The Los Angeles Angels have once again slapped some bandages on their roster. Maybe this time will be different.
Spring training is a time when a fan’s mood can swing back and forth between boundless hope and deep despair. The following is a debate between the optimistic me and the pessimistic me regarding the 2021 Los Angeles Angels.
Opti-me: You win with star power, and nobody in the AL West has more star power than the Angels. That’s beyond question. Begin with Albert Pujols and Mike Trout, two future Hall of Famers. Trout’s merely the best player in baseball.
Follow them with Anthony Rendon, the game’s best third baseman. Add Shohei Ohtani, who can hit and pitch. Then factor in Jared Walsh, a first baseman who’s the best bet for breakout star of 2021.
Finally consider that Joe Maddon, the game’s best manager, is in charge of pulling it all together. Add all that up and the AL West title comes to Anaheim in 2021.
Pessi-me: The Los Angels Angels have always labored under the fallacy that they can purchase a pennant. A decade ago you paid $240 million for the 10 worst seasons of Pujols’ career. Three years ago you made the same mistake with Justin Upton.
You’re into Trout for $426 million, and into Rendon for another $246 million. Result: A lot of big-name stars but no team.
Here’s the problem: Your farm system hasn’t developed a productive player since Trout, and it hasn’t developed a productive pitcher since Jered Weaver. The result is a collection of expensive misfits, not even Joe Maddon can bring together.
Opti-me: You’ll eat those words when Jared Walsh puts in a full season this year. This kid is a home-grown star in the making.
Walsh hit .293 in 2020 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs. That’s a 25-homer, 75 RBI season without factoring in development, which will happen.
Then there’s Ohtani, who’s both a productive position player and pitcher. For the first time in his career here in the U.S., he’s healthy. As a rookie in 2018, he made 10 starts with a 3.31 ERA and hit .285 with 22 home runs. And that was with all manner of use-related cautions in place.
Those governors are off this season, so you can look for Ohtani to make 20 starts, win at least a dozen of them, and bat .300 with power. Put that with usual seasons from Trout and Rendon plus natural growth from Walsh and you have a recipe for post-season.
Pessi-me: The Angels always have the spring ingredients for post-season; they just never mix them together. And the problem is always the same, pitching.
What did you do to improve the pitching entering 2021? You’ve made it clear you’re counting big-time on Ohtani. But the most his arm’s ever held up since coming over here is 51 innings. Your two big off-season additions were Alex Cobb and Jose Quintana.
Quintana never lived up to his potential with the Cubs and his ERA has been going straight up since 2017. As for Cobb, this is a guy who couldn’t fit into the Baltimore Orioles’ plans…how is that even possible? I’ll tell you how: since 2019 he’s 7-22 with a 5.10 ERA.
The staff ERA was third-worst in the AL in 2020. Those are your big rotation upgrades.
Opti-me: Check out the top end of the rotation. Dylan Bundy had a nice 2020, a 6-3 record, and a 3.29 ERA. Stretched over a full regular season those are acceptable ace credentials. Griffin Canning showed real progress, knocking a half point off his ERA in 11 starts. Andrew Heaney may never be an All Star, but he can be relied on.
The Angels also added a proven closer – something they didn’t have last season – when they traded for Raisel Iglesias. Just 21 baserunners allowed in 23 innings and 100 saves since 2017. The late leads aren’t getting away this season.
Pessi-me: The off-season move I don’t understand was letting go of Andrelton Simmons. But who needs a four-time Gold Glove shortstop…I’m being sarcastic. Simmons was still in his prime and he had a decent offensive season.
Then there’s the way you dumped Jo Adell, your prize 2020 prospect, so fast. Two bad months in 2020 and he can’t even make your depth chart. Instead, you bring in Dexter Fowler, who parlayed a very visible and very productive 2016 into $81 million worth of subsequent mediocrity. But as Barnum said there’s a sucker born every minute.
Opti-me: Simmons’ defensive numbers slipped into the negative range in 2020 and he’s on the downside of 30, so at the $18 million it would have cost to keep him this was actually the right time to let him go. We replaced Simmons with Jose Iglesias, who’s the same age, had better offensive numbers, and will cost about $12 million less.
As for Fowler, the Angels were fourth in runs per game in 2020, fifth in average, and fifth in OPS. So we don’t need him to be great; we just need him to be better than Adell. That should be easy. As for Adell, the kid still only turns 22 in April, and if there’s one thing we learned last season it’s that a year in the minors won’t hurt him. He’ll be back.
Pessi-me: The Angels have made one post-season appearance in the last decade, and made no moves that are likely to change that over the winter. You have the same stars you’ve always had, the same lack of pitching, and the same lack of chemistry.
This cast hasn’t produced a .500 season since 2015 and there’s no reason to believe 2021 will be any different. The bottom line: They can’t get Disneyland re-opened fast enough for Angels fans.
Opti-me: You know what makes good chemistry? Talent, that’s what. Trout, Rendon, Walsh, Ohtani, Iglesias, Bundy … that’s chemistry.
No other team in the AL West has that solid core. That’s why the Los Angeles Angels will win the division; because they have the best team.