It was looking like a quiet Tuesday afternoon around MLB, the calm before the storm of September. And then the playoff chase got flipped on its ear, with a development that feels unprecedented in recent baseball history: The Los Angeles Angels have reportedly placed starter Lucas Giolito, outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk and relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez — four of which they just aggressively acquired at the trade deadline few weeks ago — on waivers, making them available to the rest of the league for free.
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Angels have placed starter Lucas Giolito, relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo López, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk on waivers, sources tell ESPN. Huge potential playoff implications: All can be claimed by teams for free on Thursday.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 29, 2023
It’s a stunning denouement to the Angels’ second half swoon, which began with a resolution not to trade Shohei Ohtani — and get him plenty of help at the trade deadline — but quickly turned sour amid a rash of injuries and frustrating losses. Los Angeles enters play on Tuesday essentially out of the AL Wild Card race, 11.5 back of the Houston Astros with 30 games to play. With the season up in smoke, apparently owner Arte Moreno has decided that saving a month of salary is more important than fielding a competitive team for the next month.
It also begs an important question: Now that these guys are on the market, just where might they end up? For as much as L.A. has struggled of late, these are all significant players with significant MLB track records — particularly Grichuk and Renfroe, each of whom bring significant pop from the right side. Both are stuck in recent slumps — Grichuk has struggled to a .140 average in his return to Los Angeles, while Renfroe is hitting .173 in his last 25 games — but Grichuk he had an .861 OPS in Colorado prior to the trade and Renfroe hit 30 homers in each of the last two seasons. Plus, you can never have enough power this time of year, and both of these veterans figure to be in high demand among playoff hopefuls. So who might be able to land them? Here are a few contenders.
Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk: Potential landing spots
San Francisco Giants
With Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger and Mike Yastrzemski all on the IL, the Giants’ outfield is hanging by a thread, with top prospect Luis Matos and … really not a whole lot else. Austin Slater, Heliot Ramos and Wade Meckler have been seeing significant playing time on the grass for San Francisco lately, which helps explain why they have the ninth-lowest outfield OPS in the month of August. With none of the aforementioned trio particularly close to a return and the Giants a half-game out of the third and final NL Wild Card spot, it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see them make a claim on one or both of Renfroe and Grichuk.
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds are just a couple spots above the Giants on that outfield OPS list, with Jake Fraley on the shelf (though he just began a rehab assignment) and Wil Myers long since gone. Cincy has some talent in its outfield, but just about all of it is left-handed: TJ Friedl and Will Benson, specifically. Righty options like TJ Hopkins and Stuart Fairchild aren’t moving the needle, and who knows what sort of damage guys like Renfroe and Grichuk could do in a park as friendly as Great American Ball Park. The Reds may not want to shell out the money for a team ahead of schedule anyway, but if they do, they should be in on just about all of the five guys the Angels released on Tuesday.
Milwaukee Brewers
If Cincinnati does decide they’re out on paying Renfroe and Grichuk for a month, expect the Brewers to pounce. With Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes atop the rotation, Milwaukee is red hot — they’ve won nine of their last 10 entering Tuesday night, stretching their lead atop the NL Central to four games — and a team that no one wants to face in a postseason series. The problem? Their offense remains a real liability, one that could come back to haunt them in a potential matchup against the Braves or Dodgers. Garrett Mitchell is still hoping to return at some point in September, and Sal Frelick looks like a future star, but they too are both lefties — as is Christian Yelich. The Brew Crew has been desperate for some right-handed pop, so why not reunite with Renfroe, who posted a 124 OPS+ with 29 homers for the team just last season?