Angels Rumors: Should Halos look to trade Dylan Bundy at the deadline?

Should the Angels keep Dylan Bundy and not trade him at the deadline?

Let’s face facts, good pitching is hard to come by for the Los Angeles Angels. The team has seemingly been on the hunt to add consistent innings and performance to their staff, and the results have been a revolving door for the past several seasons.

So why would the Angels want to trade a starting pitcher showing any semblance of skill and consistency?

Of the seven different Angels pitchers to receive a start this season, only one other pitcher outside of Bundy has been able to stick around long enough to collect a win. Additionally, no other arm has averaged five or more innings a start.

However, there are other factors in play as well, outside of just the immediate future.

In addition to what Bundy means to the 2020 pitching staff, he also has one more year of arbitration-eligibility. That means the Angels have one more year of contractual control and that Bundy would be a building block for the 2021 pitching staff. He would join Andrew Heaney, Griffin Canning, and Patrick Sandoval as the only members of the current staff under contract for next season. Meanwhile, there is uncertainty over whether Shohei Ohtani will pitch in 2021 and Julio Teheran is bound for free agency.

With that in mind, the Halos would be stupid to move a starting pitcher under the current conditions, right?

The upcoming free agent pool isn’t exactly teeming with potential staff aces, highlighted by Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, Jake Odorizzi, and a cast of question marks. The Angels may be wise to hang onto Bundy and then try to add one other arm this winter as opposed to reinventing the wheel like they did in 2020.

However, there is the other side of the coin.

Should the Angels deal Dylan Bundy at the trade deadline?

While there are multiple reasons why the Angels should try to hang on to Dylan Bundy at the trade deadline, there are also a few reasons why the team should consider moving him.

From a straight return on investment standpoint, there may be no better time to sell high on Bundy. After years of unfulfilled promise, the right-hander is having a career season after just five starts. He ranks 15th in the league in pitching fWAR and 7th in SIERA (Skill Interactive ERA), placing him among the top pitchers of 2020.

As always, pitching will be in high demand at the deadline and Bundy is among the few pitching leaders playing for a team that seems like an obvious seller. While the Angels might not be necessarily keen on moving Bundy, they’ll nonetheless listen on offers in an effort to get overwhelmed with a deal.

There’s also a question of sustainability. Dylan Bundy has been electric thus far, but he’s done so be relying heavily on off-speed pitches. The slider in particular has been most effective, with an average exit velocity of just 78.1 MPH. However, how long before major league hitters start laying off of it and force Bundy to get back to his low-90s fastball?

Bundy will likely make two more starts before the August 31st trade deadline. One of those starts will come against the Houston Astros and the other will fall likely be a third start against the Mariners. By moving Bundy before the deadline, the Angels potentially protect themselves from any sort of course correction for the right-hander.

One way or the other it will be a gamble for the Angels. Do they keep pushing their chips in and hope for a bigger prize or cash out now?

What kind of package would the Angels look for in a trade for Dylan Bundy?

So what if the Los Angeles Angels do opt to sell high on Dylan Bundy? What can they hope to get back in return?

2020 is a strange season, and as such,  this trade deadline promises to follow suit. Teams will be looking to buy, but they may also be cautious. On the other hand, they may also be looking for a value return rather than a one-month rental.

If Bundy can put together one more strong start before the deadline, teams will buy into his ability to sustain that throughout the remainder of 2020. However, what Bundy also brings to the table is his contract, with an acquiring team still having him under control for 2021 at a reasonable rate even after arbitration.

With that said, the Angels aren’t going to give him up cheap, but the market may dictate the package they receive back.

A good comparison to look at may be the 2017 deal between the Miami Marlins and the Cincinnati Reds. While that deal was over the winter, both Bundy and Straily are of a comparable age, both had arbitration control, and both were being sold high after career turnarounds.

In that deal, the Reds sent Straily to the Marlins in exchange for three prospects; Zeek White, Austin Brice, and Luis Castillo. While White and Brice haven’t amounted to anything and the latter has been moved twice since, Castillo proved to be a real gem for the Reds.

From a trade deadline perspective, perhaps a more realistic comparison is the 2016 deadline deal between the Angels and the Twins. In that trade, the Halos sent lefty Hector Santiago (and prospect Alan Busenitz) to Minnesota for the contract of Ricky Nolasco, then top pitching prospect Alex Meyer, and cash. Nolasco pitched fairly well down the stretch in 2016 before the wheels fell off the next season. However, the prize in that deal was to be Meyer. The Angels got 13 solid starts out of him in 2017, but control and arm issues ultimately derailed his career.

That all said, comparable packages are one thing. Finding a partner that can line up on one is another. With 16 teams heading to the postseason, and pitching at an even greater premium than every before, there will undoubtedly be buyers. However, meeting the Angels asking price for Dylan Bundy doesn’t seem like something that will get done in 2020.

What do you think? Should the Angels trade Dylan Bundy while his value is high or hang onto him as a potential building block for 2021?