The LA Angels Need More Than Just Gerrit Cole

Everyone and their mother knows it: the LA Angels are going after Gerrit Cole this offseason, and they have a good shot at landing the SoCal native. However, can the Halos land another ace to pair alongside Cole?

While one can make the argument that Shohei Ohtani is the LA Angels de facto ace, there’s a few issues with that. First off, we have no idea how effective Ohtani will be in his return to the mound following Tommy John surgery. Most pitchers eventually return to their usual selves, but you can never be 100% certain. Ohtani will also have an innings limit next year, capping the production he can accrue on the mound.

The Angels need not one ace this winter, but two.

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If this team truly wants to contend, they need to break the bank on their rotation. Gerrit Cole is a must get this offseason. The Angels have literally zero excuses to not land the potential Cy Young winner. They have the need, they have the money.

The same goes for this hypothetical second ace they go after. Given that Arte Moreno has proudly stated that he is ready to spend more to put a winner on the field, the Halos have enough money for not just Cole, but a Cy Young-level running mate as well. In my opinion, that leaves only two candidates.

The first is obviously Stephen Strasburg. After a magical postseason run with the Nationals, he has joined the top tier of MLB pitchers. He has never (like literally never) been bad during his career, and is another SoCal boy on the market. While the Nationals will surely look to bring him back, we’ve seen them let franchise players walk in the not-so-distant past. The Padres and Dodgers will also be in on Strasburg, but the Angels have as much need as anyone.

Outside of Strasburg, Hyun-Jin Ryu is the only other true ace on the market. He spent most of 2019 in contention for the Cy Young, and was on pace to have the lowest ERA since the mound was lowered. One bad month derailed his year, but the Angels might he the perfect fit for Ryu given their predicted switch to a six-man rotation in 2020.

So, Halo fans, the goal is not Gerrit Cole. The goal (and need) is Gerrit Cole and another ace. If the Angels can’t do that, then it could very well be another season of regular season baseball, and just regular season baseball.