Just when it looked like the Los Angeles Angels were turning a corner and gearing up for a playoff push, all momentum was halted when superstar Mike Trout was placed on the injured list on Tuesday with a hamate fracture in his left hand. With Trout expected to be out for six-to-eight weeks, the question of whether the Angels should be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline becomes perhaps the most intriguing question in baseball.

The Angels and general manager Perry Minasian have been adamant in their stance that they will not trade Shohei Ohtani before the Aug. 1 deadline, a move that has left plenty of baseball fans scratching their heads. It seems unlikely that Ohtani will re-sign with the Angels this offseason, but LA is possibly holding out hope that a potential postseason appearance could help convince the two-way phenom to stay. The Angels could still get a hefty slew of assets for Ohtani even with the two or three months of control the team trading for him would have, and with each incredible feat he accomplishes his value only gets higher.

Things got even more interesting when Ohtani was pulled from his last start on the mound with a blister on his right middle finger, but the injury doesn’t appear to be serious. Even if it was, teams will likely still be calling the Angels to ask about Ohtani, if nothing else than to get exclusive negotiation rights for him before he's set to hit free agency in November.

If the Angels hold true to their word and ride out the rest of the season with Ohtani then they owe it to both him and the fan base to go all-in this season and make some impact moves at the trade deadline. The Angels are four games out of a playoff spot on July 5 but one or two stellar weeks could jolt them into a wild card spot. While LA likely won't go after any of the big fishes that are presumably on the block, there are plenty of under-the-radar names that they could trade for to improve the roster over the next four weeks.

3. Paul Blackburn – Athletics SP

Paul Blackburn isn’t a Cy Young Award-caliber pitcher and he doesn’t produce lights-out stuff. What the 29-year-old does have is the ability to give five solid innings on a given night and he's shown that this season with the Oakland Athletics. Since coming off the injured list and making his first start of the season on May 29, Blackburn has gone at least five innings in six of his seven starts, the lone exception being his first start back from injury where he tossed four innings of one-run ball.

In those seven starts, Blackburn has registered one quality outing and allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of them. He has a 4.50 ERA and 40 strikeouts, averaging less than two walks per start. While his numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, it has to be taken into consideration that Blackburn plays for the worst team in the league. The Athletics average 3.5 runs per game, virtually giving their starting pitchers no run support on a nightly basis.

A look at some of Blackburn's underlying numbers shows that he could improve on another team and the Angels could be the right fit for him. Blackburn is a much better pitcher on the road than he is at home, with a massive drop-off in ERA between the two throughout his career. In 31 appearances and 27 starts on the road, Blackburn has a 9-8 record with a 4.02 ERA, averaging just over five innings per outing. In 27 appearances and 26 starts at home in Oakland, he is 5-10 with a 6.27 ERA.

Maybe we're reading too much into the disaster that is the Athletics, but that big of a difference in home/away splits can’t be completely coincidental. Blackburn has also pitched fairly well at Angel Stadium during his career, posting a 2-0 record with a 3.31 ERA in three starts. The Angels may not be able to afford many better starters on the market and the righty should be cheap. A change of scenery could benefit him immensely.

2. Nick Senzel – Reds IF/OF

Similar to Blackburn, a team change for Nick Senzel could spark the utility man's career. The second overall pick in the 2016 draft, Senzel has struggled to establish himself at the big-league level with the Cincinnati Reds. A promising rookie season gave way to three injury-riddled years that have stunted his growth, but Senzel has at least made himself useful defensively for the Reds this season.

After playing the majority of his games at second base and center field throughout the first four seasons of his career, Senzel has played five different positions for the Reds in 2023 and has done well everywhere he's been placed on the diamond. He has no errors in 166 innings in the outfield and two in 294 innings at second and third base. That sort of versatility plays right into what the Angels are looking for as a lot of the players on their active roster also play multiple positions.

Senzel's bat is still a bit of a concern given his .667 career OPS, but a move to the American League to see some different pitching could turn out to be a blessing for him. The Reds are starting to turn a corner themselves and are making a push for the postseason with some of their top prospects taking away playing time from Senzel. A move away gives him a fresh start and could motivate him to revive his career.

1. Brent Rooker – Athletics OF

After getting minimal playing time in the major leagues since making his debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2020, Brent Rooker is finally an everyday player and is establishing himself with the Athletics in 2023. In 73 games Rooker has a .809 OPS with 14 home runs, 12 doubles and 41 RBIs. He earned his first All-Star nod for his efforts on the lowly A's as one of the only players worthy of a spot despite being on a terrible team.

You may be asking yourself, why would the A's trade their best player? Simply put, Oakland is not going anywhere anytime soon and Rooker is not some 22-year-old prospect with heaps of potential. He is 28 years old and his value may not get much higher than it is right now so the A's should be wise and secure as many assets as they can for him before this year’s trade deadline.

Rooker has mostly been the designated hitter for Oakland this season but came up as an outfielder and could be another versatile option for the Angels. His outfield defense isn’t otherworldly, but he's held his own throughout his career. The Angels may have to cough up a little bit more than another team would given the A's are in their division, but they could swing both Brent Rooker and Paul Blackburn in a package deal and improve both their starting pitching and their offense in the same trade.