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MLB Rumors: Do The Los Angeles Angels Possess The Winter’s Top Trade Chip?


Mark Trumbo

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Angels are going to be an active team this winter, there’s no doubt about that. We don’t know whether they’ll look to make changes at the top, but we do know that there are at least a couple of players that could find their way out of Anaheim before all is said and done this offseason.

The top name drawing attention for the Halos is Howie Kendrick. With a very fine season, despite dealing with some injury, and given his team-friendly contract, there’s little doubt that Kendrick is going to be considered a prize on the trade market.

However, while Kendrick will draw a good amount of attention, especially going into an offseason with a pretty bare free agent class, another Angels player could represent the true prize of the offseason trading period. That player is slugger Mark Trumbo.

There were some rumors surrounding Trumbo over the course of last offseason, but nothing came of it. With so much high priced offensive talent on this roster, the Halos could afford to move Trumbo. In fact, he’s the one they’d likely have the easiest time moving, considering some of the contracts on their payroll.

Trumbo is not a free agent until 2017. He’s arbitration eligible this winter, but those years of team control make him a very valuable piece on the market. That’s in addition to what he brings to the table from an offensive perspective. He’s a pure power bat, through and through.

After going for 29 home runs and 87 runs knocked in during his first full Major League season back in 2011, Trumbo has followed up with back-to-back seasons of at least 30 big flies. He set a new career high for homers this season, with 33, and has tied his RBI career mark, with 95. He’s a power bat, plain and simple.

Trumbo isn’t the type of guy that’s going to get on base at a tremendous clip, and he doesn’t play exceptional defense, though he does have the ability to play multiple positions. But that type of power is going to be coveted all over the league this winter, and the Angels should be able to cash in big time on Mark Trumbo.


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