The Angels Must Trade Two Key Pieces Now, So They Won’t
The Angels have no shortage of potential trade chips. The bigger question is whether they'll be willing to deal them.
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The 2023 MLB trade deadline was filled with trade hype for Los Angeles Angels superstar, Shohei Ohtani. He was in his final year of club control and had already made three American League All-Star appearances.
Ken Rosenthal stated in a recent article from The Athletic that the Tampa Bay Rays were willing to send Junior Caminero and Carson Williams back to the Angels in exchange for half of a season of Ohtani.
That wasn’t even the entire deal, as Tampa was reportedly willing to include smaller pieces to get it over the finish line. Instead, the trade was declined by the Angels.
Even though the Angels were having a decent season through July with a 56-51 record, they turned down a deal that would’ve altered the franchise.
Instead, the front office decided to be buyers at the deadline, acquiring Dominic Leone, C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez.
An odd move came later in the year where they placed Giolito, Lopez, Leone, Grichuk on waivers along with Matt Moore and Hunter Renfroe. They were trying to contend at the deadline, but decided to shed salary later in the year after falling out of the playoff picture.
Everyone was claimed except for Grichuk, successfully getting five player contracts off their books.
Since 2023, the Angels haven’t committed to a rebuild. They have continued to buy at every deadline even when playoff aspirations seemed dim. Even with soft-buys, they have made two pretty good moves each of the past two summers.
In 2024, they sent closer Carlos Estévez to the Phillies in exchange for George Klassen and Sam Aldegheri, while also acquiring Oswald Peraza last year.
The Angels have yet to make a move that really signals that they are entering a rebuild. This summer would be a great time to make a bold move. They currently sit 32-47, the worst record in the American League. They last appeared in the postseason back in 2014.
With valuable trade chips on the roster and playoff hopes out the window, it’s time for the Angels to finally cash in and build toward the future.
Stats were taken prior to play on June 22.
This Summer Could Signal the Start of the Future
If the Angels really want to enter a rebuild, they could move a couple of valuable pieces this summer that come with multiple years of control.
I’m talking about Reid Detmers and Jo Adell, as each player is having a solid season thus far. Detmers is under control through the 2028 season, while Adell will be a free agent after the 2027 season.
They could also move guys who are on expiring contracts, such as Jorge Soler, Kirby Yates, Adam Frazier, and Brent Suter. Typically it would seem like a no-brainer to move up to six players and get a good amount of prospects, but it’s always a mystery with how the Angels choose to maneuver the trade deadline.
In terms of two of their more valuable assets, Detmers and Adell will be hot commodities at the deadline and would each bring in a new wave of prospects into the organization.
Reid Detmers
The Angels’ best trade chip right now heading into the summer trade deadline is Detmers. He’s in the middle of one of the best seasons of his career after re-joining the rotation. His 3.93 ERA is the second-lowest mark of his career (3.77 in 2022), and his 1.04 WHIP is a career-low mark by a wide margin.
From when he debuted in 2021 through the 2024 season, Detmers made all of his appearances as a starting pitcher. After struggling during the 2024 season with a 6.70 ERA and splitting time between the Angels and Triple-A, he moved solely to the bullpen in 2025.
Detmers established himself as a high-leverage reliever last season, and he was one of the more reliable arms Ron Washington and Ray Montgomery could go to when needed out of the bullpen.
The Angels rotation lost a pair of arms in Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Anderson over the offseason, prompting the Angels to move Detmers back to the rotation. It’s paid off thus far, and Detmers — alongside Walbert Ureña — have been the two most consistent starters this season.
His current 3.93 ERA is doing the job, but his underlying 2.93 xERA shows that he can be even better than he is currently and might be getting unlucky. Batters are only .200 against Detmers, and that’s not a fluke; it’s backed by his .209 xBA that ranks in the 83rd percentile.
With what Detmers has been able to do in his return to the rotation, and the fact that he is under club-control through the 2028 season, he will be a valuable and popular trade asset this summer. Bob Nightengale has reported that the Angels have already received interest in the southpaw.
A pitcher like Detmers would bring back a really good haul of prospects. The Angels’ minor-league system is flourishing with young pitchers, but it could use a boost of offense potential. Trading Detmers could do the trick.
Over the winter, we saw how much a good starting pitcher will demand in a trade. Just look at the deal that sent Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Baltimore Orioles. Baz was traded for four prospects and a Comp-A pick.
The postseason is very unlikely for the Angels, so it seems like a no-brainer to trade Detmers this summer. If a trade happens, it could signal the start of a rebuild for the Angels and that they are ready to look toward the future.
Jo Adell
While a trade of Detmers should be the Angels’ top priority this summer, an additional trade of Adell also could make sense for the club.
He showed his impact last season when he blasted 37 home runs and drove in 98 runs. It took a while for Adell to figure things out at the major-league level, but he has really settled in these past couple of seasons — both on offense and defense.
His power has taken a step back this year, only having 10 home runs to go along with some declining metrics from 2025. He’s been more of a contact and gap hitter, which has resulted in a career-high .248 batting average.
Poor swing decisions have led to a second-percentile walk rate (3.0%), but a career-best whiff rate of 26.5% has yielded the second-lowest strikeout rate of his career (23.4%).
The Angels will likely field calls on Adell, but a trade might not happen this summer. It wouldn’t be shocking for him to get moved, but the organization might decide to wait until the offseason or next season to move him.
Adell would be one of the better outfielders available at the deadline, but the return would really depend on his overall production in the coming weeks leading up to the August 3 deadline.
Mike Trout recently found himself back on the injured list, damaging the depth in the outfield. While he will likely be back before the trade deadline, it’s never a thought that he could wind up back on the injured list later again this season.
If Adell gets moved by the deadline, the Angels will turn to an outfield consisting of Trout, Wade Meckler, Jose Siri, Bryce Teodosio and Josh Lowe.
They have Nelson Rada and Raudi Rodriguez waiting in the minors with each having a decent chance to debut sometime this year. Rada is more on track to get the call first, but Rodriguez has been one of the best hitters in the organization.
Adell would bring back a pretty nice package still being under contract through the 2027 season. He likely won’t bring back the same package as Detmers, but it would be beneficial for the Angels to bolster the farm system any way they can.
Will Detmers and Adell Actually Be Dealt?
After not trading Ohtani in 2023, it’s very hard to tell what the Angels will do as far as trades during the season. The right (and smart) move would be to trade Detmers and Adell come August 3, but we will have to wait and see.
The Angels’ farm system has some underrated talent mainly consisting of pitchers. If they can add some nice hitting prospects, it would better set them up for the future.
While nothing is set in stone yet, Bob Nightengale recently put a damper on this situation when he reported that the Angels are planning to keep all three of Detmers, Adell, and José Soriano.
This report doesn’t necessarily mean that something won’t change in the coming months as the trade deadline approaches, but it does show that they aren’t planning on trading their younger, more controllable pieces at the moment.
If they don’t end up trading one of Detmers, Adell, or Soriano, that’ll mean that the organization isn’t changing course from how they’ve operated in previous seasons. Given the way the 2026 is tracking, that would be disappointing to see to say the least.
This year’s trade deadline will be a really telling sign for how the Angels plan to move forward and how competitive they really want to be in the long run.
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Cade is a recent high school graduate. He currently writes for Just Baseball while also contributing to InsideHalos. He has previous experience writing for Grand Central…