3 remaining free agents the Angels should sign and 2 they should avoid

2) LA Angels should sign Marcus Stroman

This Angels team needs pitching. There's no dancing around that. They had a subpar starting rotation even with Shohei Ohtani, and who knows what it'll look like without him. Sure, it can look much better if guys like Reid Detmers and Patrick Sandoval step up, but it's hard to expect that from them after down years in 2023.

The dream is to sign a solidified ace. Stroman is not that, but the perfect ace really isn't available. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto off the board, the two best pitchers available are Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. Both of these pitchers would be strong additions if they pitched how they did in 2023, but both would require lengthy expensive deals and have too many question marks surrounding them.

Stroman's ceiling is not where Snells' or even Montgomery's is, but his floor is around or even higher than theirs. And the fact that he'd fetch a much cheaper deal seals it as the one the Angels should really be pursuing. There's always next offseason for this team to find an ace, and there's a good chance that even with Snell pitching like a Cy Young winner this team isn't going anywhere in 2024.

Stroman gives the Angels durability and an innings eater. He's made at least 25 starts in each of the last five full seasons (excluding 2020) with at least 135 innings of work and a sub-4.00 ERA each year. He doesn't have ace stuff, but gives the staff an added veteran presence and his ground ball style might mesh well with Ron Washington in town.