Patrick Sandoval's injury reveals depressing but helpful silver lining for 2024 Angels

Welp, it was a fun season, Angels fans. But the latest injury blow might well have, in essence, staked a giant "For Sale" sign outside of Angel Stadium. Patrick Sandoval, who exited the Angels' game late last week against the Los Angeles Dodgers, is going to miss the rest of the 2024 season and perhaps even all of 2025.

Sandoval left Friday's game with what was originally called a forearm strain, but further imaging revealed that the lefty suffered a torn UCL and high-grade flexor tear. Sandoval will undergo Tommy John surgery.

But the Los Angeles Angels' path forward gets less and less murky by the day. This latest injury confirms what most fans have known for the past several weeks — there will be a lot of roster turnover at the upcoming MLB trade deadline.

Patrick Sandoval's injury reveals depressing but helpful silver lining for 2024 Angels

Entering the season, the Angels were already going to be without Shohei Ohtani. Anthony Rendon lasted longer than most assumed he would, but has been on the injured list with hamstring injury.

Superstar outfielder Mike Trout has been out of action for over a month and there's no end in sight after the slugger was placed on the IL with a knee injury. Throw in Reid Detmers' demotion to the minors and Sandoval's injury, and there's no way to sugarcoat it any longer — the Angels will be sellers and this roster needs a complete makeover as soon as possible.

The Angels have a large number of assets that other teams may inquire about, and GM Perry Minasian should listen long and hard to every single offer. Players like Tyler Anderson, Luis Rengifo, and Taylor Ward will draw considerable trade interest. But even the likes of Carlos Estévez, Hunter Strickland, and Brandon Drury will be part of the trade chatter in the coming weeks.

While not popular, the organization needs to hit the reset button. Outside of the Angels' pre-arbitration eligible players, not a soul on the 40-man roster should be off limits at the MLB trade deadline. And it'll soon be the time to call up as many MLB-ready prospects as possible to kickstart the roster for 2025 and beyond.

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