The Angels decided to keep pending free agent Shohei Ohtani and make win-now moves at the MLB trade deadline.
A month later, Los Angeles is salary-dumping veteran players.
The Angels placed three of their trade deadline acquisitions -- starter Lucas Giolito, outfielder Randal Grichuk and reliever Reynaldo Lopez -- along with reliever Matt Moore and outfielder Hunter Renfroe on waivers Tuesday, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported.
All five players reportedly can be claimed off waivers Thursday and will be eligible to play in the postseason. Any team acquiring one of the players via waivers will be on the hook for their remaining 2023 salary, providing the Angels with salary relief in the process.
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With Ohtani enjoying a historically great season, Giolito, Grichuk and Lopez were brought in to help the Angels make a push for the postseason. But the Halos started August with seven consecutive losses to drop below .500 and have since fallen way out of the AL wild card race at 63-69. Amid their on-field struggles, Los Angeles has seen Mike Trout return for just one game before going back on the injured list and Ohtani be shut down from pitching due to a UCL tear.
Giolito came over from the Chicago White Sox sporting a 3.79 ERA but struggled with Los Angeles, going 1-5 with a 6.89 ERA over six starts. Grichuk also saw his production fall off post-trade, hitting .140/.190/.280 over 26 games with L.A. after being a .308/.365/.496 hitter with the Colorado Rockies. Lopez, on the other hand, fared better after joining from the White Sox, recording a 2.31 ERA over 12 appearances.
Moore has been a reliable option out of the bullpen this season with a 2.30 ERA over 40 appearances, while Renfroe is hitting .239/.300/.425 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs.
