LA Angels player scapegoats: 1 to trade, 1 to have patience with, and 1 to DFA

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After a series win in Texas, it looked like the Los Angeles Angels were going to make a legitimate push for a postseason spot and maybe even the AL West title. Since that big series victory, the Angels have won just five of their last 14 games to fall to just three games over .500 and two games back of the last Wild Card spot in the AL.

There are two frustrating aspects of this slump. One, they've been losing even with their starting pitching improving. Tyler Anderson gave them five hard-fought scoreless frames last night against a tough Diamondbacks team and the team lost against a starting pitcher who had an ERA approaching 5.00. Two, they've lost games against beatable opponents. The Angels went 5-5 against the Royals, Rockies, and White Sox.

Outside of the 25-1 rout in Colorado, the Angels have struggled to score runs and have played some bad baseball. This has caused fans to place blame on certain players and want to see them go. Some of the blame is justified, but patience is a virtue as well. One of these scapegoats should be traded, another DFA'd, but the third one should have some patience.

1) LA Angels player scapegoat to trade: Taylor Ward

I like Taylor Ward a lot and am a believer in his abilities. I do not believe last season was a fluke and think when he has the right approach he can be really good. I just don't love the fit here with this Angels roster and with what this team is trying to do.

Last season, Ward thrived with his patient approach. He rarely swung at the first pitch and rarely chased out of the zone. Ward ranked in the 93rd percentile in chase rate last season, and that's down to the 72nd percentile in 2023. Ward swung at the first pitch 26.2% of the time last season, and that's skyrocketed to 33.8% this season. His swing percentage in general is up from 41.4% to 45.3%. These aren't small jumps.

Angels hitting coach Marcus Thames has preached aggressiveness and Ward has taken it to the extreme. It'd be nice if Ward would go back to his approach that worked, but it's already July.

Another reason why I believe Ward being traded could work out for everyone is because of Mickey Moniak. The former first overall pick has earned an everyday spot, and I'm more of a believer in Hunter Renfroe's ability to bounce back offensively than Ward. A platoon with Moniak who can't hit lefties would work, but Ward has reverse splits.

Lastly, Ward can net the Angels something decent as a guy with team control as opposed to Renfroe who is in the final year of his deal. Trade Ward in a deal for a pitcher, and play Moniak, Trout, and Renfroe every day.

2) LA Angels player scapegoat to DFA: Luis Rengifo

Eventually enough has to be enough with Luis Rengifo, right? Rengifo had a solid year last season but has struggled for pretty much the entirety of this campaign and he's shown no signs of breaking out, yet he continues to play a whole lot.

Rengifo is slashing .204/.293/.303 with four home runs and 21 RBI this season. He has 67 WRC+, essentially making him 33% below league average. That is, without sugarcoating anything, abysmal. Especially for a guy who provides no positive value in the field or on the base paths.

I understand the fact that he hit 17 home runs last season and is a versatile defender who can also switch hit, but he simply hasn't done enough to warrant a roster spot. Rengifo has been worth -0.2 fWAR this season, yet he continues to play often. He's appeared in 71 of the Angels 85 games, starting 55 of them. Simply too many.

Can the Angels trade Rengifo for something? Maybe. He's only 26 and is under team control through the 2025 season, but at this point he'd bring back almost nothing in a deal. The more the Angels continue to run him out there when he does nothing, the more his trade value diminishes.

Eventually it becomes time to move on and accept that a player might not rebound. For a team trying to win, Rengifo is not worthy of a roster spot.

3) LA Angels player scapegoat to have patience with: Patrick Sandoval

I understand the frustrations, I truly do. Patrick Sandoval has really struggled, particularly of late. He had a 7.11 ERA in five June starts, and the Angels are just 5-10 in his starts this season. Not what you want from a guy who was supposed to be the number two starter.

Sandoval's walks have remained relatively the same, his home run rate is a tick up, and his strikeout rate has gone way down. Sandoval struck out 9.1 batters per nine last season and that's down to 7.3/9 in 2023. He allowed just eight home runs in 27 starts last season and has allowed six already in 2023.

Sandoval had a 3.42 ERA through the month of May even with his frustrating efficiency. He was the Angels second best pitcher for most of this season. There's no reason to think he can't return to that even with a bad month.

The reason to have patience with Sandoval is because we've seen what he can be. He was a guy who had a sub-3.00 ERA last season. While he didn't go as deep as fans would've hoped for in games, he was clearly a productive pitcher.

Sandoval had a rough July similar to this past June when he posted a 6.20 ERA in his five starts. After that, he had a 1.83 ERA in his final ten starts of the season. Can we see that again from Sandoval? I'm willing to take that risk with the talent he does have and with his age and team control.

Now if Sandoval can be moved as part of a package for a legitimate ace with more than a year of control, sure, I can see him being moved. Trading Sandoval just because of a rough stretch isn't the answer.

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