Angels' urgency to trade outfielder intensifies after slump threatened to kill value

Some Angels fans are not going to want to hear this, but the time to trade Taylor Ward is right now. Unpopular as that may be, if there are interested parties and sizable offers on the table, Los Angeles Angels GM Perry Minasian needs to pull the trigger now.

Why? Because Ward is finally starting to return to the player that can get the Angels a nice return in a trade. That didn't appear to be the case about two weeks ago when Ward when struggling to hit his weight.

The upcoming trade deadline can be rather fickle. There are injuries, slumps, positional needs, and a myriad of other reasons that certain players are either a good fit or a poor fit for a team looking to upgrade a specific area in order to make a run at the playoffs.

LA Angels need to trade Taylor Ward before his value goes down again

The Angels are obviously not one of those teams this season and will be sellers before the upcoming July 30 deadline. Ward just happens to be LA's best trade chip, and they can't afford to screw this up.

On May 31, Ward was hitting .268/.333/.469 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs, and 34 RBI. But once the calendar turned to June, Ward looked like a shell of his former self. Through the first 15 games of this month, Ward posted a .085/.254/.192 slash line had just three extra-base hits in 59 plate appearances.

Though MLB executives who may be looking to swing a trade know about the ups and down of a major league season, it's quite easy to point to a player's struggles as the reason why any sort of trade package might be a bit lighter than if the player was riding a hot streak.

Thankfully, Ward's bat is heating up. Over the past five games, he's hitting .389/.476/.833 with two doubles and two home runs. That's the version of Ward that Minasian wants to see if the Angels intend to deal the former first-rounder before the trade deadline.

The Angels need to get the most from their tradable assets, and Ward's return to normalcy should help in that endeavor. It's a tough time to be an Angels' fan, but landing a couple nice prospects to build around for the future will make this season easier to digest.

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