LA Angels Need One More Reliever

The LA Angels have done a fantastic job this offseason of filling holes. However, they seemingly ignored the bullpen all winter. That is something that must change if the Angels wish to contend in 2018.

When the LA Angels were signing Zack Cozart and trading for Ian Kinsler, Yusmeiro Petit was signing with the Oakland A’s. The Halos best reliever from 2017 was gone, and he has yet to be replaced.

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The Halos’ bullpen isn’t bad by any means. Blake Parker was an absolute stud last year. Cam Bedrosian and Keynan Middleton both has encouraging starts to their careers, and should make jumps in 2018. Blake Wood and Noe Ramirez both showed flashes as well.

However, they lost the glue that kept it all together in Petit.

Sure, the Angels brought in Jim Johnson, an elite groundball specialist from the Braves. They also drafted Luke Bard in the Rule 5 Draft, but any Rule 5 pick has a long road ahead of them to being a productive big leaguer.

The Angels have spent a lot of money this offseason, but none on pitching (outside of Shohei Ohtani). This offseason hasn’t seen a lot of big deals, but relief pitching is one position that has been paid. Wade Davis was just given the largest contract ever for a relief pitcher.

This should not scare away the Angels though. If they are all in on contending this year, which all signs point to, then they need to bring in a proven reliever. Greg Holland is one intriguing name. He has not had an ERA over four since his rookie year in 2010. His 3.61 ERA last season does not scream elite, but those numbers came for the Colorado Rockies, and he was still able to earn an All-Star nod.

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Bringing in Holland would give the Angels the bullpen needed to truly contend. The core of Parker, Middleton, and Bedrosian may last through the regular season. However, bringing in Holland, who has been in top-ten Cy Young voting twice in his career, would give the Halos the impact pitchers needed to truly compete for a World Series this year.