As the Angels head toward the first workout of spring training on Feb. 12, we are providing a breakdown of how they stand with different aspects of their roster. Players acquired this winter include the method of their acquisition in parentheses. Up first, the starting rotation:
2019 RECAP
The Angels endured yet another season in which their rotation was decimated, this time not only by injuries but most notably by the tragic death of Tyler Skaggs. The Angels did not have a single starting pitcher make it through the season in the rotation. Their two free-agent acquisitions, Trevor Cahill and Matt Harvey, performed poorly. Cahill was sent to the bullpen and Harvey was released. By the end of the season, Andrew Heaney was the only healthy starter who had ever spent an entire season in the big leagues. The Angels were relying on young pitchers such as Griffin Canning, José Suarez, Jaime Barría, Patrick Sandoval and Dillon Peters. The Angels resorted to using an opener in 27 games, and the openers and subsequent primary pitchers in those games combined for a 6.03 ERA. Overall, Angels starters, including the openers, had a 5.64 ERA, which ranked 29th in the majors.
HOW IT LOOKS RIGHT NOW
Considering the price the Angels have paid for having pitchers get hurt over the past few years, it should be no surprise that General Manager Billy Eppler acquired two of baseball’s more durable starters. Dylan Bundy (trade with Orioles) and Julio Teheran (free agent) are two of just 23 pitchers in the majors who have made at least 89 starts over the past three seasons. One of the others is Gerrit Cole, who the Angels tried to sign before he agreed to a record-breaking deal with the New York Yankees. Without Cole as the ace at the top that many fans had hoped for, the Angels will instead hope for consistency and improvement from their other starters. Their best hope at developing their own ace is to have Shohei Ohtani make a strong return from Tommy John surgery. It’s unclear what type of workload restrictions the Angels will place on Ohtani, who will also be a DH. The Angels also bring back Heaney and Canning, each of whom has shown the potential to be a mid-rotation starter or better.
THE NEXT LAYER
The Angels acquired Matt Andriese on Tuesday and will bring him to camp as a starter, after he’d pitched mostly out of the bullpen the past couple years. He joins a group that includes Suarez, Barría, Peters and Sandoval as the Angels rotation depth. All have options and figure to be cycled between the majors and Triple-A, with the opportunity to stick around if they pitch well. Because Ohtani isn’t likely to pitch more than once a week, and because the Angels might prefer to give their other starters an extra day when possible, there could be plenty of opportunities for pitchers to come up and get spot starts. The Angels also should get Félix Peña back after he recovers from knee surgery, although he might end up in the bullpen.
MOVES THEY COULD MAKE
There are no impact starters left on the free-agent market, and many of the best starters who could be acquired in trades are with teams that hope to contend, so their clubs aren’t motivated to move them. The exception could be left-hander Matthew Boyd. He is durable (88 starts in the past three years) and struck out 11.6 hitters per nine innings last season. Boyd has three seasons left, so he won’t come cheap, but the Tigers might be willing to settle on a package of the Angels’ better low-level prospects since they are rebuilding. Another option could be Arizona Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray, who would be a one-year rental.
