Angels land Giolito, Lopez from ChiSox

The Los Angeles Angels have acquired pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in exchange for AA catcher Edgar Quero and AA pitcher Ky Bush.

This move comes on the heels of a report that came out last night that said the Angel had decided to not trade Shohei Ohtani, but to instead try to make a playoff push in what is Ohtani’s final season before being eligible for free agency. Giolito and Lopez are both free agents at season’s end, as well.

Giolito has been viewed as one of the best starting pitchers expected to be available at the deadline, and is someone we had discussed as a potential Ranger target. Lopez is having more of a down year, with a 4.29 ERA and 4.55 FIP, though he has been better in the past.

The price to land the pair is not insignificant. Quero, 20, is the Angels second best prospect, per BA, and is #84 on the Baseball America top 100 list, three spots ahead of Luisangel Acuna. Bush, a 23 year old lefty who was the Angels’ second round pick in 2021, was the #4 prospect in the Angels system per BA.