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.