LA Angels Hot Stove: Andrew Cashner

The LA Angels flaunt one of the best defense in baseball. Andrelton Simmons, Martin Maldonado, and an outfield littered with Gold Gloves prove that. With questions in their starting rotations, Andrew Cashner makes sense for the Halos to pursue.

The LA Angels had poor luck with their starting pitching last year. They had multiple starters miss the majority of the season, with Nick Tropeano missing all of it. While Garrett Richards is looking healthy again, there are still a ton of question marks for the Halos.

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Andrew Cashner makes a ton of sense for the Halos. He posted an impressive 3.40 ERA last season. His 11-11 record in 28 starts does not scream excellence, but when you look at the Texas Rangers team around him, it starts to make a little more sense.

Cashner is not like most baseball players nowadays. Instead of striking out a ton of batters, he instead allows his defense to make plays behind him. In Texas, his defense had the fifth worst fielding percentage in the MLB. In Anaheim, he would have the sixth best unit trotting out with him. A unit that made only 80 errors in 2017.

Cashner is 31-years old. While that is not preferential, he could still have a couple of years left in the tank. General manager Billy Eppler has been public with his intent to upgrade the offense rather than the pitching staff. However, if he can bring in a pitcher like Cashner, he should pounce on the opportunity.

Pitching in a pitchers’ ballpark like The Big A and having an elite defense behind him, Cashner may just improve in 2018 if he should land in Anaheim. The Rangers play in a park that favors hitters more so than pitchers. He would not have to be the #1 option for the Halos as long as they don’t get hit as hard by injuries in 2018.

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Whether Eppler’s focus is on pitching or not, he has proven to leave no stone left unturned during his time with the Halos. If he can get Cashner to come join the Halos, he may just be pitching in the playoffs for the first time in his career.