MLB Rumors: Angels Expected to Trade Luis Garcia, Keep Tyler Anderson, Canning, Ward

Even though the Los Angeles Angels are fighting to stay ahead of the Oakland A's for last place in the AL West, they aren't necessarily looking to have a fire sale ahead of the trade deadline.

Per USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Angels are expected to deal reliever Luis Garcia but are "likely" to keep Tyler Anderson, Griffin Canning and Taylor Ward unless they receive an "overwhelming" offer.

Garcia has been fine out of the bullpen with a 4.25 ERA, but unlikely to bring back much of a return for the Angels because he's 37 years old.

The Angels have Anderson, Canning and Ward under team control next season, so they could try to talk themselves into doing a quick rebuild that might make them a playoff contender in 2025.

Of course, the problem with that theory is the Angels couldn't build a playoff team when they had Ohtani and Trout playing together. Their farm system is in dreadful shape that adding a couple of decent prospects would make it look at least respectable.

Anderson, in particular, might be one of the most sought-after pitchers on the market if the Angels explored trade opportunities. The 34-year-old has a 2.81 ERA that ranks 10th in MLB. He's coming off his best start of the season Saturday with 10 strikeouts over eight shutout innings in a 7-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Canning owns a 4.87 ERA in 18 starts. Ward, who is under team control through 2026, is hitting .237/.322/.421 with 14 homers and 44 RBI in 86 games.

The Angels have needed to undergo a reset for years, but they instead continue to go down their own unique path.

They had every reason to deal Shohei Ohtani prior to the trade deadline last year. Instead, Angels owner Arte Moreno essentially said they had to keep Ohtani because he made the team money.

"From a fan perspective, they pay for tickets and watch the games and listen to the games, this is a special guy," Moreno told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register in February. "I'd like to see him play. We're in the entertainment business. We made a decision, a group decision, that the best thing was to keep him and make a run."

With Ohtani now a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mike Trout having been out of action since April 29 due to a knee injury, the Angels own the third-worst record in the AL entering Sunday (37-51).