Two pieces of news Wednesday may have altered the landscape of this year’s MLB trade deadline.
At the least, they hammered home what we expected: This is a legitimate sellers’ market.
Give credit to the Los Angeles Angels and owner Arte Moreno for deciding that a third-place team that’s sixth in the American League Wild Card hunt can make the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Or at least he didn’t want to be the guy to trade away baseball’s best and most unique player.
No one likes a quitter.
Realistically, though, the Angels are still a longshot to make a steady run in the playoffs even with all-world superstar Shohei Ohtani staying and pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López heading to Anaheim.
On Wednesday, the Angels proved they were buyers by taking Shohei Ohtani off the trade block – if he ever was there – and sending two of their best prospects, 20-year-old catcher Edgar Quero and lefty Ky Bush, 23, to the Chicago White Sox for rentals Giolito and López.
It’s a hefty cost, and it was the first salvo of this deadline. It also will have rippling effects for several other teams that are pondering what they should do by Aug. 1 at 6 p.m. Eastern.
Here are six teams that should have taken notice to what the Angels did:
Texas Rangers
The Rangers are buyers. There’s no doubt about that; they have had a great season so far and are in position to make the postseason for the first time since 2016. But the Houston Astros have gotten healthy and are on the Rangers’ heels. The ultra-competitive American League East is making the wild card race more complicated, and now the Angels have announced their presence.
Texas’ offense is formidable, and it could get a little better by adding another DH type that can get on base. But what the team really needs is pitching; another starter and a couple more relievers (added to recently acquired Aroldis Chapman) make this club much scarier for October. There’s no excuse for the Rangers to miss the playoffs this year, so they must answer the Angels’ trade at least.
San Diego Padres
Two distinct paths have been laid out this week for the Padres. Are they the Angels or the White Sox? As White Sox GM Rick Hahn said when announcing the Giolito trade, it became obvious that his club wasn’t going anywhere this year and had to prepare for 2024.
Well, the Padres (49-54) aren’t as bad as the White Sox (41-62), but they are in fourth place in their division, 6 ½ games out of the third NL Wild Card spot. They also have a starter-reliever rental combo of Blake Snell and Josh Hader that is better than what the White Sox dealt for prospects. The Padres could replenish a recently depleted farm system in one smart trade.
This is also a team that had deep playoff aspirations this season and has one of the most talented rosters in the game. Giving up now would be a colossal disappointment to that fan base and clubhouse. It’s probably the logical thing to do, however; but the Padres have become the riverboat gamblers of MLB.
Baltimore Orioles
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The Orioles were never going to be in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, despite reports that said they had kicked tires. General manager Mike Elias didn’t spend the last five years methodically building a plan for sustained success only to damage that by mortgaging part of his excellent farm system for a two-month rental, even if that rental would make the Orioles potentially the favorite in the American League.
So, Shohei Ohtani staying with the Angels makes little difference in Baltimore. What is more critical to the Orioles is the cost for Giolito and López. I thought Giolito would have been the perfect addition for the Orioles, an established starter with a strong strikeout rate that could be placed toward the top of the Orioles’ rotation without costing a ton. Instead, Giolito and López go to the Angels for two of Los Angeles’ best three prospects. And although the Orioles have a much better system than the Angels, Elias would prefer not to damage his impressive prospect collection. With Giolito off the board, however, the other available starters that could boost the Orioles’ rotation became more expensive.
Ultimately, the Orioles will make a move or two to improve their rotation and bullpen, but the Giolito price, and the increase in apparent buyers, makes it seem more likely Elias won’t reach for the higher end of the rental market – like a Snell, Eduardo Rodriguez or a possibly available Mets veteran. Instead, he’ll likely add incremental improvements, perhaps with more than two months of team control, while not giving up what he views as the organization’s top echelon of prospects.
Detroit Tigers
Tigers’ president Scott Harris had to be smiling after the Giolito deal was announced. Harris was hired last September to turn the Tigers’ organization around, and this is his first trade deadline to shape the club. He’s stuck with Javy Báez’s bloated contract and will have to spend $8 million on Miguel Cabrera’s buyout this offseason, but Harris also has several intriguing arms he can flip this week.
The most appealing is lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who has a 2.95 ERA in 15 starts this year and is effective when healthy. He’s signed through 2026, but he can opt out of his deal this offseason, and likely will if he keeps pitching well. So, he is probably a rental but potentially not. The Tigers also have right-hander Michael Lorenzen, who has posted a 3.49 ERA in 17 starts and is a pending free agent. Harris could package each of those starters with available relievers such as José Cisnero and Chasen Shreve and bring a decent haul into Detroit. A haul that may exceed Chicago’s if there is a bidding war.
Chicago Cubs
The crosstown White Sox have surrendered, the ultimate rival St. Louis Cardinals are a mess and the Cubs have put together a little hot streak. They are in position to be the Angels of the National League. The initial sense was the Cubs would be sellers at the deadline, with two impressive trade chips in starter Marcus Stroman and outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger. Both are having strong years and can opt to be free agents at the end of the season.
But why shouldn’t the Cubs go for it and add a piece or two now to help them win the NL Central or at least claim a wild card spot? The Cubs are a nice mix of youth and veterans, and the three teams in their way for the last Wild Card spot are all upstarts in Cincinnati, Miami and Arizona. Like the Angels sending the message that they aren’t done, the Cubs could do the same for their clubhouse and fan base.
New York Yankees
The Yankees aren’t going to be sellers. They are still on the fringes of the playoff picture, and they have difference-maker Aaron Judge coming back from injury. They also won’t be sellers because they don’t have much to peddle outside of solid outfielder Harrison Bader and reliable reliever Wandy Peralta, both pending free agents.
And it’s not like Moreno and the Steinbrenner family are rivals, matching each other penny for penny. So, in that sense, the Angels’ moves (or lack of a Shohei Ohtani move) aren’t necessarily a dropping of the mic in the direction of the Bronx.
But if the Angels aren’t taking down the tents, how can the Yankees — who have a slightly better record —strike camp? Despite not being in a World Series since 2009, these are still the frigging Yankees, right? They still have the second largest payroll in baseball behind only the head-shaking Mets. They can’t give up. Hell, the Angels aren’t giving up – and that should mean something in New York.
Dan Connolly is an MLB Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.