LA Angels Off-Season Review Through January
- Updated: January 22, 2020
Despite the offseason not being what most LA Angels fans wanted, it has been an offseason that saw some decent improvements to the roster. Whether it was small or league-breaking news, there is plenty to analyze for the upcoming season throughout all of the news from the offseason.
The main question for the Angels this year will be whether they can get over the hump and back into the playoffs. With some bullpen acquisitions and a superstar signing, the Angels just might get back to the promised land. So, to get caught up with all of the major happenings of the offseason, let us start with the players that left.
Departures
The first main player to leave was Justin Bour who went to play in Japan. It is not anything that was damaging or not seen considering that Bour majorly underperformed, and it might just be a blessing in disguise. Already fighting with an aging Albert Pujols, Bour was battling for first base with a batting average of .172 and not much else. Although solid on defense with 264 putouts in 285 chances, it just was not enough to make up for his lackluster offense. Pujols and Matt Thaiss will work out just fine.
More devastating for Angels fans was the departure of long-time fan favorite Kole Calhoun. His statistics and numbers are far outweighed by how much energy and joy he brought to the ball-club. He is off to play with his home team in the Arizona Diamondbacks, and hopefully his career there is just as amazing as it was for the Angels. In his place will either be Brian Goodwin or Jo Adell once he finally feels ready enough to play in the majors.
After Bour and Calhoun come Kevan Smith, Adalberto Mejia, Zack Cozart, and JC Ramirez. A catcher, a third baseman, and two pitchers that did not do much for the main club over the past season, their leaves have left room for others to join. And with that room open, the Angels added quite a few new faces for the new season.
Pitching and Catching Acquisitions
Starting off, pitcher Mike Mayers from the St. Louis Cardinals was one of the two first offseason moves involving gaining a player. Most notably known for having one of the worst debuts in Major League history, Mayers has made a decent come-up over his career. In seventy-three games, Mayers has given up fifty-eight earned runs through seventy-four innings pitched. He is a decent option for the bullpen and someone to bolster the pitching staff, so hopefully, he has a decent reliever roll.
Also for the bullpen is pitcher Parker Markel and the other early acquisition for the team. In his debut season, Markel gave up nineteen earned runs in twenty-two innings pitched. That was last year, so it is a bit of a problem. Giving up sixteen hits in seventeen innings is a tad bit worrying, but at least he is not the type of pitcher to give up many home runs. He will need some more development before we can truly judge how much promise he brings.
Pitcher Matt Andriese is the final bullpen piece acquired so far over this offseason, and yet again he falls under the category of a “what-if” player. Through 428.2 innings pitched, Andriese gave up 218 earned runs and only sixty-four of those were home runs. His career ERA is 4.58 and he has been a mostly durable bullpen piece, so his tenure with the Angels might just be a good thing. If Andriese, Markel, and Mayers can pull together to have career years, Los Angeles will have a bullpen that is worlds better than their previous few.
Dylan Bundy was one of the bigger pitchers that the Angels picked up this year, but the question of whether he will return to form or struggle more is a big concern. His first two years in the majors saw him earn a record of 23-15 with decent numbers, but the past two years have seen his numbers inflate. He is a run-per-game pitcher and is best utilized to clean up games that have been long slammed shut, and he will be looking to improve with the Angels pitching staff instead of struggling in Baltimore. A career 4.76 ERA is something that Los Angeles will definitely take and improve upon.
Julio Teheran was the other signing that made a splash, although his acquisition might be even more important than Bundy’s. Through nine years and 1360 innings pitched, Teheran has a 3.67 ERA. All is well considering that he has only allowed 554 earned runs through all those innings, and only 176 of those have been off of home runs. It is one of the better veteran pitcher signings for the Angels in a few years considering that he is in the same group as Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill. Last season was also a great year for Teheran with a 3.81 ERA and only seventy-four earned runs through 174.2 innings pitched. Now, all that the Angels need is for Teheran to come through and impress unlike their pitching acquisitions last year.
The last pitcher on this list of new faces is Kyle Keller. Much like Dillon Peters last year, he is a young and inexperienced pitcher from the Miami Marlins. Keller has given up four earned runs in 10.2 innings pitched with a 3.38 ERA, so his start has been a strong one, and with the Angels pitching staff, his career can only go up from here with the experience he will gain with the team. His Marlins counterpart in Peters had some quality time in Anaheim, so the Keller could be in for a very comfortable year.
The only new catcher for the Angels this year is the veteran Jason Castro, and he will have a ton of new pitching friends to get used to by opening week. Last season, Castro had fifty-five hits in seventy-nine games and drove in thirty-runs, so he is still doing his part in hitting at the age of thirty-two. On the defensive side of things, Castro put out 637 batters in 667 chances through 631.1 innings. He is a very solid catcher that will mesh with the pitching staff alongside Max Stassi and will make a valuable teammate and teacher to any catching prospects that make an appearance. But above all, there is one acquisition that stands out above the rest.
Brand New Superstar
Not surprisingly, the biggest splash of all for the LA Angels belongs to Anthony Rendon for coming aboard with a seven-year, $245 million dollar contract. After initially being projected to go to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Rendon went with the smaller market team over in Anaheim to surprise the MLB world. Joining monster sluggers such as Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, Rendon will add another consistent and robust bat to an already potent Angels offense. Rendon is a fantastic hitter that brings a very solid glove to the infield as well.
In 3424 at bats all time, Rendon only struck out 610 times, so he has a very hard-working brain when it comes to taking the right pitches. Last year was his career year for batting average, and his final number for that was .319 in a year in which he would go on to win the World Series by batting in 126 runs for the Washington Nationals. With the Angels, Rendon will get to enjoy the sunny Southern California weather and swinging for the fences at the Big A in the American League.
In closing, this offseason will either be remembered as the one that jumpstarted the LA Angels to a pennant race or the one that fell flat and left the fans wishing for a playoff berth once again. Setting aside some of the smaller minor league movements, the acquisitions of Parker Markel, Mike Mayers, Matt Andriese, Kyle Keller, Dylan Bundy, Julio Teheran, Jason Castro, and Anthony Rendon all improved the Angels for the better. Considering the team’s last offseason, that statement is a blessing for fans of the Halos, but all that is left to see is how all of those new players pan out. Offense wins championships, right?
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2 Comments
About Jordan German
Goat39
January 22, 2020 at 3:37 pm
Great article
Jordan German
January 25, 2020 at 12:34 am
Thank you! I’m very glad that you enjoyed it, I’ll be writing many more Angels articles as well.