Could Angels’ Tough Week Impact Deadline Approach?

Last Thursday, there was little question about the Angels’ deadline trajectory. Los Angeles had already acquired Eduardo Escobar and Mike Moustakas to help around the infield after injuries to Gio Urshela and Zach Neto. They were firmly in the American League Wild Card hunt and within shouting distance of the Rangers in the AL West.

It’d have been hard to draw up a worse week than the one that followed. First, the Halos lost Brandon Drury to the injured list, further thinning the infield. A much bigger blow came on Monday when Mike Trout left the game with a hand injury sustained on a swing. Subsequent imaging revealed he fractured the hamate in his left wrist, required surgery, and will miss four-to-eight weeks.

If Trout’s injury weren’t bad enough, Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon were both banged up on Tuesday. Ohtani left his start with a blister on his pitching hand, one outing after a cracked fingernail affected him during his previous pitching appearance. Rendon, just back from an IL stint, fouled a ball off his shin and should know by tomorrow whether he’ll go back on the shelf.

As the injuries have mounted, the team’s performance has cratered. The Halos were swept by the Padres this week and have dropped seven of their last 10. They’re just above .500 at 45-44 going into a two-game set against the Dodgers to close out the first half. The team has gone from a clear deadline buyer to a potential fringe contender in a matter of days.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Angels are informing rival teams they’ll take the next few weeks to gauge their deadline plans. Most notably, Heyman writes that Halos’ officials “seem to be leaving open the slight possibility” of making Ohtani available.

That’s not to say an Ohtani deal is likely, of course. Heyman suggests there remains a fair bit of skepticism around the league that owner Arte Moreno would sign off on that kind of move. Moreno reportedly pulled Ohtani from the trade market last summer, and Angels’ officials have publicly shot down the notion of moving him in the months since then. Just two weeks back, general manager Perry Minasian called it “self-explanatory” that Ohtani would not be on the trade market. The baseball operations leader certainly wouldn’t have foreseen things going downhill as quickly as they have since that point, however.

Bad as things have gone lately, the Angels are by no means buried. They’re 3 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race, although they’d need to jump three teams to grab a spot. They’re 6 1/2 out in the division, where Texas has hit a cold spell of its own. Playing well coming out of the All-Star Break could put to rest any speculation about selling.

They’ll have a fairly tough slate to start the season’s unofficial second half. The Halos host the Astros and Yankees — two teams currently in possession of Wild Card spots — in three-game sets out of the Break. They’ll then host the Pirates before road series in Detroit, Toronto and Atlanta through the August 1 deadline.

Ohtani would obviously be the far biggest name the Angels (or any other team) could shop at the deadline. It’s possible they wind up fringy enough contenders they’re willing to take offers on other short-term players while keeping Ohtani in the fold.

Aside from the two-way superstar, the Halos don’t have many impending free agents who’d bring back a notable return. Matt Moore has pitched well but is currently on the injured list with an oblique strain. Hunter Renfroe is making nearly $12MM and hitting .249/.295/.456 on the season. The Halos could look to flip either Escobar or Moustakas themselves, though they’d each have fairly modest appeal.