Grading Angels' 2025 trade deadline: 1 fence sitting move for the fringe contender

The Angels' were technically active at the deadline, but decided not to touch their already-substandard farm system in order to get better at the major league level. The 2025 Angels' players and staffers have repeatedly stated that the vibes are great, so they will continue to be fueled by friendship the rest of the way. That is what Perry Minasian cares most about, procuring a locker room full of team-guys who will all work hard and not cause drama. Trading away a Taylor Ward or Kenley Jansen would have negatively effected the clubhouse atmosphere, plus the team wants Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Logan O'Hoppe, Reid Detmers, José Soriano and the rest of the young core to experience something resembling a meaningful playoff push.

So, due to the MLB players loving each other and the pipeline being too fragile to tap into, the Angels made one trade on July 31st and one on July 30th. The Angels' trade on deadline day was not even significant enough to land any sort of blurb from a reputable source outside of Anaheim, and it was done with the New York Yankees!

Here's some analysis on the trade the Angels made before the deadline, in which the Angels received Luis García and Andrew Chafin for Jake Eder and Sam Brown.

Grading Angels' 2025 trade deadline: 1 fence sitting move for the fringe contender

Trade: Angels receive UT Oswald Peraza from the Yankees for MiLB OF Wilberson De Pena and international bonus pool space

Grade: C

Peraza is a 25-year-old with many years of team control left who is cheap, does not need much playing time and can pick it at several different positions. He is a right-handed hitter with a career .190/.263/.285/.548 slash in 145 games with the Yankees dating back to 2022.

At the end of the day, the Angels finally got rid of Kevin Newman so fans cannot get too mad, right?. Yes, somehow Newman is finally off the team after getting DFA'd to make room on the 40-man roster for Peraza. You know what, A+ job Perry! Bravo! Only took you until July 31st to find a replacement for Newman's subpar defense and .202/.209/.272/.481 slash line. However, Peraza is slashing .152/.212/.241/.452 this year so the joke might be on the Angels and their fans once Peraza makes an error or two as a defensive substitution. He is lined up to be Newman 2.0!

Peraza is already used to being a bench player, as the last time he received more than 2 at bats in a game was on July 21st. With the Angels, he will take over the Newman role of bench player who barely sees the field. Here is what the position player group should look like soon:

vs. RHPs:
1. Neto—6
2. Trout—DH
3. Schanuel*—3
4. Ward—7
5. Adell—8
6. Moncada**—5
7. Soler—9
8. O’Hoppe—2
9. Moore or Rengifo**—4
Bench: d’Arnaud, Peraza, Campero** or Wade*

At the end of the day, this trade in a vacuum is fine AKA a C-grade. You just took a distressed asset for virtually nothing and are boosting an infield defense that desperately needs it. Clearly, acquiring Chafin, García and Peraza pales in comparison to what the Astros, Mariners and Rangers did at the deadline, so good thing we are just grading the Peraza trade rather than judging the entire organizational philosophy here. That comes later.

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