ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels acquired right-handers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night, signaling their determination to contend for a playoff spot with Shohei Ohtani.
The Angels traded two of their top minor league prospects — left-hander Ky Bush and catcher Edgar Quero — to the White Sox, who got a solid return for two talented veteran pitchers playing their final season before unrestricted free agency.
Los Angeles announced the deal shortly after Sports Illustrated cited an unnamed source in reporting the Angels will not trade Ohtani, the 2021 AL MVP. Ohtani will be an unrestricted free agent this winter, but the Angels clearly are pulling out all the stops to contend for their first playoff appearance in the two-way superstar's six major league seasons.
Giolito is the centerpiece of the deal for the Halos, who were eager to add an experienced starting pitcher. The Los Angeles-area native was among the top available names on the market as an impending free agent unlikely to re-sign with the White Sox.
Giolito is 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA this season in 21 starts for Chicago. His 131 strikeouts are 10th in the AL, and he has limited opponents to a .211 average in his last nine starts.
Giolito is from Santa Monica, and he pitched alongside Atlanta's Max Fried and St. Louis' Jack Flaherty in high school in Studio City.
Giolito spent his past seven big league seasons in Chicago's rotation, winning 59 games. He was an All-Star selection in 2019, and he threw a no-hitter on Aug. 25, 2020. He has finished in the top 11 in AL Cy Young voting three times in his career.
The Angels' six-man rotation has been inconsistent this season after a strong 2022 campaign, with even Ohtani having stretches of ineffectiveness. Giolito will join Ohtani, Tyler Anderson, Griffin Canning, Patrick Sandoval and Reid Detmers in the rotation.
Giolito's most recent start was last Sunday, making him a likely candidate to pitch this weekend during the Angels' important series in Toronto. Los Angeles must play a doubleheader in Detroit on Thursday after weather worries wiped out Wednesday's game.
The Angels (52-49) have won six of their last seven to move four games behind the Blue Jays for the final AL wild-card spot, although the Yankees and Red Sox are also ahead of Los Angeles.
López will be another tested, veteran arm in the Angels' bullpen. He is 2-5 with a 4.29 ERA and four saves in 43 appearances this season, and he has made eight consecutive scoreless appearances.
Giolito and López also were traded together in December 2016, when they were sent from the Washington Nationals to Chicago along with Dane Dunning in exchange for Adam Eaton.
The retooling White Sox (41-62) landed two respected prospects in the deal.
Bush was a second-round pick in 2021, and he is 1-4 with a 7.20 ERA while playing for two minor league teams this season. Quero is considered a future major league catcher, but his path to the show in Anaheim would be blocked by Logan O'Hoppe, who showed tremendous promise to the Angels as a rookie early this season before a torn labrum sidelined him until next month.
This aggressive trade is the latest move by the Angels to get rid of their reputation for wasting the talents of MVPs Mike Trout and Ohtani. Owner Arte Moreno's club has the majors' longest streaks of consecutive losing seasons (seven) and consecutive non-playoff seasons (eight, tied with Detroit).
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