LA Angels: Recapping a busy week for the Angels pitching staff

The LA Angels will enter spring training with 95% of their starting pitchers intact and healthy. This could mean success for the Angels this season.

The LA Angels are hovering somewhere in the middle of the American League. It’s a position they’ve held for the last two seasons. However, this season has a different feel to it. With many of the pitching rotation healthy in signed, the Angels are ready for spring training to happen.

The LA Angels signed all their arbitration-eligible players. Including Garrett Richards who inked a deal worth $7.3 million for 2018. There was no need for hearings with any of the seven players that were signed yesterday. GM Billy Eppler is getting it done on and off the field this offseason.

The seven players that reached deals with the Angels yesterday are as follows:

Matt Shoemaker $4.125 million

J.C. Ramirez $1.9 million

Tyler Skaggs $1.875 million

Cam Bedrosian $1.1 million

Jose Alvarez $1.05 million

C.J. Cron $2.3 million

Of course, earlier this week Andrew Heaney reached a one-year deal worth $800K, thus, making the Angels pitching rotation set and whole. You have to be excited as an Angels fan heading into this season. Personally, I am not going to start saying the Angels are going to the World Series just yet.

The LA Angels have to prove that they can maintain the health of their starting pitchers for more than a couple of months first. For starters, having a six-man rotation would be a big step in showing the fans and the pitchers themselves that their health is important.

Regardless of how the Angels actually fair this season, there is still plenty of reasons to cheer. As a result, the LA Angels will benefit from having more than a half-empty park this season. The LA Angels will have questions about Shohei Ohtani and how he’ll fit into the rotation and the DH spot. However, Ohtani’s ability to hit is going to be fun to watch this season.

Next: Breaking down LA Angels prospects

Last season the Angels hit 186 home runs ranking them 13th in the American League. Which seems crazy considering the team has Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. Albeit an aging Pujols, but still, The LA Angels should be better than the numbers indicate. Health and improvement on the defensive side of the ball will usher in a new era in LA Angels baseball.