Where do the Angels go from Here?
As summer turns to fall, it has become apparent that there will be another season without playoff baseball for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The team has been perpetually stuck in between contender and also-ran, all while employing baseball’s best player for the better half of the past decade.
Since 2010 (one “B.T.”- before Trout), the team has only made the postseason once, in 2014, when the club was swept in the ALDS by the eventual pennant-winning Royals. Saddled by bulky contracts to aging veterans in Albert Pujols, Zack Cozart, and Justin Upton, the team has the seventh highest payroll in all of baseball, yet sits uncomfortably under .500 in the ultra-competitive AL West.
We’ve covered their perils before. No, really. But with the team’s recent news that star pitcher/hitter Shohei Ohtani will have to undergo Tommy John surgery, which will keep him off the mound all of next year (although he can still do this with a bat), it’s time for the Angels to re-evaluate.
Ohtani’s injury woes are a little too familiar given the amount of time L.A.’s hurlers have spent on the disabled list over the previous two seasons. As each year passes without results, the impending free agency of Mike Trout looms closer. The former MVP winner should hit the market still in the midst of his prime in 2020. However, for an Angels team lacking direction, there is still hope. Ohtani’s emergence this season has given the team a young superstar to pair with Trout for the future, and a long-struggling farm system has shown signs of life. A lot can change over the course of two seasons, and it starts with a deep look in the mirror and smart moves made by General Manager Billy Eppler this offseason.
Call Up the Kids and Be (Relatively) Patient
At first glance, it seems like this is the last thing the Angels should be doing. With time running out on Trout’s deal, the club can’t afford to have any more lost seasons. While this is true, the Angels also aren’t in a position to take on another onerous contract, and spending wisely may be their best course of action this winter. With Ohtani removed from the pitching staff for next year, the team lacks depth outside of solid starters Tyler Skaggs and Andrew Heaney. That makes it difficult to imagine contention next season.
To keep the major league team competitive, the solution may come from within. Instead of trotting out the ancient Pujols, the team may be better served by promoting promising first baseman Matt Thaiss from Triple-A to split time at the position and provide a source of lefty power. Taylor Ward, despite hitting barely above .200 in his first 20 major league games, can serve as a solid hitter from third base or catcher, if his sublime hitting at the minor league level means anything.
In the rotation, Griffin Canning could also be given a shot at a rotation spot. Next season, the Angels should alsopromote top organizational prospects Jahmai Jones and Jo Adell, who are both currently hitting well for the Double-A affiliate in Mobile. With a solid collection of young talent on the way, it makes no sense for the Angels to block their paths to the majors with veterans, especially on a team already lacking enough talent to stay competitive. If anything, seeing what the kids can do now will make it easier to package them for proven talent, whether it comes in the offseason of 2019 or next year’s trade deadline. While it seems the Angels do have some talent on the way up, one big addition could be in store come next year….
Sign Dallas Keuchel
Over the past five seasons, 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel has emerged as one of the most dependable pitchers in baseball, posting an FIP of 3.47 and a .600 winning percentage. Most importantly, he has averaged just under 200 innings pitched per season. If the Angels want to build steam for future title contention, adding a big name of Keuchel’s caliber would help immensely. Although to many this move would come as a major splash, it truly comes as a necessity to the Angels’ long term plan.
By taking pressure off of both an overworked bullpen and their other young starters (including Ohtani in 2020), Keuchel can elevate the Angels staff to one of the best in the AL. Even if he loses a bit of steam heading into his mid-30s, he represents another solid left-handed option outside of Skaggs.. His marks against the Mariners and A’s are stellar as well. They’re the two teams that represent the Angels biggest competition for a wildcard spot next year. He should be fairly affordable as well, given that the market for starters over 30 was meager at best last offseason. A contract of three or four years ranging between $15 and $20 million should be doable, especially with the Garrett Richard’s $8 million coming off the books.
Rival clubs (looking at you, Yankees) will surely go after one of the two best arms in an unspectacular pitching class, but familiarity within the division and a willingness to spend should be able to lure the 30 year old to Anaheim. By stealing Keuchel away from the rival Astros, the Angels set themselves up well for growth by adding the dependable starter to a questionable starting staff.
Replace Mike Scioscia with an outside-the-box choice
Since 2000, nobody has helmed the Angels dugout other than Mike Scioscia, the man who is also responsible for leading the franchise’s only World Series winner. However, it has become clear that the manager is getting ready to step down. Despite calling rumors of his retirement at season’s end “poppycock”, it seems like both the club and their long-tenured manager are ready to part ways.
The next question for the Angels in the aftermath of Scioscia’s departure is who to replace him with. Make no mistake: the Angels job, if available this offseason, will be the most coveted in all of baseball. The chance to coach not one, but two generational talents in Trout and Ohtani will be too good for most to pass up. Plus, they get to hang out in a laid-back SoCal lifestyle that comes with the job. However, it is up to General Manager Billy Eppler to look for a candidate who can connect to a diverse clubhouse and light a fire under a team that has often looked unmotivated over the past five seasons.
One should expect Eppler to turn to candidates with ties to his previous employer, the Yankees. A potential option is Joe Espada, who currently acts as bench coach for the Astros. Espada is versed in analytics due to his time at third base for the statistically-savvy Bombers, and his ability to speak Spanish is a plus in any clubhouse. An even more outside-the-box choice may be current Yankees Double-A Manager Jay Bell. Bell, an 18-year major league veteran, has proven to be good at developing young talent, as evidenced by the bevvy of contributors to New York’s major league squad that have passed through his ranks. In addition, he has experience as a third base and bench coach in the majors. Regardless of who the Angels choose, he needs to offer a change of pace from the old-school Scioscia, all while possessing a profound vision on the future of a franchise in the midst of a transitional phase.
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Once Manny Machado and Bryce Harper sign their mega-deals, all eyes will quickly turn to the 26-year old Mike Trout, who will enter the 2020 offseason as the most sought after free agent in MLB history. While most prognosticators expect the two-time MVP to bolt if L.A.’s stretch of mediocre baseball continues, especially in the aftermath of Ohtani’s diagnosis, there is still hope that the team can find a way to convince Trout to stay. By letting their team grow organically and supplementing the roster with solid contributors, the team can make strides for next season, under the right circumstances. It will take a commitment from both the front office and ownership to not make the same mistakes of the past in order to make sure Trout will stay an Angel, leading the team into the next decade with a renewed focus, recognizing the multiple ways to build a winner. The way they’ve been trying since 2010 hasn’t worked.
