Could Angels' division rival trade their best player following their roster shakeup?

The American League West is in a precarious position right now, just like it was last offseason. The entire baseball world was relatively surprised by the Houston Astros letting both Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman walk out the door, and mix things up with their roster. Now, the new version of the Astros tearing down a championship roster is in Arlington, TX.

It was widely reported that the Rangers were looking to off-load some of their World Series champion roster last week, but they wound up just non-tendering them instead. Adolis García, Jonah Heim, Josh Sborz and Jacob Webb were cap casualties, and immediately became intriguing free agents to watch. Is the tear down completely over?

Angels division rival has trade rumors surrounding best player after roster shakeup

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, talking about the Atlanta Braves finding its next shortstop: "Corey Seager, owed $186 million over the next six years from a Texas club looking to reduce payroll, theoretically could have been an option. But according to major-league sources briefed on his contract, the Braves are one of eight teams on Seager’s no-trade list." This was such an interesting tidbit from Rosenthal, as nobody really was expecting Seager's name to come up in trade talks. This kind of came out of nowhere, and despite the report saying that Seager does not want to get traded to Atlanta it appears that there have been talks of him possibly getting traded. Rosenthal later said the Rangers are highly unlikely to move Seager, but it's certainly a situation worth monitoring.

The far more available player on the Rangers roster was Marcus Semien, but no team in their right mind wants to assume that contract based on the second baseman looking far less effective last season than ever before...right? Wrong. The Mets are taking on Semien in exchange for Brandon Nimmo! If the Rangers can land a solid outfielder for Semien, imagine what they could net for Seager...

If the Rangers truly want to re-set their financials and add back some impact prospects, trading Seager is be the move. The fact of the matter is it appears the Rangers are willing to tear their team down and re-build, so a Seager trade could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. A Nathan Eovaldi or Jacob deGrom trade would net them a great return, but veteran pitchers are not as intriguing as an all-world shortstop (even with his injury concerns).

Of course the Los Angeles Dodgers are a team to keep an eye on with any Seager trade. The back-to-back World Series champions have a treasure trove of prospects to deal in order to acquire their former shortstop/World Series MVP. However, the presence of Mookie Betts probably means the Dodgers would be unwilling to break the bank for another shortstop or move the generationally skilled Betts off of his new position.