Angels division rival fleeces New York Mets in stunning blockbuster trade

Teams are open for business in the offseason, and the hot stove is getting warmer and warmer each day. The American League West is shaping up to be completely re-modeled next year with several teams, including the Angels, executing early trades and signings here in the offseason. The Texas Rangers have already made waves recently by non-tendering four not insignificant members of their 2025 team, and have continued to show that they are ready to do whatever necessary to shed their payroll. Normally, when teams are off-loading an expensive contract of a declining player they lose the trade...but the Rangers just pulled off a stunning win-now move after their latest deal they agreed to with the New York Mets.

Angels division rival fleeces the New York Mets in stunning blockbuster trade

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Mets are sending Brandon Nimmo to Texas in exchange for Marcus Semien. Nimmo waived his no-trade clause, and will now man centerfield for the AL West contender for the foreseeable future. Semien signed a seven-year, $175 million before the 2022 season, while Nimmo is under an 8-year, $162 million that he signed back in 2022.

Semien, a 35-year-old second baseman, is coming off of the worst season of his career, while the 32-year-old Nimmo once again posted great numbers across the board. Semien just slashed .230/.305/.364/.669 -- with his .364 SLG and .669 OPS being career-low rates for the All-Star infielder. The normally Iron Man-esque Semien played just 127 games last year, whereas he has eight other seasons in which he played 155 or more games. He was a huge part of MLB's best infield defense, though.

Nimmo posted a .262/.324/.436/.760 slashline last season, which was a slightly below average year for his standards. His OBP was a career-low, but he posted a career-best HR% and provided yet another season with an above .400 SLG. The left-handed outfielder also played the most games of his career.

The Angels were a starkly different team from the Rangers last season, where Texas needed more offense and the Angels needed more pitching. Many figured that perhaps Texas would fold next season, but this trade certainly makes them more formiddable in the Angels' division next season. The Rangers needed Nimmo's thump, has a cheaper AAV, is younger and coming off a much better year than Semien. The Angels certainly got a better return for their star outfielder than the Mets here, but the Halos do need to keep building the roster out if they wanna keep pace with Seattle, Texas, Houston and the A's.