Angels Appear to Wave White Flag by Waiving Five Players, per Report

Los Angeles looks set to jettison two All-Stars and two former 20-homer men.

In an effort to shed salary, the Angels have reportedly placed five players on waivers.

Pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Matt Moore and outfielders Randal Grichuk and Hunter Renfroe have all been exposed to the waiver process, according to a Tuesday afternoon report from Jeff Passan of ESPN. Any of the five players can be claimed for free beginning Thursday.

Los Angeles is 63–69, 12 and 1/2 games out of first place in the AL West and 11 and 1/2 games out of the league’s third wild card slot.

Three of the five players placed on waivers—Giolito, López and Grichuk—were in-season acquisitions for the Angels. Los Angeles acquired Giolito and López from the White Sox on July 26, and obtained Grichuk from the Rockies four days later.

Who gets the players will be determined by reverse order of record. The team with the worst record that puts in a claim on a player will receive him. And there are going to be plenty of claims put in from playoff-caliber teams that need a starter, bullpen help and bats.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 29, 2023

The players slated to be offloaded by the Angels carry considerable resumes. Giolito finished in the top 10 of the American League’s Cy Young voting in 2019 and ’20, and Moore was an All-Star in 2013 as a starter. Renfroe and Grichuk have a combined 10 20-home run seasons between them.

Los Angeles is 3–7 in its last 10 games as it continues to grapple with designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani's UCL injury.