3 Angels backup plans if they don't sign Shohei Ohtani

The Winter Meetings are officially here, and the Los Angeles Angels hope to land the biggest fish possible this week while they're in Nashville. Whether that's actually possible or not remains to be seen, but they do appear to be one of the finalists for his services.

As much as the Angels want to re-sign Shohei Ohtani, it's not the absolute end of the world if he leaves. There are many ways the Angels can go iif he does leave.

1) The Angels can enter a rebuild

This is the likely the most popular option among Angels fans, but is the least likely to happen. The reason why is because of one man, Arte Moreno. The Angels have never fully rebuild under Moreno, and even after losing Ohtani it just doesn't feel like something he'd entertain.

However, if the Angels did lose Ohtani, and Moreno had some kind of change of heart, this Angels team can still undergo most of a rebuild.

Players on expiring contracts like Brandon Drury and Carlos Estevez immediately become trade bait, and would fit on a whole bunch of rosters trying to compete. The Angels can even consider trading players with a bit more control in order to really beef up what's an incredibly weak farm system.

If this were to happen, players like Patrick Sandoval and Griffin Canning would become prime trade candidates, and would fetch back a haul due to their team control.

A rebuild would also potentially include a Mike Trout trade. As difficult as that would be to pull off, that could be when he puts pressure on the team to send him elsewhere. Everything is on the table if this unlikely scenario does take place.

2) The Angels can spend the Shohei Ohtani money on other high-priced free agents

A rebuild is unlikely because this option still exists. The Angels might not have been able to land the best option out there, but they still have a ton of money to spend on the options that remain.

The Angels need to spend on starting pitching whether they keep Shohei Ohtani or not. Their rotation was subpar even with Shohei, and without him it's unimaginable. Fortunately, there are many players they can spend on.

The Halos can shock the world by entering the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes. They've already shown interest in Cy Young winner Blake Snell, perhaps they can scoop him up. Even a guy like Eduardo Rodriguez would be a difference-maker.

Replacing Ohtani's bat would be even more challenging than replacing his arm. The best options out there include guys like Cody Bellinger and J.D. Martinez who, despite being great players, are obviously nowhere near the hitters Shohei is.

No, the Angels won't be any better doing this most likely, but it's a way for Arte Moreno to still keep his fan base at least somewhat interested.