm system.

Personally, the LA Angels need to be in an all out sell mode. With the Mike Trout trade rumors being all but dead, the next possible outfield candidate to be traded would be Calhoun.

Trading Calhoun would also give the Halos a chance to tryout some of their outfield prospects such as Cunningham and Robinson to name a few. Giving them some experience would be beneficial in the long run as the Angels look to make moves towards the future.

Next: LA Angels bullpen singing the blues

With LA Angel’s GM Billy Eppler seemingly making moves every week to help with this Angel’s roster, it wouldn’t be a surprise that he yet, makes another move to help bolster the Angel’s weak farm system.