Orioles should be calling the Angels non-stop after latest trade deadline action

The Angels and the Rangers completed a rare inter-division trade last night, sending Logan O'Hoppe and Chase Silseth to Texas in exchange for a prospect. Even though they weren't directly involved in this trade, this deal should make the Baltimore Orioles very excited for multiple reasons.

The biggest reason this was an exciting trade for the Orioles is that it confirms that the Angels are going to be doing things differently this year. Over the past several years, the Angels have steadfastly refused to move their most valuable trade assets at the deadline regardless of where they were in the standings. Under their previous leadership, there is no way that O'Hoppe or Silseth would have been traded.

There had been rumors that the Angels were finally going to be real sellers and usher in a much-needed rebuild. However, with Arte Moreno still owning the team, it was always a possibility that he could swoop in and nix any sort of attempt to sell off valuable pieces for prospects. Now that a deal has gone through, it feels like the floodgates could open.

The Angels could be the key the Orioles' trade deadline

There are a number of players currently on the Angels who would be really good fits on the Orioles. Either Reid Detmers or Jose Soriano would be instant upgrades to the Orioles' rotation. Sam Bachman would be a great addition to the Orioles' bullpen and would slide right into high-leverage action for the Orioles.

All of these players would make the 2026 Orioles better and come with multiple years of control going forward. These are exactly the kinds of targets the Orioles need to be circling, where adding them is just as much about improving the 2027 and 2028 Orioles as this year's team. If the Angels are really willing to move these, it would be a massive missed opportunity for the Orioles to sit back and let another team swoop in and grab them just becuase they are currently outside of the playoff picture.

That brings up the second reason the Orioles should be excited about this Rangers/Angels trade, which is that this trade cost the Rangers basically nothing. That means the Angels are not necessarily holding out for a trade package that is going to blow their minds in order to be willing to move controllable players.

The Rangers sent the Angels one prospect for both O'Hoppe and Silseth. That prospect's name is Angel Arredondo, a shortstop in High-A who was not ranked inside the Rangers' top 30 prospects by any rankings service. 99% of people's reactions to seeing his name were "who??". Maybe the Angels have been scouting Arredondo, and he's about to break out in a big way, but most likely this is just the Angels not getting much back in this trade.

O'Hoppe is having a terrible season and is on a downward trajectory, so it might not be too surprising that the Angels were willing to part with him for almost nothing, but Silseth is having a good season. Over the next week, there are going to be a lot of relievers who are worse than Chase Silseth, with less control than Chase Silseth, that get traded for much better returns than what the Angels just got for Silseth and O'Hoppe.

There was definitely a world where the Angels were "willing to sell," but only if teams blew them away with an offer. That kind of mentality is difficult to trade with. Based on the O'Hoppe/Silseth trade, the Angels are ready to get in the mix, and this deadline might be more about clearing the deck than getting maximum value for every piece of this Angels core.

The Orioles and Angels have made trades before. Mike Elias and Jon Mozeliak worked together in St. Louis. There is no reason these familiar parties can't come together again and work out a trade to inject some life into this Orioles team.

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