Los Angeles Angels staying quiet during the trade deadline

The Los Angeles Angels are keeping their cards close to the chest coming up to the trade deadline. There are reports of the Angels not looking to be active this season.

The Los Angeles Angels are at times a puzzling franchise. The 51-55 Angels should be looking to sell and refuel for next season. However, Pedro Moura of the LA Times writes that the Angels are looking to be overly active at the trade deadline. Rumor has it, according to Moura that Angels GM Billy Eppler is eyeballing Phillies second baseman, Ceaser Hernandez.

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Again, it doesn’t seem that Eppler is out to improve the pitching staff. This has been the Los Angeles Angels Achilles heel this season. While much of the pitching staff remains injured, the Angels do not appear to be looking to acquire any pitchers like they did last season.

This brings the question: What exactly are the Angels doing? They don’t appear to be selling off expiring contracts for some prospects. Last season, the Angels moved Hector Santiago for Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer. Both of whom have under performed for the most part as Angels players.

The fact of the matter is the Angels are in between a rock and a hard place. They don’t have intriguing pieces to sell. First off, no one wants to take on the contract of Albert Pujols, even though he is still playing well at this stage of his career. The Angels don’t have any prospects that would generate interest aside from Matt Thaiss. Eventually, the Angels are going to have to flirt with the idea of convincing Mike Trout to waive his no trade clause.

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Now before you come at me with your pitchforks and torches. Hear me out, The Angels are not in a position to compete in the AL West as their roster stands. They may not be able to acquire talent before Trout’s contract expires. Would you rather get something back for Trout and have a chance to rebuild or surround Trout with aging talent and remain in the middle of the AL West?

The fact that Trout has seen the playoffs once is embarrassing. How is it, the AL MVP is on a team that can’t win 80 games? The Angels are doing themselves a disservice and their fans a disservice by having the best player in baseball not even sniff the playoffs. You can blame whoever you want, whether it’s Arte Moreno, Jerry Dipito, Mike Scioscia, or Billy Eppler. Still, the fact remains the Angels have a ton of work to do and no money to do it.

Next: To Buy or To Sell, That Is the Question

As the team stands now, they don’t have healthy pitchers and they don’t have trade assets that could bring in a healthy ace pitcher. You can expect for this trend to continue until the end of Pujols’ contract. The Angels should work on pitching. They have to address the pitching staff and right the ship to have a chance in the AL West.