The LA Angels should absolutely consider trading for these 3 NL pitchers

Even after finally ridding themselves of infamously incompetent General Manager Jeff Bridich, the Rockies still seem incapable of getting out of their own way when it comes to keeping talent, making German Marquez ripe for the taking.

Why LA Angels should consider trading for German Marquez:

From a performance standpoint, trading for German Marquez makes a lot of sense for the LA Angels, assuming they also sign a plus defender to take over shortstop. This is because Marquez is a groundball pitcher, something that allowed him to perform much better at Coors Field compared to most other pitchers.

For his career, he owns a .97 GB/FB ratio, a mark that is substantially higher than the league average .78 ratio. Looking at 2021 in particular, this number rose to 1.09 for Marquez.

Though he technically only ranked in the middle of the pack when it came to average exit velocity (89.4 mph) and hard-hit rate (39.3%) last year, he still only gave up 21 home runs despite Coors Field being home run paradise.

Overall, through six seasons, Marquez owns a career 4.28 ERA (3.85 ERA in away games), as well as a 3.85 FIP, 3.62 xFIP, and 15.8 fWAR.

Should he move to a more pitcher-friendly stadium like Angel Stadium, Marquez could become a more than effective mid-to-high end starter, something the Halos desperately need.

As for what it will take to land him, if Colorado’s recent debacle with Jon Gray, combined with the organization’s penchant for getting fleeced on top-tier talent is anything to go by, getting Marquez honestly shouldn’t be all that difficult.

I wouldn’t put much stock into the team’s promise to keep Marquez in town either, especially after they made the same comments about Gray only for extension talks with him to fall apart.

At just 26 years old, Marquez is currently signed through 2023 with a base salary of $11 million and $15 million owed in each of the next two years. After that, his contract has a $16 million club option for 2024.

So rest assured, Marquez wouldn’t just be a one-year rental if the Angels acquire him. In the context of this year’s free agent class, getting a pitcher of his caliber for just $11 million next year is excellent value and gives the Angels some much needed payroll flexibility.

As for what it would take to actually trade for Marquez, if the Rockies continue their awful negotiating ways, LA might be able to get him without giving up a top player like Reid Detmers or Brandon Marsh.

With the hypothetical departure of pitchers Marquez and Gray, as well as losing shortstop Trevor Story, the Rockies would definitely want some young guys in return to fill those holes within the next few years.

Giving up a somewhat experienced major leaguer like Jaime Barria or Griffin Canning, a mid-to-high-tier pitching prospect like Ky Bush, and one of our shortstop prospects, be it Livan Soto or Kyren Paris, could be all it takes.

Now let’s get into what the Cincinnati Reds can offer the LA Angels, starting with their ace.

Why the LA Angels should consider trading for Luis Castillo:

Luis Castillo has consistently ranked among the best young pitchers in the league since his debut in 2017. In that span he owns a 3.72 ERA, 123 ERA+ and 770 strikeouts.

Though he struggled through the first two months of 2021, putting up a 7.22 ERA in 11 starts, he completely turned things around and was one of the best pitchers in baseball from June-October.

His 2.73 ERA in 22 starts during that span ranks ahead of Cy Young finalists Zack Wheeler (2.93 ERA in 21 starts), Gerrit Cole (4.15 in 19 starts) and Lance Lynn (3.45 ERA in 19 starts).

What makes Castillo really special is that he manages to be both a deadly strikeout pitcher as well as a groundball machine. In addition to averaging 213 strikeouts per 162 games, he owns an astounding 1.96 GB/FB ratio for his career, including a 2.30 ratio last season.

Like Marquez, Castillo’s salary is ridiculously low for the value he brings.

Currently under team control through 2023 (his final year of arbitration), Castillo is due an estimated $7.5 million next year at the age of 29. For a guy who would be the Angels’ co-ace alongside Ohtani, that is an absolute steal, especially since comparable pitchers are likely to command salaries in excess of $25 million.

However, trading for Castillo is going to require a lot more than Marquez would need.

I like to call the following trade package the “forget about the future, we must win a World Series in the next three years,” option.

If the Angels really want to go nuclear here, this likely means dealing top pitching prospect Reid Detmers.

But that’s not all, as the Reds will probably be looking to add some young outfield talent with the hopes that they will one day fill the hole left by Nick Castellanos.

While the inclusion of Detmers here may keep Marsh safe, either Jo Adell or top outfield prospect Jordyn Adams will have to go. And you can bet that Cincinnati will want at least a couple mid-to-lower-level prospects to further bolster this package as well.

Needless to say that this proposal is ludicrous, but if the Angels want to maximize their chances of winning it all with Trout and Ohtani, this might be a risk worth considering.

At this point, many of you are probably thinking that the asking price for Castillo is too high (I wouldn’t blame you). In that case, trading for Cincinnati’s number two starter may be the better option for the LA Angels.

Why the LA Angels should consider trading for Sonny Gray:

The LA Angels and Sonny Gray have seemed like a perfect match for a while now.

As of now, the 32-year-old Gray is owed just $10.2 million next year, and comes with a $12 million club option for 2023.

Though he is older and comes with a shorter contract than both Marquez and Castillo, Gray shouldn’t exactly fall off a cliff yet and will at least stick around for what should be LA’s most competitive seasons in over a decade.

While he’s no longer the pitcher he was with the Oakland A’s, Gray has proven over these last three seasons in Cincinnati that he has plenty left in the tank. Remember, he is still only two years removed from a top-10 NL Cy Young finish in 2019.

Sure, he struggled a bit with injury in 2021, producing a middling 4.19 ERA and 3.99 FIP across 26 starts, but digging a little deeper shows that there is still plenty to be excited about.

For starters, he produced his lowest walk rate (8.7%) since 2017, while also putting up the third-best strikeout rate (27%) of his career. He also held opposing batters to a .225 batting average and a .687 OPS.

In terms of batted ball stats, Gray was elite last year, placing in the 91st percentile in hard hit rate (32.1%), the 92nd percentile in barrel rate (4.7%), and the 88th percentile in average exit velocity (86.6 mph).

Gray had some of the best expected stats in the league too, including a .215 xBA, .324 xSLG and an excellent 3.24 xERA.

So yeah, don’t discount Gray as being broken goods just yet.

His performance isn’t the only thing that makes him an attractive trade piece either, as the package needed to acquire him won’t be nearly as bad as Castillo’s.

If anything, it should be comparable to the Marquez one, just swap out the shortstop prospect for Jordyn Adams and maybe add in an extra mid-tier pitching prospect and that should do it.

In the end, any one of these three starters would be a huge get for the Angels. Not only are all of them great pitchers, but compared to similar pitchers currently in free agency, these guys are all drastically cheaper. Money saved here can no doubt be super useful in bolstering the infield and bullpen via free agency.

However, what the Angels save in money, they lose in whatever high-ranking minor-league talent they have left.

Again, it’s understandable that some may get cold feet when it comes to trading some of our best prospects given the status of LA’s subpar farm system, but for a team in win now mode, these moves may be necessary if the Angels want to reach the playoffs while Trout and Ohtani are still here.