Angels’ poorly-timed front office reshaping could work to Brewers’ advantage at trade deadline

With all due respect to the Los Angeles Angels, whatever is going on in Anaheim is an affront to the baseball gods. Not once did they make the playoffs with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the same team, which seems like the kind of act that gets a cursed place on your franchise (unless said struggles were the result of an already active curse...these things can get confusing).

Nevertheless, Ohtani is long gone, and Trout is an injury-prone star who is nearing the end of his prime. The perpetual rebuild they've been mired in is no closer to ending now than when Trout debuted in 2011, hence why they've finally decided to restructure their front office. Perry Minasian is no longer leading the charge; instead, old rival John Mozeliak will serve as the Halos' interim general manager through the remainder of the season.

We don't know to what extent Mozeliak will be given the green light at the trade deadline -- he's not expected to be a candidate for the permanent job this offseason -- but they should be prolific sellers given their bottom-five record. And if they do hold a going-out-of-business sale, the Milwaukee Brewers and Matt Arnold should be the first ones in line to do some shopping.

Angels are shockingly good trade partners for Brewers ahead of deadline

One fun thing about the Angels is that they're not a last-place team devoid of talent. In fact, they have a number of attractive trade chips everywhere on their roster.

If the Brewers are looking to add some thump to their offense, Jo Adell should be available. He's a buy-low candidate in the midst of a middling offensive season (86 wRC+), but he's also a 27-year-old with team control through 2027 who hit 37 home runs last year. If anyone is capable of unlocking his long-dormant potential, it's Pat Murphy's coaching staff.

If starting pitching is higher on the Crew's priority list, then they'll have their pick of the litter there. José Soriano (3.42 ERA) and Reid Detmers (2.9 fWAR) are both worthy All-Star candidates who are under arbitration through 2028, and the breakout of rookie Walbert Ureña has made them more expendable.

Even in the bullpen, where most would argue the Brewers' biggest needs lie, the Angels can offer up some worthy trade bait. Kirby Yates is an affordable rental ($5 million salary) with 100 career saves and a 34.2% strikeout rate; old friend Brent Suter is an even cheaper rental ($1.25 million salary) whose FIP (3.54) is more than a full run better than his ERA. Heck, even Ryan Zeferjahn and his 4.5 years of remaining team control could be available for the right price.

Regardless of what position of need the Brewers are looking to fill, odds are the Angels have something in stock. Assuming they'll act a bit more rationally with Mozeliak calling the shots this summer, it'd be worthwhile for Arnold to put in some calls.

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