After the Los Angeles Angels traded Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles, my first thought was: what does Arte Moreno and the Angels front office have up their sleeve?
Exchanging Ward (signed through only 2026) for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, a very talented pitcher who is controllable for a few years, was a great baseball trade for Perry Minasian. It gives them tremendous upside in the rotation while maximizing a player who very well could sign back as a free agent. And in the meantime, it gives them flexibility to bolster the major-league roster in a more meaningful way than the organization previously expected. But could Cody Bellinger be in their future?
So could Cody Bellinger be a fit with the Angels?
As first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Angels have checked in on Bellinger. He would provide an immediate power threat to a lineup in dire need of high-end reinforcements, especially after trading Ward. He’s one of the top bats on the market, only 29 years old, and is coming off a season in which he hit .272/334/.480 with an .813 OPS, 29 home runs and 98 RBI.
But a fit feels unlikely.
Bellinger has played for the Dodgers, Cubs and Yankees. What do each have in common? They all have won. It’s unlikely that Bellinger would want to play for a franchise that isn’t going to consistently contend for a championship after playing his first nine seasons doing just that. It’s always possible that Moreno falls in love with Bellinger and offers him a contract he can’t refuse, but that scenario feels unlikely.
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Cody Bellinger has his choice of winners, which doesn't include the Angels
Besides, the market for Bellinger will be active and lucrative. The Yankees remain interested in Bellinger even after Trent Grisham accepted the qualifying offer. The Blue Jays have been connected to Bellinger as well, and are very open to adding a left-handed complement alongside the right-handed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. There are surely many other teams interested in the star left-handed slugger.
It’s more likely that the Angels use the money saved from the Ward trade, and any other payroll flexibility, to add to all areas of the roster. That means the rotation, bullpen, offense. Everywhere. Minasian has made it a habit of doing so in his time with the Angels, adding to areas where opportunities present themselves.
Should a star be ruled out? Never. Moreno’s unpredictability is well-documented (especially here) with the Angels. But a Bellinger deal feels quite unlikely for Anaheim.