Angels reunite with two notable former hitters in trade

Mar 24, 2019; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno at a press conference to announce a 12 year contract extension for center fielder Mike Trout (not pictured) at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It is a big ol’ reunion happening in Anaheim at the trade deadline.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported on Sunday that the Los Angeles Angels are bringing in not one but two veteran hitters in a trade with the Colorado Rockies. They are acquiring outfielder Randal Grichuk and first baseman C.J. Cron in exchange for two minor league pitchers (righty Jake Madden and lefty Mason Albright).

Grichuk, 31, and Cron, 33, both already used to be members of the Angels organization. Grichuk was the team’s former top prospect and first-round draft pick back in 2009. In 2013, he got dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of the trade that sent David Freese to the Angels. Cron was also an Angels first-round pick (in 2011) who spent the first four seasons of his career on the Halos. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 for infielder Luis Rengifo (who remains a starter for the Angels).

Both players are still good-quality bats in 2023. Grichuk is hitting a career-high .312 this season and was leading the Rockies with a 123 OPS+. As for Cron, he has produced 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in just 55 games this year (owed to a back injury that he is now recovered from). Cron also just made the NL All-Star team in 2022 with a 29-dinger, 102-RBI season.

As for the Angels, this continues a very active buying period for them ahead of the deadline. They already traded for a pair of notable arms earlier in the week and are clearly going for it in Shohei Ohtani’s walk year. Now the trade with Colorado (from whom they already acquired Mike Moustakas in June) gives the Halos some badly-needed offensive depth. Both Grichuk and Cron should fill in nicely with the Angels currently missing Mike Trout, Brandon Drury, Gio Urshela, Zach Neto, Taylor Ward, and other key bats to injury.