3 Angels players who Perry Minasian would include in a trade for MLB talent

Arte Moreno, Perry Minasian, and Ron Washington all vowed to field a competitive roster in 2025. Moreno assured Angels fans and reporters that he will increase payroll in order to contend, despite masking his true intentions to spend.

The issue for the Angels is that they are not a free agent destination, and many of the available free agents do not necessarily fit with the roster. Either they are too rich for the Angels' blood financially or do not fit positionally. Consequently, the most logical path to increase the Angels' payroll is packaging a trade of young, relatively unproven players in exchange for a player who an organization is looking to get off their payroll.

Think of an exchange for players such as Brandon Lowe, Jesus Lúzardo, Ryan McMahon, Yandy Díaz, or Luis Robert Jr. -- talented players with good resumes, who are hitting free agency in the next year or two, with a current contract figure their club's might deem to be too high for their expected value. Or they might trade them just out of fear of potential regression.

Now, Minasian surely will part with the team's top prospects or young core in exchange for MLB talent. Zach Neto, Ben Joyce, Nolan Schanuel, Logan O'Hoppe, Christian Moore, George Klassen, and Caden Dana are here to stay. Do not worry, Angels fans. Not including players of their caliber will lessen the trade return, but there are still some players the Angels showcased in 2024 who bolstered their value. Whether they did so enough so as to talk other teams into buying their potential is a pivotal question for Minasian. Teams like the Rays, A's, Marlins, Twins, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Giants, White Sox, and Rockies might want to off-load salary in exchange for cheap, controllable players, whose future value they believe could be unlocked once they are away from the Angels.

None of the players listed here are good enough in a one-for-one trade for impact, MLB talent that the Angels are seeking, but maybe a package of two or three of them would be mutually beneficial for both sides. The Angels could increase their payroll and acquire a win-now player, while the other club could conceivably place these players in a better situation to succeed. Minasian is certainly on the lookout for infielders, one outfielder, pitching depth (always), and perhaps a designated hitter (even though Mike Trout will slot in as DH more in 2025)...possibly in exchange for a package incuding these players!

José Suarez

Suarez, a point of contention amongst Angels fans for many years, recently displayed why the Angels have retained him for so long. Suarez is so divisive because he is so all over the place, and in more ways than one. Suarez is often swapped between Anaheim and Salt Lake City, and that occurs because he constantly vacillates between looking like the worst pitcher in the league and a pitcher with untapped potential. The flashes of dominance are there, the pitch-ability is there, the versatility is there, and it is perpetually agonizing for Angels fans when they see him fail.

In March and April, Suarez carried an OPS against of 1.005. In May, it was .667. In June, it was 1.695. In September, it was .598. You get the point.

Suarez ended his year on a high note, which potentially boosted his trade value in the eyes of the league's executives. In September, Suarez ranked third amongst Angels pitchers in FIP, K/9, and fWAR. He ranked second in xFIP.

The Venezuelan native could have showed enough that another team might want him on their major league roster after breaking camp this March. The Angels, due to their rocky past with the 27-year-old, will continue keeping Suarez on short leashes in games and on their elevator. "Their elevator" meaning leveling him up to Anaheim only to lower him right back to Salt Lake. Back and forth, back and forth. Up and down, up and down.

As crazy as it sounds, the Angels might not have room on either their pitching staff for the promising left-hander. In the rotation, José Soriano is a lock. They are not moving Tyler Anderson's expiring contract, as his trade value is pretty much zero anyways. Reid Detmers and Jack Kochanowicz are far better bets to make the rotation. Patrick Sandoval will return during the second half of the season. The bullpen is a logical fit for Suarez, but the Angels have a superabundance of long relievers.

Griffin Canning vs. José Suarez is a good debate for the fifth starter's spot, but the Angels will likely opt for Canning. Like Suarez, Canning finished the year on a high note, and the Angels view him as a more reliable innings-eater than Suarez (despite Canning's awful 2024 results). Suarez has better stuff, a cheaper contract, is younger, and less injury-prone than Canning. All those factors make him more tradable than Canning. Would you rather be able to package Suarez in a trade for a win-now position player and have Canning as your temporary fifth starter, or start Suarez over Canning and lose assets for a trade since Canning is untradable? These are the conversations Minasian is having at the moment, and he will likely opt for the former. Trading Suarez and keeping Canning in the rotation is a far more realistic option this winter.

Davis Daniel

Davis Daniel has much in common with Suarez. Much like Suarez, Daniel has no tangible path to becoming a fortified part of the Angels' rotation or bullpen moving forward. A seventh round pick in 2019, Daniel has been up-and-down between levels multiple times the past three seasons...like Suarez.

Daniel made six starts for the Angels in 2024, and had some high highs. In his first start of the year against the Tigers on June 27th, Daniel earned a win by tossing eight scoreless innings, striking out eight, walking nobody, and allowing only four hits. According to FanGraph's pitch modeling data, Daniels' 105 Location+ rating was tied for the Angels' best mark on the season (with Brock Burke). His 101 Pitching+ grade was seventh. Daniel does not have the greatest stuff, but it is still being harnessed. He is a competitor who can hit spots and eat innings.

To reiterate, Daniel would not fetch much in a one-for-one trade, but he has shown enough to retain some trade value in a package deal. Even with no clear path to break the Angels' roster, Daniel could be seen as a potential prize elsewhere given that he is still just 27, has gigantic movement on his breaking balls, and his long extension plays up his fastball velocity and ride.

Honorable Mentions: Niko Kavadas, Chase Silseth, Víctor Mederos, Kenny Rosenberg

Kavadas, a recent add to the Arizona Fall League roster, might hang around with the Halos. As currently constructed, the Angels have a right-handed heavy lineup (Trout, Ward, Neto, O'Hoppe, Adell, and... Rendon...I guess...for now). Their left-handers/switch-hitters lack pop (Schanuel, Rengifo, Moniak). Kavadas is not the best player in the world, but he is a left-hander with serious in-game power. The Angels currently lack a solid DH option, which Kavadas could potentially slot in as against right-handed pitchers at some point in 2025.

Silseth had a lot of expectations heading into 2024, but here we are now and Silseth's future with the Angels is murky. Silseth began the season in the Angels' rotation, and could still in 2025, but he was surpassed by many other young arms for the Angels like Soriano and Kochanowicz. Perhaps Silseth could break camp in the Angels' bullpen, as a permanent move to the 'pen would add even more velocity to his fastball and could maybe help keep him off the injured list. The Angels could certainly use another power arm in the bullpen alongside Ben Joyce.

Mederos turned a lot of heads in Major League Spring Training back in 2023. Mederos flourishes a filthy arsenal of four-seamers, two-seamers, a changeup, slider, and curveball. Like pretty much every Angels' pitching prospect, Mederos has injury issues that plague him. Despite appearing in each of the past two seasons for the Angels, after getting drafted in 2022, Minasian might not commit to long-term plans with Mederos. He could be a converted-reliever option.

Rosenberg is in the same shoes as Suarez and Daniel, except he has less upside and trade value than those two. A bulk-reliever/piggyback type arm, Rosenberg sports a unique changeup and is a fiery competitor.