Los Angeles Angels right to have high asking price on David Fletcher

David Fletcher may fit the needs of a lot of teams, but the Los Angeles Angels have no reason to trade him at this point.

The Los Angeles Angels are clearly going to sell come the trade deadline. Despite their signing of Anthony Rendon, the Angels inability to find anything close to competent pitching has again hamstrung their attempts to return to the postseason.

However, one of the Angels most interesting pieces is not for sale, at least, without a king’s ransom in return. David Fletcher may fit what every contending team wants but the Angels have no reason to put him on the block.

At this point, Fletcher is a cost-controlled asset for a team with several large contracts. He is not arbitration eligible until 2022, and would not become a free agent until 2025. With that level of team control, he is a piece the Angels can build around.

Perhaps the biggest reason for interest in Fletcher is his defensive versatility. He has started games at second, third, short, and left in his career, and has also spent 18 innings in right field. Fletcher has been excellent defensively at third, saving 16 runs in 127 games, and has been solid at second and in left.

Fletcher has also steadily improved with the bat. This season, he is producing a .299/.364/.449 batting line with seven doubles and three homers. That type of production would easily work for a super utility player, which is how Fletcher would be envisioned by plenty of teams around the league.

But the Angels also need that production. The Angels rank ninth in the league in OPS, making Fletcher’s presence in the lineup all the more important. And, as a controllable, low-cost asset, it is understandable that the Angels would want to keep that production for themselves.

David Fletcher is the type of piece any contending team would want to have. Likewise, he is the type of player that the Los Angeles Angels can build around.