LA Angels Trade Market: Hunting for Starters in the AL Central

Cleveland

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I know what you’re all thinking Halo fans. Nobody wants to trade away Brandon Marsh, but with this trade, it would be more than worth it. The Angels have a ton of outfield depth, both at the MLB level and deeper in their organization. The Angels might be able to pull off this trade with Jordyn Adams instead, but Cleveland has the desire to stay competitive now, and Marsh could very well debut in 2020 if traded.

When I saw Mike Clevinger’s name on the trade market earlier this week I was somewhat shocked. After trading away Corey Kluber, Cleveland needs Clevinger in their rotation. But if they want to give the Angels another chance to land an ace, they can’t miss out on it.

And to be clear, Clevinger is an ace. He pitched his way to a 2.71 ERA last season. While health has been somewhat of a concern. His injuries aren’t catastrophic though, and could be tempered by joining a six man rotation in Anaheim.

While it’d cost them one of their top prospects, bringing Mike Clevinger back to the Angels would give the team they’ve needed for years.

Chicago White Sox

In this trade, the Angels used something they have a plethora of in order to acquire starting pitching. Brian Goodwin proved last year that when he was a regular starter, he was a very good hitter. While his offense stagnated in the second half, that was largely due to his inconsistent playing time.

Justin Anderson is mostly a sweetener in this deal, as the White Sox bullpen still needs some help. If Anderson can utilize his slider more in 2020, he could be a high-upside arm out of the bullpen.

Trading away three seasons of Goodwin and a solid reliever is a high price to pay for Carlos Rodon in theory. Coming off of Tommy John surgery, he might not even be available for most of 2020. However, his arm has high upside. Thus far in his career, Rodon owns a 4.08 ERA. He has dealt with injuries for most of his career, and can’t be completely relied on.

That being said, if the Angels acquired Rodon, he’d arguably be the best pitcher not named Shohei Ohtani on their staff. While he hasn’t been an ace yet in his career, Rodon is entering his prime and could be the pitcher the Angels need to take their rotation to the next level.

Kansas City Royals

This move is more on the side of how the Angels have attacked the offseason. While he does have some upside, Brad Keller can be another pitcher the Angels can rely on throughout the season. In his first full year as a starter in 2019, Keller posted a 4.19 ERA while making 28 starts. He was one of the few bright spots during the Royals abysmal season.

However, the Royals are just beginning what is going to be a long, long rebuild. By the end of it, Keller could very well be a free agent. Trading him now makes sense, even if he has the control.

This wouldn’t be like the Dylan Bundy trade for the Angels. They’d have to give up some top prospects, which we have going to them in this trade.

Chris Rodriguez is arguably the most talented pitching prospect the Angels have, and if he can get healthy could be a rock solid #3 option in the MLB. Michael Hermosillo is an outfielder capable of playing all three spots, and consistent at-bats in Kansas City could help his offensive game develop. Jeremy Beasley could end up as a starter, but at worst has the tools to be an exceptional multi-inning  option out of the bullpen.

Detroit Tigers

This is a trade I touched on previously, as the Angels have reportedly checked in on the Detroit starter. For a more in-depth look at whether Billy Eppler and the front office should pull the trigger on the Detroit All Star, click here. In this article though, the Angels do pull the trigger on acquiring Boyd.

The big question about Boyd is whether he’s the pitcher who earned an All Star nod in the first half of the season or the pitcher who posted a 5.51 ERA in the 14 games after the All Star Game. In all likelihood, he’s somewhere in between and it currently projected to have a 4.33 ERA in 2020, per FanGraphs. That number would like go up with a trade to the AL West, though.

Boyd’s most attractive feature is his team control, aa he still has three years left before he’ll find free agency. The Tigers are also not rushing to trade Boyd, so the Angels would have to overwhelm them, which this package would.

Jordyn Adams is an uber-athletic center fielder who can hit for both power and contact, and fits the timeline of the Tigers rebuild. A potential Gold Glove, 20 double, 20 home run, and 20 stolen base season would be the best way to describe Adams’ ceiling. Also within that timeframe is Oliver Ortega, who has starter potential but would be best used out of the bullpen.

While the Angels might be better off without making this trade, if they did want to acquire Boyd, this would likely be the price.