The Angels need offense, and they very nearly got some offense earlier this season in the form of…Ben Revere. Yeah, *that* Ben Revere. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has the brief details.
1. Trevor Gott, RHP, Angels — A few weeks ago the Phillies thought they had a deal with the Angels that would have sent Ben Revere west for Gott, who was then in Double A. The Angels pulled out of the deal at the last minute and tried to redirect the Phillies toward a starting pitching prospect, but that fizzled as well.
There’s just one dirty little secret here.
The fact that Ben Revere would be an upgrade for the Angels outfield says more about how little they’ve gotten from left field this season than Revere himself.
This season, he’s hitting .291/.328/.379. with one homer and 19 steals. That’s actually the best line of his career. Six different Angels have gotten playing time in left field this season, and they’re getting a hideous .216/.273/.317 line with just four home runs from the position. Matt Joyce has been an unmitigated disaster, while Collin Cowgill and Efren Navarro have firmly supplanted themselves as fourth or fifth outfielders and nothing more.
Revere wouldn’t have been a game-changer, but for the Angels? It would have been like acquiring Rickey Henderson (who could probably *still* outplay Anaheim’s incumbent left fielders, even though he’s 56).
I’m not sure the 22-year old Gott would have been a fair return for Revere, so maybe it’s best for the Phillies that the Angels pulled out. In 37 innings over three levels this season, Gott has 34 strikeouts, 13 walks, and a 1.70 ERA. He’s a live-armed, hard-throwing reliever, and those seem to grow on trees nowadays.
Who knows if the trade will be revisited following the ouster of Jerry Dipoto in Anaheim, but it would have created ripples rather than tidal waves in the AL West.
