LA Angels Free Agency Position Breakdown: Outfield

The Wild Card

For the Angels, there is a player out there who could at the least provide depth, but in a best case scenario could be an All Star caliber player. This player will turn 30 by the end of the week, but was enjoying one of his best seasons ever before a Grade 3 calf strain effectively ended his season.

Lonnie Chisenhall only played 29 games in 2018. He didn’t even step up to the plate 100 times. However, in those 95 plate appearances, he hit .321 with six doubles, and struck out 12 times while earning eight free bases.

Once again, Chisenhall is a left-handed hitter. The boom or bust part of him starts with how he rebounds from his injury. Worst case, he can’t even match his career .747 OPS and struggles to stay active. Best case? He continues his late breakout and matches his 2018 numbers, taking over for Calhoun in right field and joining Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in the All Star Game.

Chisenhall did struggle in the field a bit last year, but putting him next to a (soon to be) Gold Glove winner in Mike Trout will help make up for his lack of range.

While it is not likely Chisenhall is a complete bust, and a stretch to think he’ll be an All Star, Chisenhall is a wild card heading into the offseason. Depending on how he responds to his injury, the former first round pick could be the kind of player who turns a Wild Card team into a true contender.

That does it for the outfield breakdown, next time we’ll explore possible options at catcher for the LA Angels.