2 Angels trade deadline successes and 1 failure
The Angels had a good trade deadline, but it wasn't quite perfect
The trade deadline has come and gone with the Los Angeles Angels in the hunt for the postseason for the first time since 2014. Angels general manager, Perry Minasian, has shown his aggressiveness by going all in and trading away prospects for big league talent in the hopes that it rejuvenates the team.
The team started with some pitching depth, then with offensive help, and rounded it out on the final day with some bullpen help. The farm system definitely took a step back in hopes of helping the big league club and here are 2 successes and 1 failure that round up the Angels trade deadline.
1. Acquiring Giolito and Lopez was a trade deadline success
This one is easily one of the biggest successes out of any of the big league clubs out there as the Angels attacked the trade market early and got one of the top pitchers on the trade block. Giolito has been solid this season with a 3.85 ERA at the time of writing this with 126.1 innings of work.
Two seasons ago, Giolito was one of the top pitchers in the game with a 3.53 ERA in 178.2 innings of work and placed 11th in Cy Young voting. He also grew up in southern California, so this is a coming home for him as he slots right behind Shohei Ohtani in terms of starting depth.
Reynaldo Lopez is the other player in the deal and he was solid last season for the White Sox with a stellar 2.76 ERA in 65.1 innings of work. Looking at Baseball Savant and what worked for him last season, Lopez distributed his pitch mix more and relied less on his fastball which is his main weapon.
2. Adding depth in Cron and Grichuk was a trade deadline success
C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk were both formally in the Angels system, so it's a welcome-back party as they have developed well enough to stay and perform in the league. While this can be seen as a win for the team in acquiring depth, it was more of a need with both Jo Adell and Taylor Ward landing on the IL along with several other Angels.
Perry Minasian targeted depth in the off-season and he is still emphasizing it in this mid-season acquisition as Grichuk is more backup with the injuries. He'll more than likely be the odd man out should Mike Trout come back, but his offense shouldn't be overlooked as he's slashing .310/.365/.504 with an OPS+ of 123.
Cron is purely depth as he's slashing an abysmal .259/.305/.468 with an OPS+ of 97 which is just below average while also playing at Coors Field. Once Brandon Drury comes back, it will be interesting to see how the team prioritizes offense as Cron is hitting better than Luis Rengifo, who plays second base, and Drury can play both positions.
3. Adding this bullpen depth did not make sense and was a trade deadline failure
While there needs to be praise for what the Angels have brought in terms of talent to win right now, adding Dominic Leone from the Mets didn't make sense. Most of these trades kept the young core of talent that the Angels have in the big leagues right now, however, letting Jeremiah Jackson go was a mistake.
Dominic Leone hasn't impressed all too much with the Mets as he's posted a 4.40 ERA in 30.2 innings of work, on top of that he also has a 5.26 FIP so he's been to blame for any bad outings. Meanwhile, Jackson slots into the Mets top 30 prospects at 22, it's not like the Angels gave up the next Mike Trout, but Jackson has potential.
Jackson has raw power as he's produced 15 home runs so far and has 21 stolen bases, which shows he's a power and speed guy. The one knock on him is that he's 23 and while everyone is different in terms of development, the Angels may have seen enough of him to move on.
His ability to also play multiple positions makes him more valuable as he can fit into a lineup everyday, if he unlocks the ability to hit consistently, then watch out. Overall, this move didn't add up as Jackson could have been paired with another prospect and the Angels could have added someone better.