Losing Kendry Morales was just about the worst thing that could have happened to the lackluster Los Angels of Anaheim.
Or, at least, that’s the way it seemed.
However, since Morales broke his leg celebrating his walk-off grand slam at home on May 29, the Angels have gone 5-1 with 37 runs scored.
More importantly, though, is that they’ve been included in numerous trade rumors as they look to add more power to the lineup―something that desperately needed to be done prior to their big slugger going down.
At the time of his injury, Morales lead the team in batting average, home runs, and RBI.
Even with their first baseman in the middle of the order, the anemic Angels still ranked right around the middle of the American League in nearly every major offensive category.
Now without his primary source of power and production in the lineup for the foreseeable future, General Manager Tony Reagins is searching high and low for a suitable replacement, someone who can get the job done but won’t butcher the position on defense or stick around long enough to cause a logjam at first.
At least for now, there are no such options in-house. Robb Quinlan is a nice utility guy, but can’t match the production Morales provided. The same could be said for Kevin Frandsen and Michael Ryan.
Mike Napoli is the most logical choice at the moment. With his bat finally starting to heat up, it will be important to keep him in the lineup as often as possible.
But his defensive abilities behind the plate are questionable enough, to say nothing of his lack of experience in the infield.
And speaking of lacking experience, Angels first base prospect Mark Trumbo is hitting well in Triple-A but has yet to make his major league debut, so it is unlikely he will be called upon to shepherd the big club through its sudden power outage.
A trade, then, is the only reasonable option left.
Several names have already been tossed around by various sources and while some have already been refuted, others remain intriguing possibilities.
Here are the top five most likely options for a trade to fill the Angels’ gap at first this season.