The Angels provided the strongest evidence to date that they are seriously considering moving at least one of their most valuable players, scratching José Soriano from his scheduled start hours before first pitch Saturday.
Soriano had been scheduled to start against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night, but the Angels announced about 12:30 p.m. that he would not make the start because of Monday’s trade deadline. They opted to have left-hander Brent Suter start a bullpen game.
The New York Mets scratched Freddy Peralta and the Detroit Tigers scratched Casey Mize on Friday for similar reasons.
A team would make this move to avoid any risk of the pitcher getting injured, and also to allow a pitcher’s new team to have him fresh to start soon after the deal, if he is traded.
“With the trade deadline on Monday and the uncertainty of the next 48 hours, we decided to take the prudent approach and see where these next few days lead us,” interim general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement.
The Angels have at least three players who are likely garnering significant trade interest: Soriano, left-hander Reid Detmers and shortstop Zach Neto. All three are above-average players who remain under control for at least two seasons after this one, which means that each of them could be worth a trade package including several top prospects.
Over the past decade, the Angels have declined to trade any of their valuable players who would be under control in subsequent seasons because their preference has always been to try to compete again in the following season. The Angels’ apparent willingness to do so now could reflect a acknowledgement that the team needs a significant rebuild. The Angels haven’t had a winning season since 2015.
More to come on this story.