Able to hover close to .500 without Mike Trout, the Los Angeles Angels have an opportunity to make a move at the MLB trade deadline.
Superstar Mike Trout suffered a thumb injury May 28 while sliding head first into second base. When Trout landed on the disabled list and the news of his impending surgery broke, it appeared the Los Angeles Angels postseason hopes were going down with him.
Instead, the Angels, who were 26-27 when Trout landed on the DL, managed to post an 18-19 record without him. Though any hopes of a division title are long gone (the Astros already led the division by 10 games when Trout was hurt) the Angels still have hope. Though the team has been scuffling and lost 10 of its past 15 games, the Angels are just 3.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot in the American League heading into Wednesday.
However, to truly make a push, the Angels must make an upgrade or two at the MLB trade deadline.
Simply put, Angels first and second basemen have been terrible this season. The club ranks dead last in the majors in Wins Above Replacement in both categories, according to Fangraphs. Los Angeles first basemen have a -1.5 fWAR, and have hit .192/.270/.326 with 14 home runs this season, and have the worst ISO (.134) in the big leagues. Second basemen (-0.7 fWAR) have hit .175/.258/.268 – the worst in MLB across the board – with just eight home runs and a 31.4 percent strikeout rate.
But that’s not the end of it, the Angels also need help in the outfield, especially left field, and the starting rotation and bullpen also need depth. Without a deep farm system, making a blockbuster deal to address multiple needs will be very difficult. But with a creative approach and the right trade partners, the Angels can pull it off.
5. Trade for Justin Smoak and Joe Smith
The Toronto Blue Jays have been patient with Justin Smoak, who has also set a career high fWAR (2.3) after largely underperforming in recent years.
Smoak made his first All-Star Game this season at the age of 30, and has hit .290/.358/.571 with 24 home runs and 58 RBI in his first 90 games. Given his .223/.308/.392 career slash coming into the year, as well as the fact the switch-hitter never hit more than 20 homers or drove in more than 59 runs in a season in his previous seven years in the big leagues, it’s been a major breakout performance.
Smoak’s breakout this season has largely justified the puzzling contract extension the Blue Jays handed him halfway through 2016, which runs through 2018 with a reasonably priced $6 million team option for 2019. It’s also now one of the top selling features for a team that might be willing to trade for Smoak ahead of the deadline.
With the Blue Jays seven games under .500 and five games out in the AL Wild Card race, there’s plenty of buzz that the time is right for Toronto to pull the trigger on at least a partial rebuild. Smoak is a far more valuable player now than he was at this time last year, and would probably bring back a couple of mid-level prospects from the right buyer.
The Angels don’t have a deep farm system, but there may be enough in the coffers to spring for Smoak and veteran middle reliever Joe Smith, who has a 3.41 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 31.2 innings this year, and is due back soon from a shoulder injury that put him on the DL for a month.