The task of fixing the Los Angeles Angels is one daunting task. Unfortunately, things aren’t looking great for the Angels, as they hit the lowest point in their season. They’ve lost 10 of their last 13 games—a seemingly dead immovable contract in Anthony Rendon, the unknown future of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Furthermore, the Angels could be the fourth-place team for the next few seasons. Of course, they could keep the team together and ride it back in 2024. Albeit knowing Arte Moreno, he will want to be competitive and fail drastically again.
Fixing The Angels
Trout and Ohtani
Soon, Ohtani will be a free agent. Then, who knows what will happen? By the time Ohtani becomes a free agent, he might have to have surgery on UCL. He might not pitch next year. However, let’s assume he signs elsewhere. If this happens, the Angels could be in an interesting situation. How do you replace a two-way player?
Ohtani’s numbers over the last three seasons are as follows: .277/.379/.585 as a hitter. On the other, pitching-wise, he had a 2.84 ERA in 428 innings over two and a half seasons. Be that as it may, his leaving leaves the Angels in an odd spot. Mainly, is it worth it to keep Trout? Mike Trout will go into his 14th season with only one postseason appearance. As an Angel, Trout has been nothing short of a legend. Three MVP awards combined, 368 home runs, and a slash line of .301/.412/.582.
The big question is, it’s time to trade Trout. Unquestionably, it’s the most challenging question the Angels have faced as an organization. It would hurt to flip Trout, but it could speed up the rebuild. Conversely, why would you trade Trout when you lose Ohtani? A point often overlooked is how the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and Houston Astros are the top three teams in the AL West. There is no point in paying large salaries to be a fourth-place team.
Use the Young Core
Generally, the rebuilding process can take years to complete. Of course, every situation is different since the young players are central to making the change, which can take years to arrive. However, the Angels waste very little time promoting players they deem worthy of a chance. Noah Schanuel was called to the majors 40 days after being drafted. That could help the Angels speed up the process of rebuilding. The hall from trading Trout could bring back will kick any rebuild into high gear.
With this purpose in mind, where do you send Trout? Simply put, where he wants. If that’s Philadelphia, that could benefit Trout and the Angels. Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of young talent that would take a long time to develop. In that situation, it might be a win-win for both parties. The Phillies get another star who helps their outfield defense, and the Angels get more prospects. Before that even happens, the Angels want to see how the Ohtani situation pans out.
Regardless of how this pans out, fixing the Angels comes down to the core of the young players. Logan O’Hoppe, Zach Neto, and Nolan Schuanuel are players to build around. That alone is a great starting point. All of these players have upside and plenty of time to make something great before having to pay them a lot of money. In the hope that the Angels don’t try and throw money at the situation, letting the kids play could pay off them sooner rather than later.
The End of an Era?
Ripping off the band-aid and fixing the organization is a challenging choice. Many fans will view it as a failure and not let the teamwork. In defense of those people, it makes sense. The Angels have only a baseball person in any executive position apart from Perry as the General Manager. Fortunately, nothing has to be decided on now. The season has a few weeks left than the postseason. Fixing the Angels is going to be an enormous task for everyone involved.
Photo Credit: © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
