Los Angeles Angels continue push for postseason with Mike Moustakas trade

DENVER — The day after making a trade with the New York Mets to boost its infield depth, the Los Angeles Angels doubled down on that by making a swap with the Colorado Rockies.

Just moments after a historic beatdown of the Rockies at Coors Field, the Angels announced they had acquired veteran infielder and designated hitter Mike Moustakas from Colorado in exchange for minor league pitcher Connor Van Scoyoc. The move comes after the Angels acquired Eduardo Escobar for a pair of minor league pitchers on Friday night, prompting Angels manager Phil Nevin to say that the moves are “a jolt to the room and it gives everybody that sense of like, ‘Hey, we’re a playoff team.'”

Los Angeles Angels add another veteran infielder through another trade

After Saturday’s win, Nevin discussed the acquisition of the 34-year-old Moustakas, who was slashing .270/.360/.435 in 136 plate appearances with the Rockies.

“First base against righties. We’ll mix and match and work it out,” Nevin said when asked about what role Moustakas might have with the team. “Every night I have to ask who am I going to play at third, second and first. It’s a good problem to have. We got depth and, as you know, this week, our lineup just been the depth that we had all season. We feel like we have that now.”

Moustakas was signed to a minor league deal in spring training by the Rockies and was given a chance to make the team, which he did, starting the year on the team’s Opening Day roster. His OPS+ of 107 at this point of the season is the highest it has been since Moustakas made the All-Star team as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019.

The 25-1 win by the Angels on Saturday night pushes them to 42-36 on the season with one game in Colorado left before starting a seven-game homestand against the Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks.