Angels Trade Deadline: Five best deals in team history

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Owner Arte Moreno, general manager Jerry Dipoto, and manager Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels (Photo by Matt Brown/Angels Baseball LP/Getty Images) /

As the MLB Trade Deadline approaches, let’s take a look at the best deadline deals in Los Angeles Angels team history.

When it comes to the MLB Trade Deadline, there are always winners and losers in every trade. Perhaps no team in recent memory knows this more than the Los Angeles Angels.

Over the tenures of the last four general managers, the Angels have held a hit and miss relationship with the deadline. Sometimes they’ve managed to land the big fish they’ve needed. Other times, the team has parted with some significant prospect capital to get a deal done.

There has been some interesting style differences along the way, from Bill Stoneman being conservative at the deadline, to Tony Reagins and Jerry DiPoto’s free-wheeling ways, and more recently to the tenure of Billy Eppler. Regardless of who has been at the helm, the Angels always appear to be in the thick of it all.

The 2020 deadline will prove to be an interesting one to follow. With 16 teams making the postseason in what some may see as a throw-away season, there will be limited buyers and sellers. At 8-18, the Angels profile to be a seller, but they also have the core to build around for 2021, which may prove to give them a unique angle.

While the team sorts out how it will attack things prior to the August 31st deadline, we thought it might be fruitful to look at some of the best trades the Angels have swung in the thick of the summer.

Mark Teixeira, Los Angeles Angels (Photo by John Williamson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Angels’ Best Trade Deadline Deals: Mark Teixeira

General Manager Tony Reagins made quite the name for himself after taking over the reins in Anaheim prior to the 2008 season. In addition to acquiring pitcher Jon Garland in a trade and also landing Torii Hunter in free agency, he also spun one of the more successful trade deadline deals in team history.

While the 2008 swap that brought Mark Teixeira to Anaheim may be a bit maligned in the memories of Angels fans, it was nonetheless successful.

Acquired in exchange for first baseman Casey Kotchman and pitching prospect Stephen Marek, Teixeira made an immediate impact on the Angels. Over 54 games and 193 at-bats, Tex slashed .358/.449/.632 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI. Additionally, he hit a robust .467/.550/.467 in the postseason. However, the Angels were bounced in four games by the Boston Red Sox.

The reason the trade is a bit controversial is that Teixeira spurned the Angels the following winter, singing with the New York Yankees instead. However, that ended up being somewhat of a blessing in disguise. As compensation for losing Teixeira via free agency, the Angels were awarded the 25th pick in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft.

The Angels used that pick to select someone you may be familiar with; Mike Trout.

Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Angels’ Best Trade Deadline Deals: Chone Figgins

Quick show of hands. How many of Angels fans out there remember Kimera Bartee? Anyone?

Signed as a minor league free agent in December of 2000, Bartee was a journeyman outfielder that hit just .216/.282/.298 across six major league seasons. The Angels picked him up for minor league depth and stashed him in Salt Lake. However, with an outfield of Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, and Darrin Erstad, that was little to no chance he was going to crack the lineup anytime soon.

So on July 13th, the spun him in a minor league trade to the Colorado Rockies for a Double-A second baseman that wasn’t doing much at the plate himself. However, it didn’t take Chone Figgins long to make his mark in Anaheim.

Figgins would bounce between the big leagues and the minors in 2002 and 2003, but he seized the opportunity in 2004 and became a fixture in the Angels lineup for the next six seasons. He’d ultimately hit .291/.363/.388 with 280 stolen bases during his Angels career.

Figgins would depart the Angels after the 2009 season, signing a big contract with the Seattle Mariners. However, he was never quite the same player outside of Anaheim. He retired following the 2014 season.

Justin Upton, Los Angeles Angels (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Angels’ Best Trade Deadline Deals: Justin Upton

The 2017 trade that brought Justin Upton to the Angels is, in a lot of ways, very similar to the Mark Teixeira trade.

Acquired from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitching prospects Grayson Long and Elvin Rodriguez, Upton was meant to help push the Angels into the postseason. While Upton didn’t really do much for the Angels that season, hitting just .245/.357/.531, he did manage seven home runs and 15 RBI in 27 games.

That was enough to convince Arte Moreno and Billy Eppler to keep him in the fold. Upton’s deal with the Tigers contained an opt-out clause, but the Angels had no intention of letting him exercise it, signing him to a five-year, $106 million deal.

The first year of that deal paid dividends, as Upton hit a solid .257/.344/.463 with 30 home runs and 85 RBI. However, in the two years since, it has turned into somewhat of an albatross deal for the Angels as injuries and struggles at the dish have held him to .187/.278/.364 over his last 81 games.

While the last two years may feel like this deal is a loss for the Halos, the cost to acquire him was minimal. Grayson Long was a solid prospect in the Angels system, but he made just one appearance for the Tigers organization before an injury derailed him and he ultimately retired in 2019. Elvin Rodriguez remains a solid prospect for the Tigers, but ranks outside of their top 30.

The future for Upton and the Angels remains to be seen, as he’ll need to turn around his 2020 season to create any faith that he can be serviceable for the next two years of his contract.

Patrick Sandoval, Los Angeles Angels (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Angels’ Best Trade Deadline Deals: Patrick Sandoval

It’s not every day that you can flip a back-up catcher for a solid pitching prospect, but that is exactly what the Angels did when they sent Martin Maldonado to the Houston Astros for Patrick Sandoval and international bonus funds.

Originally drafted by the Angels in 2004, Maldonado had returned to the team prior to the 2017 season in a trade that sent catcher Jett Bandy to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Angels gave him the chance to be the team’s starter behind the plate, and while he would hit 12 home runs in 2017, he was ultimately made expendable as part of the team’s unending search for pitching.

In return, the Angels acquired left-hander Patrick Sandoval, who has shown flashes of brilliance during his short MLB tenure but has worked to a 5.16 ERA, a 5.04 FIP, and a 8.5 K/9 over his first 14 appearances (13 starts). Despite being winless thus far as an Angel, Sandoval is well-regarded by the club and manager Joe Maddon, even rising to number eight in the team’s annual prospect rankings in 2019.

With that said, Sandoval has the potential to be a significant producer for the Angels in the future. He’s off to a slow start in 2020, but he’s also behind other pitchers due to a late start after a COVID diagnosis. He’s still expected to round into shape a be a building block for the pitching staff.

For what it’s worth, the Angels used the bonus pool money to sign outfielder Alexander Rodriguez out of the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez is another in a long line of high-ceiling outfield prospects for the Halos, and currently ranks 14th on the team’s list of top prospects. At 17-years-old, he is still a long way away from factoring in for the big club, but he’s a prospect to watch in future years.

Huston Street, Los Angeles Angels (Photo by Matt Brown/Angels Baseball LP/Getty Images) /

Angels’ Best Trade Deadline Deals: Huston Street

Picking up pitching at the trade deadline is always a hit or miss deal. That is especially true when it comes to relief pitching.

In 2014, the Angels found themselves in the playoff hunt and were struggling with their relief corps. To fix their issues, they went out and acquired a proven closer in Huston Street.

In his third season with San Diego, Street was authoring a career season, throwing 33 innings and posting 24 saves, a 1.09 ERA, and a 9.3 K/9. In the process, he made the National League All-Star team and became a tremendous trade target for the Halos.

The Angels sent four prospect to the Padres to acquire Street’s services, and also received back prospect Trevor Gott.

In his first 26.1 innings for the Angels, Street posted a 1.71 ERA and 17 saves, helping the Angels reach the postseason. As a reward for his efforts, Street was given a two-year extension from the Halos.

He returned in 2015 and was once again solid, accruing 40 saves over his 62.1 innings of work with a 3.18 ERA and an 8.2 K/9. Knee issues sapped him in 2016 and held him to only 30 appearances over his final two seasons in Anaheim.

Next. What trade chips do the Angels have in 2020?

As an added bonus, the Angels then flipped Gott to the Washington Nationals in December 2015, bringing back Yunel Escobar in the process.

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