3 pitchers the Angels must sign with Shota Imanaga officially off the board
The Angels miss out on another starting pitcher as Shota Imanaga signs with the Cubs.
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The Los Angeles Angels were one of the teams rumored to be in on Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga, even being named as a finalist by Jim Bowden just days ago.
The fit with Imanaga and the Angels made some sense with the Angels needing starting pitching in the worst way and also potentially looking to add a foreign star like Imanaga in the wake of Shohei Ohtani's departure.
While the Angels appeared to have a legitimate shot at signing Imanaga, the southpaw has agreed to a deal with the Cubs according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, leaving the team empty-handed once again. While losing out hurts, there are other options for the Angels to pursue. Landing one of them is a must at this point.
1) Jordan Montgomery
Losing out on Imanaga is unfortunate, but the Angels still have several high-end options including pitchers like Jordan Montgomery, who is arguably the best option out there for the Halos.
Blake Snell has the highest ceiling of any free agent starter as we saw him win his second Cy Young Award this past season, but his floor is significantly lower than Montgomery's, which is why Monty is the pitcher the Angels need to pursue. The Angels have talent in their rotation with guys like Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval, and even Chase Silseth, but their inconsistency is glaring. Montgomery would provide incredible stability.
The southpaw might not have typical ace stuff, but he simply finds ways to win games. He takes the ball every fifth day without missing many starts and goes deep into games more often than not. That's really what this Angels team needs. Reliability.
There's a good chance Montgomery is out of their price range, but he really shouldn't be with them having so much money to spend. If the Angels choose to go with a cheaper option, the next two make a lot of sense.
2) Marcus Stroman
You knew he'd be here. The Angels have been connected to Marcus Stroman numerous times and it feels like if they were to actually sign a frontline starting pitcher, he'd be the guy. While he certainly has question marks of his own, there are reasons to believe he'd be a good fit in Anaheim.
Stroman is a ground ball pitcher which should play well in a Ron Washington-led team. The Angels struggled defensively in 2023, but should improve under Washington who is known to get the most out of his teams defensively. With solid defenders like Zach Neto and Brandon Drury as well as potential improvement from Nolan Schanuel in his first full season, Stroman might thrive in Anaheim.
Another reason why this could work is because Perry Minasian already knows him from his days in Toronto. Minasian was a scout with the Jays when Stroman was drafted by the team, and could easily circle back and sign him.
Stroman as an ace isn't super exciting, but it's certainly an upgrade over what the Angels have. At worst, he's a guy who should give them 25 starts or so with a sub-4.00 ERA. With Stroman receiving little known interest on the open market, the Angels might be able to get him at decent value.
3) Hyun-Jin Ryu
Montgomery and Stroman should both receive fairly lucrative multi-year deals. If the Angels want to avoid multi-year commitments and only focus on improving this season, Hyun-Jin Ryu is a pitcher who makes a lot of sense.
The 36-year-old left-hander is what he is at this point. When he pitches, he's a reliable arm. The problem is, he just doesn't pitch enough. Ryu has made 30+ starts twice in his ten-year MLB career. He's combined to make just 17 starts in the last two seasons, making 11 of them this past season for Toronto. He had a solid 3.46 ERA in those starts, but again, he only made 11 appearances all season.
The Angels would be banking on Ryu finding a way to stay healthy for a year, making a low-risk high-reward move. If Ryu fails to stay healthy or sees a drop in production, he'll be gone after the year. If he's healthy and pitches well, the Angels suddenly have a really solid starter to help them win games, or be a good trade deadline piece for them to sell.
Angels fans will surely be disappointed if Ryu is the best pitcher they sign, but he's better than nothing. The Angels have to do something. Ryu is a pitcher that at the very least can be good.
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