Angels' Jose Soriano trade rumor sets up sad news that fits the brand

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Angels' Jose Soriano trade rumor sets up sad news that fits the brand originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Los Angeles Angels clearly can't have nice things.

This season, they've proven to have one of the "nicest" starting pitchers in all of baseball: Jose Soriano. And they might consider trading him away.

MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger made the case as part of a new article on Sunday that Soriano might be the Angels' top trade candidate this summer.

Really? After he's been so good?

Well, yeah. Despite Soriano's performance, the Angels aren't a contender. It might be time to reset their contention timeline yet again.

"Soriano got off to an incredible start to the season, and while he’s cooled off a bit, he still has an impressive arsenal of pitches that includes his power sinker, knuckle curve and splitter," Bollinger writes. "The Angels could be reluctant to trade him but could get a big haul, as he’s under team control through 2028. He still has issues with walks but has improved his strikeout rate and induces ground balls at an elite rate."

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Soriano would be a huge pickup for another team, and because he's under contract through 2028, he'd bring a massive haul back to the Angels.

Would the Angels use those players right and win games finally? Doubtful, but it's still something.

Mike Trout will also be heavily involved in trade speculation, but his massive contract limits the list of teams that could seriously consider going after him.

The Angels also would be less likely to deal Trout unless he distinctly expressed that he wanted to go elsewhere.

So maybe Soriano will be available as a high-end pitching alternative to some of the other big names expected to be on the block around MLB.

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