LA Angels 3 Step Guide To a Perfect Free Agency

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During the LA Angels introductory press conference with new manager Joe Maddon, there were a lot of notable quotes.

Most came from the LA Angels new skipper himself, but perhaps the most important one came from owner Arte Moreno.

During the press conference, Moreno stated that the Angels’ payroll will increase this offseason. While the Angels aren’t likely to exceed the luxury tax of $207 million dollars set by the MLB, there’s no reason to believe they won’t go right up against it.

For the sake of this piece, the Angels are likely to decline Kole Calhoun’s option and have around $65-70 million to spend. These three steps are what must be done by the Angels in order to have the perfect free agency period.

Must Read. MLB Free Agency Primer: Analyzing Every Starter on the Market

1.) Sign Gerrit Cole

Honestly, free agency begins and ends with Gerrit Cole. The Angels have everything working for them in this. Cole is from here, grew up an Angels fan, and has openly admired both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.

All that’s left now is for the Angels to pay up.

If the Angels come in to negotiations offering a 7-year, $245 million deal, I honestly expect Gerrit Cole’s free agency to be over. Like Maddon, it truthfully seems like Cole wants to be in Anahem, though he obviously can’t express that in the thick of a World Series run with the Astros.

However, as soon as that run ends, Gerrit Cole needs to be the Angels’ main priority in free agency. They need him more than any other possible free agent, and Cole’s availability is likely Moreno’s biggest reason for raising the payroll.

(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

2.) Sign Yasmani Grandal

Besides starting pitching, the biggest hole for the Angels is their catching spot. As of now, Max Stassi and Kevan Smith would likely share starting duties. And name recognition alone tells us that Grandal is a far better option.

2019 was another absolutely stellar season for Grandal. After being shorted in free agency last season, he proved himself and should earn the long-term deal he’s been waiting for.

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Any team who hopes to sign the long-time Dodgers’ backstop will have to pay up to the $20 million region. The Angels should be more than willing to do so, especially with their payroll expanding.

Grandal, although already 31 by the end of November, deserves a 3-4 year deal as much as any other catcher in the MLB. It’s relatively easy to make the case for Grandal as a Top 3 catcher in the league, and he’ll cash in because of it.

Grandal would give Cole and the rest of the Angels’ rotation one of the best pitch framers in baseball along with a solid arm to throw runners out.

On offense, a Grandal signing would give the Halos one of the best batting orders 1-9 in the entire league. When healthy last season, the Halos’ lineup was one of the best in baseball already. However, a glaring hole in production from the catcher position kept their name away from the most elite teams (Yankees, Astros, Rays, etc.).

A Grandal signing would put the Angels right there with those teams.

(Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

3.) Sign A Mid-Tier Starter (Or Two)

After a potential Cole and Grandal signing, the Angels would have spend approximately $55 million. In this hypothetical, that means $20-25 million left to fill out their rotation.

While they could try and use those resources to sign a pitcher such as Hyun-Jin Ryu (who would be a perfect fit for the Angels), the Angels might be better off using that money towards two mid-rotation arms.

If the Angels could sign Dallas Kuechel to a 4-year, $72 million deal and a 3-year, $24 million deal for Michael Wacha would give the Angels an absolutely lethal rotation. Kuechel proved himself as a reliable #2 or #3 pitcher for any rotation last season, and has earned the multi-year deal he wanted last winter.

Michael Wacha is a bit of a bounce back candidate as a starting pitcher. He’s struggled recently, so the Angels should be able to get him at a discounted rate to serve in the backend of their rotation for the next few years.

So, overall, what this three step guide does is fill the Angels’ biggest holes. A rotation of Gerrit Cole, Shohei Ohtani, Dallas Kuechel, Griffin Canning, Andrew Heaney, and Michael Wacha pitching your Yasmani Grandal sounds absolutely devastating for opposing teams.

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While this plan doesn’t involve signing a free agent reliever or two, that’s intentional. Billy Eppler has proven to be extremely efficient at finding bullpen help via both homegrown talent and through waiver funds such as Hansel Robles, who won the Angels’ annual award given to their best pitcher in 2019.

So Billy Eppler, Joe Maddon, and Arte Moreno…get it done.

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During the LA Angels introductory press conference with new manager Joe Maddon, there were a lot of notable quotes.

1.) Sign Gerrit Cole

2.) Sign Yasmani Grandal

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3.) Sign A Mid-Tier Starter (Or Two)

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