Angels showing early interest in Phils' Revere
Lefty-swinging speedster among players club could pursue on trade market
TORONTO -- The Angels are among the teams that have expressed interest in Phillies speedster Ben Revere, but they are still in "exploratory mode" and "not rushing in any direction right now," sources said Tuesday.
Revere, 27, has a .290/.323/.341 career slash line and could fill the Angels' need for a left-handed bat who can play left field. He doesn't draw a lot of walks, but he puts a lot of balls in play and could be a fit in the leadoff spot, now that Kole Calhoun has seemingly settled into the cleanup spot long term.
The Angels were last in the Major Leagues in OPS from their left fielders (.405) and overall OPS against right-handed pitching (.612) entering Tuesday.
They need a left-handed-hitting left fielder who can push the right-handed-hitting C.J. Cron and left-handed-hitting Matt Joyce into a platoon at designated hitter.
Revere -- owed $4.1 million this year and controllable through 2017 -- can be had now at a reasonable price. The Phillies are rebuilding, and Revere is expendable with Cody Asche and Domonic Brown a phone call away in Triple-A.
But the Angels sound like they aren't in a rush. Adam Lind, Brandon Moss, Jay Bruce and Andre Ethier are among the trade options they have looked into, but many more players will become available once teams fall out of the race in the next month or two.
"I just think nobody wants to do anything yet," an industry source said. "It's still too bunched up and a good week gets you back in a Wild Card [race]."
Worth noting
• Joyce was a late scratch from Monday's lineup because he didn't know it was a day game and arrived late to the ballpark. Angels manager Mike Scioscia merely called the move "a lineup decision" after Monday's game, then put Joyce back in the lineup on Tuesday.
• Major League Baseball is reviewing the actions of Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson during Monday's sixth inning, a source said. Donaldson used some four-letter words and made an obscene gesture toward the Angels' dugout after he struck out.
• Scioscia was shocked at how slow the ball plays on the new turf at Rogers Centre, saying: "This might be one of the slowest not only artificial surfaces but overall surfaces that we've seen in a long time."