LA Angels Jefry Marte may be the answer in left field.

For the LA Angels left field has been a sore spot in their line-up for the last two season as they have shuffled players in and out of the position with no one being able to hold down the fort effectively.

One of the many players the LA Angels have tried there this is Jefry Marte who they acquired in a trade from the Detroit Tigers last January in exchange for minor leaguer Cody Eaves. Marte has proven to be a key player on this year’s Angels as he has the versatility to play three positions third base, first base, and left field.

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In 85 games this season Marte has hit .255 with 13 homers and 42 RBI’s which is not spectacular. However, if you equate it to a full season Marte would have close to 30 home runs and 90 RBI’s which would add some much needed pop to the Angels line-up and fill a major void for the team. The best thing about Marte is he is only 25 years old so he has plenty of time to improve even more.

In the 75 games Marte has played in the field he has committed only five errors in 268 chances. Marte has played first base for 29 games, third base for 21 games, and 25 games in left field this season for the Angels. in those 25 games Marte has made only one error in 40 chances a .975 fielding percentage.

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I will admit when the Angels first put Marte in left field he looked like a deer in headlights, but he has shown vast improvement since then. On Wednesday, I was at the Angels game vs. Oakland and Marte showed great range in tracking a deep fly ball off the bat of the A’s Max Muncy and catching up against the short wall in the left field corner. It was a key play as it got the first out in the 9th inning of a tight game (8-6).

In the same game Marte went two for four with a walk. He smacked two doubles which drove in one run. This was a night after Marte hit a huge grand slam in the fourth inning to break the game open as it increased the Angels lead from one to five in one big swing.

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Believe me I would love to have a big name left fielder free agent like Yoenis Cespedes, Joey Bautista, Ian Desmond, or even bringing Mark Trumbo back, but those players will also cost a lot of money. Since Mr. Moneybags (not!) Arte Moreno has chosen to keep the purse strings tight until Josh Hamilton‘s terrible contract comes off the books after next season, don’t expect the Angels to pull the trigger on one of those players, Marte is an affordable substitute that could turn into a solid left fielder.

The Angels can instead use the little bit of money that Arte will allow Eppler to spend on getting a solid every day second baseman or improving the pitching staff. Marte is surely better than the likes of Daniel Nava, Matt Joyce, Craig Gentry, Todd Cunningham, Nick Buss, Shane Victorino, David Dejesus, Shane Robinson, Rafael Ortega, David Murphy, and most definitely Ji-Man Choi (did I miss anyone).

Next: The Machine shut down for the season

Let’s see what next season brings, but Jefry Marte should definitely get a good look.

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