3 factors that made August of 2023 the worst month in Angels franchise history

3) None of the players the LA Angels acquired to help them win actually did that

The narrative of this month was supposed to be how the new guys helped the team flip the script and get back to the postseason. The Angels were right there, they just needed a push from the new guys to get them over the top. Virtually all of the players the Angels acquired in trades flopped.

Lucas Giolito was the biggest piece acquired by the Angels. He had a 6.89 ERA in six starts and the team went 1-5 in his starts. His ERA sat over 7.00 in his five August starts. Obviously, the ERA is bumped up a little bit from that awful Atlanta start, but he didn't pitch like a frontline starter in any of his starts, really.

The player the Angels acquired alongside Giolito was Reynaldo Lopez. The right-hander was their best deadline pickup but even he had his struggles. Lopez took two losses in 13 appearances with the club thanks to some of his late-game blowups. He also blew a save when he gave up a go-ahead home run against the Phillies in his final appearance with the Angels. The Angels won that game, but that was in spite of him. He had good moments, but struggled at the end.

The other big trade the Angels made saw them acquire Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron from the Rockies. Grichuk had a .470 OPS in his first 26 games as an Angel before immediately having a monster game after being placed on waivers. Grichuk went unclaimed so hopefully he can have a good month of September, but his struggles didn't help. He was supposed to be the Taylor Ward replacement.

C.J. Cron had struggles of his own, posting a .563 OPS as an Angel before landing on the IL. His biggest contribution was making room for Nolan Schanuel. Cron is still with the team, but who knows if he'll play another game this season.

Dominic Leone had some good appearances for the Angels, but his ERA sat at 5.54 for the Angels. Even some of the players the team acquired earlier this season in Eduardo Escobar (47 WRC+) and Mike Moustakas (49 WRC+) didn't do much in August.

Players not acquired in midseason trades obviously didn't play well either, but the guys the Angels brought here specifically to win all struggled. That's just unprecedented stuff right there.