The Angels need the trade market to heat up in order to make long-awaited deal

If the Angels were to trade Tyler Anderson, they need other teams to make the first move

Los Angeles Angels v Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels v Houston Astros | Tim Warner/GettyImages

The Angels are giving their roster a facelift, but have not really shaken up the major league roster as much as many thought they would. Spring training is starting soon and the Angels somehow still roster all three of Tyler Anderson, Taylor Ward, and Luis Rengifo -- all of whom are players who have long been rumored to be dealt.

The Angels were considering making a deal for another outfielder, but that market has dried up big time. So, the Angels are unlikely to find a trade partner that will meet their seemingly lofty demands for Ward. Luis Rengifo is one of the more important players on the Angels' roster, given the dearth of major league infield depth they have. Trading Rengifo at this stage of the offseason would be non-sensical. Despite turning in a couple of reliable seasons for the Angels the past couple of seasons, Anderson is expendable.

The Angels' pitching philosophy this offseason is to improve their team's fastballs. They have gotten rid of many pitchers with below average heaters, and brought in Yusei Kikuchi (great stuff+ on his four-seam). Kyle Hendricks actually posted a respectable 97 stuff+ on his sinker last season. Anderson's four-seam graded out at a paltry 89 stuff+ and his fastball run value was in the...1st percentile last season (the wrong side of the spectrum). Moreover, the Angels could simply move forward with Kikuchi, José Soriano, Hendricks, Reid Detmers, Jack Kochanowicz as their five, with Chase Silseth, Sam Bachman, Caden Dana, and Sam Aldegheri there as back-up. Not to mention anybody the Angels could land in an Anderson trade.

The Angels need other teams to deal their starters first before potentially trading Anderson

Ken Rosenthal discussed the ice-cold trade market for The Athletic: "One reason the open market remains clogged is that teams continue to discuss trades. The Seattle Mariners’ Luis Castillo and San Diego Padres’ Dylan Cease and Michael King, for example, are among the starting pitchers who remain in play." The trade market is similar to free agency in the sense that the big names need to drop before the mid-tier players are moved. Other than the Garrett Crochet, Jesús Luzardo, and Jeffrey Springs trades, no starting pitchers have been moved. That has to change before spring training starts.

Ideally the Angels are able to swap major leaguers in an Anderson trade, potentially moving his $13 million and bringing in a larger contract from a team looking to shed payroll. Best case: Anderson and a couple prospects for Pablo López. Semi-realistic: Anderson and pieces for Sonny Gray. Worst case: some version of Anderson for Jordan Montgomery.

The Angels were expected to be more active in the trade market than free agency. They need this blockage to clear in order to re-model their team even further. Anderson wants to play out his Angels contract, but dealing his expiring contract makes all the sense in the world for the re-tooling Halos.

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