Could the Los Angeles Angels offer enough for Chicago Cubs starter Yu Darvish?
Will the Los Angeles Angels ever surround Mike Trout with enough talent to reach a World Series? It all starts with having a reliable starting rotation, something the Angels haven’t been able to put together in a long time.
With new leadership running the show, the Angels have cornered the Iglesias market by replacing Andrelton Simmons with another defensive-minded shortstop in Jose Iglesias, and they bolstered their bullpen by trading for Raisel Iglesias from Cincinnati. But that’s nowhere near enough.
Financial relief is on the near horizon (see Albert Pujols), so adding Darvish and his salary to win a World Series now is justifiable.
The tricky part is being able to offer up the talent required to land Darvish from Chicago. The Angels are improving their farm system, but it’s still not very deep. However, the top of their farm system is strong.
Would the Angels part with Jo Adell as part of a package for Darvish? Perhaps, the Chicago Cubs would be willing to negotiate with a package highlighted by outfield prospects Brandon Marsh or Jordyn Adams?
Front-line pitching help is scarce on the current free agent market and the Angels need to do more than add Julio Tehran type pitchers to improve the starting rotation. Dealing for Darvish would be more difficult for the Angels than some other interested teams, but if you’re going to be aggressive in a pursuit of a World Series, this could be a prime year to do so.
The chances of the Chicago Cubs actually moving Yu Darvish are very low, but the move is a justifiable one that would net Chicago plenty of promising pieces for the future.