Will the Angels offseason moves be enough to compete in 2021?

Starting pitching is still an area the Angels need to address before the offseason is over.

Key Departures: Julio Tehran

Key Additions: Jose Quintana

Projected Current Opening Day Rotation: RHP Andrew Heaney, RHP Dylan Bundy, LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Griffin Canning, RHP Jaime Barria, RHP Shohei Ohtani*

A common theme for Angels fans over the past few years, the Halos came into the 2021 offseason with starting pitching as their top need. Some have even argued that the Angels are the team with the biggest need of pitching in the league, after finishing tied for the fifth worst ERA in the league in 2020.

Despite this, the Angels have yet to make a big splash, making only one move of signing free agent lefty Jose Quintana to a one-year deal. After solidifying himself as a well-known middle to top of the rotation arm with the White Sox from 2012 to 2016, Quintana has three and a half questionable years with the Cubs, most recently logging a 4.68 ERA over 174.1 innings in 2019.
While Quintana does provide the Angels with a veteran’s innings eater, he is hardly the top of the rotation stud the Angels are so desperately in need of.

The sluggishness being shown by the Angels front office certainly isn’t due to a slow starting pitching market, as Lance Lynn, Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Corey Kluber, Mike Minor, Charlie Morton, and Joe Musgrove headline a long list of starting pitchers that have found new teams this offseason.

Trevor Bauer, Masahiro Tanaka, and James Paxton remain available via free agency, while multiple other names like Sonny Gray have been rumored available via trade.

The door is still wide open for the Angels to make a big splash, but should the front office remain conservative leading up to spring training, the Angels will once again head into the season with a rotation leaving a lot to be desired.