Los Angeles Angels: The potential trade market of top starting pitchers
By Jason Reed
Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno confirmed that he was the one that nixed the trade for Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling, claiming that the team still has hope that they can add a top starting pitcher this season.
The Los Angeles Angels appeared to be coming away with a great trade for the team as a result of the Mookie Betts blockbuster. In what was likely a move to save the Los Angeles Dodgers money, the Dodgers were trading Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to Anaheim for Luis Rengifo and a prospect.
The Betts trade had to be reworked, took five days longer than initially reported and once the dust settled it was revealed that the Angels would not be getting Stripling or Pederson after all.
The speculation was that Angels owner Arte Moreno pulled out of the deal due to his impatience. Moreno confirmed that he was the one that pulled out of the deal on Monday, claiming there were other factors than his impatience (h/t Jeff Fletcher, OC Register).
Arte Moreno confirmed that he did kill the Joc Pederson-Ross Stripling trade but didn’t want to elaborate on why. He said there were other factors besides his impatience.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) February 17, 2020
Moreno also went on to say that the front office still has hope that is can land a top starting pitcher via trade this season after missing out on Gerrit Cole and scrapping what would have been a great addition in Stripling.
The Angels definitely need it, but is it realistic? As soon as Moreno made that statement the question became who the Angels possibly could trade for. We racked our brains and came up with some options, as well as the likelihood of the Los Angeles Angels acquiring them.