On July 26, the Angels were riding high. Their 52-49 record had the Angels right back in the Wild Card race, Mike Trout was set to return from injury soon, and Shohei Ohtani looked like the runaway favorite for AL MVP, and the team made what was seen as a significant move for the playoff push, acquiring pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.
On August 29, Trout is back on the injured list after playing just one game, Ohtani has an elbow injury that will keep him off the mound for the rest of the year, and, most surprisingly, the Angels have decided to waive both Giolito and Lopez, along with three other veteran players.
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Angels have placed starter Lucas Giolito, relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo López, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk on waivers, sources tell ESPN. Huge potential playoff implications: All can be claimed by teams for free on Thursday.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 29, 2023
The moves came as a shock. Besides just trading for Giolito, Lopez, and Grichuk a month ago, Renfroe has appeared in 124 of the Angels’ 132 games this season, while Moore has made 40 appearances out of the bullpen.
As ESPN’s Jeff Passan notes, the players will be on waivers and can be claimed by teams on Thursday. MLB waiver rules go by reverse standings, so the teams with the fewest wins have the highest priority, although it seems more likely that the players will pass by those teams and end up on some of the higher-ranked teams who are still looking to make a playoff push.
The shocking moves had social media in a frenzy on Tuesday.
They can still be postseason eligible when claimed. A lot of teams could use these players. The Angels, meanwhile, have long been out of contention and might be able to get back under the luxury-tax threshold by shedding these contracts for a month. https://t.co/bPcQr2e5ya
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) August 29, 2023
Doing the thing that gets you kicked out of fantasy football leagues but in real life https://t.co/JzNIgUTuUj
— Fred Smith (@FredSmith914) August 29, 2023
This is what an online rage quit looks like in real life. https://t.co/WGo52Dxv8m
— Dallas Braden (@DALLASBRADEN209) August 29, 2023
this is the weirdest thing that has ever happened https://t.co/haq73LlPy7
— Tipping Pitches (@tipping_pitches) August 29, 2023
If this is true, I would expect a grievance to be filed by the MLBPA since most of these transactions are NOT baseball performance related but an attempt to get below the Luxury tax. Or at the very least , the commissioner should look at the “best interests of baseball” clause. https://t.co/Mbee6puwRp
— Jim Duquette (@JimDuquetteGM) August 29, 2023
