3 biggest trade chips for Angels during spring training

A trade mid-spring training should not be ruled out for a team like the Angels who are looking to catapult its way up in the standings. Nobody is off-limits, everybody on the roster is negotiable. The coaches and front office are looking at the Angels' roster with rosy colored glasses right now, but the holes on the team should emerge sooner rather than later during camp.

The Angels certainly could use some more controllable assets moving forward. Despite the team looking much more refined on paper, the window for the Angels to compete for a playoff spot probably will not open this season. Despite the team not looking as accomplished as many others throughout baseball, Arte Moreno will demand wins now or else heads will roll. There are a few tradable Angels players who they could move out in order to keep their misguided postseason goals alive while also keeping an eye on the future.

Luis Rengifo

The switch-hitting utility player is likely the most desirable trade piece the Angels could be willing to move off of. He generated interest from the Red Sox (amongst others) at the 2024 trade deadline, but is not quite as valuable as he was then on the market. Rengifo's contract expires at the end of the season, and he needs to prove he can stay healthy as well. He is only making $5.95 million this season, so perhaps other teams see value in his affordability -- even if he is a rental -- and would bet on health.

The Angels and their fans might not want to ditch Rengifo, but he is relatively expendable. In terms of veteran depth options, they have Yoán Moncada, Kevin Newman, Scott Kingery, and Tim Anderson who could fulfill his duties at either second and third base. It will be interesting to see where Matthew Lugo plays in camp, as he could be swung back to third base and developed quickly there. Most importantly, there's the Christian Moore of it all. He is in-line to be the Angels' starting second baseman for some time. If the Angels are confident with sending out Moore to second as early as Opening Day, they could flip Rengifo for a pitcher during camp and bank on their veteran depth and/or Lugo to pick up the slack at third.

Tyler Anderson

Like Rengifo, Anderson is on an expiring contract and generated some interest league-wide last season. Also like Rengifo, the Angels could find themselves smitten with their up-and-coming arms who could supplant Anderson in the rotation this season. Those young arms being both Jack Kochanowicz and Reid Detmers, but also Chase Silseth, Sam Bachman, Sam Aldegheri, Caden Dana, Víctor Mederos, George Klassen, or one of the many intriguing arms from last year's draft class even.

Anderson is making $13 million, so he is a more expensive and older rental than Rengifo. However, teams always need starting pitching depth. He could be salary filler in order to bring in a bigger name for sure.

Sam Bachman

The OC Register's Jeff Fletcher reported that Bachman lost 15 pounds this offseason. Bachman is ramping up during camp, as he finally had an injury-free winter to prepare for the season. He is competing for a bullpen spot against guys like Garrett McDaniels and Chase Silseth, but he could easily be the odd-man out come Opening Day. Should the former first rounder look great during spring training games, perhaps other teams would look past the laundry list of injuries and send the Angels back a valuable asset for a guy who is solely bullpen depth at this point of his career.

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