Angels go from all-in to folding, inexplicably placing six veterans on waivers

The Los Angeles Angels are the gift that keeps on giving.

Just when everyone questioned why they didn’t trade Shohei Ohtani before his torn UCL, wondering why they decided to go for it by trading away their top prospects for rentals, they’re now ready to shower the baseball landscape with Christmas gifts in August.

You want starter Lucas Giolito, who they acquired just a month ago at the trade deadline, he’s all yours.

You want relievers Matt Moore, Reynaldo Lopez and Dominic Leone, put in your claim.

You want outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk, you know what to do.

The dirty half-dozen veteran players, all who are free agents at the season’s conclusion, were unceremoniously placed on waivers Tuesday afternoon.

If you’re a contender, all you have to do is put in a waiver claim, and they could be helping you play deep into October.

It doesn’t cost you a single prospect, either, just picking up the final month of their contract.

The teams with the worst record on waiver claims will have first dibs.

This means a team like the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are fighting for their playoff lives (69-63), will certainly be placing bids on any available pitcher.

The same goes with the San Francisco Giants (68-63), who would love to see Giolito in their rotation.

You don’t think the Texas Rangers (74-57) will be claiming Moore and Lopez for their bullpen?

The Minnesota Twins (69-63), desperate for offense, could use Renfroe or Grichuk.

The Houston Astros (75-58) and Philadelphia Phillies (73-58) are salivating at the chance of acquiring Moore, considered the most talented player placed on waivers with his 3-1 record, 2.30 ERA, and 47 strikeouts in 43 innings.

Playoff contenders are frantically calling their scouts and buzzing their analytics department trying to decide just who to claim in waivers.

The Angels (63-69), who gambled by keeping Ohtani, doubled down by acquiring four of those players at the deadline, now have officially walked away from the table with empty pockets.

This is nothing more than a salary dump, shedding $7 million if they’re all claimed, to assure they stay under the luxury tax.

Then again, if the Angels really wanted to make sure they’d stay under the tax, they could have made a travesty out of the system by placing Ohtani on waivers, saving about $5 million.

Oh, and you can be sure they would have loved to place Anthony Rendon on that list, but they realize there’s not enough time in a happy hour for any intoxicated executive to pick up the three years and $114 million remaining on that horrific contract.

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The Angels aren’t the only team flooding the market with players on waivers. The New York Yankees released veteran third baseman Josh Donaldson and placed outfielder Harrison Bader on waivers. The Chicago White Sox placed starter Mike Clevinger on waivers. The New York Mets did the same with starter Carlos Carrasco.

The difference is that the Angels were the only team among those teams that went all-in at the deadline, hoping a playoff race would entice Ohtani to stay when he hits free agency in November.

Instead, the Angels went 7-17, and fell 11 ½ games out of a wild-card berth.

They didn’t just wave the white flag Tuesday, they wadded it in a ball and tossed it into the Pacific.

Time will tell just how Ohtani views the Angels’ cash-savings moves.

Here he is, still playing as a DH despite his torn UCL, giving everything humanly possible to win.

But he’s playing for a team that just informed the baseball world they no longer have any intention of trying to win, much less compete.

Who knows, maybe the money saved will be utilized to help sign Ohtani?

Or perhaps, just the moves alone will extinguish any desire Ohtani has in staying with the Angels.

We’ll see.

It’s the Angels, who have cornered the market in bewilderment, making it foolish to believe it’s possible to accurately predict their next move.

Let the waiver wire frenzy begin.

Follow Bob Nightengale on Twitter @Bnightengale.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Angels fold on 2023 season by waiving Lucas Giolito, other vet players