Angels fans can’t ignore what growing Jose Soriano buzz really means

There is no denying that Los Angeles Angels starter Jose Soriano has been a huge story in MLB this season. It would be one thing if he were just pitching well because, to be blunt, everyone already knew that he was capable of that. However, Soriano has been much more than good; he has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball. Unfortunately, that is already leading to a familiar, if misguided conversation.

Given how the last few years have gone, it is fair to say that the Angels are viewed as a source of talent for other teams instead of building something of their own. LA has struggled to compete, especially after losing Shohei Ohtani, and the Angels have been willing to trade MLB talent for prospect help of questionable quality.

Over on MLB Network, that trade chatter is already including Soriano's name. During a recent segment, analyst Xavier Scruggs floated the idea that the Angels could trade Soriano this year and that...is certainly an idea of some kind.

Jose Soriano is already finding himself in the middle of Angels trade speculation

The idea of trading Soriano isn't completely without merit. If LA thinks Soriano is vastly overperforming his projections and they are out of contention at the trade deadline, it would be silly for them to completely dismiss all trade offers for Soriano. Depending on internal evaluations and where the team is, there is absolutely a price offered where the Angels need to think long and hard about it.

That said, a trade this year seems both unwise and unlikely. Aside from the fact that it would be absolutely terrible optics if the Angels finally developed a bona fide frontline starter only to trade him immediately, figuring out how two sides could line up is tough. Soriano is in the middle of the heater of all heaters and has three years left of cheap team control. While there are certainly going to be teams in need of pitching at the deadline, the number that could (or should) pay what it would require to trade for Soriano is a much, much smaller list.

Even if the Angels found a suitor willing to pony up, history suggests that they will still pass. LA has had ample opportunities in the very recent past to cash in at the trade deadline, and they just haven't done that. Ohtani is the obvious example, but Luis Rengifo and Tyler Anderson were both guys who got considerable trade deadline buzz, and the Angels kept them and let them rot anyway, despite being out of contention.

In an ideal world, the Angels would just go ahead and extend Soriano. Not only would that finally give them some rotation stability, but it would put an end to the trade rumors. Until that happens or the Angels are real playoff contenders, Soriano's name will keep coming up.

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