LA Angels: 3 trade targets if the team decides to be buyers

It’s unclear as to whether the LA Angels are going to be buyers or sellers this deadline season.

On one end, the Halos are over .500 and are going to get their cornerstone outfield pieces back very soon. On the other end, there are four non-wild card teams ahead of them competing for that second wild card spot right now.

If the team does choose to be buyers, however, they’ll need to go after starting pitching. Angels starting pitching has the sixth-worst ERA in baseball (5.04), the second-highest BB/9 mark (3.86), and tied for the fifth-highest WHIP in the MLB (1.38). There will be trade options for starters at the deadline.

No. 3 trade target for the LA Angels if the team decides to be buyers: Tyler Anderson

The LA Angels don’t have a ton of trade bait, and Tyler Anderson wouldn’t cost a ton of trade bait.

Anderson has been solid this year, posting a 4.35 ERA this year. He came into the season with some momentum, having a 4.37 ERA in 2020. After a lackluster 2019 campaign, he’s really turned it around and can be a reliable piece for the Halos.

He has just a 1.192 WHIP, which is obviously also significantly lower than the Angels current starting pitchers’ WHIP.

He’s a nice compliment to the Halos’ current guys. The Angels strike out a lot of batters, but walk a lot of batters. Anderson may not strike many guys out (just 7.4 strikeouts per nine), but only walks 2.2 batters per nine.

Anderson would be a nice arm to have, providing a bit more stability to the rotation.