The list of potential Taylor Ward suitors should tantalize the Angels front office

A little more than a month before the trade deadline, the Angels, their fans, and the entire MLB world got a helping of rumors from ESPN's Jeff Passan. The insider ranked his 50 best trade candidates, and four Halos found themselves on the list. Taylor Ward was chief among them, ranked as the 20th best candidate to potentially be traded by Passan.

While Passan did say the chances of Ward being dealt are merely 45%, that number could change drastically depending on how the Angels play in the coming weeks. Mid-July will see the Halos take on three National League threats in a row as they will play the Diamondbacks, Phillies, and Mets with the All Star Game (which should feature some Halos) sandwiched in-between.

Of the teams listed as possible destinations, San Diego, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Kansas City are seen as the favorites by Passan. We figured out what potential returns could look like for the Halos if Ward was dealt to a few of these teams, and overall the Angels could potentially find themselves on the right side of a bidding war.

In Passan's piece, the only other corner outfielder ranked above Ward was Jarren Duran of the Red Sox, who he gave a 25 percent chance of being dealt. The Angels could very well find themselves with the best corner outfielder available, and with Ward having another season of team control on his contract the price may very well be going up.

The Phillies are definitely a team to keep an eye on here. Philadelphia and the Angels have made a handful of trades together in the past few seasons - most notably the trade that brought over former Phillies top prospect Logan O'Hoppe in exchange for Brandon Marsh. One could argue both teams are winners here, especially if O'Hoppe can improve defensively enough to stay behind the plate. The Angels also traded for Scott Kingery in exchange for cash considerations this past off-season and also traded away Noah Syndergaard for Mickey Moniak in 2022.

Last deadline, the Angels sent Carlos Estevez to Philadelphia for what ended up being a significant haul. Right-handed pitcher George Klassen is considered by some as the top prospect in the Angels organization, and left-handed Samuel Aldegheri has found some brief flashes of success in the big leagues.

It is to predict which of the teams listed will be the landing spot for Ward with over a month left before the trade deadline. These teams could go on losing streaks, some could have their own corner outfielders get hot, and so on. The main takeaway from this piece is that if the Angels do decide to sell, they'll be doing so from an advantageous position with regards to how many teams will be calling about Taylor Ward.

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