Sam Bachman just reminded the Angels why they need to act quickly

It looked for a while as if the Los Angeles Angels had finally found something in Sam Bachman. The oft-injured right-hander was showing some semblance of the promise that had made him the ninth overall pick of the 2021 MLB Draft. However, relievers are volatile creatures, and Bachman's latest outing continued to prove that to be a universal truth.

The 26-year-old was brought into a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning of the June 14 matchup against the Rays and promptly walked the struggling Cedric Mullins, setting up the next batter, superstar Junior Caminero, to blast a two-run homer to give Tampa the lead.

Bachman continued to unravel after coughing up the lead, and left the game being tagged for four hits, two walks, another homer, this time to Victor Mesa, Jr., and allowed five earned runs in total. The Angels would lose the game by a score of 8-3.

One bad outing shouldn't sink a season, but the question here is whether or not the most recognizable member of the dubious 2021 All-Pitcher Draft can provide Los Angeles more value as a member of the active roster, or as a trade piece that can be flipped for something else. We believe that it's clearly the latter.

Angels need to embrace a full reset, and trading Sam Bachman now is a way to maximize his value

For the Halos, no one should be off the table when it comes to trade talks. The club has reached a point where many of its core pieces, such as Zach Neto, Jo Adell, and Jose Soriano, are already in arbitration and will be getting more expensive.

At the same time, the next wave of top prospects isn't impactful enough to see the team morph into a contender in the next year or two, as the Angels battle for the worst record in baseball. That means many of these top assets will only lose value in the coming years.

On top of that, trading certain players before their performance comes crashing back to Earth is a smart call, and that's where the organization should be with Bachman, who is still walking far too many batters at a 12.5% clip, driving some peripherals like a 4.30 FIP that contradict his still-impressive 3.31 ERA.

The trade deadline isn't until August 3, but rather than waiting around, the Angels need to act now when it comes to Bachman. Teams don't have to wait around for the deadline to make deals, as we saw last year with the Rafael Devers trade that just had its one-year anniversary.

Jumping the market might bring about a greater return. There are plenty of contenders looking for bullpen help, and convincing them that Bachman could net them a few more wins between now and the beginning of August could prove to them that making a deal will swing the playoff odds pendulum in their favor. For example, Pirates beat writer Noah Hiles is pleading that the team make a move to address its porous bullpen now. Again, they're far from the only team in that boat.

Relievers are the most commonly sold assets at the trade deadline, so a guy like Bachman, who doesn't have extensive closing experience or much experience as a high-leverage arm at all, will be washed out once the market is flooded with bullpen pieces. But in mid-June, he might be the only game in town, giving the Angels the opportunity to extract an even higher price for him than they would be able to get just a few short weeks from now.

Maximizing the value of their trade chips is uber important this season. For far too long, this has been a club that has operated with a crippling lack of decisiveness, leading to the realm of baseball purgatory it has been living in for years. The only way to break that cycle is to have a clear view of reality and make bold moves. Trading Bachman now could be the start of that.

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