Mike’s Men
Los Angeles Angels
MLB 2017: 80-82, +1 run differential, 2nd in AL West
Of all the teams in baseball that finished below .500 last year, the Angels have the best chance of making the postseason. For starters, Mike Trout missed 48 games last year. Just getting a full season from Trout could add a couple more wins. They should also get a full season from Justin Upton, who was acquired in a trade on August 31 last year, and a bounce-back season from Kole Calhoun.
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Acquiring Ian Kinsler in a trade will improve the team at second base, where they ranked 28th out of the 30 MLB teams in FanGraphs WAR. Another new acquisition, Zack Cozart, should improve the team’s production at third base, both on offense and defense.
Of course, the addition of Kinsler and Cozart was overshadowed by the acquisition of Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani. The 23-year-old two-way player is projected to be the team’s best starting pitcher (24 starts, 148 IP, 3.49 ERA, 1.20 WHIP), while also getting 280 plate appearances at DH (.257/.334/.451, 112 wRC+). His pitching projection is only for 148 innings, so the Angels will need to get more out of Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs, Matt Shoemaker and Andrew Heaney than they got last season.
While the Angels made some right moves to improve their team, they also have a $27 million, the 240-pound elephant in the room named Albert Pujols. No player hurt his team more than Pujols last season. He was worth -2 WAR thanks to a .241/.286/.386 batting line. Pujols has only had one season in his career with fewer than 600 plate appearances. Unless he shows signs of life with the bat, this should be a second season with fewer than 600 plate appearances.
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The money is already spent, but the Angels shouldn’t feel forced to play Pujols if he doesn’t produce. Having Ohtani DH two or three times per week will keep Pujols on the bench, which could be a win-win for the Angels. They’ve improved at multiple positions and in the starting rotation and should have a fully healthy Mike Trout. Every extra win helps. These moves don’t look like enough to put them up there with the Astros, Indians, Red Sox or Yankees, but they should battle for an MLB playoff spot with the Twins and the other teams on this list.