Los Angeles Angels: Five Moves to Become Playoff Contenders
By Jason Reed
4. Trade Matt Shoemaker and Ricky Nolasco
Looking at the Angels’ starting rotation, it is filled with young arms with good potential. The two exceptions to this are Matt Shoemaker and Ricky Nolasco. The two aren’t old, 30 and 33 respectively, but stand out in a rotation where the next oldest guy is Garrett Richards at 28. The Angels also have seven starting pitchers on their big league roster, with Nate Smith seemingly knocking on the door. It would be best if the Angels gave up Shoemaker and Nolasco in a package deal.
What the Angels could receive in this deal is perhaps another arm of equal or slightly better talent than the two. Tyler Chatwood, Patrick Corbin, and Michael Pineda are all arms that could be targeted. If the Angels went this route it wouldn’t be bad per se, but may defeat the purpose of trading the two away. The Halos could trade the two for bullpen arms as well. Wade Davis is a guy with only one year left on his contract, so the Royals may offer him up for two starting pitchers. This move could help an Angels bullpen that ranked 21st in ERA.
Besides pitching, the Angels could reel in a position player talent. As discussed earlier, perhaps these two could serve as the Angels’ offering in a three-team trade to acquire Brandon Phillips. If the Angels can get something in return that either bolsters their farm system or helps them in an area of need, it may be best to part ways with Shoemaker and Nolasco.