1 realistic Angels trade target from each MLB team

NL West trade targets

Arizona Diamondbacks trade target: Joe Mantiply

Joe Mantiply came out of nowhere and was one of the better relievers in the National League in 2022. He had a 2.85 ERA in 69 appearances and 60 innings. He gave up just six home runs and walked only six batters in those 60 innings while striking out 61 batters. His 10.17 K/BB ratio was impossibly great.

Mantiply was the Diamondbacks all-star representative because of his great season. Despite this only being his second full season in the majors, Mantiply is 31 years old already. It's possible that the young Diamondbacks will want to trade him away while his value is high.

The Angels would be getting a southpaw with four years of team control coming off an unbelievable season. He likely won't be this good again, but he should still be a good option to turn to.

Colorado Rockies trade target: German Marquez

Rockies pitchers are always very hard to judge. They make most of their starts at Coors Field so their numbers will be naturally inflated but you never really know how good they actually are. One way to try and decide whether a Rockies pitcher is good or not is by looking at the home/road splits.

At home, German Marquez had a 6.70 ERA in 16 starts. On the road, he had a 3.43 ERA in 15 starts. In his career, he has a 5.08 ERA in 85 home appearances (84 starts). On the road, he has a 3.77 career ERA in 87 appearances (85 starts).

It's clear that Coors Field is why German Marquez had a 5.00 ERA in 2022. If he pitched anywhere else he'd be significantly better. With that in mind, the Angels should trade for him. He has only one year remaining on his contract for $15 million dollars with a $16 million dollar club option for 2024.

Marquez is a guy who's pitched at least 162 innings in each of the last five full seasons (excluding 2020). He's pitched in at least 180 innings in each of the last two seasons. He'd be a valuable innings eater that the Angels can slot into the middle of their rotation and expect solid results. With the Angels only visiting Coors Field for one series, Marquez should have much better numbers if the Angels were to acquire him.

Los Angeles Dodgers trade target: Justin Bruihl

Something the Dodgers have that the Angels lack is substantial quality pitching depth. The Dodgers have three lefties on their roster for the bullpen in Alex Vesia, Caleb Ferguson, and Victor Gonzalez who would slot ahead of Justin Bruihl. For that reason, Bruihl could be an Angels trade target.

He only has 45 career appearances in his two seasons but Bruihl has a 3.40 ERA and a 125 ERA+ in 42.1 innings pitched. He doesn't strike guys out but he also walks few.

He's struggled against righties but has held lefties to a .195/.239/.230 slash line with no home runs in 94 plate appearances. He can be useful in certain situations for the Angels.

The Dodgers are trying to win and won't be looking to trade away their good players, especially to the Angels. With that in mind, Bruihl is nothing but depth for them and would probably make the Angels Opening Day bullpen.

San Diego Padres trade target: Drew Pomeranz

The Padres are a team that will likely be in the Luxury Tax again and could move on from Drew Pomeranz for some cap relief.

The southpaw missed the entire 2022 season after undergoing Flexor Tendon surgery in August of 2021. He was experiencing discomfort in September as he was attempting to come back so he was shut down.

The Padres just spent a ton of money to keep Robert Suarez and have Josh Hader projected to make $12.2 million dollars for 2023. With them having other lefties like Tim Hill and Adrian Morejon in their bullpen, it's possible the Padres don't want to pay the $8 million dollars Drew Pomeranz is owed and ship him off for an asset or two.

If this is the case, the Angels should be all in. Before his injury, Pomeranz was elite. He had a 1.62 ERA in 47 appearances after arriving in San Diego in 2020. He struck out 59 batters in 44.1 innings pitched while allowing just three home runs. He'd be a great option to have alongside Jimmy Herget at the end of games.

San Francisco Giants trade target: Mike Yastrzemski

If the Angels decide they don't want Jo Adell or Mickey Moniak to serve as their fourth outfielder, Mike Yastrzemski could be a player they target. He signed a one-year $6.1 million dollar deal for this season. While it's expensive for a fourth outfielder, I'm sure he'd come in handy for the Angels.

He's a guy who can play all three outfield spots and was in the 77th percentile in outs above average according to baseball savant.

He doesn't hit for a very high average but he hit 17 home runs this past season and draws a ton of walks. He'd be a big upgrade over what the Angels have right now in terms of bench options for the outfield.