3 relief pitchers the LA Angels should target at the trade deadline

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As the Trade Deadline approaches the Los Angeles Angels have confirmed their buyer's status by taking MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani off of the trade block and acquiring Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox. Now that the first domino has fallen, the Angels have come out and said they are still looking for more. In the past the Angels haven't had a very strong bullpen and this year is nothing different.

Why the Los Angeles Angels should target Relief Pitchers

Outside of Carlos Estevez's All-Star caliber season as the Angels closer, they've been clearly missing consistent middle relief pitchers. As a combined bullpen, the Angels currently rank 18th, with a 4.16 ERA in 363 innings pitched. There has been quite a bit of turnover for the Angels bullpen since the start of the season. Starting the year, Ryan Tepera was looked at as one of the Angels better relief pitchers. After posting a 7.27 ERA in 10 games the Angels released him. He wasn't the only relief pitcher who moved backward from last season. Jimmy Herget has also struggled with a 5.06 ERA with the team in 16 games before being sent down to AAA Salt Lake. This forced the Angels front office to give some different arms a shot in the majors.

Those pitchers gave a good boost for a short period of time in the middle parts of the season before the All-Star break. That stint was short-lived once a lot of those players started getting hurt. With Ben Joyce, Chris Devenski, and Sam Bachman now on the IL, the team is desperately looking for more depth and more consistent players at the position. Since the trade deadline is the last time to boost your roster before the final push to the postseason, now is the perfect time for the Angels to add to their bullpen.

Here are 3 relief pitching options the Angels could trade for.

1) Brent Suter, LHP, Colorado Rockies

After being claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies this last offseason. Brent Suter has been a very good relief pitcher with a 4-0 record and a 2.51 ERA. This left handed pitcher is known for his very odd delivery and his ability to generate a lot of soft contact that induces very easy outs. The Rockies will not have any control over him after his season ends, so the Rockies will definetly be open to shopping him to other teams especially if they could get some young talent in return.

With the Rockies being in rebuild mode, it would be very easy for the Angels to offer players to them knowing they would be open to just about any decent minor league prospect. Since Suter is in his mid-30's the asking price for his services shouldn't be all too high and would allow the Angels to add a consistent lefty arm without having to give up too much on this run to the post season. With the Angels only having 2 left-handed pitchers in their bullpen this will help considerably for good positional pitching moves deep into contentious games late in the stretch too.

The reason why I think this could be one of the better possible moves is because of the high amount of value Suter could easily add without having the Angels lose a huge part of their future organization. Yes, Suter isn't the flashiest move on the trade deadline, but he has shown quite a bit this season to just be ignored.

2) Julian Merryweather, RHP, Chicago Cubs

Staying the in National League, Julian Merryweather is a solid right hand option. Coming to Chicago after playing with the Toronto Blue Jays for 3 seasons, Merryweather is 3-0 with a 3.83 ERA this season. Prior to this season, Merryweather has struggled to find a footing. Considering last season he finished with an ERA of 6.75 through 26 games, this season has been an incredible jump by nearly halving his ERA with nearly double the amount of innings pitched.

Depending on what the bids for Merryweather might look like from other teams, the trade package to get him could be relatively cheap. Since he is a free agent after this season the Cubs would be smart to try and move on from him by capitalizing on his successful season so far. If the Cubs are still trying to get over the bump in the next few seasons again and return to glory they could be looking for stronger MLB ready prospects from the Angels in return.

If the Cubs increase their asking price, I wouldn't expect the Angels to reach and send one of their higher prospects in return, but if the Cubs possibly shop Kyle Hendricks the Angels might be more willing to involve players like Jo Adell in their trade package.

3) Jose Cisnero, RHP, Detroit Tigers

Now from the team the Los Angeles Angels just got done playing, is Jose Cisnero. Cisnero, is a 34-year-old right hander from the Dominican Republic. Cisnero has shown over his career to be a solid relief pitcher including a really good 2022 campaign with a 1.08 ERA through 28 games. In comparison to the other names, I've included on this list, Cisnero has the most impressive track record this far with the most proven ability. Cisnero shows he can still throw a mid-90's fastball, but his control could be something that teams are wary of. If he can continue to throw strikes, it'll allow Cisnero to dominate and be a force on any team he pitches for.

I think Cisnero is the biggest name player on this list and would definitely put more eyes on the Angels for being serious contenders in the American League. He would be a perfect 7th or 8th inning guy who could come in and shut down teams in high profile situations with his high strikeout percentages.

Since the Tigers are in a similar boat as the Rockies they would be looking for any strong prospect from the Angels in return. I don't expect the Angels to part with any of their top prospects unless it is for a large market player, so for a relief pitcher like Cisnero they might have to give them a mid-teens organizational prospect like Jeremiah Jackson or Mason Erla in return.

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