Anahein Angels Panic in AL West Race

I am very surprised to see such a laid back organization push the panic button in July and make a trade that makes no sense, short term or long term. They are getting Dan Haren, whose past is much better than his present, a guy who has been oft-injured and a guy who is coming back to the AL from the much less talented National League. He is 7-8 this year with a 4.60 earned rin average and hitters are batting .285 vs. him. Remember, every ninth hitter is the pitcher's spot in the NL and there's always a guy in the lineup whose job is to bunt or hit little punch-and-judy dribblers. The AL is a bunch of bangers up and down the lineup for the majority of teams.

In return, the Angels give up Joe Saunders, who is 6-10 this year with an ERA of 4.62 and hitters batting .290 vs. him. This is against AL teams, so the numbers for Haren and Saunders are a wash. They are virtually the same guy.

But that's not the end of the trade. The Angels gave up 25 year old pitcher Rafael Rodriguez, who is 5-3 with an ERA of 3.04 in AAA this year. He has 2-1 strikeouts to walks ratio and has a lot of upside.

They also gave up Patrick Corbin, 21 year old pitcher who in A ball has been 17-5 over the past 2 years. He has 152 strikeouts and 39 walks during that time.

The Angels will also give up a player to be named later.

This is a terrible trade for the Angels. They are banking on a guy whose best days are behind him, who has been out of the AL for years and they gave away an innings-eater in Saunders and 2 really good prospects.

This was a panic move for sure. There is no rhyme or reason to this. This team is just not good enough to stay with the Rangers this year and this trade won't close the gap unless the Rangers stop playing well and that'as not likely.