LA Angels Need Not One, But Two Star Acquisitions

With Thanksgiving having passed, the MLB offseason is in full swing, and the LA Angels need not one, but two prized possessions.

Try to do something with me LA Angels fans. Forget everything that has happened since, but do you remember the feeling when CJ Wilson and Albert Pujols we’re first introduced as Halos? It was a moment of pure optimism and delight as a fanbase.

Obviously, using hindsight we know those two signings weren’t as great as we originally thought. However, the idea of two star free agents being on introduced together is something the Halos need, and are capable of pulling off.

We all know who the first star is. Gerrit Cole and the Angels go together just about as well anything. Everything between them links up. Cole is from SoCal, the Angels need an ace and have the money to acquire him, and he’s still relatively young for a free agent.

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The reports leaking out say the Angels are ready to pay him whatever it takes, and those reports need to be true if the Halos have any hopes of acquiring two stars this offseason.

The second star has a couple of options. The perfect fit would be Stephen Strasburg. While he is older, he proved in the postseason that when naming the best starters in all of baseball, Strasburg should be named within the first five. Him hitting the market was a certainty more than two months ago, but now it’s possible he’s the second-highest paid free agent.

By the way, there’s no excuse money-wise for the Angels to spend. They have the space to do so, and can land both Cole and Strasburg without going over the luxury tax.

If they can’t land Strasburg as their #2, landing one of the second tier starters is a list alongside Cole. Hyun-Jin Ryu would be a perfect fit for the Angels six-man rotation. Zack Wheeler has tremendous upside. Madison Bumgarner is as reliable as they come.

Gerrit Cole needs to be the first name the Angels introduce. However, if he’s giving his introductory press conference alone between the hats outside of The Big A, the Halos will have had a failed offseason, and another season will go by without the playoffs in Anaheim.