Angels Could Have Made Franchise-Altering Trade With Padres: Report

There's a strange feeling around the Los Angeles Angels franchise this week.

Sadly, it was announced that manager Ron Washington would be out for the rest of the year due to an unspecified health issue. Zach Neto, one of the team's best players, appears to have avoided a serious injury in the wake of how he slides head-first.

Even worse for the Halos, a report from Dennis Lin of The Athletic indicates that Los Angeles turned down a chance to acquire some serious firepower from the San Diego Padres amid rumors over Shohei Ohtani's status with the ballclub.

"Angels owner Arte Moreno eventually pulled Ohtani off the trade market, but the Padres came away from those sweepstakes feeling they would have had a legitimate chance of landing a two-way unicorn," Lin writes. "According to league sources, [James] Wood, [MacKenzie] Gore, [CJ] Abrams, [Robert] Hassell and current Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill were among the names that came up in the conversations with the Angels."

There's some cruel irony with this potential package of players. Wood, Gore, Hassell, and Abrams ultimately did get moved — but for a Juan Soto rental. The Nationals came away as huge winners in this deal. Abrams has developed into an All-Star shortstop. Wood is currently having an excellent year. The 22-year-old behemoth already has 22 homers before July. He looks like one of the best young players in the entire sport.

Gore has been Washington's best starter this year. A lefty with some power stuff, Gore has a 3.09 earned run average and ranks above the 90th percentile in strikeout percentage and whiff percentage. Hassell was a former top-10 pick with some real upside as an outfielder.

Merrill has been the best of the bunch — making the All-Star team last year as a rookie. Over two seasons with the Padres, the 22-year-old has a .294 batting average and a .822 career OPS. Based on Merrill's athleticism and hand-eye coordination, it would not be shocking to see him morph into a perennial All-Star.

Hindsight is always 20/20 — though the decision to not trade Ohtani is really coming back to bite the Angels considering the haul that could've been procured from the Padres. Even if half of the names listed above were sent to Los Angeles, it would've given the franchise a much better core to build around compared to the one currently in Anaheim.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.