2 notable LA Angels players who won't have their contracts renewed after 2022

Of the notable LA Angels who have expiring contracts in the 2023 offseason, I believe that two of them will not have their contracts renewed by the Halos.

With the departure of Alex Cobb this offseason, we learned that nobody is safe. Therefore, while I don't believe that nobody will be re-signed next offseason, I do see Michael Lorenzen and Justin Upton not being Angels after 2022.

I have nothing against either player, but I would predict them not to be back with the club after this season.

Justin Upton and Michael Lorenzen are boom or bust players this season for the LA Angels.

The LA Angels really don't know what they're getting out of both Justin Upton and Michael Lorenzen this year. As for Upton, it comes down to his health. If he wants to be an Angel past 2022, he'll need to be healthy and that's something we haven't been able to say about Upton for a long time.

Since 2019, he's played just 194 games out of 384 contests. The injuries have also led to him not performing. He hasn't been the player he was ever since that 2019 season.

To prove that injuries are what's hindering him, we can look at the month Upton gave us before he got hurt last year. He batted .326/.420/.600 (1.020 OPS) with six home runs and 25 runs in 25 games.

Upton was really coming back around, and then the injuries kept him out a month and he slumped. It was injury-related, and the Angels ended up shutting him down for the year. And even if Upton does stay healthy and the four-time All-Star returns to form, the Halos have two up-and-coming young studs in the outfield that they are going to want to give lots of playing time to moving forward.

Therefore, there might not be a ton of space for Upton on the roster. If he has a good year, then he's going to want good money. The Angels can just roll with Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell for cheaper.

As for Lorenzen, it's not that I don't believe in him. Again, I believe in both these guys. The issue is that I want Lorenzen in the bullpen, and it's been reported that he's going to be used as a two-way starting pitcher.

My issue with him being in the rotation is that he simply is...much worse in the rotation than in the pen. Here are his numbers as a reliever (on the left) vs as a starter (on the right):

3.74 ERA-----4.95 ERA

1.284 WHIP-----1.605 WHIP

8.1 K/9-----6.8 K/9

.238 BAA-----.286 BAA

.681 OPS allowed-----.843 OPS allowed

He's a pretty solid reliever. He's a pretty poor starter. Hearing that the team is envisioning him slotting in as a starter worries me.

All I'm saying is that if I had to predict whether he stays or goes next year, I have to predict that he goes due to him not being in the best position possible for him to succeed in 2022. He has talent, as does Upton. Hopefully the two can pull it together.

I know it feels awfully early to make this claim, and I know it's too early. That being said, I'm worried these two won't FIT with our team when their contracts are up in November.