Five New Year’s Resolutions For The LA Angels for 2017

#1 A solid every day left fielder.

For the past couple of years the Angels have tried to rely on a platoon system in left field and the idea has failed miserably.  The production in left field from these platoons has been last in the league. In 2016 the Angels used seven different left fielders with only one showing any production, which was Jefry Marte.

Daniel Nava, Craig Gentry, Todd Cunningham, Ji-Man Choi, Shane Robinson, Rafael Ortega and Nick Buss all had a shot to prove themselves in left, but none of them panned out and have since been released. Jefry Marte is the only player who played multiple games in left field and is still on the roster for the Angels going into the 2017 season.

So what did the Angels do in order to fix this problem. They acquired two every day left fielders.  First the Angels made a trade with the Detroit Tigers for two minor leaguers.  Then last week they signed Ben Revere to a one-year deal.  The Angels could employ a platoon system again in left as Maybin bats right and Revere hits from the left side.  Or they could decide to use one of the pair as their primary left fielder and use the other as a utility fourth outfielder and a late inning pinch hitter/pinch runner.

With Maybin being a career .259 hitter and Revere a .285 career hitter, the production should be much better out of left field.  If the Angels could get some consistency from the duo it will go a long way to improving the 2017 Angels.

Next: Mike Trout is a Class Act

Just like with normal New Year’s resolutions will see how long the Angels can stick to the longer they do the more likely the success of the 2017 will be.