Angels: Jhoulys Chacin’s future with the LA Angels

The Angels will have an interesting off-season, free agency will be a huge factor with growing pressure to make serious roster moves. Jhoulys Chacin will make a strong argument for his position on the Angels rotation next year.

The Angels starting rotation has Jered Weaver, Tyler Skaggs, Matt Shoemaker, Ricky Nolasco, and Jhouyls Chacin. This rotation consist of just two players that were active from the beginning of season. Weaver and Shoemaker are the only two players that have remained in the rotation throughout the season.

On Sunday Chacin gave the Angels a b-12 shot in the arm versus the New York Yankees. Pitching in just over 5 1/2 innings, Chacin gave the Halos a much needed victory allowing just six hits and no runs. For the Angels, this was just their fifth win this month.

Chacin is a blue-collar pitcher who has struggled throughout the season. Acquired on May11th, from the Atlanta Braves, Chacin has battled to remain apart of the Angels rotation. Now, it would appear he’s here to stay following a shut-out of the Yanks on Sunday.

The question for the Angels will be where Chacin fits in next season.

Theoretically, Chacin could continue to perform as a starter for going forward. However, this off-season is where things will become problematic. The Halos will need to sign multiple pitchers to fill in the gaps left from aging and injuried pitchers.

Chacin will be a free agent this off-season. Currently he’s making $1.1 million from the Angels and $222,000 from the Braves this season. If he improves throughout the rest of the season he could be in the position to ask for a bigger contract.

Chacin’s biggest contract came in 2014 where he was paid $4 million by the Colorado Rockies. Following that signing his fastball slipped and he posted a 1-7 record with an ERA of 5.40.

The Halos could use Chacin next season, whether in the bullpen or on the starting rotation. This will ultimately depend on if Garrett Richards comes back in 2017 or if the Angels sign ace pitchers with the money they’ll save from C.J. Wilson’s contract.

The Angels have to address the pitching staff during the off-season.

Chacin could be a key piece for a variety of teams next season. For the Angels, he could easily be a starter with the bullpen showing major improvements thanks to J.C. Ramirez and Deolis Guerra. The biggest question will be how much of a priority is signing Chacin?

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it will be interesting to see what road the Halos take with Chacin, more so than other players. They will hopefully go out a recruit some new pieces to give the rotation a leg to stand on. Chacin could be a strong muscle to the leg of the pitching staff. He’ll use the rest of this season to make a strong case for his starting future.