5 former Angels players whose playoff hopes are still alive

The Los Angeles Angels are once again missing out on the MLB postseason party, as they failed to make the playoffs for the ninth straight year. With Shohei Ohtani potentially leaving this offseason, it could be a lot longer until we see this team back playing meaningful October baseball.

While the Angels missed out on the postseason, they still have several of their former players succeeding on other teams who have made it to the League Championship series.

1) Brandon Marsh, Philadelphia Phillies

Brandon Marsh is easily the most impactful player on this list. Marsh underperforming with the Angels led to the trade that landed them Logan O'Hoppe at the 2022 trade deadline. O'Hoppe has been awesome with the Angels when healthy and looks like their catcher of the future, but Marsh has caught fire in Philadelphia.

Marsh swung a hot bat for the Phillies in the second half of last season which helped them win the National League pennant, and now they are just two wins away from winning another Pennant with Marsh once again playing a key role.

The young outfielder slashed .277/.372/.458 with 12 home runs and 60 RBI in 133 games for the Phillies this season. He played solid defense in the outfield as always, and has settled in quite nicely as Philadelphia's starting left fielder against right-handed pitching.

After a quiet beginning to his postseason, Marsh has seven hits in his last 14 at-bats including a home run and two doubles in his last four games, helping the Phillies go 4-0 in that span. The trade still has worked out quite nicely for the Angels, but this version of Marsh would've been nice to have in Anaheim.

3) Martin Maldonado, Houston Astros

The Angels shipped Jett Bandy to the Milwaukee Brewers in the deal that landed them Martin Maldonado. What was a rather irrelevant deal at the time, turned into a great deal made by the Angels.

Maldonado had a great year for the Halos in 2017, hitting 14 home runs and winning a Gold Glove behind the plate. He never did much with the bat but was good enough, especially when he was a great defender. That success carried into 2018 where he was eventually traded to the Astros in the deal that netted the Angels Patrick Sandoval. Turning Jett Bandy into Patrick Sandoval is good business.

Sandoval has had his ups and downs but has been a staple in the Angels rotation and will continue to be as long as he remains with the club. Maldonado has had success of his own in Houston where he's been a key contributor on a winning team.

Maldonado remains the everyday catcher despite providing next to nothing offensively because of his glove and relationship with the pitching staff. Maldonado also somehow, always seems to come up with the clutch hit when Houston needs it the most. In ALCS Game 3 against the Rangers, Maldonado's two-run single against Max Scherzer gave Houston a 3-0 lead. They held on for the win that night to remain alive in the series.

Both the Angels and Astros did well in this trade. Houston has the trophies to back it up, but Sandoval being a mainstay in the rotation is not a bad thing when all they gave up was a light-hitting catcher.

4) Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers

Patrick Sandoval reminds me of Andrew Heaney as an Angel in a lot of ways. Sandoval has the stuff to be a really good pitcher but often doesn't trust it and doesn't have the best results consistently. Heaney has great stuff as well, but he never quite tapped into his potential with the Angels.

The southpaw was with the Angels from 2015-2021 before being moved at the 2021 trade deadline to the New York Yankees. The Angels wound up using the two pieces they got in the Heaney trade to acquire Hunter Renfroe in the 2022 offseason. That didn't work out so great.

Since departing the Angels, Heaney has had his ups and downs. He was abysmal for the Yankees leading to him being DFA'd. Heaney then latched on with the Dodgers and the Dodgers did what they always do. Get the best out of any reclamation project. Heaney was at his best with the Dodgers but was limited to 16 appearances in 2022 due to injury.

This past offseason he signed a two-year deal to go to Texas and he's had a decent year. He posted. a 4.15 ERA in 34 appearances (28 starts). He earned the start in Game 1 of the ALDS after Texas swept the Rays in the Wild Card round and pitched well, allowing one run in 3.2 innings pitched in the Rangers win. He's currently lined up to pitch Game 4 of the ALCS against the Astros as Texas looks to go up three games to one.

5) Chris Stratton

The first four names on this list are pretty memorable for Angels fans, but Chris Stratton's tenure in Anaheim was the most irrelevant by far. He was acquired in a trade with the Giants right before Opening Day of the 2019 season and was plugged into the rotation. Things did not go well for him as he posted a 7.04 ERA in five starts before being moved to the bullpen where he'd pitch even worse.

Overall, Stratton had an 8.59 ERA in seven appearances with the Angels before being DFA'd and eventually traded to the Pirates for cash considerations. It was with Pittsburgh where Stratton would eventually find a home in the bullpen.

The right-hander was a mainstay in Pittsburgh's bullpen from 2019-2022 before the Pirates shipped him off to St. Louis at the 2022 trade deadline. He pitched well for the Cardinals in 2022, helping them win the NL Central. He was off to a decent start this season before being traded again, this time to the Texas Rangers in the deal that also sent Jordan Montgomery to Texas.

Montgomery has, of course, been the big impactful piece in that trade, but Stratton was very useful as well. He had a 3.41 ERA in 22 appearances for the Rangers this season, but his struggles in September led to him having a reduced role in October. He's made just one appearance in the postseason and it did not go well.