{"id":135761,"date":"2026-01-16T06:01:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T06:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/135761\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T06:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T06:01:08","slug":"angels-strike-surprise-three-team-trade-for-outfield-help-amidst-kyle-tucker-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/135761\/","title":{"rendered":"Angels strike surprise three-team trade for outfield help amidst Kyle Tucker chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"

The entire baseball world essentially stopped on Thursday evening when word broke that the Dodgers had signed Kyle Tucker<\/a>. For Los Angeles Angels fans, it is yet around example of the cross-town team that spends money as quickly as they make it to win championships while the Angels are stuck wallowing in mediocrity. However, in this particular case, the Angels had a trick up their sleeve that flew under the radar at the same time.<\/p>\n

The Angels outfield has been a source of concern all offseason. LA traded Taylor Ward away<\/a>, Mike Trout’s injury history is a glaring red flag at this point, and Jo Adell’s strong 2025 can’t completely erase his frustrating inconsistency in the past. There was some hope that top prospect Nelson Rada<\/a> could be of help, but the Angels had other plans.<\/p>\n

On Thursday night, literally as the Tucker news was breaking, the Angels struck a three-team trade<\/a> involving the Reds and Rays that saw them land outfielder Josh Lowe while Gavin Lux and Chris Clark ended up with the Rays and Brock Burke landed with the Reds.<\/p>\n

The Angels, Rays and Reds are reportedly in agreement on a three-team trade.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles receives OF Josh Lowe, Tampa Bay acquires INF\/OF Gavin Lux and RHP Chris Clark, Cincinnati acquires LHP Brock Burke. pic.twitter.com\/f5YGiJoKWF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 16, 2026<\/a>Angels land Josh Lowe in truly weird trade while everyone was talking about Kyle Tucker<\/p>\n

In Lowe, the Angels are getting a guy who has struggled mightily with consistency the last couple of years, but who showed so much promise a couple of years ago. In 2023, Lowe posted an .835 OPS across 135 games and ended up with a 3.7 rWAR 20\/30 season. Recurring oblique injuries (among others) robbed Lowe of his explosiveness, but he seemed very hopeful about bouncing back in 2026<\/a> before getting traded.<\/p>\n

In exchange, the Angels were the ones that made it a true three-team trade as they sent one pitcher to each of Cincinnati and Tampa Bay. Chris Clark has yet to make his major league debut and just posted a 5.29 ERA in 144.2 innings last year, although he did pile up a bunch of strikeouts. As for Burke, he was just a waiver claim by the Angels<\/a> to fill a need last season and while he pitched pretty well, getting the chance to take on a true lottery ticket like Lowe was too good to pass up.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, this is a gamble. If the Angels are right and Lowe rebounds, their lineup looks very reasonable all of a sudden especially if Trout and Zach Neto can stay on the field. It may not be a Kyle Tucker-level move, but that doesn’t mean adding Lowe couldn’t make a big difference.<\/p>\n