LA Angels: Is Michael Hermosillo a Trade Chip?

Going into 2020, the LA Angels have a plethora of outfield talent within their entire organization. So where does that leave Michael Hermosillo?

On the LA Angels Opening Day roster, the outfielders will likely be Mike Trout, Justin Upton, Brian Goodwin, and either Jo Adell or Michael Hermosillo.

If it’s Jo Adell, it’ll be as the starting right fielder for the Los Angeles Angels. If it’s Michael Hermosillo, it’ll be as the fourth outfielder for a month or so as the Angels manipulate Adell’s service time in the minors.

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Once Adell is up though, what does that mean for Hermosillo? He has had a few stints in the MLB throughout his career, but hasn’t been able to stick on at the major league level. In the minor leagues, he continues to put up solid enough numbers. Hermosillo’s ability to play all three spots in the outfield is valuable as well.

So what do the Angels do with Michael Hermosillo?

They could obviously keep him in the organization as pure outfield depth. The Angels have a ton of it already, especially with Brandon Marsh getting closer and closer to being MLB ready. Until then though, Hermosillo would be the first option if there was an injury in the outfield.

However, Hermosillo may be more valuable to the Angels as a trade chip. There’s a lot of teams who would like a player with the potential to have solid contact and power, great athleticism, and the ability to play above-average defense in all three outfield spots.

He’s still in his first year of service time, so whatever team trades for him would be getting a high-ceiling player for years and years to come. Teams like the Tigers, Orioles, Marlins, and Royals  would be teams I’d trying packaging him to. The clubs in early stages of a rebuild who need every player with significant upside they can get their hands on.

Odds are, the Angels end up keeping Hermosillo as depth in their minor leagues. However, the ability to move him for starting pitching depth or help in the bullpen needs to be kept in the forefront of the Angels’ minds.