With only one month until Spring Training, the Los Angeles Angels made a trade to nearly top off their offseason moves as they were involved in a three-way trade with the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays. The Angels acquired outfielder Josh Lowe from the Rays, while left-handed reliever Brock Burke was dealt to the Reds. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay received a minor league pitcher in the Halos’ system named Chris Clark while infielder Gavin Lux went from Cincinnati to the Rays. With Lowe, the Angels now have an outfielder that can help fill the hole left by Taylor Ward, who was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for young ace pitcher Grayson Rodriguez two months ago. Lowe has played all five seasons of his career so far in Tampa Bay, where he has hit 43 home runs, 170 RBIs and has a career average of .250 over 403 career games. His most full season came in 2023, when he hit 20 HRs, 83 RBIs, and 71 runs with a .292 average over 135 games. Ward’s numbers had improved over the past two seasons, so it will take a lot for Lowe to fill that role as a corner outfielder and potential backup first baseman.

Burke’s departure is not too surprising after the Angels acquired relievers Drew Pomeranz and Jordan Romano to fill the depth in the bullpen. Over two seasons played in Anaheim, Burke was a steady presence with a 3.36 ERA in 2025. The Halos’ bullpen can hopefully see improved numbers in 2026 under new bullpen coach Dom Chiti. As for Lowe, he brings a left-handed bat to a roster mostly devoid of them. Besides Nolan Schanuel at first base, there are no major players on the Angels’ roster that can hit from the left side of the plate. Lowe will change that and bring much needed balance to an injury-plagued outfield that features the transitioned designated-hitter Mike Trout(who still plans to play some games in right field), Jorge Soler(who missed a lot of time last season with different injuries and is a platoon guy between right field and DH) and Jo Adell(who has taken the reigns as the main center-fielder, although he shifted back to right near the end of the season so Bryce Teodosio could play some games in center). There is also the utility man prospect in Vaughn Grissom, whom the Angels front office acquired from the Boston Red Sox in December as an outfield option.

The Halos also have a glaring hole at third base, as they negotiated the contract buyout with Anthony Rendon, who has no intention to return to playing baseball in 2026 at the moment. Third base candidates currently on the roster include Oswald Peraza, Denzer Guzman and Grissom. Available options on the open market include Yoán Moncada(who had one season playing for the Angels last year), Ramon Urías(who has played for a couple of AL West clubs in recent years) and Miguel Andújar. Besides adding a couple of reclamation projects for the pitching staff in Alek Manoah and Romano, the Angels have mostly filled their roster with as many acquisitions as they could have. Lowe will hopefully be somebody who sticks around and stays healthy in the 2026 MLB season, with Spring Training games just five weeks away from beginning.