What moves can better position Los Angeles Angels in AL West race?
The American League West was a different beast at this same time last season. In 2014, the Oakland Athletics had a sizeable four game lead on the second place Los Angeles Angels and were 9-1 over their last 10 contests, instead of being 2-8 over their last 10 as they are presently. The Houston Astros were in last place and not first as they are now. But even though the A’s exhibited early dominance over the AL West in MLB’s first-half last year, they still ended up conceding the division to the Angels, who won 10 more games than did Oakland in 2014.
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The Athletics’ second half struggles were highlighted by desperate moves from management to stay afloat and punch themselves a ticket to the postseason. They traded their best hitter in Yoenis Cespedes for a half-season rental in Jon Lester and sent key pieces of the farm to the Cubs for similar rentals on Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. All three pitched well during their regular season time in green and gold, but it was Lester’s poor outing in the Wild Card game that ultimately contributed to the demise of the A’s in days of yesteryear.
There is still much time to see how the west will be won, but what can the Angels do to better position themselves in 2015? The Seattle Mariners have already made an early move to help better their club by acquiring catcher Welington Castillo from the Cubs as insurance behind the Mike Zunino, who is proving to not be a contact hitter with only a .199 BA in over 700 career at-bats.
The Halos currently have a winning record versus every AL West rival except for the Astros, which they are 3-4 against. Houston’s lead on the second place Angels is at 5.5 games, marginally more than the one the A’s had at this time last year. While surpassing Houston in the standings by October is not out of the question, the Angels have some glaring differences from last years division winning squad.
First and foremost, the Josh Hamilton saga has ended in Los Angeles. The organization handled the situation questionably to begin with. But then again, signing a player with vices such as the ones Hamilton had and then exposing him to the temptation ridden lifestyle that surrounds Southern California was never an overly optimistic endeavor in the first place.
Hamilton’s departure leaves the Angels with two gaping holes in their lineup at either left field or designated hitter. Angels left fielder’s — primarily Matt Joyce and Collin Cowgill — are hitting only .150 combined at the position. Only A’s left fielder’s (.136) are less productive. Meanwhile with C.J. Cron getting the bulk of the work at DH, the Angels are hitting only .232 with a single home run and 12 RBI. Cron himself has a repugnantly discouraging .211/.234/.289 slash line so far this season.
The most obvious thing to do is trade for a serviceable outfielder. Secondary to that, embracing Albert Pujols as a designated hitter for the remainder of the season (and possibly his career) by acquiring an above-average first baseman could be worth a look. Pujols will be 36 next year and his dWAR has consistently played below zero since the 2010 season.
As is ordinary in the baseball world right now, the Philadelphia Phillies are a team to consider structuring a trade with. It’s speculated the Angels have expressed interest in Ben Revere, who would immediately slide into playing left field and bat leadoff for the club. Though not an ideal leadoff man with only a career OBP of .323, his career .290 BA with an ability to steal bases could give players like Pujols and Mike Trout more opportunities with RISP. And let’s face it, left fielder’s from inside the batter’s box can’t get any worse for Los Angeles.
Carlos Gonzalez from Colorado is another option with more upside than Revere. The downside is he is much more expensive and the Angels are still on the hook for a large portion of Hamilton’s contract. CarGo is also injury prone, as Hamilton was during his time with the Halos. Given these things, compensation in order to acquire Gonzalez would probably be loftier than it would be for someone like Revere. However, the inherent risks in CarGo may lay even deeper. He had three surgeries last year alone and since the beginning of the 2014 season is hitting only .228/.283/.404 collectively. The Rockies’ outfielder is signed through the 2017 season.
While the Boston Red Sox still surely intend to compete in the AL East this season, they have a slate of outfield players in Allen Craig, Shane Victorino and Jackie Bradley Jr. who could be expendable. Victorino is an UFA after this season.
Elsewhere from the list of teams who probably will not be contending in 2015, the Milwaukee Brewers and Gerardo Parra could be targeted by the Angels. The 28-year-old is sitting at a .308/.330/.527 line right now in 91 at-bats with 14 extra base hits. Also, if the A’s decide to become sellers sooner rather than later, the impact of trading someone like Ben Zobrist within the division will not affect them negatively beyond this season as he is set to be a free agent anyways. The rub there is, the Angels could be making the A’s better in the future if players with plenty of club control depart Anaheim for the Bay Area. If things get worse in Miami, Ichiro Suzuki could be a name thrown around in trade rumors as well.
May 13, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter C.J. Cron (24) hits a single in the eleventh inning of the game against the Colorado Rockies at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Angels won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
From a first base standpoint, the options are much more limited than in the outfield. There are no real impact player’s in the final year of their contract who are not playing on contenders. Internally, when one considers that eight of the Angels’ top 10 prospects are pitchers, 3B Kyle Kubitza may be the only option as a corner infielder to log some at-bats in the Majors. He is currently hitting a very nice .314/.379/.477 in Triple-A and could be the best internal candidate to replace Cron at DH, allowing Pujols to continue playing first base.
The biggest trade chip the Angels hold is top prospect, LHP Andrew Heaney. Considering they just acquired him in the offseason and his grooming in Triple-A is coming along quite nicely (5-0 with a 3.12 ERA), it’s highly unlikely the 24-year-old will be on the block in any negotiations.
While the club is reportedly showing interest in Revere, one interesting condition of trading for a Phillies outfielder could be that the Angels might try to package a position player in a deal that includes pitcher Cole Hamels.
While the trade market has not fully evolved yet in 2015 and it’s too soon to truly forecast division standings, the M’s got an early jump on things be trading for Castillo. With the Astros lead a comfortable one, perhaps it’s time Jerry Dipoto thinks about addressing the weaknesses his Los Angeles Angels currently exhibit.