This hypothetical Angels-White Sox trade makes sense for LAA in 2025 and beyond

The White Sox and Angels franchises are no strangers to making trades, and are also currently engaged in a war to pick off every available former player from the other team in free agency. Well, it just so happens that the White Sox are actively engaged in trade talks on Luis Robert Jr. -- a former Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger, All Star, and 12th place finisher in the 2023 AL MVP race. The White Sox want financial flexibility and upside prospects in return, and the Angels could plausibly clear those hurdles in order to win the Robert Jr. sweepstakes.

This hypothetical trade is a relatively steep price for the Angels to pay in order to acqiure an injury-prone player, absolutely. Rada, Aldegheri, and Johnson are all top 10 Angels prospects, and moving them would further deplete a flawed farm system. Adell showed signs of life last season, and looked like he is trending in the right direction. However, betting on a supremely talented player is something the Angels should take a risk on. He is only 27-years-old and any on-field disinterest that he has shown can easily be chocked up to playing for one of the worst teams ever assembled last year.

Chicago reached an impasse with both the Giants and Reds due to lofty demands on both the prospect and financial front. The White Sox wanted Edwin Arroyo from Cincinnati for Robert Jr., the Reds' third ranked prospect with an overall scouting grade of 55 (per MLB.com).

If the Angels call on Robert Jr. then the White Sox would likely demand both Christian Moore and Caden Dana. Even trading one of those guys is an instant no for the Angels, even if data suggests that traded prospects often do not reach their expected peak. Rada, Aldegheri, and Johnson are all 45 graded prospects, but perhaps the White Sox shedding salary in this hypothetical trade would slightly off-set their prospect demands. If the White Sox assess the trade market and realize that they will not get a high quality prospect, then perhaps more of quantity-based prospect haul on top of off-loading payroll would get them to accept a deal.

You can make the case that Robert Jr.'s contract is one of the most team-friendly deals in the league, especially if he can reach his potential once he's moved out of Chicago. He is making $15 million in 2025, and has $20 million club options the next two seasons. The Angels have a $30 million cushion before they would surpass the luxury tax threshold that Moreno refuses to exceed next season, so they could comfortably add in Robert Jr.'s salary without sending out a Robert Stephenson or Tyler Anderson to help off-set that. Ideally, they could add in one of those high-priced arms in order to pursue some combination of Robert Suarez, Nick Pivetta, and/or David Robertson. However, that does not appear feasible unless the Angels add in both Dana and Moore. The Angels should prioritize adding a player in Robert Jr., who is about to enter his prime, over those aging, expensive pitchers (even though any of those three surely would help the Angels).

Adding a motivated Robert Jr. and getting Mike Trout to play more corner outfield helps the Angels both next season and beyond. Robert Jr. has relatively modest projections next season, but there is a built-in excuse to those given he has 0 protection in a White Sox lineup. Sticking Robert Jr. in this Angels batting order could easily get the most out of him. Before you pooh-pooh the Angels trading Adell and three top-10 prospects for Robert Jr., consider this lineup against RHPs once Zach Neto returns:

1. Soler—DH
2. Trout—7
3. Neto—6
4. Robert Jr.—8
5. Schanuel*—3
6. Ward—9
7. O’Hoppe—2
8. Moncada**—5
9. Rengifo**—4
* -- left-handed hitter
** -- switch-hitter

Not too shabby!

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