Angels buy 2 arms at trade deadline, bring back piece from 2024 Red Sox fleece

Taylor Ward and Kenley Jansen, two players whose names have been brought up as potential roster casualties at the MLB trade deadline, both recently voiced their preference of staying with the Angels and making a playoff push. Nobody knows what goes through the mind of Arte Moreno at any given time, and it truly took him until July 30th to make a decision as to whether his team will sell assets or bolster this tight-knit group via trades. Well, break out the Los Angeles Angels! They are officially buyers here as they stand 4 games out of the final wild card spot thanks in part to dismantling the Texas Rangers the past couple of nights!

Angels buy 2 arms at trade deadline, bring back piece from 2024 Red Sox fleece

It appears Ward and Jansen are going nowhere, as the Angels acquired Andrew Chafin and old friend Luis García from the Washington Nationals to strengthen their relatively weak bullpen. In return, the Angels sent the Nationals Jake Eder and Double-A first baseman Sam Brown. Adding the two veteran relievers is a clear signal to the clubhouse that they are going for it this year, despite the fact that they are rentals who are not exactly brand names. The pair roughly will make a combined $1.15 million on the year.

Luis García was famously sent from the Angels to the Boston Red Sox last season in exchange for Matthew Lugo, Ryan Zeferjahn, Niko Kavadas and Yeferson Vargas. In 15 appearances for the Sox last year, García posted an 8.22 ERA, 5.06 FIP and a 1.63 WHIP en route to drawing the ire of everybody in New England. García posted middling numbers as an Angels reliever back in 2019, but he did a solid job as the team's set-up man in 2024 before being dealt. The 38-year-old picked up with the Nationals less than a month ago, and pitched quite well in his brief stint for them, after he was DFA'd by the Los Angeles Dodgers in late-June.

The 35-year-old Chafin's enjoyed a distinguished career, by way of a 3.39 ERA, 3.31 FIP and 1.29 WHIP. In 26 games with the Nationals this season, the southpaw's posted a 2.70 ERA, 3.82 FIP, an 18:12 K:BB while allowing 20 hits and 1 home run. The Angels will become the ninth MLB team he's pitched for. Hope "Big Country" is alright with moving to Southern California!

Chafin and García will likely accompany Zeferjahn, Jansen, Reid Detmers, Brock Burke, Sam Bachman and Connor Brogdon in the 'pen. The team axed José Quijada, who was out of MiLB options, as a corresponding move for both the active and 40-man roster. The Angels needed to DFA somebody to make room for Chafin and García, as Eder was on the 40-man but Brown was not. Fulmer will likely be the other active roster casualty once the two relievers report to their new team. Two things to keep in mind: Robert Stephenson is progressing through his rehab, and Hunter Strickland might be back in September, so the bullpen might be getting more reinforcements before the year is done.

Eder will likely begin his Nationals tenure in either the major league rotation or bullpen, as the 26-year-old still has some shine on him as a prospect. The Nationals are taking a low-risk flier on the Vanderbilt prospect who has experienced a turbulent professional career with the Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox and Angels. Sam Brown will not have much allure as a top-prospect in Washington's pipeline, but the left-hander is a professional hitter who can pick it some at first.

According to FanGraphs, the Angels have a 4.9% chance to move past the Royals, Guardians, Rays and two of the Rangers, Red Sox, Mariners in order to get Mike Trout back to the playoffs. However, this iteration of the Angels have shown that they play hard for each other, can come up big in clutch moments and can put up a fight against the best teams in baseball.

"Never tell me the odds. -- Han Solo" -- Arte Moreno.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout