Angels' $39 Million All-Star Linked to 3 Contenders Ahead of Trade Deadline

Exactly one year ago, Angels general manager Perry Minasian offered a fairly accurate preview of the team's trade deadline activity.

While Minasian understood the team's position was firmly in the "sellers" category, he also was reluctant to part with certain players — specifically, those who were under contract for another year and had the potential to help the 2025 Angels, whose core of young players figured to be closer to its prime.

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Sure enough, Minasian traded only two players last June: Relievers Carlos Estevez and Luis Garcia, both in the final year of their contracts with the Angels (Garcia's deal was a one-year pact.)

Not only did Minasian stay true to his word, the Angels' young core matured as hoped. The Angels are 36-37 through Wednesday, 1.5 games behind the final American League Wild Card spot.

It's perhaps optimistic to think that the Angels can stay in playoff contention through the end of July and beyond.

The team is 31-37 in nine-inning games, their record boosted more by extra-innings luck than any team in baseball. And since the end of May, four of the five best records in the AL belong to teams competing with the Angels for Wild Card berths — the Rays, Orioles, Red Sox and Blue Jays. The fifth? The Houston Astros, whose 12-4 record in June has boosted them to the top of the AL West standings.

Against this backdrop, it's not too soon to speculate on which players might fetch Minasian enough of a return at the July 31 trade deadline to listen to offers from rival GMs. One player whose contract expires at the end of this year stands out as a possible — if not likely — trade candidate: Pitcher Tyler Anderson.

Anderson is in the final year of a three-year, $39 million contract signed prior to the 2023 season. The 35-year-old left-hander is 2-4 with a 4.44 ERA in 14 starts.

While a 92 ERA+ isn't exactly sparkling, plenty of contending teams with holes in the back of their rotation might find Anderson's durability appealing. He's on pace to make at least 25 starts for the fourth consecutive season.

A two-time All-Star, Anderson is owed $13 million this season. That's almost universally affordable. Three teams stand out as potential fits in an Anderson trade, writes Mark Feinsand of MLB.com: The Cubs, Twins and Orioles.

Of those three teams, Minasian figures to be more apt to doing business with the Cubs. The optics of trading Anderson to an American League team competing with the Angels for a Wild Card berth would seem poor, especially if the Angels are still within striking distance in six weeks.

The Cubs' prospect pipeline is not as deep as the other two clubs, however. Minasian has done well at past trade deadlines in acquiring impact players such as Logan O'Hoppe and Ryan Zeferjahn. Can he do it again?

If not, there's a chance Anderson remains in Anaheim into August — particularly if the Angels' place in the standings holds up.

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