Angels reportedly are shooting their shot at big ticket Yankees outfielder

The Los Angeles Angels are in desperate need of both a left-handed hitter and an outfielder, more specifically a centerfielder. No, they are not going to land Kyle Tucker and they ideally want to aim higher than a player like Mike Yastrzemski. There is one player who is less expensive than Tucker and much better than Yastrzemski, and the Angels are doing their due diligence on him.

Angels reportedly are shooting their shot at big ticket Yankees outfielder

Per Jon Heyman, the Angels checked in on New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger. Bellinger mostly played left field for the Yankees last season, but also worked in both center and right field. On paper, Bellinger, his left-handed swing, his exceptional defense and his 91st percentile K% would fit right into the Angels framework. The Angels have one trustworthy outfielder on the roster right now in Jo Adell, as Mike Trout and Jorge Soler are clearly full-time designated hitters, Taylor Ward's been shipped out, plus Bryce Teodosio and Matthew Lugo are unproven MLB commodities.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel projected Bellinger to land a six-year, $165 million ($27.5M AAV) deal in free agency. The Angels will have a crowded field of big market teams if they do want to land Bellinger, including the Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers (of course) and the Toronto Blue Jays. Clearly, the Angels would have to Godfather offer Bellinger if they were to win his sweepstakes over those three teams. At times, it feels like the Angels play a completely different sport than those franchises. Not to mention the accusations of the facilities at Angel Stadium and the negative presence of Arte Moreno.

Bellinger hit 29 home runs last season, all of them to right field or right-center field. 18 of them were at Yankee Stadium, which does not bode too well for an aging Bellinger on a lengthy, extensive contract remaining effective if he called Angel Stadium him home. His left-handed swing, defense, speed and bat-to-ball skills might be reason enough to offer him a giant contract, but the power might start to go once he leaves the little league field that the Yankees call home.

The Angels have roughly $40 million to spend this offseason and need to do so wisely. The most logical route will be them spreading that money around relatively even to address the myriads holes in the roster, but fans would not be upset if they go big fish hunting and land a player like Bellinger.