1 player from every playoff team that the Angels should target this offseason

Houston Astros: Ryne Stanek

Ryne Stanek has spent each of the last three seasons with the Astros and has been an important piece to what is always a strong bullpen. He's made at least 55 appearances in each of the last three seasons for Houston and has 20 postseason appearances to his ledger as well.

The right-hander had a bit of a down year in 2023, posting a 4.09 ERA in 50.2 innings pitched, but he had 51 strikeouts and his 9.9% walk rate was his best since 2018 with Tampa Bay. Obviously he has work to do to get close to the 1.15 ERA he had in 59 2022 appearances, but the Angels wouldn't expect him to come close to that anyway.

Like Fujinami, the Angels wouldn't be signing Stanek to close, but he'd add a ton of experience to a bullpen that needs it and can be productive in the sixth or seventh innings. He's familiar with the AL West, has a long track record of success, and his 2.08 postseason ERA is extremely attractive.

Adding the 32-year-old for a year or two to this bullpen would absolutely make it better, and would also add a much-needed veteran presence.

Minnesota Twins: Sonny Gray

Sonny Gray might be the best player on this list. The Twins' frontline starter is set to hit free agency after the postseason ends and couldn't have picked much of a better year to do it.

Gray had a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts and 184 innings pitched for the Twins, playing a huge role in their AL Central division title. He also played a huge role in the AL Wild Card Series, delivering five scoreless innings against the Blue Jays in the win that helped Minnesota advance to the ALDS. Postseason success is nothing new to Gray who has a 3.26 ERA in six starts in October.

Gray led the AL with a 2.83 FIP and 0.4 HR/9. He was an all-star for the third time and this will also be his third season finishing with a top-seven Cy Young finish. Gray could easily find himself as a Cy Young finalist as he finished the year second in the AL in ERA and in the top 15 in both innings pitched and strikeouts. He won't win it, but it'd be cool to see the 33-year-old as a finalist.

The fact that Gray will be 34 at the time of signing his next deal isn't ideal, but it does mean he'd require a shorter-term contract than a guy like Blake Snell who will be 31 when he signs his deal. He's shown remarkable consistency throughout his career with outlier bad seasons in 2016 and 2018, and is familiar with the AL West as well from his Oakland days.

Tampa Bay Rays: Robert Stephenson

I know, I know. I just said the Angels should avoid signing Robert Stephenson. I still am not enamored with the idea of signing him, but the other options in Tampa Bay include guys like Jake Diekman, Raimel Tapia, and former Angel Chris Devenski. Stephenson would be better than all three, in my opinion.

My reasoning behind the Angels not pursuing a guy like Stephenson was more about the Angels than it was about him. The Angels just signed a guy in Tyler Anderson who broke out randomly in his 30's with the Dodgers and was just one of the worst pitchers in baseball this past season for the Halos after they gave him a three-year deal. Stephenson just broke out in his age-30 season with the Rays. How good would he be with the Angels?

If the Angels move off of Matt Wise and sign a good pitching coach my confidence would be higher, but that hasn't happened yet. However, if they do land one, I'll definitely have interest in Stephenson because his year with the Rays was extraordinary.

The former first round pick was DFA'd by the Pirates after posting a 5.14 ERA in his first 18 appearances of the season, but he had a 2.35 ERA in 42 appearances with the Rays the rest of the season. He walked just eight batters compared to 60 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched, posting a microscopic 0.678 WHIP in the process. For reference, Edwin Diaz had a 0.839 WHIP in 2022 in one of the best seasons we've seen from a reliever in a long time.

As long as the Angels don't overpay expecting him to repeat or even improve on his 2023 numbers, I think bringing Stephenson in for a year or two if they change pitching coaches makes some sense. Expectations would have to be tempered, however.

Texas Rangers: Jordan Montgomery

Jordan Montgomery has gone from a mid-rotation guy with the Yankees to a legitimate frontline starter in the last year and a half with the Cardinals and Rangers. When St. Louis acquired him from the Yankees, he immediately helped them win the NL Central by posting a 3.11 ERA in 11 starts down the stretch.

That success continued in the first half of the season with St. Louis, but with him approaching free agency and the Cardinals out of postseason contention, they shipped him off to Texas where he once again helped his team make the postseason. Montgomery had a 2.79 ERA in 11 starts down the stretch and threw seven scoreless innings in Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round.

Overall, the southpaw had a 3.20 ERA in 32 starts and 188.2 innings pitched. The Angels could really use help in the rotation even if Ohtani stays considering the fact that he's not pitching in 2024, and Montgomery would be that frontline starter this staff lacks. He's made at least 30 starts in each of the last three seasons and won't require the same nine figure deal a guy like Blake Snell would command.

There aren't many reasons to dislike Montgomery. He's reliable, goes deep into games, doesn't walk anybody, and constantly puts his teams in position to win. The Angels should've added him at the deadline, but have their chance to do so in free agency.

Toronto Blue Jays: Brandon Belt

We've finally reached our first hitter on the list. There's some uncertainty as to whether Brandon Belt will play in 2024, but if he does, he'd be a solid DH replacement for Shohei Ohtani if he departs.

Belt had a rough year in 2022 and got off to a rough start this past season for Toronto, but from August 1 on, his 189 WRC+ ranked second in the majors only behind MVP candidate Mookie Betts. He slashed .278/.397/.629 in that span with 10 home runs and 16 RBI in 120 plate appearances. He did miss some time due to injury, but when he was on the field, he was unbelievable offensively.

The Angels do have Nolan Schanuel pencilled in at first base, but Belt as a left-handed DH option makes a ton of sense if Ohtani leaves. He had an .890 OPS against righties in 2023, making him very elite at hitting right-handed pitching. The Angels can then get creative as to how they use the DH against lefties.

Belt's 138 WRC+ overall would've ranked second on the Angels this past season only behind Shohei Ohtani. Yes, he was even better than Mike Trout who had a 134 WRC+. He's 35 years old but clearly has something left in the tank. With him contemplating retirement he'd only require a one-year deal so if it doesn't work out or if the Angels are out of it by the deadline, they can either trade him or be done with the deal after 2024.

Atlanta Braves: Joe Jimenez

A lot of the focus when discussing the 2023 Braves is on their historic offense and their frontline starting pitchers. Their rock solid bullpen is often overlooked, and Joe Jimenez was just one cog in that machine.

The right-hander was acquired in a trade with the Tigers in the 2022 offseason and showed that his breakout season the year prior was no fluke. Jimenez started off slowly as he had a 4.42 ERA at the end of May, but posted a 2.37 ERA in his final 39 appearances from June 1 on, and finished the year with a 3.09 ERA in 59 appearances and 56.1 innings pitched.

Jimenez wasn't the closer or even primary set-up man with how loaded Atlanta's bullpen is, but he pitched like a high-end reliever as he struck out 73 batters compared to just 14 walks and had a career best 147 ERA+.

Jimenez is just 28 years old making him one of the younger free agents out there. The Angels can comfortably give him multiple years and expect him to not regress heavily, at least due to age. He has the opportunity to grow with the rest of the young Angels bullpen and could potentially play a key role late in games.

Los Angeles Dodgers: J.D. Martinez

This is another guy who, like Brandon Belt, is dependent on Shohei Ohtani leaving in free agency. If Ohtani stays, there obviously isn't room for J.D. Martinez who is purely a DH.

The Dodgers have several interesting free agents, but not many of them are great fits for the Angels. Clayton Kershaw would be fun, but the chances of him coming to Anaheim are almost zero. Guys like Ryan Brasier and Shelby Miller have had nice breakout seasons with the Dodgers, but again, do they want to fall into the Tyler Anderson trap? The same can be said for veteran outfielders Jason Heyward and David Peralta. Plus, the Angels already have several outfielders.

Martinez is their most appealing free agent to me, because he can simply take Shohei's spot in the order at DH and still be a great hitter. He's not Shohei, but Martinez had a nice bounceback of his own in Los Angeles, slashing .271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs and 103 RBI. That'll work!

Martinez is 36 years old and nearing the end of a really good career. Bringing him on for a year to DH feels like a decent enough Shohei replacement. If the Angels are good, he'd be a big reason why. If they're not, they can get something decent for him at the trade deadline.

Milwaukee Brewers: Andrew Chafin

Andrew Chafin is another example of just how volatile relievers can be. He had a 2.29 ERA in 135 appearances in 2021-2022, but struggled mightily for the Diamondbacks and Brewers in 2023. He pitched so poorly at Chase Field to the point where Arizona traded him at the deadline to another National League team despite being in the postseason hunt. Chafin then struggled so mightily in Milwaukee to the point where he was left off the postseason roster.

He had a 4.73 ERA in 63 appearances and 51.1 innings pitched this season for Arizona and Milwaukee, seeing a fairly sizable increase in both walks and home runs given up. Most alarmingly, lefties hit .264 against him this past season which is not great for a guy you'd bring in to mainly get lefties out.

There's a lot of bad that came from Chafin's 2023 season, but this also makes him a decent buy-low option for an Angels bullpen that needs help. Especially from the left side. Aaron Loup is set to hit free agency after the Angels decline his club option so outside of potentially Jose Suarez (if he isn't non-tendered) the Angels don't have a lefty.

Bringing the 33 year old in for a year to see if he can bounce back wouldn't be a bad play. He has a track record of being a very solid reliever, and he did finish this past season with a 1.69 ERA in the month of September.

Philadelphia Phillies: Aaron Nola

Aaron Nola is the biggest name on this list. He's set to hit free agency after a down year, but when right, he's one of the best pitchers in the National League. We saw that in his postseason start when he threw seven dominant innings against the Marlins.

Nola is as much of a workhorse as there is in the modern game. He's made at least 32 starts in every full season since 2018, and in the shortened 2020 season he made all 12 of his starts. He's thrown at least 168 innings pitched in each full season since 2017, making him one consistent qualifier for the ERA title. He's surpassed the 200 inning mark three times since 2018, and was just 6.1 innings shy of 200 this past season.

Nola is just a one-time all-star, but has finished in the top seven of the NL Cy Young balloting three times, finishing as high as third back in 2018. He finished fourth in 2022. When right, he pours in strikes at an elite rate while also racking up plenty of strikeouts.

He'd require a long-term deal which I don't love for a 30-year-old pitcher, but Nola is a guy you can rely on to take the ball every fifth day and for the most part, put your team in prime position to win. At his worst, he's an innings eater which is another thing this rotation needs.

Miami Marlins: Matt Moore

Matt Moore is a familiar name to Angels fans, for obvious reasons. The southpaw signed a one-year deal to come to Anaheim last offseason and pitched extremely well before being waived at the end of August. Make no mistake, he wasn't waived for performance reasons.

Moore had the opportunity to pitch for two teams trying to make a push for the playoffs in Cleveland and Miami. He pitched well in both of those spots as well. Overall, he had a 2.77 ERA in 46 appearances and 48.2 innings of work in 2023.

He served as the team's primary set-up man for Carlos Estevez and was for the most part, dominant. He had 20 holds and just two blown saves. Those two blown saves came in his last two appearances with the Angels after the team was well out of postseason contention already.

Bringing him back to work in the same role as the team's primary lefty and pitching late in games makes a ton of sense if Moore is interested in returning. He's been one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball in each of the last two seasons and was one of very few Angels players to actually reach or even exceed expectations.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Tommy Pham

The Diamondbacks made a trade with the Mets, acquiring a guy I believe the Angels should've made a run at in Tommy Pham. The Angels settled for Randal Grichuk instead to replace the injured Taylor Ward in left field and Grichuk had maybe the worst month of his career when the Angels were vying for postseason contention.

Pham was brought on to be the fourth outfielder for the Mets but forced his way into the starting lineup after having a great season. He slowed down a bit for Arizona but has been hitting third for them regularly and with that team one win away from a trip to the NLCS, I'd say it's worked out quite well.

Overall, he slashed .256/.328/.446 with 16 home runs and 68 RBI. He even tacked on 22 stolen bases in 25 tries and 27 doubles. Not a bad year for the 35-year-old Pham.

What makes him so appealing for me, is the fact that he just tore the cover off the ball all season long. He ranked in the 93rd percentile in average exit velocity according to baseball savant and in the 89th percentile in xBA. He had a good year, but it should've been even better based on the advanced metrics. He just hit into some bad luck. That can potentially turn around in 2024.

The fit isn't perfect with the Angels already having a bunch of outfielders, but Pham can spell Mickey Moniak in right field against lefties, and can also DH a bunch if the team does not bring back Ohtani. There will be plenty of at-bats for Pham to go around, especially with injuries being a very real thing for this Angels team.