Evaluating the Angels outfielder trade targets isn’t an easy task. The Angels have a poor farm system to trade from and some financial restrictions that limit what they can even offer. The bigger problem though is that there isn’t exactly a bevvy of highly attractive outfield bats to choose from. However, the Angels desperately need to trade for someone, anyone really. This offense needs help in the worst kind of way, so it might just boil down to the Angels finding the least imperfect fit at the most reasonable price. Let’s see who that might turn out to be.
Carlos Gonzalez
Let’s start it off with the rumor du jour early in the season. CarGo slumped his way into the Angels’ price range back in April, then he was only slightly less terrible in May. He’s showing signs of life in June, but it is hard to say if that is something that can actually be trusted. The Rockies finally appear to be open to breaking up the CarGo-Tulo core, with Carlos being the preferred piece to move on. The fact that Gonzalez might have a giant fork sticking out of his back certainly helps with that. Dipoto is probably wary of Gonzalez and rightfully so, but if there is one guy on the market that Arte Moreno might intervene and demand a trade for, he’s the guy. He is right in that perfect zone of having a big name, a big contract and being at the beginning of a sharp decline that Arte can’t seem to resist. See Wells, Vernon and Hamilton, Josh.
Proposed Trade: Victor Alcantara, C.J. Cron and Kyle McGowin for Carlos Gonzalez
The good news, or bad news depending on what you think of CarGo’s odds of bouncing back, is that Dipoto has a history of being able to make deals with the Colorado front office, so there is a rapport there to get something done. I just don’t know if there is much of a trade match left. The Rockies are still working on the type of pitchers to use in Coors Field, but it seems like no matter what they prefer, a guy that can throw in the high-nineties would be a good match, making Alcantara the centerpiece of this deal. Cron hasn’t worked out for the Angels so far, so I’m not sure what real value he has left, but the Rockies strike me as the kind of team that might be blinded by his raw power and how it might play in the altitude. McGowin is kind of a lottery ticket thrown into the mix for Colorado, but the real temptation here is that the Angels wouldn’t be asking the Rockies to eat any money. Make no mistake, this is a lousy offer, but Gonzalez is on the verge of being a toxic asset, so if the Rockies just want out from under most of his contract, they’ll take what they can get. The rub here is that the Rockies front office has a long and storied history of being totally delusional, so they might think that they shouldn’t have to eat money AND should get top notch prospects back in return.
Charlie Blackmon
The Colorado outfielder the Angels should really be after is Blackmon. He had a breakout 2014 campaign and has come back to earth from that breakout, but he didn’t hit the ground and go splat. Blackmon is still pretty useful as a quality defender and significant base stealing threat. He doesn’t walk as much as you’d like to see but there is some pop in his bat. For the Angels, he’d be an imperfect leadoff man, but he’d be a stark upgrade over Erick Aybar in that role, not to mention a major upgrade defensively in left field.
Proposed Trade: Victor Alcantara and Alex Yarbrough and for Charlie Blackmon and Rex Brothers
Yes, that’s a lot to pay for Blackmon given the possibility he might crater once he leaves Denver, but keep in mind that he is set to enter his first year of arbitration next season, so the Angels get to control him for three more years at a reasonable price. That’s only an attractive option though if Blackmon doesn’t crater. The Angels would also get Rex Brothers in this deal. He’s fallen on some very hard times and would be a non-tender candidate after the season, but acquiring a guy who looked like a closer-in-the-making not so long ago is just about the most Dipoto move ever. Even if Brothers isn’t in the deal, this is the trade that is atop my wishlist for the Halos.
Justin Upton
The Angels generally seem interested in a left-handed bat, but they would make an exception for an exceptional player like Justin Upton. The firing of Bud Black shows that the Padres are getting to a point of desperation to try and keep pace with the Dodgers and Giants. If things don’t improve in San Diego over the next month or so, they might want to cash in Upton before he hits the open market. Personally, I kind of doubt they would do that if only because it would make Preller seem as if he was going full Loria after his offseason signing and trading spree.
Proposed Trade: Nothing realistic.
The Halos just don’t have the prospects necessary to pull off such a deal. Even if the Angels soften on their stance of not moving Heaney or Newcomb, I still don’t think they can put together a big enough package to entice the Friars into raising the white flag and dealing arguably their best player.
Josh Reddick
Reddick has had a resurgence this year. His power is all the way back and he is suddenly striking out like a slap-hitting middle infielder, which is to say that he barely strikes out. He’s also a very good fielder, though him coming to Anaheim would likely mean shifting Kole Calhoun to left field, which might be a bit uncomfortable. However, Reddick is the kind of hitter that the Angels could bat clean-up and allow Kole to move back to the leadoff spot (hallelujah). The catch is that Reddick still can’t hit lefties. The Angels need more of a full-time bat since they are currently without Collin Cowgill, but he hasn’t even been any good when healthy, so it would be preferable to find a guy that can keep him relegated to fourth outfielder duty.
Proposed Trade: Nick Tropeano, Cam Bedrosian, Natanael Delgado and Eric Stamets for Josh Reddick and Tyler Clippard
We all know that Billy Beane has exactly zero problem making trades within the division and Jerry Dipoto hasn’t hesitated to do so in the past either. So that hurdle is cleared here, but the trade match isn’t entirely certain. I’m hoping that Beane shows the same preference for lower ceiling, higher floor starting pitching that he showed in his deals this offseason, because that would put Tropeano right in his wheelhouse. Delgado would be the big attraction for the A’s as he’s the lower minors talent with lots of raw potential. The A’s also seem to like guys with one very good tool and Stamets is an excellent fielder that could entice them given their issues finding a shortstop that can actually field the position. Throwing Bedrosian in here might make it costly, but it creates enough value for the A’s to add Clippard to the deal as the Angels seek to stabilize their middle relief. Bedrosian might be great some day, but he isn’t any good right now. Maybe this whole package isn’t enough though, so I could see the Halos having to add another low minors arm like Jeremy Rhoades. I kind of doubt it though since Clippard is just a rental and Reddick only has one arbitration year left and has the aforementioned platoon problems.
Jay Bruce
Another struggling former All-Star who inexplicably saw his power and production drop off in recent years. Wow, Arte Moreno really has a Sophie’s choice situation developing here. Unlike Gonzalez, Bruce hasn’t shown much in the way of hope for a rebound. His power is a bit better than what it was a year ago, but he’s still well off from where he used to be and has barely hit for power on the road, which would be a major concern for a lefty coming to play in the Big A. His contract is more palatable than CaGo’s though as he’s owed just $13.5 million after this season.
Proposed Trade: Nick Tropeano, Nate Smith and Eric Stamets for Jay Bruce
The Reds are a really tough trade match for the Reds because they aren’t looking to be a team willing to undergo a total rebuild. They seem to want to contend next year, which is kind of problematic for the Angels because their major league ready (or close to ready) prospects generally play at positions where the Reds are already locked into veterans on long-term deals. That leaves them basically having to throw a bunch of pitching at the Reds, but doing so without gutting their own minor league pitching depth. The offer I’ve put forth sends Cincinnati two major league ready pitchers with lower ceilings but higher floors, plus an all-glove shortstop who could slot in as a replacement for the injured Zack Cozart. This might not be enough, depending on how much the Reds think Bruce will bounce back, but they are a cash-strapped club that might be glad just to get him off the books in exchange for three useful pieces.
Adam Lind
Lind is probably the best and most reasonably priced trade target, but the problem is that he isn’t actually a left fielder. If the Angels were to acquire him, they’d be doing so to play him at DH full-time. That’s a problem on two fronts. First, it means having to keep Matt Joyce around to play left field since they don’t have many other choices. Keeping Joyce in the lineup, even part-time, sort of defeats the purpose of making this trade. They could also stick Kyle Kubitza in left, but they’d be taking a huge defensive risk. The second problem is that Lind isn’t an everyday player. He barely ever faces lefties anymore, so the Angels would still be stuck trying to find a right-handed bat to pair with him, which is kind of a problem, as we just discussed above.
Proposed Trade: Nick Tropeano and C.J. Cron for Adam Lind
I honestly don’t have a great grasp on what sort of package the Brewers would be looking for. Tropeano is a solid big league ready arm that just about any team would want and I think the Brewers are desperate enough for a solution at first base that Cron would be intriguing to them. This might actually be an overpay since Milwaukee got Lind for Marco Estrada straight up just a few months ago, but prices skyrocket around the deadline, so Cron has to be added in. Whether this package makes sense is academic though because I really don’t think Lind is a good fit for what the Angels need other than his reasonable $8 million team option for 2016.
Ben Revere
I wrote about this before, but I don’t like Ben Revere. He never really generates a great OBP, has no power to speak of and is entirely at the mercy of his BABIP to be even a below average offensive producer. I have softened on him a bit though in recent weeks because of Scioscia forcing Aybar into the leadoff role. If he’s really going to stick with that alignment, I’d rather Revere bat leadoff than Aybar. He’s the lesser of two evils as he at least he has a chance at posting an OBP over .320. Plus, he’d give Scioscia a real speedster to play with, which I think he misses dearly. Having him in left field instead of Joyce or Kubitza wouldn’t displease me either.
Proposed Trade: Tyler DeLoach and Jett Bandy for Ben Revere
That offer might not be enough to get the deal done, especially with earlier rumors of Amaro asking for the moon. However, that’s probably all the Angels should be willing to offer. In addition to being overrated as described above, Revere is overpaid. He’s got two arbitration years left and is going to get raises over the $4.1 million he is making this year. That won’t be much of a bargain for the Angels, so surrendering a fringe starting pitcher prospect and a quality back-up catcher prospect is all they should be willing to surrender for an outfielder that will only marginally improve their lineup and still cost them a healthy chunk of change.
Andre Ethier
And now the one trade the entire internet wants to see happen… for some reason. Apparently now that Andre Ethier hasn’t been terrible for half a season, the Dodgers will finally be able to unload him and the nearly $50 million he has left on his contract. Before we get to the swap, let’s actually look into this whole “Ethier is back” narrative. He is slugging at a .224 ISO this year after being below .180 the last three years, including his .120 mark last season. He still walks a fair amount and doesn’t strike out much while playing a below average corner outfield. His resurgence seems real as he finally stopped hitting the ball on the ground so much, so he figures to be at least moderately useful. One thing, he still can’t hit lefties, like at all. So, if your definition of “back” means being a defensively limited platoon bat with an inconsistent performance track record, then, yeah, he’s back.
Proposed Trade: C.J. Wilson for Andre Ethier and $15 million
C.J. Wilson hasn’t been great this season, but he’s been solid. That counts for a lot. I know the Angels are probably eager to get Andrew Heaney into the rotation, but by dealing Wilson (or Hector Santiago, for that matter) the Angels would be taking a HUGE risk with their rotation depth. Jered Weaver is a potential problem, Matt Shoemaker has been all over the place and the next best option in the minor is Nick Tropeano, who is currently out with shoulder problems (though they aren’t believed to be serious). Moving Wilson for a platoon bat hardly seems like it is worth the risk of putting themselves in the same position as last season where they were one exploded Garrett Richards knee away from scraping the barrel just to find a fifth starter. To even make this trade worthwhile for the Angels, the Dodgers would have to eat a chunk of Ethier’s deal, but I doubt they’d eat enough to make it worthwhile for the Halos.
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