Angels end trade deadline with dud by dealing reliever to Red Sox
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Luis García
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Luis García / Gene
Well the 2024 MLB trade deadline came and went and the Los Angeles Angels did exactly what they were rumored to do. It was leaked several weeks back that LA’s front office was only going to trade players who were on expiring contracts. As it turns out, they weren’t lying.
While the Angels got a nice return for Carlos Estévez earlier in the week, the Angels’ lone trade at Tuesday’s deadline was shipping Luis Garcia off to the Boston Red Sox. Both Estévez and Garcia will become free agents this coming winter.
Angels end trade deadline with dud by trading RHP Luis Garcia to Red Sox
But that’s it. Tyler Anderson wasn’t moved, Luis Rengifo is still on the team, and Taylor Ward will be back in an Angels uniform tonight. This was a massive missed opportunity on the part of Perry Minasian and the Angels’ front office.
After losing Shohei Ohtani this past offseason and watching Mike Trout miss more than half the season with a knee injury, the Angels’ 2024 hopes were dashed almost as soon as the season began. But not cashing in on some of the top trade pieces in a seller’s market is a crucial mistake by Minasian, and frankly, one that could see him on the unemployment line after the season.
The Angels will now sell the hope that with Anderson, Trout, Rengifo, and Ward returning in 2025, LA has a chance to contend in the AL West. But that’s just not true. The Houston Astros are still loaded (despite the fact they overpaid for Yusei Kikuchi at the deadline), the Texas Rangers are trying to run it back after a number of their stars were injured to start the season, and the Seattle Mariners have the best pitching staff in the major leagues.
Unfortunately, the future is not bright in Anaheim, and the Angels’ sluggish approach at the deadline showed that there was no sense of urgency on the part of Minasian and the front office. This was a giant missed opportunity, and one that will only prolong the Halos’ rebuild.
