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MLB: Which teams should try to trade for Kyle Schwarber?

By Joshua Sadlock

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 24: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Chicago Cubsfollows the flight of his solo home run in the 1st inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on May 24, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 24: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Chicago Cubsfollows the flight of his solo home run in the 1st inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on May 24, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO – SEPTEMBER 08: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels runs the bases against the Chicago White Sox on September 8, 2019 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
CHICAGO – SEPTEMBER 08: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels runs the bases against the Chicago White Sox on September 8, 2019 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

4. Los Angeles Angels

The Angels will attempt to woo ace Gerrit Cole to Los Angeles in an effort to not waste all of Mike Trout’s prime years. The three-time MVP has still played in the postseason just once in his nine seasons in the big leagues. The team hasn’t even finished above .500 since 205 and lost 90 games in 2019 for the first time since 1999. Signing Cole won’t be a big enough move to push the team back to legitimate World Series contention.

Los Angeles has not exactly surrounded Trout with elite offensive teammates. The massive Albert Pujols contract was a disaster almost from the moment it was signed. Justin Upton just hit .215/.309/.416 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI in an injury-plagued second year of a five-year, $106-million contract extension. Andrelton Simmons has regressed offensively and does not appear set to make the leap to consistent 20-20 threat. Shohei Ohtani is an incredible talent, but he can’t hit 162 games a year if he’s making 30 starts. With a player on track to go down as the greatest in MLB history, the Angels are in the bottom half of the American League offensively.

You can’t fault the Angels’ effort when it comes to building a team worthy of sharing the field with Trout, but it just hasn’t worked. They are now stuck with a handful of bloated contracts for under-performing veterans. The Angels can address their pitching woes with a big contract for Cole, but there are fewer free-agent options to fix the lineup.

Schwarber is a fit for the Angels, but finding enough prospect talent to convince the Cubs to part with him may be more difficult. The Angels could use him in left field and at DH between starts for Ohtani. Schwarber might take away almost all of Pujols’ remaining at-bats, but at this point, the Angels can’t waste outs on the future Hall of Famer just because they still owe him millions.

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