Los Angeles Angels: Five Moves to Become Playoff Contenders
Despite having reigning AL MVP Trout, the Los Angeles Angels have had consecutive unsuccessful seasons.
After leading the league in wins in 2014, the Los Angeles Angels have failed to put together a winning season. It’s not a testament to their talent, as they have two-time MVP Mike Trout holding the reins in center field. Injuries have plagued the Angels’ pitching staff, and they just seem to have little to no depth. They don’t even have a farm system, as a recent ranking by Bleacher Report puts them dead last.
They can enter rebuild mode, but that would require trading away the likes of Trout, Albert Pujols, and any other valuable big league talent. The Angels likely want to make Trout an Angel for his entire career, so they need to be in win-now mode.
The Angels are going to have to make very smart moves, and very smart draft choices. They can no longer give up prospects like they did for Andrelton Simmons, so their only trade options are hidden gems. They are going to have to embrace the free agency market while avoiding another Josh Hamilton disaster. If the Angels don’t go into rebuilding mode and fail to make smart decisions, they could be very bad for a very long time. The potential of losing Trout and not getting anything in return is a possibility if they fail to win before his contract is up.
It’s not that Trout isn’t loyal, but a superstar player of his caliber can win many titles, and if the Angels aren’t fulfilling those needs he may need to go elsewhere to continue his legacy. With that being said, there are five moves the Angels can make this offseason to better their chances of competing. So what exactly are these moves?
5. Acquire a Second Baseman
With Johnny Giavotella now out of the mix, the Angels have a considerable hole at second base. Giavotella was never a great second baseman, but his absence does cause second base to be very thin. Currently, Cliff Pennington is regarded as the starting second baseman on the Angels depth chart. If they Angels want to succeed, they must bring in a quality player at second.
As for the Angels’ options, there isn’t much outside of veteran players. Chase Utley, Stephen Drew, and Sean Rodriguez all serve as free agent targets. Out of the three, Utley and Drew can provide a left-handed bat to a right-handed dominated lineup. However, Rodriguez may serve as the best option to the Halos. Rodriguez, who batted .270 with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in this year, can serve as a much-needed bat at the top of the lineup. Not only that, Rodriguez is a super utility player. Last season, he played every single position except pitcher and catcher.
Other routes are available as well besides signing a free agent. The Angels could potentially pull off a trade to receive a second baseman. Jace Peterson and Scooter Gennett could be good options. Both the Braves and Brewers have great farm systems, so they may only ask for two or three smaller big league talents. The Angels could even attempt to trade for Brandon Phillips. If they could get a third team into the mix they may be able to work out a deal. Whatever road they end up pursuing, they need a second baseman.
4. Trade Matt Shoemaker and Ricky Nolasco
Looking at the Angels’ starting rotation, it is filled with young arms with good potential. The two exceptions to this are Matt Shoemaker and Ricky Nolasco. The two aren’t old, 30 and 33 respectively, but stand out in a rotation where the next oldest guy is Garrett Richards at 28. The Angels also have seven starting pitchers on their big league roster, with Nate Smith seemingly knocking on the door. It would be best if the Angels gave up Shoemaker and Nolasco in a package deal.
What the Angels could receive in this deal is perhaps another arm of equal or slightly better talent than the two. Tyler Chatwood, Patrick Corbin, and Michael Pineda are all arms that could be targeted. If the Angels went this route it wouldn’t be bad per se, but may defeat the purpose of trading the two away. The Halos could trade the two for bullpen arms as well. Wade Davis is a guy with only one year left on his contract, so the Royals may offer him up for two starting pitchers. This move could help an Angels bullpen that ranked 21st in ERA.
Besides pitching, the Angels could reel in a position player talent. As discussed earlier, perhaps these two could serve as the Angels’ offering in a three-team trade to acquire Brandon Phillips. If the Angels can get something in return that either bolsters their farm system or helps them in an area of need, it may be best to part ways with Shoemaker and Nolasco.
3. Sign a Free Agent Catcher
The offensive production for the Angels in 2016 was absolutely abysmal. Angels catchers combined for a .228 batting average and a -29.2 Off statistic. Long story short, the Off statistic accounts for the amount of offensive runs a player produces according to the league average. A -29.2 rating, according to Fangraphs, is awful. The good thing for the Angels is that there are multiple options in free agency that can improve their offensive output behind the plate.
Matt Wieters and Kurt Suzuki provide safety options for the Halos. Neither of them put up insane numbers, but were both better than what the Angels had. They both still have Off statistics below league average, but would provide solid choices behind the plate. However, the catcher the Angels should be gunning for is Wilson Ramos.
Ramos is coming off of an ACL injury, which makes signing him a huge risk for any ball club. However, the Angels could use that to their advantage as his free agent stock has decreased. They could get Ramos for a lot cheaper than normal, and can still bank on him being around most of the season. Barring a setback, Ramos could reportedly return in April or May. The Angels may want to take this risk as Ramos was ranked the fifth best hitting catcher of 2016.
2. Sign Mark Melancon
As previously noted, the Angels bullpen wasn’t great in 2016. With question marks circling around Huston Street coming off injury, the Angels must jump on a closer while they can. That is why they should sign another National, Mark Melancon, to take over the closer role in 2017. Not only would this provide an improvement in the ninth, it would allow Street to move to a setup role. Being able to setup will alleviate the stress that Street may face, making a more comfortable and efficient pitcher. Add that to a potential Wade Davis deal as mentioned earlier, and the Angels could have one of the best 7-8-9 punches in baseball.
Because of the ripple effect that a Melancon signing would have, it seems like a no brainier for the Angels. They could certainly afford it, as they’ve shown before they have the budget to sign big contracts. Melancon would help their bullpen numbers and take stress off of their young starting rotation. The Angels ranked 13th in blown saves last season; compare that to the 28th-ranked Nationals and it is apparent that this is an immediate upgrade.
Melancon, who posted a 1.64 ERA with 47 saves, should be the Angels’ number one pitching target this offseason. While they will benefit from signing situation bullpen arms and some back-end rotation starters, Melancon would help the Angels most in winning ball games. However, there is still one more major focus that the Angels must address before anything else.
1. Sign a Third Outfielder
It has been well-documented that the Angels are extremely thin in the outfield. Despite having MVP Mike Trout and underrated stud Kole Calhoun, the Angels lack majorly in this department. They struggle to even field a third outfielder that has big league talent, as they ranked third to last in offensive output for left fielders. Good thing for the Angels, this free agent market is littered with outfield talent, and they shouldn’t hold back from signing a superstar.
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The two names that immediately jump out are Mark Trumbo and Dexter Fowler. Mark Trumbo is a target to every team, and may be hard to sign for Anaheim, despite how perfect the fit seems. Dexter Fowler, on the other hand, may be a guy that flies under the radar for most teams. Fowler could come in and play center or left field, and would give the Angels a credible leadoff man. Yunel Escobar is fantastic at getting on base, but lacks the speed of a true leadoff hitter. Escobar could move down to the five slot, and Fowler could serve as the perfect table-setter for Calhoun and Trout.
Other options are available as well. The Angels could go with a power bat, as Jose Bautista and Matt Holliday could provide a jolt to the offense. These guys are entering the later stages of their careers, however, and the Angels don’t want another regressing player. Yoenis Cespedes is also an extremely formidable option. Cespedes has shown how much he loves to throw the ball at Angel Stadium and could be the perfect partner alongside Trout to build on in the future.
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Regardless of what the Angels do, they have existing talent and need to build on that. It is a little too far gone to try to completely restock the farm system now. Instead, they should focus their efforts on winning ball games now, hopefully ensuring that Mike Trout becomes a career Angel.