(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
We are now exactly one week away from the official trade deadline.
With several teams headed in different directions, now is an interesting and important time to predict what certain teams will do.
The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels are two teams that will be interesting to watch at this year’s deadline.
The Cubs are expected to be sellers while the Angels aren’t quite sure what they’ll do.
Neither team is completely set in their strategy as the deadline approaches.
On Twitter, MLB insider Jon Morosi pointed out some interesting numbers, which show that the Cubs have higher playoff odds than the Halos according to Baseball Reference, despite the Halos having a better record than the North Siders.
Trade Deadline perspective:
The Angels are unsure of buy/sell direction. The Cubs are viewed as a likely seller.
The @baseball_ref postseason odds present a different view: The Cubs (37.6%) have a 4x higher chance of reaching the playoffs than the Angels (9.4%).@MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 25, 2023
The Cubs could possibly offload Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger at this year’s deadline.
The reason the Angels are not set is that it is unclear what will happen with Shohei Ohtani.
All signs point to the Angels buying, as they own a record of 51-49 and are only 4.5 games back of the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League.
Their postseason odds, according to Baseball Reference, sit at just 9.4 percent, while the Cubs’ odds sit at 37.6 percent.
Chicago is seven games back of first in the NL Central and five games back in the Wild Card race.
They own a record of 48-51 after winning three straight against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Still, they are expected to sell, but it will be interesting to see which direction these teams choose as the deadline moves closer.
The post MLB Insider Notes Intriguing Angels Trade Deadline Comparison appeared first on The Cold Wire.