Angels Rumors: Boston's trying to pry away LAA's young ace before trade deadline

Teams around baseball are keeping a close eye on the Angels in the week and half before the MLB trade deadline. For years, despite the disappointing finishes, the Halos have rostered and developed several players that have generated enough value for the organization to receive exciting prospects back in return for them in a trade. Whether it was Carlos Estévez, Luis García, Andrew Heaney, Noah Syndergaard, Raisel Iglesias or Brandon Marsh, the Angels have a rich history of selling off assets in July in exchange for prospects who have moved through their weak pipeline quickly.

The 2025 Angels feel more talented and well-rounded than any other team they have had in many years. While the 2023 team had some great two-way Shohei Ohtani moments, the third best player on that team was Brandon Drury. That being said, the Halos finish July with series against the Mets, Mariners and Rangers...three teams that will undoubtedly be favored to win those series. If the Angels go in a tank, prepare yourselves for another massive sell-off. Not only would Perry Minasian trade Luis Rengifo, Yoán Moncada, Tyler Anderson and any other expiring contract that other teams might want, but he might seriously consider a gargantuan offer on the Angels' best non-Kikuchi starter.

Angels Rumors: Boston's trying to pry away LAA's young ace before trade deadline

Per Rob Bradford, a local Boston radio host on WEEI, the Sox are showing interest in José Soriano. Angels fans are likely clutching their pearls at the notion of offloading Soriano, but the more you think about it the more it makes sense if the team tanks.

Soriano's stats this season are pretty much exactly the same as they were last year before he was shut down due to arm fatigue. He is a number two starter, which is asking a lot of him due to his relative inexperience in a rotation and clear warts in his game (namely his walk rate). His fellow starters are either 34 or 35-years old, and there's currently an open spot in the rotation. While the Angels have a quantity of pitchers in the pipeline, it's unclear if any of them will reach Soriano's level of quality any time soon. It would take a lot to pry Soriano away, but the Red Sox could afford it.

The Angels landed Ryan Zeferjahn, Matthew Lugo, Niko Kavadas and Yeferson Vargas for Luis García...can you imagine what they could get from Boston in exchange for José Soriano? The consensus around the Red Sox's farm system is that it's the best in the sport, and the Angels would be trading them a 26-year-old, fireballing, ground ball machine who does not reach free agency until after the 2028 season. Minasian could not pull off a Garrett Crochet-level trade for Soriano, but he could immediately reel in four players who would inhabit 40% of the team's top-ten prospects list.

The Red Sox traded for García and signed Patrick Sandoval in the offseason, so clearly they like whatever's in the Anaheim water. The Angels have a lot invested in Soriano, so trading him is extremely unlikely. However, the option needs to be kept open if the Angels do tank yet again.

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