The Los Angeles Angels are an everlasting gift.
They are now prepared to shower the baseball landscape with Christmas gifts in August, just when everyone was wondering why they didn’t move Shohei Ohtani before his ruptured UCL and why they opted to go for it by trading away their top prospects for rentals.
You can have starter Lucas Giolito, who they just acquired at the trade deadline if you so want.
You wish to make a claim for relievers Matt Moore, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dominic Leone.
You know what to do if you want outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk.
The unceremoniously put the dirty dozen veteran players, who are all free agents at the end of the season, on waivers on Wednesday.
All it takes to help you play well into October if you’re a contender is to submit a waiver claim.
Even merely buying up the last month of their contract won’t cost you a single prospect.
The first refusal will go to the teams having the worst record on waiver claims.
As a result, a team like the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are in the race for the postseason (69-63), will undoubtedly make offers on any available pitcher.
The San Francisco Giants (68-63) feel the same way and would love to have Giolito in their rotation.
Do you honestly believe that Moore and Lopez won’t be claimed by the Texas Rangers (74-57) for their bullpen?
Renfroe or Grichuk might be used by the Minnesota Twins (69-63), who are in need of offensive help.
With Moore’s 3-1 record, 2.30 ERA, and 47 strikeouts in 43 innings, the Houston Astros (75-58) and Philadelphia Phillies (73-58) are salivating at the prospect of obtaining him. Moore is regarded as the most talented player placed on waivers.
Playoff contenders are scrambling to select who to claim on waivers, furiously buzzing their analytics department and ringing their scouts.
The Angels (63-69), who took a chance by keeping Ohtani, then doubled down by adding four of those guys before the trade deadline, are now officially out of the game.
This is merely a pay dump to ensure that they stay under the luxury tax, which would result in a loss of $7 million if all claims are made.
However, the Angels could have made a mockery of the system by putting Ohtani on waivers, saving around $5 million, if they truly intended to ensure that they wouldn’t be subject to the tax.
Oh, and you can bet they would have wanted to have Anthony Rendon on that list, but they recognize no executive would be able to finish the three years and $114 million left on that awful contract in time for happy hour.
Not just the Angels are saturating the market with guys who have been placed on waivers. Josh Donaldson, a seasoned third baseman, was dismissed by the New York Yankees, and outfielder Harrison Bader was placed on waivers. Mike Clevinger, a starter for the Chicago White Sox, was placed on waivers. With Carlos Carrasco as their starter, the New York Mets followed suit.
The Angels were the only team among those teams to fully commit at the deadline in the hopes that a playoff race would persuade Ohtani to remain when he becomes free in November.
Instead, the Angels finished 7-17 and missed out on a wild-card spot by 11 12 games.
On Wednesday, they did more than just wave the white flag; they also rolled it into a ball and threw it into the Pacific.
Time will tell how Ohtani feels about the Angels’ cost-cutting measures.
Despite having a torn UCL, he is still playing as a DH and doing everything in his power to win.
However, he represents a franchise that recently made it known to the baseball world that it has no longer any desire to compete, much less strive to win.
Who knows, perhaps using the money saved will enable signing Ohtani.
Or maybe Ohtani’s desire to stick with the Angels will be destroyed by the movements alone.
We shall see.
It’s the Angels, who dominate the market for confusion, making it absurd to think you can forecast their next move with any degree of certainty.
Let the madness on the waiver wire start.