Former NY Mets GM wasted no time trashing the delusional LA Angels for buying

The Los Angeles Angels did what? They’ve added pitchers Luis Garcia and Andrew Chafin to their bullpen in a trade with the Washington Nationals. Despite their 53-55 record, -63 run differential, 4 games out of a Wild Card spot, and having three teams ahead of them just to be the club closest to a playoff spot without one (this doesn’t even include the Kansas City Royals with an identical record), they’re trade deadline buyers. What? Huh? Former New York Mets GM Zack Scott was quick to react.

Scott’s point is about what the Angels gave up in the deal. More so, it’s their lack of realization about where they stand in the playoff picture. Rattling off three wins in a row to get to two games under .500 doesn’t feel like enough to hold onto any player. With several players set to hit free agency, it looks like the Angels are going to let their contracts run out as they attempt to make an unrealistic push for the postseason.

The Angels are suddenly trade deadline buyers and former Mets GM Zack Scott is as angry as anyone

The Angels haven’t made the playoffs since 2014. It was the one and only year where Mike Trout got to experience the playoffs. It’s a shame because he should have a whole handful of World Series rings or at least a playoff highlight to show at his Cooperstown induction ceremony. Alas, he’ll be remembered as a generational superstar whose team never built enough around him.

Could this be what the Angels are thinking about? Trout has been reasonably healthy but not so productive this year. The team couldn’t look more like a .500 ball club if they tried. Additions of Garcia and Chafin can help them. It also has a chance to blow up in their face like in 2023 when they bought then hit the reset button in August when multiple players were placed on waivers just to save the club from having to pay their salaries in September.

None of the players the Angels would have traded could yield a haul, but the ones they’ll probably add won’t be enough; unless of course they go full bore which will only have Scott more furious. Carrying the load of the infamous Mets-Chicago Cubs trade which sent Pete Crow-Armstrong to the Windy City, he wrote a fun piece for MLB Trade Rumors on what it’s like to be inside the war room during the trade deadline. If anyone knows about the follies this week, it’s him.

Angels owner Arte Moreno continues to be the anti-Steve Cohen. Cohen wisely allowed Billy Eppler to sell pieces off at the 2023 trade deadline. The team was a much better one on paper than what the 2025 Angels look like. By greenlighting moves like selling Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and others, the Mets were able to reload the farm system. None of those moves have paid off just yet, but could help out as soon as the next 24 hours with several players acquired two years ago as trade chips.

The Angels have left us all a little befuddled. Yet again, they’ve chosen the wrong grail to drink from.