Seattle Mariners and the rest of the AL west down the stretch
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Mike Trouts went into the 2019 offseason as the talk of the MLB. Once they added Gerrit Cole and got Ohtani back on the mound, they would be a World Series contender. Their pennant dreams didn’t last very long. Cole went to New York and Ohtani struggled to stay healthy on the mound. So once again they failed their franchise player.
While Andrew Heaney and Dylan Bundy have pitched well so far, the Angels have been the most disappointing team in baseball. They gave up on winning 2020, as reflected in their deadline moves. LAA traded away upcoming free agents Tommy La Stella, Jason Castro, and Brian Goodwin for younger players with more team control left.
Currently drowning in the 2020 standings, and far behind the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles (or Anaheim, or both) looks ahead to better days. They held on to players who could be a big part of next year like Bundy. They could have gotten a big windfall by trading their ace. Instead, the Angels showed a commitment to a winning future.
Their deadline trades added a boost to the young talent in the Angels system while leaving them set up for a good run next year. With a nearly maxed-out payroll, the Angels will enter 2021 in dire need to make the playoffs, without the ability to add many more pieces. They should be competitive down the stretch to let potential free agents know that they will be a force next year. Maybe they can let themselves know as well.
Texas Rangers
Much like the large stretches of road that seem to ramble on forever through east Texas, the glory days of the Rangers are distant in the past. Worse for them, there is no destination in sight. After surprise performances by Lance Lynn and Mike Minor last year, they seemed set to build upon that foundation and even seemed like a playoff competitor in this year’s expanded field. That hope quickly dissipated as the season got moving. At the deadline, Texas traded away Minor, Robinson Chirinos, and Todd Frazier.
The moves they made won’t tank the Rangers this year. They held on to Joey Gallo and Lynn despite rampant rumors. This shows that Texas sees itself as competitors in 2021 even though they don’t seem to have enough talent yet to get the job done. Since the 2020-21 free-agent class seems relatively weak, the Rangers will have to rely on developing the young players they have in order to compete. Nonetheless, they will compete every night.
Franklin Barreto just bunted a ball off his own head. pic.twitter.com/NYnCBNOUaZ
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) September 4, 2020