As the Los Angeles Angels sit at the midway point of the regular season, the whirlwind of last year seems like forever ago, given the amount of talent on their current big league roster.
Angels manager Phil Nevin has guided them to a decent spot, continuing their battle in the American League West. However, the largest battle remains internally, with their struggle to maintain a clean bill of health.
Numerous injuries have taken down key players for the Angels including Anthony Rendon over various periods, a few arms to season-ending surgery, and even Mike Trout suffering a broken bone in his hand. Regardless of that, general manager Perry Minasian is proud of the roster, per Sarah Valenzuela of the L.A. Times:
“The coaching staff and Phil and the players have put themselves in a position to where we’re in contention for a playoff spot,” Minasian said. “And I don’t take that lightly. They’ve worked really hard to be at this point, especially with all the challenges we’ve gone through over the early course of the season.
“I look at it as it’s my turn to help out and to continue adding talent to the roster like we do day in and day out from a baseball operation standpoint. I felt like we needed to make some moves and enhance the roster, and hopefully we did that.”
The Angels have already made some subtle moves after adding Mike Moustakas and Eduardo Escobar, while signing veteran Daniel Murphy to a Minor League deal. They have an issue with their infield depth, that much is clear, and the acquisitions are a surefire reaction to the problem.
Minasian has constructed this Angels roster from an aggressive stance, and he has to with the looming free agency of two-way star Shohei Ohtani. They have to win, or at the very least, show as much of an effort as they’ve had in their franchise’s recent history.
Angels not ruling out selling at the trade deadline
Although the Angels would ideally like to go on a run and buy for a playoff push, they have reportedly not ruled out selling if they continue to fall out of contention. Their top trade chip would be Shohei Ohtani, who is set to become a free agent following the season and seems unlikely to re-sign with the Angels.
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