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

The LA Angels have acquired Dylan Bundy and Julio Teheran to boost their rotation this offseason, but still need help in the starting pitcher department.

With Hyun-Jin Ryu the LA Angels last option in free agency, they’ll likely need to turn to the trade market. Today, we’ll be exploring trades in with the five American League Central teams, most of them in hopes of acquiring rotation help… or even an ace.

Minnesota Twins

This one was difficult to work out, as a lot of the needs that the Angels have, the Twins also have. Starting pitching is the biggest need for both teams, so I made the Angels “sellers” in this scenario. Tommy La Stella is a luxury player to have, so sending him to Minnesota, whose second biggest hole is corner infield, makes sense.

Lewis Thorpe is a young starter who saw his first taste of the MLB last season. He didn’t see much success, and doesn’t appear to have a role for the Twins going into 2020. However, with the much more desperate Angels, Thorpe could very well earn a spot in Spring Training.

This trade isn’t all that exciting, and has some risk. However, Thorpe has had a solid minor league career and could be a back-of-rotation starter for years to come if all works out.

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.