3 Angels who will be off the 40-man roster by the trade deadline

The Los Angeles Angels do not have many expendable players on the major league roster with remaining minor league options. Of the position player group, Gustavo Campero has three options left...and that's it (unless you want to include Christian Moore)!. On the pitching side, Ryan Zeferjahn and José Fermin also have three left, but they are likely not going anywhere soon, and Sam Bachman and Jake Eder have two.

The idea here is to find players who the Angels could designate for assignment and subsequently retain -- players who would not get claimed by another team because they are not valuable enough for whatever reason.

Lamonte Wade Jr.

Chris Taylor should be back on the major league roster any day now, and it's got to be either Wade Jr. or Campero that gets the axe to make room (Kevin Newman is a cockroach who ain't goin' nowhere). "Late Night Lamonte" does not have any MiLB options left, so he would need to be DFA'd for Taylor to take his spot. Campy does have options left, but the team is head-over-heels for the switch-hitting outfielder -- if he was going to get DFA'd it would have happened in the offseason. Both play right field, where Taylor will filter in heavily upon his return, and are fine with being full-time bench players. So, who's been better while on the Angels?

Wade Jr.: 22 games, .156/.255/.156/.410, .203 wOBA, 29.4% K%, 7.8% BB%
Campero: 17 games, .125/.243/.219/.462, .221 wOBA, 18.9%, K%, 10.8% BB%

Wade Jr.'s near-30% K% makes him pretty redundant on the extremely strikeout-prone Angels, and yet he adds no power whatsoever. Campero, like Luis Rengifo, is a player who will not strike out. Campero adds some dynamism to the lineup because he can actually put the ball in play when he receives plate appearances. Campero is also a better defender than Wade Jr., even though Wade Jr. can play some first base, plus is younger and cheaper.

Wade Jr.'s numbers for the whole season are not better at all when you factor in his 50 games played for San Francisco. He's the last man on the totem pole and his time on the Angels' major league roster is almost up. Salt Lake could use him, though, so here's hoping he clears waivers and accepts an assignment to Triple-A.

Carson Fulmer

Much like Lamonte Wade Jr., Fulmer does not have any MiLB options left. Fulmer was a late addition to the Angels and the organization should have tepid expectations for the 31-year-old given what they've seen the past three seasons. On paper, there are several pitchers in the pipeline who could take Fulmer's spot as an innings eater out of the bullpen. The Angels would probably option Eder before DFAing Fulmer, but both of those transactions are very much on the table given that the Angels desperately need both starting and relief pitching.

Ryan Johnson comes to mind, as he looks like the Shohei Ohtani (pitcher) of High-A. George Klassen is making his case at Double-A right now. Of course, there are other 40-man options with 2025 MLB experience to replace Fulmer like Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, Víctor Mederos or even Jack Kochanowicz. Chase Silseth still exists, as well.

It seems likely that the Angels could DFA Fulmer and he would clear waivers. His fastball sits at 92 MPH, and he had pretty substandard numbers in his 86.2 innings pitched last year for the Halos. He is a stock right-hander, and not that integral to the team -- even though they love his makeup.

Scott Kingery

Unlike Fulmer and Wade Jr., Kingery is not on the major league roster. However, he was previously DFA'd and retained by the Angels, so there is precedent that shows that the organization could do that again.

Kingery was electric at Triple-A before his MLB call-up, but since his demotion he has been awful. In 12 games with the Bees from June 2nd on, the super-utility player is slashing .109/.163/.174/.337 with a 30.6% K%.

There's no chance the Angels would DFA Niko Kavadas, Kyren Paris or Matthew Lugo before Kingery. Perhaps they would DFA Chad Stevens before Kingery, but Stevens has more shine on him for sure.

Other Candidates: Chad Stevens, Kevin Newman, Jake Eder, Gustavo Campero, Hunter Strickland

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout