Angels: Addressing the vacancy in the left field position

Ever since Angels legend Garret Anderson played his final year for the Halos in 2008, left field has been an ever-revolving door of career journeymen, prospects, and busts for the Angels. In 2012,

Former Angels fall-out Josh Hamilton was signed to be the long-awaited, but that went down as perhaps one of the worst signings in MLB history as Hamilton never played well enough as he battled injuries and drug addiction. After Hamilton, the likes of Matt Joyce, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, David DeJesus filled the gap. Or rather, failed to fill the gap.

This season, Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry were set to share time, but injuries to both forced the Angels to take the path of putting numerous prospects in left field, including Todd Cunningham, Rafael Ortega, Ji-Man Choi, Shane Robinson, and, the most promising of them all, Nick Buss. Next season, however, the Angels need to make a choice of how they’re going to handle their problem in left, and they have a few options including trade, free agency, and the prospects listed above.

Free Agency

While the free agency class is not full of young superstars, there are very intriguing options for the Angels. The most interesting would be Yoenis Cespedes. Angels fans know him well enough, as he consistently gunned down Angel baserunners while playing for the A’s. Cespedes has an opt-out option in his current contract for the A’s and would likely demand a long-term deal, north of 150-million dollars. Cespedes is hitting .289 with 30 long balls and 81 RBI’s this year with the Mets, and if he can put up numbers like that consistently, he would be worth every penny for the desperate Angels.

Another option for the Angels would be Jose Bautista, who at 35 hit .229 with 18 home runs and 59 RBI’s. Bautista is clutch in the playoff’s though, which makes his asking price higher than expected. Besides Bautista, former Angel Mark Trumbo will be on the market this offseason. Trumbo, who leads in home runs with 43, was an All-Star with the Angels during his time in red. While Baltimore is much more of a hitters ballpark than The Big A, Trumbo would provide quite a scary top of the lineup with Calhoun, Trout, and Pujols. While the Angels would like a left-handed batter to play better against RHP, Trumbo does exceptionally well against righties as he has hit 33 of his home runs off of right-handed pitchers. Besides these names, the Angels could also look at Carlos Gomez and Josh Reddick.

Trade

While trading would be difficult given the current state of the Angels farm system (hint, it is not looking too good), they still have some valuable pieces that could bring in a serviceable left fielder.

One player who may be worth the risk is Brewers’ outfielder Ryan Braun. Braun has enjoyed quite the comeback season, as he is hitting .308 with 88 RBI’s and 30 long balls. Braun of course; has the background with PED’s, so giving up any players for someone who could end up being suspended for a long period of time is risky. The Brewers, a rebuilding team, are looking to sell; however, and if the Angels plan on contending in the upcoming years the risk of Braun may be worth it.

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Braun of course; has the background with PED’s, so giving up any players for someone who could end up being suspended for a long period of time is risky. The Brewers, a rebuilding team, are looking to sell; however, and if the Angels plan on contending in the upcoming years the risk of Braun may be worth it.

Another name worth mentioning is Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies. Gonzalez is hitting .298 with 25 home runs and 99 RBI’s, which is quite impressive given the sorry state of the Rockies. Gonzalez always seems to be talked about come trading season and is definitely a player worth keeping an eye on this offseason for the Angels, as he would slot in nicely in the fifth spot in the lineup.

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Prospects

As mentioned earlier, the Angels played a plethora of young talent in the left field over the course of the season. Each seemed to perform above expectations, but expectations were quite low from Halo fans. Of the many who played, Nick Buss and Jefry Marte showed the most promise.

Buss, a 29-year-old lefty, has hit .221 with one home run and six RBI’s in 68 at-bats. While those numbers are not immediately overwhelming, this is Buss’ first time back in the majors in three years. He is an exceptional fielder and has shown potential to improve at the plate as well. He will most likely be competing for the spot during Spring Training. Jefry Marte will most likely be in the same scenario, but with a slight advantage given his age and numbers this year. In his age 25

He is an exceptional fielder and has shown potential to improve at the plate as well. He will most likely be competing for the spot during Spring Training. Jefry Marte will most likely be in the same scenario, but with a slight advantage given his age and numbers this year. In his age 25

Marte has hit 12 home runs with a .251 batting average and 38 RBI’s. He also has 12 walks which put’s his on-base percentage at .308. If the Angels do not bring in anyone over during free agency or through trade, Buss and Marte will likely work as a platoon given that they hit from different sides of the plate.

Of course, the Angels have the best natural left fielder in baseball with Mike Trout. Due to his only slightly above-average arm, Trout is best fit to play left field, which is where he played when he was first called up.

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The center fielder back then was Peter Bourjos, who was one of the most reliable center fielders in baseball back then. If the Angels could attain someone with a Bourjos skill set, they could move Trout to left and forever solve their problems in left.

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