3 free agents LA Angels should avoid when lockout ends

No. 1 free agent the LA Angels should avoid when lockout ends: Yusei Kikuchi

The LA Angels need starting pitching, but they don't want Yusei Kikuchi. While he was indeed an All-Star last year, he finished the season very poorly.

Ever since that All-Star game, hitters batted .300 against him. He went 1-5 with a 5.98 ERA in those last 13 starts. It's true that every pitcher is going to go through rougher stretches in their career, but Kikuchi is very prone to this type of stretch.

Keep in mind that in his first two seasons of his career, he was a 5.39 ERA pitcher who boasted a terrible 8-15 record with an 80 ERA+.

All in all during his career, Kikuchi has been a 4.97 ERA guy with a rough 1.403 WHIP. He's allowed 1.6 home runs per nine innings in his three-year career. Let's hold off on Kikuchi.

It goes to show that while the Angels have clear needs at certain positions, they need to make sure they're acquiring guys who fit the organization best. Just going after players on last year's All-Star team isn't going to get the job done. Perry Minasian needs to nail the rest of this offseason.