3 Angels trade deadline targets failing with their new teams

The Los Angeles Angels failed miserably at the MLB Trade deadline. Let's get that out of the way. The team was 56-51 on the year, right in the thick of the playoff race, and seemed to get better after making aggressive moves to try and win in 2023. We all know how things unfolded. The Angels lost seven straight games immediately and were out of postseason contention completely by mid-August.

The Angels made some huge trades to try and win in what could be Shohei Ohtani's last year in Anaheim. Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Randal Grichuk, C.J. Cron, and Dominic Leone were all brought in while the Angels parted with some of their better prospects, but virtually all five of those players outside of Lopez really struggled with the club. Giolito, Lopez, and Leone are already in other uniforms, Cron has been hurt most of the time, and Grichuk has seen his OPS dip by over 200 points since joining the Angels.

While Perry Minasian undoubtedly made some awful trades at the deadline, there're some players the Angels seemed to have a good shot at acquiring who have been just as bad, if not worse, with their new teams.

1) LA Angels trade deadline target Jack Flaherty is failing with the Baltimore Orioles

The Angels decided to upgrade their rotation by acquiring California native Lucas Giolito. What if, instead or even in addition to Giolito, the Angels acquired California native Jack Flaherty? The former Cardinal wasn't having as good of a year as Giolito was, but he absolutely felt like a realistic trade candidate for the Angels to pursue.

Flaherty had a 4.43 ERA through 20 starts and 109.2 innings of work this season with St. Louis. The 20 starts was his best statistic, as Flaherty had struggled mightily just taking the ball and staying healthy.

Angels fans remember the start in which he allowed ten runs while recording seven outs in an Angels win at Busch Stadium, but he had a very solid 3.58 ERA in his 13 starts after that before being traded at the deadline.

Flaherty went to the Orioles who have been in a heated battle for first place in the AL East all season long, but he hasn't been helping. Things started well when he allowed one run in six innings in his Orioles debut in a win over Toronto, but his 7.11 ERA dictates everything that's gone wrong for him since that outing.

The Orioles are 3-4 in his seven starts and he's completed five innings in just three of the seven. Even Lucas Giolito's 6.89 ERA with the Angels looks better than Flaherty's mark with Baltimore.

2) LA Angels trade deadline target Jeimer Candelario is failing with the Chicago Cubs

The Angels appeared to be very interested in Nationals third baseman Jeimer Candelario, as there were some rumors leaked that they were in discussions with Washington around the deadline. This made sense as the Angels had Anthony Rendon and Gio Urshela on the IL while also failing to find any sort of consistent production at first base.

Candelario, a switch-hitter with experience at both corner infield positions, made a ton of sense for the Angels as a target. He had an .823 OPS with Washington in what was a big breakout year for him.

The Angels wound up making the deal to acquire C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk with the Rockies while the Cubs were the winners of the Candelario sweepstakes. He got off to a blistering start in his second go-around with the Cubs, putting up back-to-back four-hit games. Unfortunately, while the Cubs have played well, Candelario has not.

Since those first two games, the 29-year-old is slashing .184/.278/.385 with five home runs and 16 RBI. His .663 OPS in that span is just marginally better than Grichuk's .645 mark as an Angel. Sure, Candelario has been more productive than the injured C.J. Cron, but that's really only because he's been playing.

The veteran infielder is now on the IL nursing a strained lower back. His first two games will be remembered fondly, but Chicago could be regretting their trade much like the Angels are regretting the Cron and Grichuk deal.