3 Angels free agent targets to sign while everyone else is distracted by Yoshinobu Yamamoto

When Shohei Ohtani finally signed with the Dodgers, every MLB insider claimed that his decision would break the ice, and the offseason would officially begin. The weeks of inactivity would finally come to an end. Well, that hasn't happened at all.

The best position player, Ohtani, is finally off the board, but the market is still moving at a snail's pace. The reason behind that is that the best pitcher (who can actually pitch in 2024), Yoshinobu Yamamoto, remains on the market. It feels like every big market team is in on him in some capacity. Well, every big market team except for the Los Angeles Angels.

Why the Angels are not in on the 25-year-old phenom is a question I cannot answer, but while the league waits for him to finally make his long-awaited decision, the Angels can be proactive by making other additions. The frontline starters like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery won't sign until Yamamoto does, but the rest of the market should be unaffected by what he decides to do. These three players make a whole lot of sense.

1) The Angels should sign Matt Moore while the league waits

If Matt Moore is willing to come back to Anaheim, there's no reason why the Angels should not be all over it. The Angels signed the southpaw to a one-year deal last offseason, and he wound up being their most consistent reliever until the team opted to shed some salary at the end of August.

Moore did miss time due to injury, but posted a 2.66 ERA in 41 appearances and 44 innings pitched for the Angels. He worked primarily as Carlos Estevez's set-up man, and recorded 20 holds with just a pair of blown saves. Those blown saves came at the end of his Angels tenure when the team was already out of contention.

The 34-year-old proved to be a valuable arm against both righties and lefties, and could even go more than an inning whenever they needed it. The fact that Moore is left-handed would be very helpful as well. The lefties right now in this bullpen are Adam Kolarek (yikes) and Jose Suarez (bigger yikes). The Angels lack any sort of late-game left-handed reliever, and Moore would be a perfect fit.

This Angels bullpen needs a lot of help even after the additions of Kolarek, Adam Cimber, and Luis Garcia. Bringing Moore back to Anaheim would go a long way.