The trade deadline was supposed to be a time of hope for Los Angeles Angels fans.
They believed that acquiring Lucas Giolito, Randal Grichuk, Dominic Leone, Reynaldo Lopez and other impactful players would propel them to a playoff spot eventually.
That wasn’t the case.
They have been in a never-ending downward spiral since August 1.
They went from having a 56-51 record to a disappointing 64-73 mark as of Monday afternoon.
They hit a new low over the weekend: being swept by the Oakland Athletics.
“That’s a clean sweep of the Angels by the 42-95 A’s. The Angels and A’s have now split the season series 5-5. They play 3 more times. Another low in an unrelenting 5-week stretch full of distressing things for this franchise,” Angels insider Sam Blum tweeted.
That’s a clean sweep of the Angels by the 42-95 A’s.
The Angels and A’s have now split the season series 5-5. They play 3 more times.
Another low in an unrelenting 5-week stretch full of distressing things for this franchise.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) September 3, 2023
Thanks to their sweep of the Angels, the A’s are no longer the worst team in baseball: that “honor” now belongs to the Kansas City Royals, who are 42-96.
Still, losing three in a row to a team that doesn’t even have 45 wins at this point is peak Angels baseball.
Since August 1, every worst-case scenario that could affect the season has presented itself: Mike Trout returned from injury and was lost again after just one game, Shohei Ohtani hurt his elbow and is not pitching, the team waived some expensive stars, and to make matters worse, the latter is likely to leave for nothing in a few weeks.
If that happens, LA will be forced to start all over without the best player in baseball.
If they couldn’t make the playoffs with him in the fold since 2018, we imagine we won’t be seeing them there for a while.
NEXT: Shohei Ohtani Matched An Elite Mark While Injured
