Angels swing deal for starting pitcher Giolito, affirm buyer status

DETROIT -- Just hours after a report surfaced that the Angels will not be trading two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani prior to Tuesday's Trade Deadline, the Halos struck a deal with the White Sox to acquire right-handed pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López in exchange for catcher Edgar Quero (the Angels' No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline) and left-hander Ky Bush (No. 3).

The Angels have not reached the postseason since 2014, when they were swept in the American League Division Series by the Royals. With Ohtani scheduled to become a free agent following this season, and fellow superstar Mike Trout still without a postseason victory in his career, it appears Los Angeles is making a big push to end its playoff drought this fall.

"[Ohtani] is a special player having a unique season with a team that has a chance to win," general manager Perry Minasian said Thursday. "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."

TRADE DETAILS
Angels get: RHPs Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López
White Sox get: C Edgar Quero, LHP Ky Bush

Giolito, who turned 29 on July 14, finished among the top 11 in AL Cy Young Award voting from 2019-21 and threw a no-hitter against the Pirates on Aug. 25, 2020. He struggled to a 4.90 ERA in 30 starts for Chicago last season but bounced back this year: In 21 starts, Giolito has a 3.79 ERA (116 ERA+) and a 1.22 WHIP. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven of his past nine starts.

Outside of Ohtani, the Angels' starting rotation has been mediocre. None of the other four starters -- Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval, Tyler Anderson and Griffin Canning -- has an ERA under 4.16 this season.

The Halos' bullpen hasn’t fared much better, posting a combined 4.18 ERA that ranks 20th in MLB. That’s where they hope López will help. Set to be a free agent after the season, the 29-year-old has posted a 1.75 ERA and a .148 BAA in 24 appearances since May 14.

"I think there's a different buzz in the room today," Angels manager Phil Nevin said following the trade. "It obviously helps us quite a bit. Two quality arms, an established starter at the top of a lot of rotations. The buzz in the room and the feeling in the front office -- when the ownership has really bought into what we’ve got here, believes in us, believes in the players, the staff -- is a great feeling to have."

The trade is a homecoming for Giolito, who was a star pitcher at Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles alongside the Braves' Max Fried and the Cardinals' Jack Flaherty -- the latter of whom also happens to be a trade candidate.

Since Giolito was dealt midseason, he can not be given a qualifying offer by the Angels should he elect free agency this offseason, meaning the club will not receive Draft-pick compensation should he sign with another team.

"The front office wants to win," Trout said Thursday. "You can see Perry's working some magic over there and [team 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."

In exchange, the Angels parted with two of their top three prospects. Quero (ranked No. 65 in MLB) is a switch-hitting catcher with power and an advanced approach at the plate that earned him a SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game nod earlier this month.

"It's tough to make trades. You have to give things up. Nobody's going to give you players," Minasian said. "Edgar is somebody we think is going to be a very good player. ... [And] Ky Busch is a talented left-handed starter, somebody that we liked and felt like will help a big league team at some point.

"But again, for where we're at in this current situation, we felt like it was the right move to make and try and push this thing forward."

Bush, 23, is a 6-foot-6, 240-pound left-hander who posted a 3.67 ERA over 21 starts for Double-A Rocket City last season. So far in 2023, he has a 7.20 ERA over eight starts between the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Angels and Rocket City.

"There's going to be some people -- and I understand -- that ask, 'Why are they doing this? They're four games out of the Wild Card and there's a couple teams in front of them.' I understand that," Minasian said. "At the end of the day, this group has put themselves in position, through a lot of adversity, through a lot of injuries, to have a chance.

"I really believed that I owed it to that group to improve those chances and give ourselves a chance to play meaningful games in September and try and play in October."