3 positions the Angels must address next after bolstering bullpen with Robert Stephenson signing

The Los Angeles Angels made their first meaningful move of the offseason, bringing in Robert Stephenson on a three-year deal. Stephenson is coming off a career year with the Rays and is expected to play a huge role in what we can only hope is an improved Angels bullpen.

While bringing in Stephenson was a good start, the Angels still have plenty of holes to fill to fix what is still a very flawed roster. They must continue adding, and should address these three positions if they want to really improve their roster.

3) The Angels need to address their starting rotation after signing Robert Stephenson

The starting rotation was the biggest concern of many entering the offseason, and the Angels have done nothing to make it better. They added Zach Plesac who is a fine depth piece, but they haven't added anyone who'd be guaranteed to fit into the rotation. That's a major problem considering the fact that the Angels rotation was below-average even with Shohei Ohtani. With Ohtani gone and nobody in to replace him, it looks pretty bad.

The two obvious solutions to this rotation issue are Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, but that'd involve the Angels spending more money on starting pitching than they ever have. Jered Weaver got the richest contract for a starting pitcher in Angels history, earning a five-year deal worth $85 million. Yes, that's it. There's a good chance both Snell and Montgomery double that total, making it extremely unlikely that the Angels bring one of them in.

The other avenue for the Angels to improve their rotation is via trade, but the issue of a lack of valuable pieces the Angels can give up is a major one. The Angels have one of the worst farm systems in baseball, and should not be trading the few good ones they have for pitchers with little team control.

In all likelihood, the pitchers we see on the team now are who we'll see starting games to begin the year. It's not what Angels fans want to hear, and Angels fans can only hope the team fill find a way to seriously address the rotation, but it just feels unlikely as of now.