We spend so much time talking about what trades we would love for our teams to make whenever the trade deadline nears, but as we Angel fans know all too well, there are also trades that we should be hoping our teams don’t make. Instead of waiting for Tony Reagins to make his next potential blunder, I’m issuing a pre-emptive strike and listing ten deals this Halo faithful fan would rather not see come to fruition.
Have we learned our lesson yet, Tony?
- Carlos Pena. I keep seeing this rumor and I just don’t get it. Mark Trumbo isn’t great, but he isn’t bad either. Pena does have power and patience, but I don’t really think Mike Scioscia is interested in adding another guy with an average barely over .200 to the middle of the order.
- Ramon Hernandez. This was floated by some outlets recently and while I like the idea of the Angels acquiring a catcher that can actually hit, I don’t like the idea of the Halos giving up prospects for a catcher that Mike Scioscia will still find a way to slot behind Jeff Mathis on the depth chart.
- Francisco Rodriguez. Fortunately, the Brewers already traded for K-Rod, so he is off the market which is just fine by me since all the hair I lost suffering through K-Rod’s last years as an Angel only just grew back
- Alfonso Soriano. Soriano isn’t being mentioned in any trade rumors since he has arguably the worst contract in baseball… kind of like Vernon Wells did before Tony Reagins traded for him. Don’t do it, Tony!
- Octavio Dotel. Maybe I’m just imagining things, but I feel like Dotel is harbinger of doom for teams that trade for him at the deadline. He’s been passed around the league because his numbers are always good, but never great, and some desperate team always seem to take a flier on him but that team never goes anywhere. I don’t want the Angels to be that team.
- Luke Scott. He could be the lefty-power bat they want, but I don’t know how well a “birther” is going to fit in in a blue state like California.
- Daric Barton. This has been an under-the-radar rumbling, and he certainly wouldn’t cost the Angels much, but the last thing this team is to have minimal power at every single infield position.
- Anyone from the Tampa Bay Rays. Last time Reagins dealt with Andrew Friedman, Scott Kazmir happened. No thank you, sir.
- Jeff Mathis. Yeah, I know, he’s already on the team but the fact that the Pirates showed any kind of interest in giving up a real player with an actual pulse for Mathis is something the Angels would be fools not to take full advantage of, especially since he is a likely non-tender candidate this off-season. Oh, that and he is absolutely, truly terrible.
- Nobody. I know the budget is stretched to the limit, but this current Angel roster just isn’t quite good enough to be true contenders. I don’t necessarily think they need to add a star, but they have a few holes that need to be shored up if they are really going to overtake the Rangers and challenge for the World Series.