The Angels are coming off the worst season in franchise history. They lost 99 games for the first time. Only the White Sox, Rockies and Marlins had a worse run differential. The Angels are playing like a rebuilding team, even if they haven’t gotten here intentionally.
Halos brass continues to resist the rebuilding label. Owner Arte Moreno said two weeks ago that he plans to approve a payroll increase and expects the team to compete for a playoff spot. General manager Perry Minasian expressed similar sentiments at his end-of-season press conference. The Angels aren’t about to tear the roster to the studs. At the same time, they can’t run things back while only tinkering with the bullpen (as they did last offseason) and expect markedly better results.
Whether they embrace a short-term reset or look to balance the MLB roster without dealing from one of the league’s worst farm systems, there’s a case for moving Taylor Ward. The 30-year-old left fielder has been the subject of trade speculation dating back to last offseason. The Pirates and Royals reportedly checked in at the most recent deadline. Nothing came together. Pittsburgh ended up acquiring Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins instead. The Royals didn’t address their outfield at the deadline but claimed Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off waivers a few weeks later.
Trading Ward over the summer would have been selling a bit low. After a strong first couple months, he had a dismal stretch between June and July. From June 1 to the start of play on deadline day, Ward hit .175/.280/.313 while striking out at a 28% clip. He had a .227/.309/.401 season line at that point. He wasn’t trending well as a lineup boost for a contender.
Ward hit much better once the deadline passed. From July 30 on, he turned in a stout .282/.348/.471 slash over 230 plate appearances. He cut his strikeouts to a more manageable 23.9% clip and drilled nine home runs. Ward concluded the season with 25 longballs and a .246/.323/.426 showing that’s about in line with his career trajectory. He’s a slightly above-average hitter who plays roughly league average defense in left field. He has crushed left-handed pitching (.315/.374/.509) over the past two seasons while putting up league average numbers (.229/.314/.399) without the platoon advantage. It’s not a star profile, but that’s a valuable regular.
The Halos control Ward for another two seasons. He qualified for early arbitration in 2023 as a Super Two player, so he’s already in line for a notable salary. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $9.2MM sum next season, the highest in the Halos’ arbitration class. He’ll probably be in line for around $12-14MM in his final year of club control.
Ward isn’t too dissimilar from Lane Thomas, whom the Nationals traded to the Guardians at this year’s deadline. Thomas was a little more affordable, playing on a $5.45MM deal in his penultimate arbitration year. The midseason trade meant Cleveland was picking up a year and a half of his services rather than two full seasons. Washington landed a trio of prospects, headlined by recent second-round pick Alex Clemmey and upper minors utility infielder José Tena. That’s a general comparison point for what the Angels could seek for Ward if they were willing to move him for prospects.
Based on Moreno’s and Minasian’s comments, that might not be a consideration. The Angels haven’t merely said they believe they can compete in 2025. Their deadline activity backed that up. Los Angeles didn’t trade anyone who was not an impending free agent despite fielding interest in players like Ward, Luis Rengifo and Tyler Anderson.
Even if the Halos don’t want to make a trade with a firm eye to the future, they could look to deal Ward to net big league pitching. The Angels have one of the worst rotations in MLB. They’ve tended to shy away from significant free agent investments in pitchers, an organizational preference that seems to stem from ownership since it crosses multiple front offices. Trading prospects for rotation help only continues the trend of short-sighted moves that got them in this position.
There aren’t many players they’ll probably be willing to move off the MLB roster. They’re not going to trade Logan O’Hoppe or Zach Neto. Rengifo’s value dropped when he underwent season-ending wrist surgery in August. Anderson had a poor second half and has minimal appeal on a $13MM salary. Trading him for a modest return subtracts one of their few stable sources of innings.
The Angels aren’t exactly overflowing with outfield talent either, but left field is a comparatively easier position to address. That could come internally. Mike Trout has already said he could move off center field in an effort to stay healthy. His arm probably fits better in left than in right. Even if they move Trout to right (or kick Ward to that corner so Trout can handle left field), that could block one of the simplest paths to adding some punch to the lineup. This is a decent class for free agent corner outfielders, with players like Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O’Neill and Michael Conforto available. Trading Ward for a starter would clear a path for a free agent pursuit from someone in that group.
Pittsburgh and Kansas City could renew their interest. The Bucs got very little out of De La Cruz, while Grossman and Pham are free agents. The Reds, Phillies, Braves, Blue Jays and Padres are other teams that could look for corner outfield help this winter. The Tigers and Red Sox are among the teams that’ll be seeking right-handed bats.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
He was one of very few worth watching. Don’t trade him.
He’s 30 years old in a team that won’t contend for at least three years. Trade him if you ever want to win.
Trade him if (and only if) you can get pitching.
Well if they were realistic then they probably would trade him but sounds they plan on contending and there is some chance they actually can with the current wildcard format even if it’s still quite the long shot.
The eternal wannabe contenders
The only people in that organization who think they can contend are Arte, Carole, Dennis Kuhn, and John Carpino. Everyone else actually understands baseball.
I mean if Trout is healthy and they can drum up some decent pitching, it could happen even if even it’s a bit of the stars aligning type luck required
They’d have to follow the royals path from last offseason. Trout would have to come back and be their Bobby Witt jr for a season. O’hoppe, Schanuel and Neto would need to improve further. And a couple of their young arms would have to cement themselves. Plus, like the royals they’d need to go to free agency to fill all their holes. And hit on most of them. It’s not inconceivable but highly unlikely.
I would keep Taylor ward
Keep Tyler Ward, trade Tyler Ward or make him Anaheim’s manager- how does that matter? The Angels have the oft-injured Rendon ( maybe the worst tens of millions of $ contract in baseball) , Trout busy working on his tens of millions $ golf course with Tiger Woods in New Jersey, and a bunch of guys whose prior upper curve potential was to get signed by a Mexican League team or sell insurance.
If anything, the remaining Angels fans are typically so old they fondly remember Gene Autry for his movies and radio station empire.
Is it really that much different than the A’s( Campy Campaneris could be an infielder for this stupid clown owner), the Marlins( Livan Hernandez is an upgrade to that Marlin rotation) or some of these other vampire owned teams.
Why ( not to pick on a possibly talented Taylor Ward) such drivel supporting owners just making bank on stupid fans?
That was comedy worth your name! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
They need to trade Ward for pitching. An argument can be made that he should be kept as insurance for when Trout goes back down, but the Angels need some serious starter help and this is the best way to get it. Who they can get? I dunno.
Not going to get much for him that is big league ready. May as well deal him for prospects.
Might be able to get some near ready prospects. It’s what they did with Estevez and.. I think Lopez? Heh, forgot the name of the other relief pitcher that was traded.
luis garcia netted them zeferjahn, kavadas, matthew lugo who is likely to be protected from the rV, and a 19 year old pitcher whose name is escaping me. ward would get them a klassen-aldegheri range type of arm, and perhaps a young infielder or two as well. angels under perry have tended to go for quantity over quality anyways, so i wouldnt expect much. may as well keep him and hope this playoff format can give them life longer than they had it any other recent year.
t appears that in 2024 the only team in the AL that the Angels were better than was the record-setting Chicago White Sox.
Saying they’re going to radically improve and contend next year by increasing payroll is what I read here regularly from posters writing about what their cheap team owners need to do. Apparently even the posters know that it won’t work in the case of Arte Moreno / Angels
….and that’s saying something.
It’s quite possible that this is the party line because the sale of season tickets very probably pulled back – if not plummeted – when Shohei Ohtani’s contract ran out (very possibly not only the only decent FA Arte ever signed, but one that very probably exceeded his wildest expectations), followed by the Angels performance in 2024. A good chance the marketing department has informed Arte that 2025’s season ticket sales are looking worse than anyone thought.
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Arte should go through with the sale of the team. As bad as the entire organization is, it’s still a MLB franchise in Southern California and arguably the wealthiest market of the 3. He’ll get an exceptional price for the franchise. Let some well-heeled investors come in and bankroll an upgrade of the entire organization; with the 40 man player roster for the coming season being the lowest priority until a quality, professional structure is in place to evaluate, acquire, and develop players at all levels.
This! Samuel nailed it!
Ward is like their only outfielder worth a damn besides Trout and you don’t know how many games you’ll get out of him.
Not true. Both Adell and Moniak showed some strong improvements. I think you’ll see a very different Adell next season after his swing was finally fixed and he stuck with it.
What improvements? Moniak had an 81 OPS+ which was less than his career average and 91.
I was a big Adell fan, but counting on him to do anything is foolish.
Adell and Moniak are both crap. Let’s be real, they’re nothing more than AAAA players. Ward and Trout are their only legit everyday outfielders, and Trout misses 2/3 of the season. They need to sign another corner outfielder.
Trout only played in 29 games so he missed almost 5/6 of the season. I wonder if Mr. Brittle even has a chance at the HOF anymore. Well, maybe he could make it in as the player with the most ticky-tack injuries in the history of the game with Rendon being the runner up in that vote. Remember that old baseball card of Kurt Bevaqua of the Brewers, the Bubble gum blowing champ? Trout is like that guy now.
Trout’s baseball card next year should have a picture of him hobbling around on crutches. Lol. I say keep Ward at least until the deadline. We’ll need him. It will be a miracle if Trout plays more than 50 games (his average over the last 4 years) and no way he makes it to 80 games which is just half the season.
he seems to be a role-model type of gamer for the young kids to grow on. if we are in no better spot next year yeah, trade him maybe even at the deadline. but with two years left there is no rush to get him out of town
Yup, Arte isn’t in it to win it. It’s never been his goal. It’s only ever been about growing his wealth. He’s cut back on development, scouting and R&D. Arte is just using his 1st Amendment rights of freedom of speech to say what ever he wants.
Trading for prospects that they have to develop isn’t their MO. It’s why they draft mlb ready players rather than the highest ceiling talent.
Samuel said it
Just sell Arte
People forget the early Arte years. He came roaring into his ownership. Vladdy, Bartolo Colon, Jose Guillen and Kelvim Escobar were great early additions. Since then it’s all been downhill but I do think he tried in his first decade.
Trade everyone not named Neto, O’Hoppe, Schanuel, Moniak, Soriano, Kochanowicz, Aldegheri, Dana and Joyce. That is the core from which to build. See if we can add key pieces to the core.
Write those names down, put them in a drawer and maybe four years from now you’ll still have a good feeling about one or two.
Easy Out Moniak, isn’t even worth keeping as a 4th outfielder
Adell should be the 4th outfielder. That kills me to say, but some players just have all the tools, but lack the bat to ball skills.
Why trade away pitching for ward when you can sign a similar outfielder?
Because teams like the pirates who were in on him won’t spend enough for a similar player. It’s stupid but that’s how it seems to be.
Ward is still under control for two more years. He’ll be cheaper than signing one of the better free agent outfielders.
Not sure about straight up, but Royals and Angels could match up on a Ward/Brady Singer deal. Comparable contracts and control.
Anthony please give us an idea of what type of starting pitcher the Angels could reasonably expect to get in return for award?
Make Anthony Rendon utility infielder pinch hitter or sitting on the bench please don’t count on him being the starting third baseman for 2025 he someone who doesn’t take the gift of playing major-league baseball serious a bum
You can’t depend on any player on this roster with the possible exception of Neto.
There are very few reasonable plan “A”s let alone solid plan “B”s.
This entire system is a mess. From top to bottom.
I had to laugh when you mentioned the Pirates.
There are always rumors that they are interested but there rarely seems to be any money available in the checkbook.
Worst record in Angel history. 29th ranked farm system, a meddling owner, a horrible GM = no chance.
With this leadership, it doesn’t matter what they do, they’ll do it wrong.
“Horrible GM”? You just invalidated everything else you said.
The core of players worth holding onto is 90% the result of Minasian drafts or trades. You have to understand everything he’s accomplished has been under the restrictions imposed by ownership.
I don’t solely blame Perry on the Angel’s downhill spiral. You are correct on the last sentence.
I don’t solely blame Perry as well. But he’s a big part of the problem
I blame everything on Arte Moreno penny pincher he’s just as bad as Charley. Finley. Owner of the Oakland A’s back in their hay day
I knew he was outmatched when the Angels needed to build up their pen and he thought Quintana, Claudio and Guerra would fill the bill. No one with a baseball IQ of ten would have done that. Not to mention losing Soriano to the rule 5 draft because he signed players like those. We are lucky we got him back.
His batting average on moves are likely well below 100.
He’s a horrible GM. Four years with the highest picks in history, 29th ranked farm system, worst record in Angel history, a gimmicky college pitcher draft in 2021, which ended up being one of the worst drafts in Angel history.
Nothing he has done has worked.
Your head is in the sand if you think he’s remotely competent.
I’m not saying he’s the best GM in baseball. But he’s far from perfect.
How about matz or mikolas, plus some salary retention or a low level prospect,for ward?
The Angels are not going to trade Ward for older players.
Oh wait, it’s Minasian.
Maybe Minasian can trade Ward for Evan White. Oh, never mind, he already traded Fletcher and Stassi for White!
Who says no: Jonathan India for Taylor Ward?
If the Angels are never gonna sign a real free agent pitcher and only the Tyler Andersons of the world then they might as well move to Colorado or Utah or Mexico City where the altitude is high and pitchers never wanna go. Let some other team come to LA
No sense signing a pitcher now. It made real sense recently, but the team is so bad, it makes no sense today.
There won’t be a lot of interest in him. He is league average at best.
Yes there would. Go look at his statcast page. You don’t think people in the game notice such things?
The Angels won’t contend until Moreno decides pitching is important. Winning begins and ends with pitching.
The team is a complete mess. Ranked one of the worst last season in both hitting and pitching. Their farm system is a total mess. The team top to bottom needs a restart.
Trade Ward while there is still some value. Rengifo and Anderson should have been traded before the deadline.
The biggest problem in the organization simply is Arte Moreno as he is driving this organization straight into the ground.
I love the off season……..
Renewed hope, except for the commenters on MLBTR,
Y’all are a group of grouchy people!
I am excited to see where the Angels land on the draft lottery.
As for Taylor Ward, I like him, but if the Angels can find someone to overpay, then I see no harm in getting a little extra help.
Trading Ward doesn’t put the Angel’s in the playoffs next year and it doesn’t really move the needle either. He’s a proven MLB player and while you have him it’s one less hole to fill on the roster.
Those who thought this team would compete in 2024 are dreamers. Preseason acquisitions made it obvious that management wasn’t serious.
Those who watched the team know that the team folded, intentionally positioning the team to lose which I assume had more to do with draft positioning than anything else.
2025 will be a continuation of the rebuild and with some luck, some proven pitching talent surfaces, and the team will compete in 2026 as a fringe contender.
By the way, don’t tell Arte that I told you about the rebuild. That might hurt ticket sales.