3 LA Angels players who should replace Lucas Giolito if he gets claimed on waivers

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The entire 2023 trade deadline was a disaster for the Los Angeles Angels. The team went all in and saw it blow up in their faces immediately, as they lost seven straight to start the month, and the month would up being arguably the most embarrassing in the history of the franchise.

A big reason this deadline will always be remembered as a historic disaster is because the Angels, a team with a weak farm already, traded the few prospects they had in exchange for rentals. The worst deal of all was the one that sent their top two prospects in Edgar Quero and Ky Bush to the White Sox in exchange for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.

Giolito was one of the best pitchers in the American League from 2019-2021 but was very clearly not that same guy in each of the last two years. Even when the Angels acquired him, his 3.96 ERA was accompanied by a 4.44 FIP, suggesting that he had been getting a little lucky. The Angels still went through with this trade and while Lopez pitched mostly well, Giolito had a 6.89 ERA in his six starts.

The guy added to be a frontline starter led his team to a 1-5 record in his starts. They weren't all his fault, but Giolito for the most part was not good. In all likelihood he will be claimed off of waivers later this morning ending his short and brutal Angels tenure. Here're three players who should be replacing him.

1) Victor Mederos should replace Lucas Giolito on the LA Angels roster if Giolito gets claimed on waivers

Victor Mederos is one of the many young Angels pitchers the team has called up from AA Rocket City this season. Unlike Jose Soriano, Sam Bachman, and Ben Joyce, Mederos didn't find a way to stick around. He's had two brief stints with the Angels and has made three appearances out of the bullpen so far. Now, the Angels have the opportunity to use him as a starting pitcher.

It's unclear what the Angels plan is with their rotation now that Shohei Ohtani is no longer pitching this season. Will they return to a traditional five-man rotation with Ohtani out of the picture or will they remain in a six-man? If they remain in a six-man rotation, Mederos is an option that'd make a lot of sense.

His numbers with AA Rocket City aren't pretty as he's posted a 5.57 ERA there in 20 starts, but it's pretty hard to judge pitchers based off solely numbers in AA with the different baseballs they've been using. Jose Soriano's ERA in the majors is nearly a full run lower than it was in AA this season. Sam Bachman's is well over two runs lower.

Mederos has good stuff and when his command is on, he's got potential. Two of his three MLB outings went well including a scoreless inning in Atlanta against the loaded Braves. This would be a good opportunity for Mederos to show he can be part of the rotation either in 2024 or sometime in the not-too-distant future with a strong showing in September.

2) Kolton Ingram should replace Lucas Giolito on the LA Angels roster if Giolito gets claimed on waivers

If the Angels go back to a five-man rotation, the Angels can add an extra reliever. The one they should look into bringing back up first is Kolton Ingram.

The Angels southpaw is remembered for the role he played in one of the season's most devastating losses in Kansas City, but outside of that, he's had a really strong season. He had a 2.63 ERA in 23 appearances for AA Rocket City, and has a 3.49 ERA in 18 appearances in AAA Salt Lake. Having a sub-4.00 ERA in the PCL is extremely hard to do, so it's encouraging to see Ingram have that kind of success there.

Ingram doesn't have the same raw stuff that other young Angels relievers have, but he does a great job limiting hits and the home run ball. Ingram is a left-hander who can easily replace left-handed pitcher Matt Moore if and when he departs on waivers as well.

If the 26-year-old pitches well in September, the Angels might have one of their lefties set for 2024 and beyond. If not, they could have themselves a DFA candidate. Either way, it's worth giving him a month-long look.

3) Kenyon Yovan should replace Lucas Giolito on the LA Angels roster if Giolito gets claimed on waivers

Kenyon Yovan is a player who had a lot of hype surrounding him at the beginning of the season, but it's died off of late. Yovan had tons of hype surrounding him because he had a 0.41 ERA in his first 18 appearances and 22 innings pitched. He had allowed just one run in 22 innings, and that run came in his first appearance.

The Angels kept passing over Yovan for other relievers, and then the right-hander started to struggle. In his 19th appearance of the season he allowed six runs without recording an out. That right there caused his ERA to balloon to 2.86. In fact, in the 15 appearances he made following his first 18, he had a 13.15 ERA in 13 innings pitched. The ERA was skewed greatly by three awful outings, but Yovan still wasn't pitching well.

Things have been a bit better for Yovan of late as he's posted a 3.97 ERA in his last 11 appearances, and he hasn't allowed a single earned run in his last six. His issue is the home run ball, as Yovan has given up eight home runs in 46.1 innings pitched. That's too many.

With the Angels needing to add a handful of arms, giving Yovan a look makes sense. He's had an up and down year, but he's clearly flashed some potential.

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