ATLANTA — The Angels are just past the halfway point of the season, and they’re very much in contention to end their 10-year playoff drought.
The Angels are 41-42, and two games out of the third American League wild card spot, behind the Seattle Mariners.
Given that position, it’s natural that many fans focused their questions on what the Angels will do before the July 31 trade deadline.
Q: Are we buyers or sellers?? — @GameDayGlitch
A: The only honest answer I can give here is that it’s too soon to know. If you’re somewhere in the middle of the league, a lot can change in a month. That’s especially true with so many teams bunched together. The Angels have 26 games to play before the deadline.
You need to go back to 2023 for a reminder of the volatility of their position. The Angels were 44-37 on June 27, and in possession of the No. 3 wild card spot. Over the next five weeks, they had stretches in which they were 1-10, 9-2 and 3-11.
In late July, they were buyers, and by mid-August, they were out of it. By the end of August, they were giving away players.
If they do sell, the most attractive trade chip who is likely to go is closer Kenley Jansen, because he’s a free agent at the end of the season. Infielder Luis Rengifo and left-hander Tyler Anderson are also going to be free agents, but their performance to this point has been inconsistent. Again, a month could change a lot.
The most intriguing player will be outfielder Taylor Ward. He’s having a pretty solid season, so he should be attractive to contenders. He’s also under control for next year, too, which means that the Angels could get more for him. It also means they could decide he’s worth keeping to make a run in 2026.
If they choose to buy, they could probably use a little of everything, so it’s tough to guess which way they’d go.
Q: Any possibility of trading (Mike) Trout while he is healthy? He isn’t doing much for the team, but may have trade value. — @runningforever
A: No, there is no possibility of trading Trout. He’s 33 and has been injured for most of the past four years. He’s still got more than $200 million left on his deal, which runs through 2030.
His numbers have also declined, even when he’s been healthy.
And beyond all of that, he has a full no-trade clause and has given zero indication that he’s interested in being traded.
I’m sure people will continue to ask this question, but unless something changes dramatically, the answer will be the same.
Q: What’s really going on with Mike Trout’s knee? Why can’t he play the outfield anymore? — @brandenflo3
A: Trout tried to test his knee to get back into the outfield, and it didn’t feel 100%, so he stopped. Trout said the problem is that when he’s running the bases, he can be conservative, but when he’s in the outfield, he can’t. The game will dictate when he needs to go hard into a gap or even dive for a ball.
It looks like Trout and the Angels just decided that, as long as they’ve got his bat back in the lineup, they’re not going to take any chances. Trout said as recently as Saturday night that his knee is “still sore.”
Although no one has said that he’s going to be the DH exclusively for the rest of the season, it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the case.
Q: What’s the plan with the infield when (Yoán) Moncada is back? — @akanemvp
A: Moncada just headed to Arizona to continue his rehab, but he’s still only swinging from the left side. There’s no timetable for when he’s going to start playing games in Arizona or hitting from the right side. Until he does those things, his return isn’t imminent, so there’s not really a point in trying to figure out what’s going to happen.
Rengifo and second baseman Christian Moore have both been productive lately. If that’s still the case when Moncada returns, the Angels will have a good problem, but they almost never have those kind of “problems” because something else will happen.
Q: Any insight into how they’re approaching this draft? Especially with regards to the #2 pick — @GoHalos4
A: When General Manager Perry Minasian took over, the Angels’ farm system was so barren that they desperately needed an influx of young players who could be ready to rise quickly to the majors. His four first-round picks – right-hander Sam Bachman, shortstop Zach Neto, first baseman Nolan Schanuel and Moore – are all in the majors right now.
Because they have so many young players now playing in the majors, they don’t have the same urgency to draft someone who could plug in quickly. This year, they are in a better position to take a chance on a high-upside high school player who might need a few years in the minors.
Of course, I also wouldn’t be surprised if they take another polished college player and he’s in the majors in August.
Q: From 0 to 100 (percent), what are the chances that Logan O’Hoppe appears in RF this season; how about the chances for a longer-term move to 3B or OF if not this year, then starting next year? — @JacobWrites
A: It’s no secret that O’Hoppe hasn’t performed as well as expected behind the plate. O’Hoppe has admitted as much.
However, he’s still just 25 years old. Having a catcher who can hit 20 to 30 homers is such a valuable commodity that the Angels aren’t going to give up on that so quickly.
Think back to Mike Napoli. He was 28 before the Angels started putting him at other positions.
Q: Is Chris Taylor going to return soon? — @JoshPang6
A: He’s got a broken hand. He’s about three weeks removed from the injury, so he’s probably got another three weeks to go before it’s healed.
Q: Is (Reid) Detmers going to get another shot at starting this year? He’s been great in the bullpen; he’s young, I think he deserves another shot. Thoughts? — @H_Serna21
A: Detmers has been the best reliever on the team since the start of May. Period. I don’t think the Angels are going to mess with that right now. The current starters are doing well enough. If one of the starters gets hurt or traded in the second half, Detmers could be moved back to the rotation.
More likely, I think, is that they see how their roster looks next season before deciding what to do with him in spring training. I could see them either returning him to the rotation or keeping him in the bullpen in 2026.
Q: Who’s Chad Stevens? Where’d we get him? Why isn’t he talked about? Will they give him a shot at 3b? — @davet79
A: Stevens has drawn the attention of fans looking at the minor league stats because he’s hitting .308 with 14 home runs and a .928 OPS at Triple-A. Stevens plays shortstop, third base and second, and a little bit of outfield.
Stats in Triple-A, especially in Salt Lake, can be misleading. Stevens is not currently rated among the Angels’ top 30 prospects, either by MLB Pipeline or Baseball America.
Stevens, 26, was an 11th-round draft pick of the Houston Astros in 2021. He didn’t make it to the majors with the Astros, and the Angels picked him up after he was released last May.
The Angels certainly could call him up at some point, but that would probably mean a lot of other players got hurt or were traded.
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-5, 4.41 ERA) at Braves (RHP Didier Fuentes, 0-2, 10.80 ERA), Tuesday, 4:15 p.m. PT, FDSN West, 830 AM
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