Published Jul 6, 8:48pm ET by
Paul Lebowitz - Betting Preview Analyst and Sports Writer
Last updated Jul 6, 8:48pm ET
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Updated Jul 6, 8:48pm ET
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| Texas Rangers | -155 |
| Los Angeles Angels | +140 |
The Angels' season has been a disaster. If owner Arte Moreno thought firing GM Perry Minasian would wake the team up, it has had the opposite effect. They have lost six straight and are in free fall. It's not as if this wasn't expected before the season. But they've somehow managed to be worse than bad. As the most rudderless team in MLB, they're inept, uninterested, disinterested, and undermanned.
Jose Soriano has been one of the few Angels who has performed well. For the season, he has a 2.0 bWAR with a 3.42 ERA. Over 100 frames, he's allowed 83 hits, 38 earned runs, and 12 homers. He leads the AL in walks allowed with 49 and struck out 111.
It might make sense for LA to trade him, but they only have a consultant, John Mozeliak, as the head of baseball ops with no expectation that he'll be put in charge permanently. So who decides what to ask for in a trade? Or to trade Soriano at all?
That's what a mess it is in Anaheim.
Mike Trout is on the injured list with a hamstring issue. Zach Neto is one of their few young talents who has major upside, but he's only batting .231 and leads the AL in strikeouts. He does have 19 homers.
Against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom, Neto is 5 for 10 with 2 doubles and 2 homers. Jorge Soler is 4 for 11 with a double and a home run. Wade Meckler is 1 for 1 with a home run and a walk. Logan O'Hoppe is 2 for 7 with a double.
The Rangers are at .500 and in 2nd place in the AL West. They are contenders in the watered-down league and could easily make the playoffs. If they want to do that, they need to beat up on bad teams like the Angels.
Jacob deGrom takes the start.
The veteran righty has a 1.8 bWAR and a 3.48 ERA in 17 starts. In 95.2 innings, he's allowed 75 hits, 37 earned runs, and 16 homers, walking 20 and striking out 115. The 2X NL Cy Young Award winner isn't what he was with the Mets, but he's still very good.
He faced the Angels on May 22 and got hammered, allowing 6 earned runs in 3 innings.
Texas needs some power at the trade deadline. Their team leader in homers is Jake Burger with 15. Joc Pederson is having a fine comeback season with 14 homers and an .804 OPS. Corey Seager has 10 homers, but is on the injured list with lower back inflammation. Josh Jung is batting .297 with an .811 OPS.
For the Rangers against Soriano, Burger is 4 for 5 with 4 singles. Kyle Higashioka is 2 for 6 with a triple. Jung is 1 for 9 with a single. Brandon Nimmo is 1 for 4 with a double. Evan Carter is 1 for 7 with a double. Pederson is 1 for 9 with a single.
The Angels are falling apart, but this game could be competitive because Soriano has been a good pitcher for them. DeGrom has pitched well, but the Angels beat him up when they faced him earlier this season.
Still, LA seems to have all but punted on the season. That has seeped down to the players who are looking out for their own interests. The Rangers will take this one behind deGrom and keep the Angels' skid going.
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Pick
Los Angeles Angels -155
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