1 Angels transaction that will win the faith of the fans

The Los Angeles Angels have had a nice offseason so far. They've added four good players who fill holes on the roster that were once there. Tyler Anderson is the front-end starter they needed. Gio Urshela solves the infield depth problem. Hunter Renfroe filled the void in right field. Carlos Estevez is the back-end bullpen arm this team lacked.

While they've most definitely improved, the Angels cannot be done. They need to add more to this roster. They need another starter and reliever. However, those aren't the biggest needs right now.

The weak link on this Angels team is their shortstop, David Fletcher. Fletcher is a fine utility infielder but shouldn't be playing every day, especially at shortstop. Fortunately, there's a star shortstop available for the Angels to sign.

If the Angels sign Carlos Correa they'd win the faith of the fans.

Last season, Angels shortstops ranked 29th in WRC+ and 27th in fWAR. With how important the shortstop position is, this is unacceptable. David Fletcher spent most of the season on the injured list but he didn't look good at all when he played, posting a 77 OPS+.

If you want to blame that on injury that's fine, but he had a 70 OPS+ in 157 games played the season prior. The only year he was good offensively was the shortened 2020 season. His glove is great, particularly at second base. He's just not good enough to play every day, especially at a secondary position.

This offseason had four star free agents available. Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts both signed 11-year lucrative deals. Two of these shortstops remain. Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson are right there for the Angels to sign.

Signing one of these shortstops would certainly put the Angels over the tax. I have two responses to that. One, Arte Moreno is selling the team, hopefully by Opening Day. He doesn't need to care about the tax bill, he can pass that on to the new owner. If a tax bill is what ruins a sale, that person shouldn't be buying the team anyway.

Second, if the tax is a dealbreaker, they have contracts they can dump. There're ways for the Angels to create space to sign one of these shortstops even if it isn't the most ideal solution.

Can you imagine a top five of the Angels lineup that goes something like Taylor Ward leading off, Mike Trout batting second, Shohei Ohtani hitting third, Anthony Rendon cleaning up, and Carlos Correa hitting fifth? Or really any order you want with these five players is fine.

Suddenly the Halos will have guys like Hunter Renfroe and Jared Walsh or Gio Urshela hitting lower in the order. The lineup lengths out and instantly becomes one of the best in the game health permitting.

It's not like the Angels lose much defensively either. Yes, Correa did have a down year defensively in 2022 but he was a Gold and Platinum Glove winner in 2021. I'm confident he can bounce back.

A Correa signing would give the Angels another big bat and good glove in their lineup. It's a massive upgrade at their biggest position of need. Suddenly you can talk about the Angels in the same breath as teams like the Astros and Mariners.

Signing Carlos Correa makes too much sense. Please, get it done Perry. You'd win the faith of the fans if you do.