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If the Marlins decide to be all-out sellers at the July 31 trade deadline, Dee Gordon could be one of the first pieces the team moves.
FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported last week that the Angels, Royals and Blue Jays had all shown interest in acquiring Gordon.
On Sunday, the Angels made an important move in showing they were looking for a new second baseman.
The #Angels have DFA'd Danny Espinosa, who hit .162. They needed to make a move today to create a spot for Parker Bridwell.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 16, 2017
Espinosa was having an absolutely putrid season, and the time for the Angels to give up on him was more than overdue. After signing a one-year, $5.4 million deal with Los Angeles this offseason, the infielder posted an OPS of just .513 and a wRC of only 11 in 254 plate appearances.
Both of those marks were the worst in baseball among players with at least 200 plate appearances.
The Angels are now platooning Cliff Pennington and Nick Franklin at second base, but those two have combined to hit just .222 for Los Angeles this season. Gordon, who is hitting .288 with a .685 OPS and 32 stolen bases, would be an upgrade over both of those guys.
The issue with the Angels that they haven’t yet decided what they will do at the trade deadline. Mike Scioscia’s team was 45-49 coming into play Sunday but is just now getting Mike Trout back from injury. The Angels also have to consider a farm system that was ranked the 29th-best in baseball by Baseball America at the start of the season (yes, the Marlins were 30th).
However, even if Los Angeles isn’t in contention, they could still make a deal for Gordon. The team has had a gaping hole at second base since it traded Howie Kendrick to the Dodgers in 2014, and they could go after Gordon with the hopes of making him their second baseman of the future.