3 Angels players who are tanking their trade value ahead of crucial deadline

The Los Angeles Angels are two games below .500, in a crowded American League wild card race and the halfway point of the season is rapidly approaching. While virtually every reputable publication has chocked the Angels up as sellers at the trade deadline, the team itself might view themselves as buyers if they continue to stay around the same win% in the next month. No team in baseball with any chance of making the postseason is more desperate to win then the Angels, so they might look past what is reasonable and look to what is possible when it comes to buying or selling.

The biggest decision the Angels will have to make in the next month+ surrounds whether to trade or hold onto Taylor Ward, who just clubbed his team-leading 19th home run of the season against the Yankees. Only eight players in baseball currently have more home runs than Ward, and the Angels could receive a great crop of prospects in return for the left fielder with a year and a half left of team control.

Kenley Jansen is another contributor who the Halos might need to sever ties with to re-stock their pipeline. Their closer is on an expiring deal, and Reid Detmers could very well be ready to become the full-time 9th inning guy with what he's shown of late. Jansen's value will never be higher given that he has 15 saves and has yet to blow one all season.

The Halos might have had a few relatively expendable players they could have dealt, while holding on to Jansen and Ward, and still have been able to compete for the postseason. However, their seasons are taking a turn for the worse here in mid-June as Perry Minasian weighs his options. If they are to hold onto Ward and Jansen and still acquire some talented prospects, they need these three players to step their games back up.

3 Angels players who are tanking their trade value ahead of crucial deadline

Tyler Anderson

Anderson only has one quality start in his last eight appearances. His performance has been a far-cry from what he showed before that, especially given that he had four straight quality starts from April 18th until May 6th. Of all the Angels pitchers the last month who are still on the team (so, excluding Shaun Anderson and Caden Dana), Anderson has the worst ERA (7.04), the worst WHIP (1.89), the third worst FIP (5.74), the third worst K/9 (6.46) and the third worst HR/9 (1.76).

The team would be lucky to receive a prospect worth getting excited about at all in return for Anderson at this point, unless he can rebound in a major way.

Jorge Soler

Soler has experienced both groin and back tightness that has caused his playing time to become a little more sparse the past month. He has also added next-to-nothing in his at bats of late, which is not what you want from a player who is typically a full-time DH.

The past month, Soler is slashing .185/.250/.284/.534 with a sky-high 31.5% K%. A 31.5% K% is relatively average for Angels hitters, but abysmal compared to the league average. He has been pressed to play more right field, and he obviously has a team-worst -7.2 defensive fWAR as a result. Let's not forget that Soler is owed another $13 million next season, which is a high price to pay for an aging DH that has been streaky, at best, this season.

In an ideal world, the Angels could have traded Soler at the deadline. It would not have been a sell-off, as the Angels are clearly better off with Mike Trout DHing full-time and their outfield defense would have improved by moving Soler out. At this point, the team would likely need to eat some of his deal in order to move him out and return any sort of intriguing return package. Probably not worth it.

Yoán Moncada

Moncada has been a great contributor in the games he has played, but Angels fans are starting to learn what White Sox fans have known all along...the guy cannot post with consistency anymore.

The Angels third baseman is only taking swings as a left-handed hitter...off a tee right now. Moncada hit the injured list on June 2nd thanks to right knee inflammation (the same injury Trout had, just a different knee), and his timeline to return is still a mystery. When he does return, it feels dubious that even the most third base-needy team would bet on his health the rest of the season.

If Moncada can come back in late-June/early-July, keep hitting well and correct his iffy defense, maybe the Angels could deal him. However, all of that feels uncertain especially with the knee issue. The Angels would probably want to hold onto him, even though his contract expires after the season, as his replacements at 3B have been the even-worse Luis Rengifo and Kevin Newman.

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