3 star pitchers the Angels should pursue in free agency instead of Blake Snell

The Los Angeles Angels are in desperate need of a frontline starter whether Shohei Ohtani returns or not, because Ohtani cannot pitch in 2024. One available pitcher is Blake Snell, and the Angels are reportedly interested in signing him.

Snell was obviously elite in 2023 as he took home the NL Cy Young award. That was the second Cy Young he's won in his career. Snell is more than capable when it comes to putting together an elite season, but doing so in consecutive seasons has never happened in his career. The inconsistency is something to worry about when considering signing him to a monster free agent deal.

Instead of inking the inconsistent Snell, the Halos should look into signing one of these three pitchers to lead their rotation.

1) Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Nobody is getting more hype around the league than Yoshinobu Yamamoto other than Shohei Ohtani. Yamamoto is making the move from Japan to MLB and is expected to receive an enormous free agent deal.

The right-hander has won three straight Sawamura Awards, and is arguably the best Japanese player to make the move to the United States other than Shohei Ohtani. He has elite stuff, and is projected to be a bonafide ace.

The most appealing thing when it comes to Yamamoto other than how dominant he is as a pitcher is his age. At just 25 years old he'd fit right into this rotation alongside the other youngsters the Angels have. He's also much younger than any of the other frontline free agent starters. Snell for example is turning 31 in December, so there's a six-year difference. That is obviously massive.

If the Angels were to sign Yamamoto to the eight or nine year deal he's likely going to get, that'd take him through his age 33 or 34 season. He wouldn't be in complete decline like a guy like Snell would be after his long-term deal. There's risk involved in signing Yamamoto as he hasn't pitched in the majors, but there's also risk in signing Snell as you never quite know what you're going to get from him.

3) Eduardo Rodriguez

Similar to Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez is a pitcher that the Angels would simply know what they're getting most of the time out of. He is not the huge strikeout arm Snell is, and won't dominate an opponent as much as Snell will, but will give his team more consistency when it comes to delivering innings, and quality ones at that.

This past season, Rodriguez made 26 starts for the Tigers and had a 3.30 ERA in 152.2 innings pitched. It was one of, if not his best season. Pitching at pitcher-friendly Comerica Park half the time obviously helped, but this is a guy who was mostly successful while pitching most often at Fenway Park as a member of the Red Sox.

What makes Rodriguez a more appealing option comes down to contract details. Everything with Rodriguez's contract will be a lot more team-friendly than Snell. He's projected to receive four years at $82 million according to MLB Trade Rumors. That's a whole lot cheaper than the seven years at $200 million Snell is projected at.

Signing Rodriguez would, in theory, allow the Angels to do more in free agency to build a more well-rounded ball club while also not being much worse than Snell in his non-Cy Young years. What seals the deal is the fact that like Montgomery, Rodriguez doesn't come with the qualifying offer. They save money and keep their draft pick while also not getting much of a downgrade in production, at least in my opinion.