Angels Rumors: 3 reasons the Halos should trade for David Price

Los Angeles Angels — David Price (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

I don’t think there is a set rotation for the Angels in 2021 at the moment. There are several candidates, but I believe manager Joe Maddon will use spring training to determine a five, or even a six-man rotation he has talked about before.

Angels 2021 Rotation Options:

RHP Dylan Bundy
LHP Andrew Heaney
LHP Jose Quintana
RHP Griffin Canning
RHP Alex Cobb
RHP Shohei Ohtani
LHP Patrick Sandoval
RHP Jaime Barria

I think a safe bet for a five-man rotation would consist of Bundy, Quintana, Cobb, Heaney, and Canning. Though, this can all change in the next month or so.

The other candidates could see themselves taking the mound at some point in the season, barring injuries or poor performance of other players.

Acquiring David Price gives the Angels the true ace they have lacked in recent years.

Having a surplus of arms also opens the door for a potential trade of one or more of these current starters. Only Ohtani is under contract for 2022, while Canning, Sandoval, and Barria will enter arbitration. Bundy, Quintana, Heaney, and Cobb will be free agents at the conclusion of this season.

At some point, the Angels will need additional help in the rotation. If it makes sense, I don’t see why they would not get this out of the way now. I have also suggested a trade for Sonny Gray and starters on the Rockies.

As mentioned, Price did not play in a shortened 2020 season. Maybe the extra year off will help the 35-year old, or it could be a bad thing. There’s no way to tell until he takes the mound.

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It’s been a while since we’ve seen Price in true All-Star form in the regular season, but how he’s performed in recent years is arguably better than most Angels starters in that span.

David Price Last Five Seasons:

2015: (32 games) (18-5, 2.45 ERA) 220.1 IP 1.076 WHIP 9.2 K/9 (All-Star)
2016: (35 games) (17-9, 3.99 ERA) 230 IP 1.204 WHIP 8.9 K/9
2017: (16 games) (6-3, 3.38 ERA) 74.2 IP 1.192 WHIP 9.2 K/9
2018: (30 games) (16-7, 3.58 ERA) 176 IP 1.142 WHIP 9.1 K/9
2019: (22 games) (7-5, 4.28 ERA) 107.1 IP 1.314 WHIP 10.7 K/9

Maybe Price can return to his dominant form, but aside from his statistics in the regular season, he has tons of postseason experience and fits another theme we’ve seen from offseason additions so far.

Acquiring David Price gives the Angels the true ace they have lacked in recent years.

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