MLB Trade Deadline: The ultimate 30-team trade
5. Los Angeles Angels
Some how, some way, the Los Angeles Angels didn’t completely implode after Mike Trout was sent to the disabled list for a thumb injury that required surgery and a six-week recovery period. Entering Monday, the Angels are 49-51, just 2.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot in the American League.
The Angels survived an almost certain death despite ranking dead last in fWAR among second basemen this season (-0.7), with the combined effort at the position hitting .179/.259/.271 with a 31.3 percent strikeout rate – all worst in the majors – along with eight home runs and 40 RBI. Brandon Phillips would provide an immediate upgrade over Chad Pennington and Nick Franklin, the most likely starters after Danny Espinosa was released. The Angels would give up former top prospect and Atlanta area native Kaleb Cowart.
Adding R.A. Dickey to the starting rotation would also help provide depth to a group that ranks 25th in fWAR (3.2), and has posted a 4.34 ERA and 4.85 FIP this season. Though Dickey (6-6, 4.14 ERA in 19 starts this season) isn’t the Cy Young caliber pitcher he was in 2012, the knuckleballer has pitched at least 169.2 innings in each of the past seven years, including five in which he passed 200 innings.
Atlanta is always looking for prospects, and the Angels have a shallow farm system. However, because Dickey and Phillips are both scheduled for free agency after the year, a low-level prospect for each would be a fair return.
But the Angels’ needs don’t end there. And, with Andrew Heaney, Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker and Tyler Skaggs all expected to return from injuries in August, the Angels can flip Dickey to another contender in need in order to get help at its other position of need: first base. The Twins and Angels are jockeying for position in the AL Wild Card, but Minnesota might be willing to swap Kennys Vargas for Dickey.