Ranking Angels' 5 most valuable assets they can sell at trade deadline

It's quite apparent that the Angels are going to sell an asset or two before the trade deadline, given that they will be below .500 after July 31st with roughly six teams ahead of them for a wild card spot. The prudent thing for the team to do is sell off an expiring contract to bolster their league-worst farm system. Now, who could the Angels get the most for of the players they might actually trade in the coming days?

José Soriano and Reid Detmers' names have been brought up as potential trade assets, but they simply have to be off-limits. They are too young, too integral to the present and future and under team-control for too long to sell now. It does not seem likely that they could get another prospect that would be better than Soriano or Detmers in return, just a quantity-over-quality type package.

Ranking Angels' 5 most valuable assets they can sell at trade deadline

1. Taylor Ward

Given his home run hitting ability, team control for 2026 and the dearth of quality corner outfielders on the market, Ward is the most valuable trade chip the Angels have had since Shohei Ohtani in 2023. The 31-year-old leads the Angels with a .489 SLG, .256 ISO. His 51 extra base hits are by far the most on the team, with Jo Adell and Zach Neto's 35 being tied for second. The same goes for Ward's 193 total bases, with Neto's 161 being the next most.

Technically, Ward's SLG, ISO and even OPS are not as high as Matthew Lugo's, who the Angels would plausibly slot into left field if they were to sell on Ward. Lugo would regress to the mean if he were to return to The Show, but he is still a top-15 prospect in the farm with upside that's worth tapping back into.

The trend of the deals being made these days are the team's trading MLB players are receiving two pitching prospects in return. That, at the very least, would be a massive add for the Angels. Ryan Johnson, Caden Dana, George Klassen, Tyler Bremner, Chris Cortez, Sam Aldegheri and Trey Gregory-Alford are a solid foundation, but the organization needs every pitching prospect they can get their hands on. Dealing Ward should trump the returns for Josh Naylor, Gregory Soto, Randal Grichuk, et cetera and Perry Minasian needs to seriously consider replacing Ward with Lugo and adding more arms into his pipeline.

2. Kenley Jansen

Jansen has a lot going for him right now. He has converted all but one save opportunity this season, and has tremendous numbers outside of one blow-up outing. Pittsburgh's David Bednar might have slightly more value given his age and the fact that he is not a rental like Jansen, but the Angels' closer has a much tidier track record than the Pirates' 9th inning arm. Jansen's floor is higher than Bednar's for sure.

Minasian's Carlos Estévez for Klassen and Aldegheri should be a reasonable comparison for a Jansen deal. Estévez was a rental for the Phillies just like Jansen would be for whichever team might land him this season. Given the trade landscape right now, the team might land another couple of promising youngsters for their 37-year-old stopper.

3. Luis Rengifo

There's a massive drop-off between what the Angels could land for Ward and/or Jansen and what they could get for their utility man. Right before the All-Star break, Rengifo was doing pretty well and boosted his value to heights that fans did not expect him to given his abysmal beginning to 2025. Well, that value has plummeted in the second half of the year.

In his first nine games since the break, Rengifo is slashing .286/.324/.314/.639 and playing some second-rate defense once again. The New York Yankees once had interest in Rengifo, but they just acquired Amed Rosario which removes them from the Rengifo sweepstakes.

4. Yoán Moncada

Moncada is undoubtedly a better hitter and defender than Rengifo, which is not saying a whole lot, but the third baseman just cannot stay healthy. It's not always entirely his fault, but he is just snake-bitten over-and-over again...best exemplified by getting plunked by a fastball just days before the deadline. Moncada can also not hit against left-handed hitters right now due to his knee, and is slashing just .118/.286/.294/.580 in his six games played since the All-Star break.

Perhaps Moncada could be more valuable on the market if Eugenio Suárez stays with Arizona, but Minasian would get more by trading Rengifo than Moncada at this point.

5. Tyler Anderson

This is yet another reminder that not trading Anderson last season was a massive mistake. Anderson was solid for the first two months of the season, but in his last 10 starts he is posting a 5.61 ERA, 5.08 FIP, 1.64 WHIP and has just one quality start. In those 51.1 innings pitched, he has allowed 64 hits, nine home runs and has a brutal 41:20 K:BB. He's also a 35-year-old rental, and there are plenty of better available starting pitchers out there. The Angels will probably just hold onto Anderson the rest of the season, and not get anything back for the two-time All-Star.

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