The white flag has been raised. Shohei Ohtani’s Los Angeles Angels have cleared the roster, placing a number of players acquired in the trade market on waivers.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Tuesday that the Angels will place starter Lucas Giolito, relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randall Grichuk on waivers, “with potentially huge playoff implications,” according to a source.
The Angels’ season is over. The Angels began the season ambitiously looking to challenge for the postseason this year and made a flurry of trades ahead of the trade deadline, but since the trade deadline in August, the Angels have gone 7-18. Through 29 games, the Angels are 63-69, in fourth place in the American League West and 11.5 games out of the wild-card race. Fangraphs.com’s projected playoff chances are zero percent. It’s turned into a hopeless season. On top of that, the Angels lost their two-hit ace, Shohei Ohtani, to elbow ligament damage, ending his season as a pitcher and ending any hopes of a rebound.
In the end, the Angels gave up on the season altogether. Giolito, Lopez, and Grichuk, who were acquired ahead of the trade deadline, Renfroe, who was acquired ahead of the season, and Moore, who was signed to a one-year deal, will all be released without conditions. All are eligible for free agency at the end of this season.
No further trades are possible, so the Angels receive nothing in return for releasing them. They are all eligible for free agency at the end of this season, simply waiving their remaining seasonal salary. Waiver claims will be made in reverse order of the current major league standings. 온라인바카라
The bankruptcy reporter said, “The Angels will be purely dealing with salary. What they get is team salary savings. The teams that file claims will only have to pay the remainder of the season’s salaries,” and “playoff contenders that need help in the starting rotation, bullpen and batting order will file claims.
MLB.com reports that “Renfroe is making $11.9 million this year, Giolito $10.4 million, Grichuk $10.33 million, Matt Moore $7.55 million and Lopez $3.6 million. If all five players are claimed, the Angels could save more than $7 million over the final month of the season.
Giolito, whom the Angels acquired at the trade deadline, has struggled since being acquired, going 1-5 with a 6.89 ERA in six games. However, he was 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA in 21 games with the White Sox and is a solid starter in 174 career games (172 starts) with a 60-58 record and 4.35 ERA. In the postseason, he appeared in two games and posted a 3.97 ERA (5 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings).
Left-handed setup man Matt Moore has been solid this year, going 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 40 games and 20 holds (11 earned runs in 43 innings). Reynaldo Lopez has also been solid this year, going 2-7 with six saves in 55 games and a 3.86 ERA in 14 appearances. Since joining the Angels, he’s gone 4-4 with two saves and a 2.31 ERA in 12 games. Both players could help a team with bullpen needs.
Renfroe batted .721 with 18 doubles, 52 RBIs, and a .721 OPS this year with the Angels, while Grichuk batted .777 with 12 doubles, 35 RBIs, and a .777 OPS. Since joining the Angels, he has struggled, batting just 1-for-6 with four homers, eight RBIs, and a .568 OPS. That’s a lot of power for a postseason contender with a thin batting order.
The Angels had high hopes, but after less than a month, they abandoned their season. The Angels are coming off of a hurricane of free agency that could be a game-changer for fall baseball.