NFL
By George Lopez
Entering free agency, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim faced 2 of the biggest questions in baseball…will they be able to resign Shohei Ohtani and will they trade Mike Trout if they were not able to resign Ohtani. When Ohtani announced he was signing a record contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, attention spun to the Angels and what their decision would be with Trout and how the team would build the roster moving forward.
Perry Minasian, the General Manager of the Angels, put the Trout question to rest immediately after Ohtani’s announcement when he stated that the Angels would not be trading Trout and has worked to build the roster. Prior to the beginning of free agency, the Angels brought in Ron Washington to be their next manager. Previous to being a coach with the Atlanta Braves, Washington had a successful run as manager of the Texas Rangers, leading them to 2 World Series appearances. Washington has set the tone of what he expects from the team as he has stated that players who aren’t willing to put in the work necessary will not be with the club.
In terms of signing free agents, the Angels have been relatively quiet though they have been linked to big-name free agents. The team, for the most part, has stuck to signing free agents to small contracts:
Adam Kolarek, 1-year deal
Adam Cimber, 1-year deal
Luis Garcia, 1-year deal
Zac Plesac, 1-year deal
Matt Moore, 1-year deal
The team did make some noise when they signed Robert Stephenson to a 3-year deal. Stephenson will help bolster the back end of the bullpen as he is expected to be the primary setup guy for closer Carlos Estevez. In terms of their starting rotation, the Angels have been able to sign players under team control and avoid salary arbitration. With Ohtani leaving via free agency, the Angels are in need of a front-line starting pitcher. Reigning NL CY Young Award winner Blake Snell is still available in free agency as is Jordan Montgomery.
Owner Arte Moreno has been reluctant to sign free-agent starting pitchers to long-term deals. With his reluctance to offer long-term deals, it is highly possible the Angels will pass on both Snell and Montgomery. At this time, the Angels are looking at Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, and Griffin Canning in their starting rotation. Chase Silseth, Kenny Rosenberg, and Davis Daniel will be expected to compete for a spot in the rotation in spring training.
Overall, the Angels will be relying on their younger players to be in their everyday lineup. The health of Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon will be key for the Angels. In the past week, the team did sign free agent Aaron Hicks to a 1-year deal. Hicks will be expected to take over for Ohtani as the team’s primary DH. Look for Trout to see time as a DH during the season to help keep him as healthy as possible.
Perry Minasian has faced a difficult task this offseason adding pieces to the roster to have the team be competitive in a tough AL West division. The team decided to go in the shorter-term type of free agent signings this off-season. Bringing in Robert Stephenson to strengthen the back end of the bullpen was a good move for the team. Will the decision to go with temporary pieces this season payoff for the Angels? Time will tell.
