The Angels find themselves in a strange place. They are in the thick of things for a potential playoff spot but just suffered some major injuries. Star outfielder Mike Trout will be out for an extended amount of time with a fractured left hamate, third baseman Anthony Rendon left the teams game Tuesday in crutches and star two-way player Shohei Ohtani is dealing with a blister issue.
It's been a whirlwind 24 hours for the Halos and many are looking for them to be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline. Despite their place in the standings, most people think that their season may be over. But, there is someone who knows this team well that doesn't believe they should give up just yet. That would be former manager Joe Maddon, who spoke with MLB Now about the Angels situation.
“I would still wait a little while longer because, weirdly, what can happen in moments like this, everybody else can elevate their game.”
Maddon has a point because sometimes the next man up mentality comes into play. However, the Angels lost their three best players all within a 24 hour period and were already dealing with multiple injuries. I'm not saying they need to sell but things aren't looking good for them.
Maddon continues to say that the team has some good, young players coming up such as Taylor Ward and Jo Adell, whom the team called up due to the Trout injury.
“Taylor Ward … this kid is a much better hitter than he’s shown to this point in the season. There’s more left there so you may see more out of him. There’s no telling what Jo Adell might do. Jo Adell’s been tearing it up..."
The biggest issue at hand for the Angels is time. They don't have a lot of time on their hands to make a decision. There are only a few weeks left until the trade deadline so they will need to figure things out quickly.
The team sits in third place within the AL West and a few games back of a potential Wild Card spot so if things continue to go downhill, selling may be the best option.
Oh... and there is the impending free agency of Ohtani this winter. That surely will have to be discussed among the Angels front office. They have some major decisions to make in short order and depending on how they proceed, it will have some real ramifications.
More must-reads: