The Angels were aggressive within the opening weeks of the offseason. They acquired Jorge Soler as soon as the trade market reopened. They made the first MLB free agent acquisition of the winter when they added Kyle Hendricks. They signed Travis d'Arnaud and Yusei Kikuchi to multi-year contracts before any other team signed anyone from outside the organization for multiple years.
They've been virtually silent since then. They haven't signed a major league contract since finalizing the Kikuchi deal on November 27. Their only trade pickups since they landed Soler are utilityman Scott Kingery and depth catcher Chuckie Robinson. After identifying a few priority targets, they've taken their foot off the gas.
That isn't because the roster is complete. Soler, d'Arnaud, and Kikuchi are upgrades, but the Halos had a lot more to fix if they're serious about battling for a Wild Card spot. With a handful of high-profile free agents potentially stretching into February unsigned, the Halos should be positioned to bookend their winter with another strike or two.
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Stroman seems like a great trade target for Anaheim. NYY wants to shed some salary and the Yanks might kick in some $ to make it happen.
the angels need to get rid of a lefty starting pitcher. they have too many. marcus stroman would be a great pickup
Based on some of the FA deals I think Anderson has a tiny bit more value, say eat $3-4M of his owed $13M. He’ll probably give 150+ innings and 2+ WAR and for a team needing reliable guys filling out the rotation he checks out. Flaherty and Estevez look like good fits being no QO therefore no draft pick. I think you move Soler (poor defense) for a better bat, if you can. I would’ve liked them to move Anderson sign Lorenzen for possible upside and not sign Hendricks. FA is their best bet to add pitching which they were poor at last yr. Make trades for hitting. Curious if Angels have pieces to trade for Gray. But if they do that, that means you go for it, as with any of the other aforementioned moves. The problem with the Angels is they’re never fully out or fully in from a directional stand point.
Theyre not trading any pieces at this point unless its Taylor Ward. I’m sure they’d be amenable to moving Moniak as well, but his value isn’t great.
They’re not moving Soler after just picking him up, they got him for his bat, not his defense.
Flaherty at this point is the only thing I’d be happy with. Picking up Alonzo is a terrible idea.
Hendricks was signed for veteran help, and its a cheap one year deal, so I have no issues with it if he doesn’t continue with how he picked things up in the second half of 2024.
Halos.
Profar and Heaney seem to be a pair that could address their most pressing needs without breaking the bank. Of course if Yankees will eat a lot of Stroman’s deal, that might do, too.
I don’t understand why this team sees itself as a contender nearly every year. I guess you can admire they are spending money, and while they aren’t trading prospects, has anyone told them their team really isn’t close to competing? Like, what is it all for??
That late season push for 3rd place in the AL West should be fun to watch!
I’ll be shocked if they manage better than 4th, would be surprised if they even manage that to be honest
JD Martinez is only one year removed from 33 hrs in 400 abs….