Veteran Angels reliever among hottest names on trade market with deadline looming

So far, everything has been going according to plan for the Los Angeles Angels on the trade market. The team really needed to capitalize on the lack of sellers at the trade deadline and they did so with the strong return they got from trading pending free agent Carlos Estevez to the Phillies over the weekend.

For an Angels team that has some really interesting players with team control, like Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo, and Tyler Anderson, that is a very promising start to trade season.

However, much of the trade deadline buzz with Anaheim right now actually centers around another rental reliever in Luis Garcia.

LA Angels Rumors: Contenders lining up to express interest in Luis Garcia

On the surface, Luis Garcia shouldn't be all that intriguing as a trade candidate. He is 37 years old, has an inconsistent track record of production, and his stuff doesn't really jump off the page. However, the realities of this trade deadline market have made Garcia more attractive to contenders than he normally would be.

For one, Garcia is a pending free agent who isn't making a ton of money in 2024 at $4.25 million, and those types of relief arms are always in demand this time of year if they are any good at all. Second, Garcia's peripherals have been pretty consistently good the last few years as he has maintained an elite ground ball rate.

Garcia does give up some hard contact to be sure, which could be concerning to some teams, but keeping the ball on the ground like he does helps mitigate that problem quite a bit. For playoff teams that don't want to break the bank to improve their bullpen depth, Garcia stands out in this market.

So far, teams that have been mentioned with specific interest in Garcia include the Red Sox, Yankees, Royals and Mets. However, that list is likely to grow in the coming days until Garcia is dealt because there are so few sellers who have players worth moving in trades. While Garcia won't command anywhere close to what Estevez got, don't be surprised if the Angels get a nice little trade package for the veteran reliever when the dust settles.

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