“It’s miserable to be an LA Angels fan.”
The Angels have been criticized for their moves. The Angels have been criticized for making massive waiver claims on key players they acquired in trades to reduce the luxury tax.
The Angels placed starting pitcher Lucas Giolito on waivers on April 30, 바카라 along with relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez and outfielders Hunter Lanfroe and Randall Grichuk. Ohtani’s elbow ligament damage and catcher Mike Trout’s lingering injuries have made it difficult to operate a normal lineup, so the organization has effectively raised the white flag.
Aside from the Angels, 29 other teams can easily acquire them for the remainder of the season. In fact, several teams in the thick of postseason contention are rumored to be looking to sign them. Both are veterans and have their own appeal. Lopez has 14 stolen bases this year, Renfroe has 18 home runs this season, Giolito has 60 career wins, and Grichuk is still going strong with a .464 career on-base percentage.
After the Angels’ massive waiver announcement, fans were shocked to learn that the team would be losing both its present and future, as well as superstar Shohei Ohtani.
The Angels placed both Giolito (left) and Lopez on waivers. Angels official SNS capture
First, the Angels lost the present. It is not known whether the players who were placed on waivers will be traded, but the loss of these players is an immediate loss of power. Second, the Angels have lost their future. The Angels gave up a lot of prospects in the two days leading up to the trade deadline in an effort to bolster their roster.
They acquired Giolito and Lopez from the Chicago White Sox for catcher Edgar Cuero, the team’s No. 2 prospect at the time, and left-handed pitcher Kyle Bush, their No. 3 prospect. The flurry of trades continued. They acquired CJ Cron and Grichuk from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for eighth-ranked left-handed pitcher Mason Albright and 28th-ranked right-handed pitcher Jake Maddon.
The Angels bolstered their lineup by sending four of the team’s top 30 prospects and showed their intent to make a run at the postseason, but they didn’t perform as expected. Instead, the Angels have won just eight of their 26 games since the trade deadline. With a 64-70 record on the year, the Angels are 11.5 games out of the third wild card spot (Texas Rangers, 75-58), which is a red flag for the postseason.
The Angels are unlikely to fulfill Ohtani’s goal of winning a championship.
Last but not least, the Angels lost Ohtani. Ohtani will be a free agent after this season. He will be free to negotiate with all 29 teams, not just the Angels.
Ohtani wanted a team where he could consistently “win,” a desire that had been simmering since he joined the Angels in 2018, when the team never made the postseason. In fact, this year, the team is preparing to release a number of key players after fall ball. The team has emptied its payroll and made moves to bolster its offseason roster, but it’s unclear if that will change Ohtani’s mind.
One Angels fan wrote on social media, “Being an Angels fan is so miserable,” and was bitter about the club’s management. The post currently has more than 6,000 hearts and resonates with many Angels fans.
The Angels have already lost their present and their future, and they’ve lost their last remaining hope in Ohtani. What does this move mean for the future of the rebuilding team?
Angels general manager Perry Minassian. We’ve already lost our present, our future, and our last hope, Ohtani.