3 buy-low trade candidates for the Angels to target

2) Angels buy-low trade target: Lucas Giolito

Lucas Giolito is a guy who cemented himself as one of the better pitchers in the American League from 2019-2021. He had three straight top-11 Cy Young finishes and was consistently throwing upwards of 170 innings every year.

2022 was a major struggle for this right-hander and with just one more year left before he hits free agency and a projected $10.9 million dollar salary for 2023, it's possible Chicago would want to move on rather than extend him.

If Giolito were to be made available in a trade, the Angels should pounce very quickly.

I understand 2022 was rough. He went 11-9 with a 4.90 ERA in 30 starts. However, within the struggles, there're some bright spots.

First, he threw 161.2 innings which is still a solid number. Second, he still struck out 9.9 batters per nine while allowing the same HR/9 as his career average. Lastly, he had a 4.06 FIP to go along with his 4.90 ERA suggesting bad luck.

A lot of the bad luck comes from the batted balls put in play against him. Opponents had a .340 BAbip against Giolito, which is 40 points higher than the .300 league average. This is bound to dip way down towards the .300 number which should help Giolito drastically.

He did walk 3.4 batters per nine which is too many but I'd expect a big bounce-back from this right-hander in 2023 and hope it's in an Angels uniform.

3) Angels buy-low trade target: Ramon Laureano

Ramon Laureano's stock cannot possibly be lower. He was suspended during the second half of the 2021 season due to PED's. Once he returned from the suspension he had just a 92 OPS+. Lastly, he's on an Oakland Athletics team that has traded virtually every veteran of value outside of Laureano and I'm sure has no willingness to have him on their roster come Opening Day.

With that in mind, the Angels should trade for Laureano while his price is at an all-time low.

I get the concern about productivity after the suspension, but he's been productive even before 2021.

In 2019 he slashed .288/.340/.521 with 24 home runs and 67 RBI. He also stole 13 bases that year.

He's been a mostly league-average hitter since, but that's still a massive upgrade over what the Angels have in left field right now. He's also played a lot of center field so the Angels could use him there if there's a need.

In addition to his fine bat, Laureano has a cannon of an arm. Adell is not great defensively, and neither is Laureano, but his arm makes the Angels' defense better.

Look at this throw he made to complete a double play in Anaheim in 2018:

Laureano has three years of control left still and should be cheaper now than he has been ever. He's a guy the Angels should keep in mind for left field.