The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are clearing out their roster.
Major League Baseball’s top source, Jeff Passan, announced the Angels’ sweeping waiver moves on social media on Tuesday.
The Angels placed starting pitcher Lucas Giolito on waivers, along with relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez, and outfielders Hunter Lanfroe and Randall Grichuk.
The Angels are clearing out a large chunk of their roster to prepare for next season. With a 63-69 record this season, the Angels are 11.5 games out of the third wild-card spot (Houston Astros 75-58), which is the minimum for a postseason berth.
The Angels made a strong push for the postseason at the trade deadline, acquiring Giolito, Lopez, and Grichuk, but less than a month later, the Angels raised the white flag. Add to that the elbow ligament damage to ace Shohei Ohtani and the ongoing injury to slugger Mike Trout, and it’s hard to see the Angels running a normal lineup.
“The Angels can reduce their payroll by placing players on waivers,” the bankruptcy reporter said, explaining that the Angels are trying to trim their roster to avoid the luxury tax.온라인바카
The players the Angels placed on waivers are attractive to teams in postseason contention. Lopez has 14 doubles this year, Renfroe has 18 home runs this season, Giolito has 60 career wins, and Grichuk is still going strong with a .464 on-base percentage. If the Angels want to utilize them in the postseason, they’ll need to acquire them before August ends.
Meanwhile, the Angels aren’t the only team with a postseason berth on the line. The New York Yankees (infielder Josh Donaldson and outfielder Harrison Bader), New York Mets (pitcher Carlos Carrasco), Chicago White Sox (pitcher Mike Clevinger), and Detroit Tigers (pitcher Jose Cisneros) joined the waiver wire. The teams that picked them up will only have to pay the players’ remaining salaries for this year.