LA Angels Need to Bring Back Andrew Bailey

The LA Angels saw flashes of an elite closer in 2017. Throughout the season, Andrew Bailey showed he has the stuff to handle the position. Now, he is a free agent, and the Halos need him back.

The LA Angels had one of the league’s strongest bullpen last season despite numerous injuries. Unfortunately, one of those injuries was the 33-year-old Andrew Bailey.

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Bailey was seen as a dark horse for the closer job in Spring Training. He didn’t win it out of the gate, but after Cam Bedrosian and Huston Street found themselves on the disabled list, Bailey took over not just the Halos’ bullpen, but opposing batters as well.

Bailey pitched in three games before he too landed on the DL. In those three games, he allowed no hits, no runs, and no walks while striking out two batters. Sure, it was only three innings of work over six days, but he looked magnificent.

Then, a shoulder injury put him out of operation for not one, not two, not three, but four months. The veteran who owned a 5.14 ERA over his past four seasons was finally dominating again. However, the dice fell the wrong way for Bailey all season.

When he finally made his return against the Nationals on August 15th, he was the same pitcher from April. He sent down the Nationals while allowing one hit, but maintained his perfect ERA. However, he “felt a little slipping sensation in that shoulder joint” and was back on the disabled list by the end of the week.

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Sure, the Angels had a great bullpen in 2017. Was Andrew Bailey a big part of it? No, unfortunately. However, if the Angels want to compete with the Astros, they have to build on their strengths just as much as they fill their weaknesses. Their bullpen was dominate last season, but adding a healthy Bailey back can make it a special unit in 2018.