MLB insider pitches 3 key Angels players as ideal trade targets for contending teams

The Angels are in no way out of the American League wild card race whatsoever, yet it's still difficult to believe they can make a legitimate playoff push as of now. The AL is chock-full of talented teams, and many of them have yet to reach their full potential despite sporting a similar record to LAA. The Angels are fully cemented in the middle of the pack right now. However, the Yankees, Tigers, Astros, Blue Jays, Rays, Twins, Guardians, Royals, Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers all legitimately could wind up with better records than the Halos by the end of the year. It's believable that they could beat out a few of those teams...but all? That's still a long shot.

There's a lot of wait and see remaining for the Angels, but if the team does find themselves closer to the Orioles, A's and White Sox in a couple months then they could take advantage of a major seller's market this year. The Angels could position themselves incredibly well in 2026 if they can net a large crop of young talent to surround around Mike Trout, Zach Neto, Logan O'Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel, Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano, Ryan Zeferjahn, Reid Detmers, Christian Moore, Caden Dana, George Klassen, etc. This crop of players represents the most hope the Angels organization has had in years, and they could sell off some older, talented players to augment this incredibly promising group in the years to come.

MLB insider pitches 3 key Angels players as ideal trade targets for contending teams

Jim Bowden of The Athletic threw out several teams that could use the services of Taylor Ward, Kenley Jansen and Jorge Soler. All three players are on the older end (in baseball terms), and the teams Bowden identified as suitors for them all possess solid young talent in their pipeline.

While it would hurt to part ways with Ward, and Jansen is looking more-and-more like his old self, the Angels' chances of breaking their postseason drought could be increased significantly if they acquire more players that fit their timeline by giving them up.

Here are the teams Bowden suggested would make calls on Ward, Jansen and Soler. Interestingly, he left out Tyler Anderson and Yoán Moncada.

Taylor Ward

Ward to the Padres makes all the sense in the world. AJ Preller is trying to pry Jarren Duran from the Red Sox, but that seems unlikely. The Angels might have the next best left fielder who could become available, and Preller is known to over-spend in order to win ASAP. An outfield of Ward, Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. would be a formidable group.

The Padres have a weak class of prospects and definitely would not part ways with Ethan Salas for a year and a half of Ward. Perhaps Stephen Kolek becomes expendable if the Padres like what they have in their rotation with Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vásquez and maybe even Michael King and Yu Darvish if they come back healthy for their playoff push. A package revolving around Kolek could be a great start for the Halos.

It seems likely that the Padres could outbid the Royals and Guardians, even if KC wants to replace Mark Canha with a more powerful option. The Guardians have Steven Kwan holding down left field, but Ward could be a better option at DH than David Fry for sure. Neither team normally goes all in at the deadline, however.

Kenley Jansen

Would the Phillies really want to continue feeding the Angels more assets? The Angels netted O'Hoppe, Klassen and Sam Aldegheri in exchange for Brandon Marsh and a half-season of relatively uninspiring pitching from Carlos Estévez.

Losing José Alvarado for a long stretch of the season due to a suspension and Jordan Romano being incredibly blow-up prone might force their hand once again in order to acquire Jansen to close games for them. He would slot down the rest of their relievers nicely, pushing Alvarado, Romano, Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm into set-up and swing roles.

Jorge Soler

It's relatively difficult to believe that the Giants or Royals would absorb Soler's remaining 2025 salary and the entire figure on next year's deal too (he's set to make $13 million both this year and in 2026). The 33-year-old needs to be a full-time DH and his bat is regressing in a major way. Taking on that money and giving up prospects in the process is a tall order, even for a player that is always intimidating at the plate with major postseason chops.

More LA Angels Rumors from Halo Hangout