LA Angels: 3 players Perry Minasian should absolutely be afraid to acquire

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Sep 30, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto (47) throws his gum after being removed in the fifth inning of the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

The LA Angels have one of the most important offseasons in recent memory to nail this year.

The Albert Pujols contract is finally off the books, and they have the money to go ahead and fill the needs that they have on their roster.

Halloween’s coming around, and with haunted house season in full effect, nothing could be scarier than the possibility of the Angels failing this offseason. This offseason is essentially a haunted house in itself, and there are a few pathways in particular that Perry Minasian better be too scared to go down:

No. 3 player Perry Minasian should absolutely be afraid to acquire for the LA Angels: Johnny Cueto

Perry Minasian should not entertain the idea of bringing Johnny Cueto to the LA Angels.

His deal with the Giants has a club option for them to pick up this offseason, and they may not want to pick it up. If they don’t have him back next year, the Angels shouldn’t pick him up.

He’s going to be 36 by the time next season starts. With the amount of money the Angels have, they shouldn’t be going for 36 year olds who have posted a 4.59 ERA in the last three seasons. There are much cheaper options who are better at this point in their careers.

Sep 23, 2021; Oakland, California, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (18) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2 player Perry Minasian should absolutely be afraid to acquire for the LA Angels: Yusei Kikuchi

Yusei Kikuchi had a great first half, but Perry Minasian better be scared away from that second half.

From July 7th until the end of the season, Kikuchi posted a 6.22 ERA and walked 4.41 batters per nine innings over 14 starts. It’s not worth going after him.

His ERA at the end of the year dipped to 4.41, and hitters hit .243 against him. .243 is already an underwhelming number to hold batters to, but even worse, they hit .304 against him in those last 14 starts.

He’s not a bad pitcher, and was an All-Star. That being said, he didn’t play like an All-Star after the game took place, and we’d be signing him while he’s cold.

That’s the type of move Minasian needs to stay away from. He and Arte Moreno have so much potential money at their disposal, and need to fire away on more proven, sure-fire guys.

Kikuchi is too risky with his second-half regression in 2021.

Jun 23, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (27) throws a pitch against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1 player Perry Minasian should absolutely be afraid to acquire for the LA Angels: Trevor Bauer

The Trevor Bauer situation is way too messy for Perry Minasian and the LA Angels to go down that road.

They just had to fire Mickey Callaway for sexual misconduct. Callaway’s actions really cost our team, and we need to stay as far away from that as possible.

If we find out that Bauer 100% didn’t do the terrible crimes he’s being accused of, then that’s one thing. However right now we have no idea what’s going on, and we need to avoid that situation unless we have that clarity.

What if he turns down his option, we sign him, and then it turns out that he’s headed to jail? Then, we just spent what will likely be a lot of money (for what it’s worth, his current option would be worth over $35 million) for nothing.

Also, it would be a horrible look for our franchise if that happened. We don’t need to be worrying about sexual misconduct from members on our team multiple years in a row.

There’s great reason to be afraid of a signing like this.

Next. 3 hitters that can fix the lineup

Minasian needs to hit on the right guys this offseason, or else next season is going to be a lot like this one we just watched.

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