3 starting pitchers the Angels should target after losing Shohei Ohtani

2) Yoshinobu Yamamoto

After the departure of Ohtani, the Angels may have some difficulty acquiring this Japanese ace, but he would certainly help accelerate the team's plans of competing. The baseball world got to see Yamamoto’s talent in the World Baseball Classic as he pitched two games (one in relief) for a total of 7.1 innings and only gave up 2 runs with 12 strikeouts. 

During the 2023 season in Japan, Yamamoto showcased why he is so coveted as he put up a stellar 1.16 ERA in 171 innings of work with 176 strikeouts to go along with. The Japanese right-hander is highly sought after so it would be hard for the Angels to land him. Possibly add in the lack of success the team had with Ohtani and it would make sense why Yamamoto would not want to sign here. Also, add in the possibility that Angels owner Arte Moreno may be done dipping into the Japanese market with some hostility toward Ohtani signing with the rival Dodgers. 

It would be a long shot for the Angels to land another Japanese phenom just based on where the team is at right now and how they handled Ohtani. However, if they could convince Yamamoto to buy into their young core, they could land an ace that can grow with the team.