After finishing with an above-.500 record the previous two seasons, the Los Angeles Angels have to take a hard look at their roster in what was a tough year for Mike Scioscia and company. What moves should the front office make to help get the Angels back to being a winning organization?
There have certainly been better times for the Los Angeles Angels than what transpired in 2016. Injuries, a shaky bullpen and a patchwork starting rotation were the main reasons why the club declined this season. If you want a full review of the Angels 2016 season click here.
With everything that happened in the 2016 regular season now in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look ahead to what the Angels need to do if they hope to get back into contention in 2017.
At this point, there’s no room for a rebuild in Los Angeles unless of course the organization felt the need to trade Mike Trout (which they shouldn’t). Outside of their 24-year-old centerpiece, there is really no other player that a contender would really give up much value for. No team wants to knowingly take on the outrageous contracts of an Albert Pujols or a Huston Street, so it would be tough to go young fully, especially with the lackluster farm system that the team already has. The organization’s given the best course of action seems to be to try to pick up the pieces and catch lightning in a bottle.
The American League West looks to continue to be a fairly strong division again next season with the Rangers retaining many of their key players. Houston is young and growing with many of their better players entering their primes. The Seattle Mariners are also clearly a threat because of how they played towards the end of the 2016 season.
General manager Billy Eppler and his staff certainly have a lot of holes to fill, but here are a few key needs that he must address before the start of the 2017 MLB regular season.
Note: Obvious moves like picking up Yunel Escobar‘s 2017 $7 million team option will not be included.