ESPN reported on Tuesday that the Los Angeles Angels have put Giolito, relief pitchers Dominic Leone, Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez, and fielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk in the waiver market. Teams have until 2:00 PM EDT Thursday to claim players.
Giolito said he read the news on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I would say I’m surprised,” Giolito said after a 12-7 loss to Philadelphia. “But at the end of the day, it’s a deal. Sometimes it can be a very strange business. You just have to keep going.”
Los Angeles, with a 63-70 record and en route to its eighth straight losing season, would get some salary relief if the players are claimed and their contracts taken out.
Giolito allowed three home runs in a loss on Monday.
ESPN cited unidentified sources who confirmed the waivers’ positions.
“Thursday is the day when everything is decided,” Giolito said. “Until then, I’m here. We’ll see what happens after Thursday.”
Giolito was acquired before the trade deadline as the Angels worked hard — yes, to reach the playoffs, but also to try and convince upcoming free agent Shohei Ohtani to renew his contract. But the team has a 7-19 record ever since. The Phillies hit five home runs on Tuesday to inflict their seventh loss in nine games on the Angels.
All players that the Angels have placed on the waiver market are eligible to become free agents after the World Series. If all were claimed, the franchise would save more than $7 million.
A player must be in an organization before midnight EDT on Thursday to be eligible to make a roster for the playoffs.
“These are executive office decisions that don’t affect our team,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “We have to go out and win some games and play them right. Everything as usual. We have to go out and play.”
The Angels acquired Giolito and Reynaldo López from the Chicago White Sox in late July. The cost was high: Los Angeles traded two of its top minor league prospects — lefty Ky Bush and catcher Edgar Quero — to the White Sox, who got a good return for two talented veteran pitchers.
Giolito spent his last seven seasons in the Chicago White Sox rotation, winning 59 games. He was a 2019 All-Star and threw a no-hitter on August 25, 2020. He has been in the top 11 in voting for AL Cy Young three times.
He is currently 1-5 with a 6.89 ERA with the Angels.
The Angels followed up the Giolito deal at the trade deadline with another big trade. The Angels re-acquired hitters CJ Cron and Grichuk from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for minor league pitchers Mason Albright and Jake Madden.
These aggressive trades were to rid the Angels of their reputation for wasting the talents of MVPs like Mike Trout and Ohtani. Owner Arte Moreno’s club has the longest streak of consecutive losing seasons (seven) and consecutive seasons without the playoffs (eight, tied with Detroit).
“This is the reality, they put me on the market for waivers,” Lopez said through a translator. “I’ll still be here until I’m claimed. Whatever happens, I’m ready.”
2023-08-31 14:04:16
#Players #Square #Waivers
