ANAHEIM — The Angels provided the strongest evidence to date that they are seriously considering moving at least one of their most valuable players, scratching José Soriano from his scheduled start hours before first pitch Saturday.
Soriano had been scheduled to start against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night, but the Angels announced at about 12:30 p.m. that he would not make the start because of Monday’s 3 p.m. PT trade deadline. They opted to have left-hander Brent Suter start a bullpen game.
The New York Mets scratched Freddy Peralta and the Detroit Tigers scratched Casey Mize on Friday for similar reasons.
A team would make this move to avoid any risk of the pitcher getting injured, and also to allow a pitcher’s new team to have him fresh to start soon after the deal, if he is traded.
“With the trade deadline on Monday and the uncertainty of the next 48 hours, we decided to take the prudent approach and see where these next few days lead us,” Angels interim general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement.
The Angels have at least three players who are likely garnering significant trade interest: Soriano, left-hander Reid Detmers and shortstop Zach Neto. All three are above-average players who remain under club control for at least two seasons after this one, which means that each of them could be worth a trade package including several top prospects.
Over the past decade, the Angels have declined to trade any of their valuable players who would be under control in subsequent seasons because their preference has always been to try to compete again in the following season. The Angels’ apparent willingness to do so now could reflect a acknowledgement that the team needs a significant rebuild. The Angels haven’t had a winning season since 2015.
Soriano, 27, said he was told after Friday night’s game that he was not going to start. He was not given any indication how likely a trade is, though.
“They just told me it can happen anytime, so they just want to take me out of the game and just in case I get traded,” Soriano said.
The rumors have been circulating for weeks about Soriano. He said he’s done his best not to be distracted by the questions.
“I just try to stay calm,” Soriano said. “I don’t feel this is crazy. If it happens, I will take it. If not, I will take that too. I’ve been my whole life basically in this organization. If it happens, I’m going to feel a little sad because I have a long time here, but at the same time, I’m going to be happy because I can help another team.”
Neto didn’t want to speak specifically about the rumors involving him, but he said it’s been difficult around the clubhouse. On Wednesday, the Angels traded catcher Logan O’Hoppe and reliever Chase Silseth.
“We all know what this week is,” Neto said. “It’s probably the most stressful week, knowing who’s staying and who’s not. Losing one of our guys (from the game) today, because we don’t know what’s about to happen with him. It sucks, but we’re pros, and we’ve got to just keep moving forward.”
Neto said he’ll be happy when the deadline passes on Monday, and even better that the Angels will go to his hometown, Miami, next weekend.
“I’ll be able to go home on the weekend, which will be perfect,” he said.
JOHNSON DOWN
The Angels made another move that had nothing to do with a trade, optioning right-hander Ryan Johnson to Triple-A. Johnson had a 7.63 ERA in 46 innings, including nine starts. He gave up five runs on Friday night.
Manager Kurt Suzuki said Johnson will continue to start at Triple-A.
“He’s obviously just going down there to work on consistency, work on execution, and really just try to get better,” Suzuki said.
The Angels called up right-hander Brett Kerry to take Johnson’s place. It remains to be seen what the Angels will do with Johnson’s rotation spot. Obviously they could have as many as two other spots open next week, depending what they do at the deadline with Soriano and Detmers.
The most likely choice to fill one of the spots is right-hander George Klassen, who gave up one run in six innings on Friday night at Triple-A. Klassen started twice in the majors in April, but walks hurt him. He hasn’t walked anyone in his last two Triple-A starts, with 13 strikeouts. Klassen has a 3.96 ERA for the season at Triple-A, which is excellent for the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League. Over his last 12 starts, he has a 2.57 ERA with 68 strikeouts and 30 walks in 66⅔ innings.
NOTES
The Angels still haven’t decided if they want right-handed reliever Ben Joyce (shoulder surgery) to pitch back-to-back games at Triple-A before activating him, although it’s becoming increasingly apparent that they don’t view it as a necessity. Joyce has pitched in seven minor-league games since his rehab assignment began on July 7, with at least two days between each outing. His last three games have been at Triple-A. A rehab assignment for a pitcher is limited to 30 days, so time is running out for the Angels to make a decision on Joyce. The Angels could have a bullpen opening next week if they trade any of their current relievers. …
The promotion of Kerry gave the Angels three current pitchers who were a part of their all-pitcher draft in 2021. Sam Bachman (first round), Luke Murphy (fourth round) and Kerry (fifth) were among the 20 pitchers the Angels selected that season. Silseth (11th round) was also in that class. Second-round pick Ky Bush, who was traded in the Lucas Giolito deal, also made the majors briefly with the Chicago White Sox, but he’s been hurt since then.
UP NEXT
Brewers (RHP Jacob Misiorowski, 11-4, 1.58 ERA) at Angels (RHP Walbert Ureña, 6-7, 2.70 ERA), Sunday, 12:15 p.m., Peacock, NBCSN, 830 AM
