Angels players on waivers most likely to be claimed on waivers ranked

The Los Angeles Angels shocked the baseball world on Tuesday, putting six of their players up on waivers for the 29 other teams to claim. The goal here for the Angels is pretty simple. Get under the luxury tax. There are reasons why the Angels organization would want to do that, and it's also good for Arte Moreno's pockets.

Teams in or fighting for postseason spots will want to improve their rosters, and adding any of these six players should help most teams out. The teams acquiring the players would only have to pay the remainder of the salaries, so it doesn't cost much financially while teams wouldn't have to give up any assets.

All six should be claimed by someone, but some are more likely to go than others. Here're the rankings of Angels players most likely to be claimed going from least likely to most.

6) LA Angels outfielder Randal Grichuk's struggles make him the least likely to get claimed

Randal Grichuk having a monster game could impact this a bit, but prior to his breakout game on Tuesday against the Phillies, he had been among the worst hitters in baseball. Overall, his time with the Angels has been nothing short of a disaster.

Grichuk is slashing .165/.212/.351 with four home runs and eight RBI. He has 16 hits in 97 at-bats, and three of them came in his four at-bats after being put on waivers.

The Angels acquired Grichuk to be the Taylor Ward replacement but after hitting over .300 with an .861 OPS with the Rockies, he didn't come close to hitting .200 with a .600 OPS with the Angels. It's not only his fault that the Angels are in this spot, but he certainly did nothing to help them win.

A team out there should want Grichuk at the very least as a fourth outfielder. Chances are he'll be a better hitter in a new situation, and should help a winning team win some ballgames.

5) Dominic Leone wasn't very good as a member of the LA Angels, but he's cheap

Everybody needs bullpen help, right? Whether it's due to injuries or just underperforming players, it feels like every team in the majors could always use a little bullpen help.

The Angels needed bullpen help and acquired Dominic Leone to try and fortify their middle relief corps. Leone got off to a good start by escaping big jams in his first couple of appearances and showing a ton of emotion in the process, but faltered off late and showed why Mets fans were ecstatic to have him traded at all.

The reason I put Leone above Grichuk here isn't because I believe Leone is a better player. I believe more teams will need the bullpen help, and Leone only costs around $100k for the remainder of the season. He's likely better than other teams seventh or eighth relievers, and can be a small upgrade there. Grichuk is making almost $2 million for the remainder of the season. That is a difference.

Leone had a 5.25 ERA as an Angel, but that ERA was at 3.12 through his first seven appearances with the club. Some struggles late have impacted it, but maybe Leone can get back to that.

4) LA Angels outfielder Hunter Renfroe's track record should make him attractive to many teams

Hunter Renfroe has not come close to living up to expectations with the Angels. He's slashing .237/.300/.422 with 18 home runs and 52 RBI. He got off to a great start, but has a .684 OPS with 11 home runs since May. To make matters worse, he's hitting .167 with just one home run and a .501 OPS in August.

Renfroe has been among baseball's worst hitters this month, but I'd have to assume that at least partially is him simply checking out with the team struggling as much as it has been. I would not be shocked at all to see him turn things around down the stretch in a new environment, and fully expect a team out there to give him a shot.

Renfroe is the most expensive of the bunch as he still has roughly $2 million left on his deal for this season, but $2 million for a player with his track record isn't much of anything. When right, he's among the best power hitters in the game. We saw that in April.

Renfroe's struggles with runners in scoring position this season and his poor postseason stats should scare a couple teams away, but I just can't see teams that need a power hitting outfielder ignoring the potential this guy has. Renfroe is a year shy of hitting 29 home runs and two years shy of hitting 31. He can be a real game changer.

3) Lucas Giolito's struggles with the LA Angels won't stop a team from adding him to their rotation

The biggest trade the Angels made was with the White Sox in the deal that sent their top two prospects to the Southside in exchange for the big fish, Lucas Giolito along with Reynaldo Lopez. The Angels expected Giolito to fit in at the top of their rotation and provide a spark to a pitching staff that really needed it, but he completely faltered.

His first start as an Angel was decent, but his second start was when things really fell off for him. Giolito allowed nine runs in 3.2 innings pitched in a loss against the Braves. The Angels had a chance to win a series on the road against baseball's best team at a time they were still in the playoff race and had their new acquisition on the mound to try and guide them there. Unfortunately, Giolito fell flat on his face and didn't give the Angels a chance.

Giolito has had a couple of good starts, specifically his start against the Reds was a good one, but he's been mostly average to bad. His last start saw him give up five runs in 5.2 innings in a loss against the Phillies. He gave up three home runs that start, three of the 10 he's allowed in just 32.2 innings pitched with the Angels.

He was a disaster here, but that won't stop other teams from wanting him. Giolito had a 3.79 ERA with the White Sox and is just a couple years removed from three straight years of receiving Cy Young votes. At the very least, Giolito is a durable innings eater. At his best, he's a frontline starter.

2) Reynaldo Lopez was the only good addition the LA Angels made at the trade deadline

Reynaldo Lopez was the second piece acquired in the Lucas Giolito trade. Don't get me wrong, he was a desirable asset, but Giolito was the big fish. Giolito struggled mightily with the Angels, but Lopez rose to the occasion and performed admirable in the back end of the Angels bullpen.

The right-hander made 12 appearances and allowed three runs in 11.2 innings pitched (2.31 ERA). He can lost command of the strike zone at times, but he also has electric stuff, backed up by his 19 strikeouts in 11.2 innings with the club.

Not only was Lopez really good with the Angels, he was dominant with the White Sox before they decided to trade him away. Lopez had a 2.43 ERA since May 1 in 29 appearances and 29.2 innings pitched.

Lopez is a high-leverage arm with elite stuff that should play well in the postseason that teams will only have to pay roughly $600,000 for. I can't imagine that the better teams in the league will even have a chance at him.

Not only will Lopez be helpful to a team down the stretch, but adding him now could give whichever team ends up with him a leg up in the offseason in talks to bring him back.