Los Angeles Angels: biggest needs and rotation upgrade options
By Ben Fadden
What are some rotation options?
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Of course, Gerrit Cole is the first name to be mentioned, as he is the hometown guy but the reality is that there are numerous teams that are willing to spend on Cole, so it wouldn’t be smart for the Los Angeles Angels to forget the other three pitchers that are good fits with them.
You might have noticed I said three and not four and that is because I’m not including Strasburg because it seems like he is intent on either going home to San Diego or working on a new contract with the Washington Nationals.
With that said, the three other realistic options for the Angels are Zack Wheeler, as I mentioned earlier this month, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Madison Bumgarner.
Wheeler is probably the one the Angels should go after first because he has the highest upside among the three, and he could turn into one of the elite arms in the league if he can mesh with Mickey Callaway in Anaheim.
Next. Nationals should stay away from Josh Donaldson. dark
Jake Odorizzi took his Qualifying Offer, so he is off the table, but it will be important for the Angels to not strikeout on getting at least one starter in what is a very deep free-agent class this winter because they will have a higher set of expectations in Joe Maddon’s first season as the skipper, and what could be Billy Eppler’s last.