Sports

Upcoming trade deadline is playing right into Angels' hands right now

Halo Hangout · Jul 21, 2026 13:07 · 3 min read

Upcoming trade deadline is playing right into Angels' hands right now — Jul 9, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers (48) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A lack of true sellers puts the Los Angeles Angels in a position where they can truly cash in if they play the trade deadline right.

Phase One of the post-Perry Minasian era is complete. The Los Angeles Angels have unanimously been named as one of the biggest winners of the 2026 MLB Draft. That has the future looking brighter, but there's still much work to be done. Step two is nailing the August 3 trade deadline. This could be the single most impactful thing the Angels can do.

Parity is at an all-time high in the league, especially in the AL, where there's a lot of mediocrity, but also a lot of hope. The glut of teams in both leagues that have at least wild card hopes if they can add a key piece or two means there are many more buyers than sellers. Simple economics says that those who have wares to market would be in an enviable position then.

While some might not think that the Angels have desirable targets, that's simply not true. Starting pitching and leverage relievers are always in demand this time of year, and Los Angeles has options to solve both. With pieces like Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano, Ryan Zeferjahn, and even Kirby Yates, the club has plenty to entice contenders in need. If they're willing to trade bats like Jo Adell, they can take advantage of desperate playoff hopefuls in a market that's incredibly light on options.

Angels could run the trade market thanks to an extreme lack of sellers

The way Jim Bowden of The Athletic sees it, there are only six true sellers in MLB. He names the Angels, of course, but also the Giants, Mets, Rockies, Royals, and Reds.

However, not all of those teams are created equal, both in terms of what they have to offer and what their future goals are. For example, the Giants and the Mets have rosters loaded with bloated, multi-year contracts. Those aren't going to be super attractive, and in the case of the Mets, they've said they're not willing to pay down contracts to get a better return.

In the cases of the Reds and the Royals, both teams might be looking more at retooling rather than rebuilding. The Royals have big-money extensions tied up with Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia, meaning they are going to want to find a way to rebound in 2027 around those pieces.

As for the Reds, their best players are guys like Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and Chase Burns. The former two are still very young and come with loads of team control. The latter just signed a big extension and is only 23 years old. Point being, they, too, are likely looking to try and contend again in 2027.

That leaves us the Rockies, who, if they don't trade Hunter Goodman, don't have as many attractive pieces to deal as the Angels do. Sure, Mickey Moniak might net them something, but his numbers away from Coors Field mirror what he did in Anaheim, and while Antonio Senzatela will be intriguing to reliever-needy teams, his low strikeout rate is a red flag.

For the Angels, it all depends on how much of a tear-down they want to undertake. Trading an expiring contract like Yates is one thing, but dealing an arm with two additional years of control like Detmers will bring in a large haul. If they're willing to be even bolder and consider dealing a guy like Zach Neto, we might soon be talking about the Halos having one of the very best farm systems in the game. That would be quite the change from recent years.

If John Mozeliak nails the deadline, the organization might finally be flush with young talent for the first time in forever. That would be a huge way to execute step two of the rebuild plan, and from there, it will be imperative for the Angels to fix their player development issues. Do that, and all of a sudden, the future looks really bright.