The Los Angeles Angels seemingly had a chance to pull off a trade to land two solid pieces without giving up much, but were the ones who backed out of that opportunity.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Angels, not the Los Angeles Dodgers, were the team that pulled the plug on a proposed deal that would have seen them acquire Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling for infielder Luis Rengifo. This apparently happened because Angels owner Arte Moreno grew impatient over the delay in the Mookie Betts trade, and the Dodgers did not feel strongly enough about the deal to try to revive it.
More on #Angels–#Dodgers, from sources: LAA’s Moreno grew impatient, pulled deal. Might have revived, but LAD saw it as unneccesary after other two trades changed. Outside chance gets revisited. Per @billplunkettoc, LAD needs to drop two from 40-man before trades become official.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 10, 2020
It’s understandable why Moreno would have grown frustrated with how slowly things were going, but it seems rather pointless to have pulled out. If it’s true that he could have had the deal done by now had he just sat tight, it’s just a very strange series of decisions.
While Stripling may not mind what happened, it still makes sense for both him and Pederson to be shopped around. It would save the Dodgers money, and neither player has a clear role on the team in 2020. Don’t be surprised if Pederson’s name in particular is the subject of more trade rumors in the days to come.
