The Los Angeles Angels are a team stuck in transition heading in to 2017. The fact that some fans are actually questioning whether they are better off trading their biggest star Mike Trout in an effort to accelerate their rebuild is testament to that. The Angels will enter this coming season stuck in between being good enough to make the playoffs and appearing to be in need of starting over. With Trout’s contract almost up and one of the weakest farm systems in all of baseball, it won’t be a surprise to anyone if Los Angeles shakes things up at some point this season.
Key Additions: SP Jesse Chavez, 2B Danny Espinosa, C Martin Maldonado, OF Cameron Maybin, OF Ben Revere, 3B Luis Valbuena
Key Losses: SP CJ Wilson, SP Jared Weaver, 2B Johnny Giavotella, C Jeff Bandy, SP Jhoulys Chacin
Strengths
The Angeles reshuffled with the additions of Cameron Maybin and Ben Revere, who should join Trout to give them one of the better outfields in the American League. Los Angeles acquired Yunel Escobar to hold down the third base spot in 2015 and he joins Andrelton Simmons and former first round pick C.J. Cron as a decent defensive infield crew. Albert Pujols will likely be limited in how many starts he makes at first base with a good chance that he spends more time as the DH this season. The Angels offense offers some intrigue with Trout, Pujols, Revere and Cron but they were far too inconsistent last season. The offense simply has to be better in 2017 in order to make up for an inconsistent pitching staff that lacks elite talent and depth.
Weaknesses
The Angels rotation was exposed a year ago when they couldn’t stay healthy or win games. Los Angeles added Jesse Chavez in the offseason but lost C.J. Wilson, Jered Weaver and Joulys Chacin, so it will be very interesting to see how things play out. Chavez, Ricky Nolasco, Tyler Skaggs, Matt Shoemaker and prospects Alex Meyer and Brooks Pounders will battle for spots in the starting rotation and there is no doubt this group is underwhelming. Meanwhile, the bullpen isn’t any better with closer Huston Street coming off his worst season of his career in large part because of injuries and an average group in front of him. It might not be long before Cam Bedrosian emerges as the Angels closer with a lot more changes likely to come before this team contends for a playoff spot in the AL once again.
In the batting line, there are big concerns over what the team can get from Albert Pujols. He’s still got five years left – if you can believe that – with an annual salary of $28 million per year. He had offseason foot surgery and if he can club around 25 home runs and hit close to .260, that would be a success. There is far greater downside, though.
2017 Los Angeles Angels Depth Chart
| Catcher | Martin Maldonado | Carlos Perez | Tony Sanchez | ||
| First Base | C.J. Cron | Luis Valbuena | Albert Pujols | Dustin Ackley | |
| Second Base | Danny Espinosa | Luis Valbuena | Cliff Pennington | ||
| Third Base | Yunel Escobar | Luis Valbuena | Jefry Marte | Kaleb Cowart | |
| Shortstop | Andrelton Simmons | Cliff Pennington | Luis Valbuena | ||
| Left Field | Cameron Maybin | Ben Revere | Dustin Ackley | ||
| Center Field | Mike Trout | Ben Revere | Ryan LaMarre | ||
| Right Field | Kole Calhoun | Dustin Ackley | Ryan LaMarre | ||
| Designated Hitter | Albert Pujols | C.J. Cron | Jefry Marte | ||
| Starting Pitcher | Garrett Richards | Matt Shoemaker | Ricky Nolasco | Tyler Skaggs | Jesse Chavez |
| Relief Pitcher | Andrew Bailey | Cam Bedrosian | Jose Alvarez | Mike Morin | Yusmeiro Petit |
| Closer | Huston Street | ||||
Projected Win Total: 79.5
World Series Odds: +10000
Outlook
There are more question marks than answers for Los Angeles heading in to this season and it appears as though it will be trial by fire as we see what this team does. The pitching staff is a mess and if Richards rehab hasn’t worked out or his velocity is down, they’re in serious trouble. The offense has enough talent to keep the Angels at least marginally competitive. It won’t surprise anybody if LA takes a small step back in terms of its win-loss record with all eyes on management to see if there are major roster changes coming at some point in 2017.
Prediction: 72-90
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