Angels can start thinking about buying after sweeping the Yankees

You can put away your Shohei Ohtani trade proposals for now. The Los Angeles Angels have swept the New York Yankees to improve to 49-48 on the season. They're still nine games back of first place Texas in the AL West, but a 4.5-game deficit and a week of easy competition could have the Angels thinking of buying at the trade deadline.

While virtually the entire baseball world wants to see Shohei Ohtani in another uniform, the fact of the matter is the Halos won't be trading him unless they fall completely out of the race. They seemed destined to do that with how they played prior to the all-star break, but four straight wins have the Halos right back in it.

Sweep of NY Yankees has the LA Angels thinking about buying at the trade deadline

The odds for this team to make the playoffs even with this four game winning streak are slim. They're virtually out of it in the AL West and have to jump three of Houston, Toronto, Boston, and the Yankees. With the way the Yankees are playing passing them seems feasible, especially considering the fact that the Angels do own the tiebreaker against them, but their path is still complicated.

Outside of some great baseball played in the beginning of June, the Angels have yet to put together weeks of good play in a row. We've seen it in spurts, but then that's usually followed with horrific play. That's why they've hung around .500 for much of the year.

Next up on the docket is a weekend series against the Pirates at home. Pittsburgh has lost eight of its last ten and are 12 games under .500. That's a series the Angels have to have. They then travel to Detroit for three games. The Tigers have won six of their last ten but are nine games under .500. That's another series the Angels simply have to have.

Assuming the Angels do go something like 4-2 over their next six, they'll be three games over .500 and will most likely not lose ground in the Wild Card race. With just five games left to play after the Tigers series before the deadline, the chances the Angels sell at that point would be almost zero. Ohtani would have to demand a trade for the Halos to move him at that point.

In terms of buying, this team needs a lot of work. Pitching is the number one concern in both the rotation and bullpen. Another bat would be great too. This is the part of the schedule the Angels really have to take advantage of before a grueling August schedule.