The Los Angeles Angels have officially waved the white flag on the 2023 season, less than one month after staking their claim as buyers at the trade deadline. Prior to Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, they waived five regular starters in Lucas Giolito, Matt Moore, Reynaldo López, Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk.
The news was announced just one hour before first pitch against the Phillies and now leaves five routine players seeking a new home for a potential postseason run, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN:
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Angels have placed starter Lucas Giolito, relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo López, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk on waivers, sources tell ESPN. Huge potential playoff implications: All can be claimed by teams for free on Thursday.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 29, 2023
Giolito and López were acquired in the same trade from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for the Angels No. 2 and No. 3 prospects Ky Bush and Edgar Quero. Grichuk was acquired shortly after from the Colorado Rockies alongside C.J. Cron for another strong prospect return.
Now, the Angels release them to waivers, where teams will have the right to submit claims to take on the remainder of their 2023 salary. All five players are likely to be claimed by postseason-bound teams, as all five could make immediate impacts in another organization. Claims will be determined by reverse order of record.
For the Angels, this serves as a pure salary dump. The moves at the trade deadline pushed L.A. past the luxury tax threshold, and with the team firmly out of postseason contention, Arte Moreno and company have decided to pull the plug early in the hopes that they can get back below that threshold.
Giolito, despite struggling with the Angels with a 6.89 ERA in six starts, is still widely considered a plus starter in Major League Baseball. López and Moore were both having phenomenal seasons out of the bullpen and are perhaps the most likely to be claimed.
Renfroe, while not in the midst of his best season, could still provide power and solid defense to any postseason team in need of outfield depth. Meanwhile, Grichuk has been as reliable as ever for both the Rockies and Angels this season.
It’s a shocking turn of events for an Angels team that was within five games of the postseason picture less than one month ago. But a 7-18 record in August has caused them to crash down towards the bottom of the American League standings and reverse course entirely.
They have already promoted Nolan Schanuel, but will likely see even more Minor League talent interspersed throughout their roster for the final month of the 2023 season.