Angels Listening To Offers For Hector Santiago, Matt Shoemaker
The Los Angeles Angels have had a rough season. They sit in last place in the AL West with a 43-55 record. This will make the Angels sellers at the deadline.
The Angels have a great core of players but have not been able to put it together this season. The team will now look to break up this core to start preparing for the future. The trade market is heavy on starting pitchers this year and the Angels have a few they can add to the mix. They are currently listening to offers on both Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker. According to Jerry Crasnick and Jon Heyman, the Angels will only deal these starters if it helps them immediately or in the near future.
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Hector Santiago, 28, is under control through the 2017 season because of arbitration. In 110.1 innings this year, he has struck out 95 batters with an ERA of 4.32. The left-hander from New Jersey has improved his average fastball velocity this season from 90.3 to 91.8. That is the only bright side for Santiago as he is in the middle of his worst season in the Majors.
What makes Santiago so attractive is team friendly contract over the next two seasons. A lot of the other pitchers on the trade market will either be free agents next season or are already making a ton of money on their current contract. The Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins have been named as possible destinations for Santiago. According to John Morosi, the Marlins have contacted the Angels about Santiago and other starters.
Another Angels pitcher to keep an eye on is Matt Shoemaker. Shoemaker has had a pretty good season, posting a 3.99 ERA. In 112.1 innings, he has struck out 115 batters while only walking 23. The 26 year-old was signed by the Angels as an amateur free agent in 2008. The earliest that Shoemaker can become a free agent is 2021 and is arbitration eligible after the 2017 season. This makes him very attractive for teams like the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates, who do not spend as much money as some of the big market teams.
The Angels are stuck in a tough situation. They have the 7th highest payroll in baseball and one of the worst farm systems. They are not in a great position to rebuild but they are also not in a position to contend. Most of the players that the Angels still owe money are on the wrong side of 30.
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With all this in mind, its time for the Angels to have a fire sale. The front office may not believe it is time but it is. The team has not made it past the ALDS since 2009 and their older talent is getting less and less valuable by the second. The longer the team waits to start the long rebuild process, the longer the process will take. They have the pieces to trade and its time to pull the trigger. The Angels have quite the player to build around in Mike Trout. Trading Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker would be a great start in the Angels rebuild.