Searching for Angels bullpen help

The Angels have about 24 hours before the trade deadline and while they’ve already made three deals, they are still looking for more. Since they’ve already acquired most of the outfielders in baseball, they should now be turning their attention towards addressing their middle relief situation. Who could be on their way to provide some Angels bullpen help?

Not unlike those outfield deals, the Angels aren’t looking for a big, flashy name even though fans want them to. That means no Aroldis Chapman and no Craig Kimbrel, so don’t even bother asking. Instead, what they seem to have their heart set on is a redux of last year’s Jason Grilli deal. In other words, they are looking for an arm who has had the ability close in the past, but can now be shifted into middle relief. Or they just want a slightly doughy reliever in his late-thirties and with long, greasy hair. I can’t totally be sure.

John Axford
Starting with my personal favorite as Axford is everything the Angels need. Axford is having a huge bounceback season for the Rockies, having quickly worked his way into their closer role. He’s found success by throwing hard, missing bats and generating a ton of grounders. The Halos definitely need another power arm and could use a groundball specialist as well. Axford is the rare combination of both. He also shouldn’t be overly upset about getting knocked down to seventh inning duty considering where his career was 18 months ago and that he’d get to escape the baseball purgatory that is the Rockies. The only catch for the Angels is that Axford is going to be in for a big raise in his final year of arbitration in 2016 and they may not want to be on the hook for that much money going to their seventh inning guy.

Francisco Rodriguez
Now for the favorite of a large segment of Angels fans. K-Rod should be more than available and not very expensive because of his contract. He’s having a great year now that he has gotten his home run problems under control (or is just getting luckier). There is certainly a nostalgia to bring K-Rod back to Anaheim, but they don’t really need another guy who barely breaks 90 MPH with his fastball and they certainly don’t need to pay him the $7.5 million he is due in 2016 and the $2 million buyout he will get for 2017. He probably wouldn’t be all that happy about returning to a non-closer role anyway and Franky has never exactly been the best clubhouse guy, especially when he’s unhappy with his role. His off-field history with domestic violence might make this a total non-starter.

Joakim Soria
Soria might be the best stand-in for a 2015 version of Grilli. His ERA is fine, but his peripherals are pretty ugly and there’s a chance he’d have already lost his closer job if not for the fact that the Tigers bullpen is a pit of human despair. Soria is giving up a ton of homers and his contact rate is as high as it has ever been. His velocity is actually up, which is weird, so maybe if the Halos see Soria as a guy who just needs a mechanical tune-up, they could make him this year’s salvage job. If I had to place a bet on who the Angels actually end up acquiring, my money would be on Soria.

Joaquin Benoit
Benoit is like a less extreme version of Soria. His FIP is much higher than his ERA and his strikeout rate has plummeted while his walk rate has gone up. Still, when Benoit is going well, he’s one of the best relievers in baseball and he’s totally OK with pitching in a non-closer role. In fact, a lot of people (raises hand) thought that the Angels should’ve traded for him instead of Huston Street last year. He has an expensive option in 2016, but the buyout isn’t too onerous.

Brad Ziegler
As long as the Angels don’t carry about the style in which their new reliever gets outs, Ziegler could be a fine fit. He’s an established and steady veteran, but the real allure is that he’s a sidearmer that induces an insane amount of grounders. The D’Backs have miscast him as a closer right now, but he’s actually doing just fine there despite being susceptible to left-handed batters and barely striking anyone out. In a middle relief role, Ziegler could be sheltered from platoon mismatches. The real question for the Angels is if they think it is a good idea to have a sidearmer set things up for a sidearmer. Doing so could result in Smith being slightly less deceptive since opposing batters would potentially have already adjusted from seeing Ziegler an inning previously.

Brad Boxberger
If the Angels just want a guy that misses a ton of bats, Boxberger is their man. He has control issues and home run issues, so he’s a pretty volatile investment, but the Angels lack a true strikeout specialist, so Boxberger would certainly fill that role. Trading for Boxberger seems unlikely at this point though since the Halos already made a deal for DeJesus and one would think that if there was a deal to be had for Boxberger, they would’ve done it at the same time as the DeJesus move.

Kevin Jepsen
I almost have to suggest this just for the sake of comedy. Again, a Rays deal seems highly unlikely, but you have to admit, Jepsen is exactly what the Angels need in the seventh inning. Granted, Jepsen has taken a real step back this year (shocking, I know), but he’s a guy the coaching staff knows and probably would already trust (the trust wouldn’t be earned, but still). Alas, I’m guessing Tampa won’t be very interested in just re-doing the Jepsen-Joyce swap from this winter. –sigh–

Junichi Tazawa
He doesn’t fit the profile of a reclamation project, but Tazawa could be a sneaky acquisition for the Halos and I don’t think the previous dealings around Victorino preclude a deal here since Shane was just a throwaway for Boston. Tazawa would actually cost a reasonable prospect or two, especially since he has one year of arbitration left. Tazawa is a very underrated setup man for Boston who has been incredibly consistent over the last four years.

Rafael Betancourt
Now we get into the bargain basement section of the relief market. Betancourt is sort of a reverse-Grilli. Yes, he’s ancient and a little doughy, but his struggles this year appear to be more of a mirage than a symptom of decline. Betancourt has an ERA of 5.04 but his FIP is just 3.01. These are things that happen when you are an extreme flyball pitcher that calls Coors Field home. Now move him to the Big A and throw the marine layer in there and suddenly Betancourt can be a lot more effective. The Rockies have no incentive to hold on to Betancourt, other than typical Rockie stupidity, so he could be another addition that the Angels make for virtually nothing.

Fernando Rodney
Now I’m just trolling. Fraudney has been a disaster for the Mariners this year, but he’s been magically turned into a lights out reliever before after some minor mechanical adjustments. He also hates Mike Sciosica and Mike Butcher with a fiery passion that consumes his soul, so even though Seattle would probably give him away for nothing, a reunion in Anaheim doesn’t appear to be in the cards.