The Angels have begun listening to inquiries on players on the roster and one of them is outfielder , according to . Earlier this week, listed Ward and fellow outfielder as plausible trade candidates but said that general manager Perry Minasian is asking for giant returns for either of those two. Its unsurprising that the Angels are exploring a selloff this summer. Despite the departure of in free agency, the club still made an attempt to field a competitive roster here in 2024. That has not panned out, thanks to Nicholas Raposo Jersey some injuries and some underperformance. Face of the franchise has been on the injured list more than a month due to knee surgery. The clubs biggest offseason acquisition, , required Tommy John surgery and will mi s the entire campaign. Players like , and are also on the IL. Meanwhile, struggled enough to get optioned down to the minors while guys like and have also underwhelmed. All of those elements have combined to chip away at whatever chances of competing the club may have had at the start of the schedule. They are currently 24-38, 11 games back in the American League West and nine back of the final AL Wild Card spot. The FanGraphs have the Angels down to a 0.6% shot at the postseason while the Baseball Prospectus have them down to a 0.1% sliver of a chance. Last summer, the club was hovering around contention and decided to go for it while they still had a few months of Ohtani left. That ended up being a mistake and several players they acquired at the deadline wound up on waivers, but the move for this year is much easier. Minasian and his team will look to acquire some younger players that can help bolster the farm system and help in future seasons. Ward is a sensible candidate for such a trade. He can still be retained for two seasons via arbitration but the Halos will have a hard time getting back into contention in that time frame, given that they have a poorly-regarded farm system. On top of that, Ward is a bit on the older side for a guy in his arbitration years since he was a late bloomer. Hell turn 31 in December and will be on the cusp of his 33rd birthday by the time he reaches free agency. But all that should make him appealing to clubs looking for an upgrade in the present. Ward has 11 home runs this year and his walking at a solid 9.7% clip. His .253/.322/.445 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 116, indicating hes been 16% above league average this year. That aligns with previous seasons as well, with Ward having hit .265/.346/.449 over the 2021-23 campaigns for a 121 wRC+. Defensively, Ward is no slouch either, having racked up three Outs Above Average in his career. His tally of -12 Defensive Runs Saved is le s impre sive but that metric has had him closer to league average since the start of 2023. Hes making a modest $4.8MM salary this year and, as mentioned, has two years of club control remaining beyond this one. That salary could fit into the budget of just about any club and the extra control would make him appealing even to clubs that may be looking beyond 2024 to the next two seasons. With his strong work at the plate and solid defense, there should be plenty of clubs calling the Angels about him. The Phillies have the best record in the National League but the outfield is a relative weak spot, with on the injured list while and are struggling at the plate. The Royals are 37-26 despite getting almost no contributions from their outfield, something that MLBTRs Steve Adams recently explored in . The Mariners are leading the AL West but their offense is struggling so much that they recently fired their offensive coordinator and took a cheap flier on . Atlantas looking for outfield help with out for the rest of the year. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Rangers, Diamondbacks and plenty of others could make sense as well. A controllable position player can bring back plenty of value. Just over a month ago, the Marlins were able to to the Padres for a four-player package. One of them, , has already been outrighted off the roster, but they also got three intriguing youngsters who are each now listed in the top 10 Miami prospects at . Ward is a few years older than Arrez and is arguably not the same level of hitter, but Ward brings an extra year of control and his salary is le s than half the $10.6MM that Arraez is making this year. With the expanded postseason and several teams hovering around .500, it has been theorized that there could be a sellers market this summer. With the Halos clearly out this year, they could be in a good position to take advantage, with Ward one of their best chances to do so. Bradley Zimmer Jersey