Angels show they're all in on 2023 season

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TORONTO -- At this point, it’s fair to say the Angels are all in this season.

Just hours after news broke late Wednesday that the Angels had taken two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani off the trade market, the Angels indicated they were also buyers, trading for White Sox right-handers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López. The cost was steep, as they traded away their No. 2 prospect, catcher Edgar Quero, and their No. 3 prospect, lefty Ky Bush, but it was another sign they plan to be aggressive leading up to Tuesday's Trade Deadline.

It's clear the Angels are trying to do whatever they can to reach the postseason for the first time since 2014, especially with Ohtani set to be a free agent after the season. Making the postseason could help sway Ohtani to re-sign with the Angels this offseason, but he also has to be sold on the future of the franchise. The Angels are betting that keeping Ohtani gives them the best chance to re-sign him, and that he’s already comfortable with the organization and now they’re doing what they can to get him to the playoffs for the first time in his MLB career.

"[Ohtani] is a special player having a unique season with a team that has a chance to win," general manager Perry Minasian said. "And to me, that's grounds for trying to improve the club. Whether it works or whether it doesn't, I can go to bed at night and say, 'You know what? We did this for the right reasons and we're giving ourselves a chance.' I'm excited to see how we play."

As Minasian noted, there is also plenty of risk in what the Angels are doing right now, especially depleting a farm system that’s already regarded as thin. At 54-49, they are three games behind the Blue Jays for the third and final AL Wild Card spot and also trail the Red Sox (55-47) and the Yankees (54-48). They also have a tough slate in August and will be without superstar Mike Trout until mid-to-late August. Their most recent postseason odds from Fangraphs.com indicate a 22.8 percent chance of making the playoffs.

But the Angels deserve some credit for going for it, as most teams have become risk-adverse with the rise of analytics. It could backfire, but the prospects also might not pan out and these moves are well-received in the clubhouse. The Angels are also now above the luxury tax, which they had been reluctant to do, and could signal to Ohtani that they are willing to continue to spend going forward.

They have two tough road series coming up against the Blue Jays and Braves, but Ohtani acknowledged how pleased he was to see the Angels be buyers ahead of the Deadline. Ohtani rewarded the Angels for their decision not to trade him with an absolutely incredible day on Thursday, throwing a one-hit shutout against the Tigers in Game 1 of the doubleheader before hitting two blasts in Game 2. Ohtani, who left the second game with cramps, leads the Majors with 38 homers and is on pace for 60 this season.

"Until last year, the team situation, we had to be sellers,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “Perry was doing his job. Now we're in a different situation. I think we're making acquisitions to try to get us better and get us over that hump. I think us as players, we've just got to do our jobs."

Ohtani, who is the heavy frontrunner to win the AL MVP Award for the second time in three seasons, also expressed relief that the trade talks are behind him.

"From the beginning, my plan was to finish the season with the Angels,” Ohtani said. “Nothing is really going to change mentally, but all the people talking about the trades, that's going to be all gone. I feel like I'll just focus on taking this team to the playoffs."

Trout also described his excitement over the additions of Giolito and López, who are both set to be free agents after the season. Giolito has a 3.79 ERA with 131 strikeouts in 121 innings this season, and López has registered a 4.29 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 42 innings. López, who gives the Angels a much-needed bullpen arm, has been particularly impressive since mid-May, posting a 1.75 ERA over his last 24 appearances.

"The front office wants to win," Trout said. "You can see Perry's working some magic over there and [owner Arte Moreno is] agreeing with it. It's a good message for the guys. The message has been the same all year: We're in it until we're not, so we're just going to keep pushing forward and see how it goes."