Detroit Tigers: Exploring a trade with the Angels

The Angels outlook for this season will depend heavily on how long superstar pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is out for. If he ends up missing the rest of the season, they’ll be looking for rotation depth and potentially depth in the infield as well, with Albert Pujols likely to transition to full-time DH. Here are the players on Detroit that the Angels could target.

Starting Pitching: Mike Fiers and Francisco Liriano

The Angels have had an extremely successful rotation so far this season. Left-handers Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs have remained healthy and boast ERA’s of 3.08 and 3.26, respectively. Garrett Richards looks like the pitcher everyone hoped he could  be, sporting a 3.26 ERA and a 10.3 K/9.

Ohtani of course has been great. Rookie Jaime Barria has made seven starts this year, and has a 5-1 record and a 2.48 ERA. Nick Tropeano hasn’t looked quite himself, but he’s the only starter with an ERA above 3.26. So why do they need pitching?

Well, the injury history in this rotation is staggering. Each of them, with the exception of Barria, has missed boat loads of time on the shelf. Additionally, the depth behind this group is pretty ugly, with J.C. Ramirez and Matt Shoemaker each on the DL. Parker Bridwell is around, but he looked awful in his only appearance on the year.

The Angels could absolutely make a push for either Fiers or Liriano if they wanted to add some rotation depth. Unless someone else gets injured before the end of July (which is entirely possible) the Angels probably won’t want to give up too much for what would essentially be insurance. Still, an injury could open up a trade avenue between these two teams.

Relievers: Shane Greene and Blaine Hardy

For as good as LA’s rotation has been, their bullpen has struggled. Blake Parker has looked great, and left-hander Jose Alvarez has had a solid season. Otherwise, they have had very little success. Shane Greene in particular would be a really good target for the Angels. He has closing experience so he could take over the ninth inning if Parker were to struggle. Or, he could slide into an eighth inning role. Even with his up-and-down performance this season, he would be LA’s second best right-handed reliever.

Hardy is an option for the Angels as well, although with the left-handed Alvarez having such a good year he’d be more of a luxury than a necessity. As such, the Angels would likely offer very little for the 31-year-old.

Hitters: James McCann and Jose Iglesias

Neither of these are super feasible, but the Angels are lacking in catcher depth and infield depth. Zack Cozart, Andrelton Simmons and Ian Kinsler is an extremely solid infield, but all three have spent time on the disabled list this season. Their backup middle infield options are not good. Kaleb Cowart is the best of the bunch, but he’s on the DL as well. If the Angels are desperate to acquire a utility infielder, they could make an offer on Iglesias. However, his $6.2 million dollar contract makes a trade seem unlikely. Detroit would either have to eat a big chunk of money, or would get very, very little in return.

The Angels starting catcher is Martin Maldonado, who is hitting .255 with almost as many strikeouts (40) as he has hits (41). Still, the Angels love him for his defense, so they are unlikely to acquire McCann to be their starter. He would certainly be an improvement over the combination of Rene Rivera, Jose Briceno and Juan Graterol that they’ve had as backups this season – but it doesn’t make any sense for LA to deal prospects to acquire a part-time catcher like McCann.