Angels trade deadline disaster blame game rankings

3. The Players

There is no beating around it, the players are going to just get blamed as they are ones on the field and not producing. While Perry may not have been smart in evaluating the players he acquired at the deadline, he was right in seeing the opportunity to go for it.

The Angels versus Mariners series after the trade deadline was one of the most important series for the team. On August 3rd, the Angels saw themselves 7.5 games back of first place in the division, a hopeful chance of getting back into the postseason race. They then proceeded to be swept by the Mariners.

Those same Mariners lead the division now, which could have easily been the Angels position now. In each of those games in the series, the Angels lost by 2 runs or fewer. It's tough to pinpoint the team's struggles to just one series, but this just proves how crucial it was for both teams.

Players like Grichuk, Cron, Moustakas, and Giolito had failed to step up when it counted most and showed that lack of consistency was the teams downfall, not just depth. Add in a missing Trout and Rendon and it was the perfect recipe for disaster.

Now, the team must focus on giving their young core some shots in another disappointing season, one with many question marks. Will Arte sell? Will Minasian remain the general manager? How will the roster look without Ohtani? All of these questions will have to be answered in the off-season.