3 'second tier' free agent starting pitchers the LA Angels should pursue

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The Los Angeles Angels lost Shohei Ohtani and have yet to replace him. We've seen hints on how the Angels might plan on replacing him with their reported interest in players like Blake Snell and Teoscar Hernandez, but who knows if the Halos will actually end up with both or even one of those players.

As for what the plan actually is, that remains to be seen. The Angels have had reported interest in some of the best free agents, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) says they're looking at making a trade for a frontline starter and are looking more at the 'second tier' of free agent starting pitchers.

What the second tier means is up to the reader's discretion. To me, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are the top tier. They're the arms who are certain to get nine figures. The next level includes these three pitchers who are likely going to get multi-year deals but they'll wind up being a whole lot cheaper.

1) Shota Imanaga

All of the focus this offseason has been on Japanese free agents Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This makes sense as Ohtani is the best player in the game and Yamamoto is a 25-year-old phenom who should help lead the Dodgers rotation for years to come. There's a third Japanese pitcher that is quite good but isn't receiving nearly the same attention, and that's Shota Imanaga.

Imanaga has spent each of the last eight years in the NPB pitching for the Yokohama DeNA Baystars and has a 2.96 ERA in 192 appearances and 1,129 innings pitched. He's been very solid throughout his entire NPB career and is coming off another terrific season in 2023.

Imanaga posted a 2.66 ERA in 24 starts and 159 innings pitched, striking out 188 batters compared to just 24 walks. He wasn't nearly as good as Yamamoto, but that doesn't mean he wasn't good at all.

At 30 years old he's not nearly as interesting to MLB teams as Yamamoto, but he'll still get a pricey multi-year deal. MLB Trade Rumors predicts a five-year deal worth $85 million which would be quite similar to the deal Kodai Senga got last offseason with the Mets. Senga had similar numbers to Imanaga in the NPB and wound up being one of the best pitchers in the National League. Can Imanaga follow that same trajectory?

2) Marcus Stroman

The Angels have expressed interest in Marcus Stroman this offseason, and Rosenthal links the connection he has with GM Perry Minasian in his piece. If they're looking at second tier starters, Stroman is easily the most established of the bunch.

The right-hander is a two-time all-star, a mostly durable workhorse, and happens to be one of the best defensive pitchers in the game as well. For a rotation in desperate need of some consistency, Stroman would certainly provide that.

The right-hander has made at least 25 starts in six of the last seven full seasons (excluding 2020) and has four seasons of 32+ starts in that span. He has just two seasons in his nine-year career with an ERA above 4.00, making him quite reliable.

This past season saw several ups and downs for Stroman who was dominant in the first half but took a major step back down the stretch. With him being 32 years old that can be a bit concerning, but there's every reason to believe Stroman still has something in the tank.

At the two years and $44 million MLB Trade Rumors projects him to earn, the Angels would not only have a quick out if things do go downhill, but he'd be easy to trade if he pitches well and the team struggles. At that price it really is a no-brainer, even if he's not the ace this team desperately needs.

3) Michael Lorenzen

The Angels helped Michael Lorenzen regain value as a starting pitcher in this league after he started 18 games for them in 2022 and pitched fairly well. He inked a one-year deal with the Tigers to prove himself again, and all he did in Detroit was make the all-star team.

Lorenzen pitched wonderfully in the first half for the Tigers, posting a 3.58 ERA in 18 starts before being traded to the Phillies at the deadline. His first two starts with Philadelphia went wonderfully as he even threw a no-hitter in his home debut, but Lorenzen really fell off after that, struggling in his next five starts and being moved back to the bullpen where he'd pitch in low leverage the rest of the way including the playoffs.

Despite the rough finish, Lorenzen still had a 4.18 ERA in 29 appearances (25 starts) and would make some sense as a return candidate. He set a career high with 153 innings pitched, but with the way he finished it's fair to question whether he can handle a full season starting pitcher workload.

There're obvious concerns, however, he's only projected to earn a two-year deal worth $22 million which for how expensive starting pitchers are, that'd be a bargain. If he pitches like he did for the Tigers it'd be among the biggest steals of the offseason undoubtedly.

He's not nearly as enticing as Stroman or Imanaga, but there aren't many 'second tier' guys left, especially with the Angels likely not considering a Lucas Giolito reunion. It'd be far from the perfect addition, but that doesn't mean it'd be a bad one.

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3 'second tier' free agent starting pitchers the Angels should pursue

1) Shota Imanaga

2) Marcus Stroman

3) Michael Lorenzen

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