Trade grade: Angels officially buyers, add relievers Andrew Chafin, Luis Garcia from Nats

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The Los Angeles Angels are officially buyers. Despite minuscule playoff chances, the Angels on Wednesday added to their roster in the hopes of an unlikely postseason push.

The team bolstered its bullpen in a trade with the Washington Nationals, adding relievers Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia, the teams announced. The Nationals will get lefty pitcher Jake Eder and minor-league first baseman Sam Brown in the deal. Eder, a former fourth-round pick by the Marlins, spent time with the Angels this year, often appearing as a long reliever.

The Angels DFA’d lefty reliever José Quijada to make room on the 40-man roster.

This will be Garcia’s third stint with the Angels, as he was traded to Boston at the deadline last season. The 38-year-old has pitched for both the Dodgers and Nationals this season. He struggled in Los Angeles, posting a 5.27 ERA over 27 1/3 innings, but had a 0.90 ERA over 10 innings in Washington. Chafin has a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings this season after spending a large chunk of the year on the injured list with a hamstring strain.

This is not a substantial haul for the Angels to give up. More importantly, it signals their intention to compete this year, which could have major ramifications on the rest of the market. The Angels are seemingly opting to forego the opportunity to add prospects in a seller’s market, and appear to be set on keeping potential trade chips like Kenley Jansen, Tyler Anderson and Taylor Ward, among many others.

It is possible their strategy could be to still deal Jansen, Reid Detmers and other bullpen pieces before the buzzer sounds on Thursday, while adding these two players to keep them competitive the rest of this season.

The Angels currently sit four games back of the Mariners for the third wild card spot, with several other teams in the mix ahead of them. The Angels have the same record as the Royals. And the Guardians, Rays and Rangers all stand in their way. Notably, the Angels also have a losing record against the Mariners this season, which could play a role in any tiebreaker scenarios.

In 2023, the Angels went all-in by adding, hoping to make it to the postseason with Shohei Ohtani in what became his final season on the team. Their postseason odds that year were hovering around 20 percent at the time, and the team proceeded to lose the next seven games after the deadline en route to a 73-89 season.

The last time the Angels made the postseason was in 2014, and they haven’t won a playoff game since 2009.

On Tuesday, after winning their third straight game, Jansen, who saved all three of those victories, made clear his confidence in the club.

“I still believe in this team, man,” Jansen said. “If we can find a way to improve, I think we showed that we have a great offense and we can win ballgames.”

Trade grade

Angels: C+
Nationals: A-

The Angels are buyers? In a somewhat shocking move — though a team owned by Arte Moreno can never truly stun — the Halos acquired Chafin and Garcia, two free agents-to-be, to shore up their bullpen in a move that suggests they haven’t given up on 2025. The Angels entered the day with less than a five percent chance of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs, and while they could do some buying and selling, it’s a little head-scratching to make this move if you aren’t at least hoping there’s a chance you can sneak in as a wild card. (Though it’s possible the team could still sell off some of its relievers.)

The Angels’ grade, at least in part, reflects the confusion in both going for it and in acquiring relievers who were nowhere near the top of the pack to do so. Chafin has a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings and a career 3.39 ERA over 12 big-league seasons. He gives the Angels another lefty to go with Reid Detmers and Brock Burke. Garcia has turned things around since he was designated by the Dodgers on June 29, pitching to a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings with the Nationals. He has a career 4.14 ERA in 13 years in the majors, including a 4.09 mark with the Halos. Eder, 26, has a 4.91 ERA in eight games with the Angels this season after spending last year with the White Sox. Brown has hit .242/.347/.355 with the team’s Double-A affiliate this season.

Nationals fans, some of whom likely had to double-check which Luis Garcia (not the team’s infielder) got moved, should feel pretty good about this trade. Both Chafin (minor-league deal) and Garcia (waiver claim) cost the Nats almost nothing and were on expiring contracts. To turn those into two players to take a flier on, including a pitcher who has a handful of big-league appearances, is a solid low-risk return. The Angels’ bullpen does get better, and it doesn’t cost much; it’s just a bit of a bewildering move overall for an organization that could have sold off some of its pieces and rebuilt for 2026. — Brittany Ghiroli

(Photo of Andrew Chafin: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)

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