BREAKING NEWS: Angels Release Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez
Wow, in a stunning turn of events, the Angels have placed Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez on waivers.
This is an absolutely crazy turn of events. The Angels made this trade with the Sox to try and get into the postseason, but they released both players in less than a month. This is actually pretty insane, as they had an opportunity to negotiate contract extensions with both of them sooner if they remained on the team.
Giolito had not been pitching well since the trade, as he had a 6 ERA with the Angels, but his overall season stats are still pretty good. I still cannot believe they would give up on him this quickly, especially considering his track record. I really wonder if the White Sox will toss a waiver claim in and bring him back, as they are struggling for starting pitching and Lucas is much more familiar here.
The much more surprising cut is Lopez. He has a 2.31 ERA with the Angels in 12 games for them. He was even better with the Angels than he was with the White Sox. He might be able to go to a contender now if the White Sox don’t toss a waiver claim in for him as well.
This is a clear move that the Angels have given up this year. I’m not sure how Ohtani will feel about these moves, as he will likely not want to give up on the season. Perhaps they know that they have no chance to resign him in the offseason, but still not a great look.
At this point, I would love to see them both back on the Sox. They have plenty of spots either in the rotation or the bullpen, and Giolito could still start for the Sox next year. If I had to pick one, I would definitely choose Gio over Lopez, as he would be likely to be more comfortable in Chicago and likely to rebound here.
Just an absolutely shocking turn of events and I am very curious to see where both of them end up, as they could be valuable to contenders, provided they make it past the non-playoff teams on waivers.