Angels: Potential partners for Justin Upton trade

Now that Justin Upton is stuck in a platoon in left field, should the Angels look to trade the outfielder to fill other holes?

The long-awaited debut of top prospect Jo Adell has come to pass, and the Angels are seeing the first two pieces of their outfield of the future fall into place. With Adell and Trout, and the potential arrival of either Brandon Marsh or Jordyn Adams in the next year or two, the Halos should be well served on the grass.

Adell, who made his MLB debut on Tuesday night with a 1-for-4 showing in Seattle, will slot in as the team’s regular right fielder for the remainder of 2020. Unfortunately, that means the Angels had to make some tough decisions to make room for the rookie.

Speaking to the media before Tuesday’s game, manager Joe Maddon addresses what Adell’s call-up meant for both Justin Upton and Brian Goodwin. For now, the two are set to platoon in left field.

“I talked to Justin the other night,” said Maddon. “I wanted to give him the appropriate heads up. I have too much respect for him otherwise. It could change. Don’t get me wrong, things change. But for right now this is what we’re doing. When you bring up an Adell, a player like that, first of all, you have to make sure he’s ready to do this. And second of all, you don’t want him sitting around and trying to be a bench player. It’s not going to help us or him.” – (h/t Rhett Bollinger, MLB.com)

As a right-handed hitter, Upton is slated to start against lefties and Goodwin again right-handers.  That puts Goodwin on the strong-side of the platoon, with the left-handed hitter getting the first start in left with Adell in right. The Angels are not set to face a lefty until Saturday in Texas.

Goodwin is off to a strong start for the Angels in 2020, hitting .303/.395/.606 with a pair of home runs and eight RBI. Upton, on the other hand, has scuffled. While he has two home runs of his own, he has slashed just .135/.195/.297 and struck out 14 times in 37 at-bats.

Unfortunately, Upton is a veteran on a big-money deal. With two years and $51 million remaining on the extension he signed prior to the 2018 season, Upton carries a heavy price tag for a part-time player. As such, the Angels could look to trade some of their outfield depth to free up either salary or playing time.

With that in mind, we decided to take a look at a pair of potential trade partners that the Angels could work out a trade with. Given Upton’s salary commitments over the next two seasons, that is going to be a difficult task, one that likely requires matching money with another team to make a deal happen.

Potential Angels Trade Partner for Justin Upton: Kansas City Royals

Entering play on Wednesday, the Kansas City Royals sit 22nd in baseball with a wRC+ of 89 from their outfielders and have a .296 wOBA, also good enough for 22nd in MLB. If you take out Whit Merrifield‘s production, that changes drastically.

To say that they need some help in the outfield would be an understatement. That makes them an ideal landing spot for a former star veteran in need of a change of scenery.

With that said, Upton’s salary over the next three seasons is prohibitive for most big market teams and becomes nearly impossible to imagine the Royals taking on given their tight budgetary constraints. However, that doesn’t mean a deal can’t be had.

To make a deal work, the Angels would need to take on the salary of Danny Duffy, which the Royals have been trying to unload for the past few seasons. The left-hander is due $30.75 million between 2020 and 2021, making him a close match to a salary match, but the Angels would still need to include some money finalize an arrangement.

While the deal would certainly help the Angels, a team always looking to add pitchers and willing to take a chance on rebound candidates, it represents a different issue for the Royals. Kansas City has seen its rotation ravaged by COVID-19 in 2020, so they would need to receive an arm back as well. Enter stage left, Jaime Barria.

Barria was in the mix for the Angels’ sixth starter in summer camp but was ultimately optioned to the team’s alternate training site. While his 2019 stats don’t jump off the page (4-10, 6.42 ERA, 6.23 FIP), he was much better in 2019, when he went 10-9 with a 3.41 ERA over 26 starts for the Halos. He could slide into the Royals rotation now and replace Duffy.

Potential Angels Trade Partner for Justin Upton: The Mystery Team

Both of these deals present their own logistical issues, mostly in terms of money and prospects to potentially include. The Angels could wait to see if COVID creates needs elsewhere. However, they have only until August 31 to complete trades in 2020, giving them the remainder of the month to find a match.

Thus far, only two weeks of the season have been played to date and there hasn’t been a ton of separation yet in the standings. As such, no true contenders have stepped up and teams on the bubble remain there without any clear direction.

Additionally, we’re still seeing the effects of COVID-19 on team rosters and schedules. Team needs may change drastically based on the transmission of the virus around the league, as we’ve seen with the Marlins and Cardinals recently. While Miami doesn’t line up on paper, the Cardinals may do so, depending on further testing.

The Angels may simply need to wait and see if a team steps forward as both a contender and with a clear need for Upton in 2020. There is a limited window to do so, but it is there if needed to make sure they find a deal to their liking.