Lucas Giolito among host of Angels placed on waivers

The Los Angeles Angels placed nearly a quarter of their roster on waivers Tuesday, including starter Lucas Giolito, relievers Matt Moore, Reynaldo Lopez and Dominic Leone, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk, prompting a flurry of intrigue leading up to Thursday when the teams that win the claims will be revealed, sources told ESPN.

The use of waivers, in which the Angels essentially will give away the players for a $50,000 waiver fee and salary relief, stunned the baseball industry. Between now and the expiration of the waiver period Thursday, teams can place claims on players, who, in the meantime, are permitted to play.

The team with the worst record Thursday will be awarded the player — and because he will be on the team’s roster before Sept. 1, all claimed players will be eligible for the postseason.

Giolito stated he read the news on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“I’d say, surprised,” Giolito said after a 12-7 loss to Philadelphia. “But at the end of the day, it’s a business. It can be a very strange business sometimes. You just roll with it.”

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Other players currently on waivers, according to sources, include New York Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader, New York Mets right-hander Carlos Carrasco, Chicago White Sox right-hander Mike Clevinger and Detroit Tigers reliever Jose Cisnero.

If all six Angels players are claimed, the team stands to save around $7 million in salary over the season’s final month — enough, perhaps, to push its payroll beneath the $233 million competitive-balance-tax threshold. Dipping beneath the tax would allow the Angels to recoup a second-round draft pick as compensation if Shohei Ohtani leaves as a free agent, rather than a fourth-round selection. Players who are not claimed simply would clear waivers and remain under contract with the Angels.

Regardless of who ends up where, considering where the Angels were a month ago, a dump of this magnitude, even of free agents to be, is almost unfathomable.

Late on July 26, the same day the Angels decided not to trade Ohtani, they acquired Giolito and Lopez from the White Sox for catcher Edgar Quero, a 20-year-old ranked by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel as a top-100 prospect, and left-hander Ky Bush, now in Double-A. The price was heavy, but the Angels were indicating to the industry: They were pushing for a postseason spot to help convince Ohtani to remain in Anaheim.

Four days later, they dealt for Grichuk and first baseman C.J. Cron in a deal with the Colorado Rockies.

Since the Aug. 1 deadline, the Angels have a 7-18 record, the worst in the majors.

Ohtani is no longer pitching, as an MRI showed a tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament. Mike Trout, their star outfielder, came off the injured list, played one match and returned with pain in his surgically repaired hamate bone.

And the Angels, who were a half-game ahead of Seattle on deadline day, now are 63-70, while the Mariners, at 75-57, reside in a three-way tie atop the American League West division.

The teams likeliest to benefit from the Angels punting are toward the bottom of the playoff table. While it’s possible San Diego (62-71) could pursue a claim, it’s unlikely. The Yankees’ attempt to move Bader, who is owed less than $1 million for the remainder of the season, suggests they aren’t in the market for Angels players.

The Miami Marlins, at 66-66, are regarded by teams as a favorite to pursue bullpen help, particularly with their big deadline acquisition, David Robertson, losing his closer’s spot this week. Just ahead of them, at 68-65, are the Cincinnati Reds, whose season-long starting pitching struggles make them an ideal landing spot for Giolito.

The current standings, in reverse order, then goes: Boston (69-64), Minnesota (69-64), Arizona (69-64), San Francisco (69-63), Chicago Cubs (70-62).

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