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

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.