Angels Rumors: 2 trade scenarios that will put Halos in the playoffs

The Angels are in need of an ace to lead their staff; that has been clear for the past five-plus years.

Who would the Angels turn to in an AL Wild Card game to match up against Chris Sale, Lucas Giolito, or Tyler Glasnow?

As it stands right now, the Angels would likely turn to Andrew Heaney or Dylan Bundy, both of which would be no better than a No. 3 or No.4 on any of those three teams.

Luis Castillo is the ace the Angels have lacked in recent years.

Luis Castillo broke into the majors in 2017 and has done nothing but improve, throwing 70 innings to the tune of a 3.21 ERA in the shortened 2020 season. In addition, 11.44 strikeouts per nine innings and 0.64 home runs per nine proves he has elite stuff that spins a lot and keeps hitters guessing, something that cannot be said about any of the Angel’s current arms.

The Reds have been sellers this offseason, rumored in multiple potential trade scenarios, as well as non-tendering their setup man Archie Bradley, trading their closer Raisel Iglesias, and being quiet on the free-agent market.

Dangling last season’s No.5 overall prospect in baseball, Jo Adell, might be enough to pry Castillo and his three years of remaining control from the Reds. Adell had an abysmal debut in 2020, hitting .161 in 132 plate-appearances across 38 games, including an eye-popping 41.7 strikeout percentage and .212 on-base percentage.

Despite the lousy sample size, Adell still has an incredible set of tools and very impressive raw power, enough to make teams potentially look past his 2020 season. Including another top-15 Angels prospect in OF Trent Deveaux and INF Matt Thaiss’ promising bat could complete a prospect package worth considering for the Reds.