4 free agents Angels fans better hope don’t land in the AL West

The Los Angeles Angels have a hard enough division as is. The Astros are in the midst of a dynasty, winning their second World Series in the last six seasons, making the ALCS every year. The Mariners have one of the more exciting young rosters in baseball and just snapped their long postseason drought.

The Rangers struggled in 2022 but signed Marcus Semien and Corey Seager to massive deals, have a ton of exciting prospects, and have money to throw around for some pitching. The Athletics aren't really a concern.

Angels fans should expect the AL West to be even tougher in 2023 with the Rangers being better and the Astros and Mariners being just as good, if not better themselves.

Here are four free agents that Angels fans better hope don't come to the AL West

Justin Verlander - Houston Astros

The reigning AL Cy Young award winner is on the market and able to sign anywhere. He's been linked to teams like the Dodgers and Mets, who might be willing to throw him a ton of money. Angels fans should hope this happens so he does not return to Houston.

The Astros have probably the best rotation in all of baseball with Framber Valdez, Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia, Christian Javier, Hunter Brown, and Jose Urquidy among the studs developed by the 'Stros. If they lost Verlander, they become substantially weaker.

After missing two seasons Verlander didn't miss a beat and had arguably his best season in the bigs, posting a 1.75 ERA in 28 starts. He won his second career Cy Young award.

The Astros will still be great without him, but Verlander takes their starting rotation to a whole other level when he's healthy and pitching like he did in 2022.

Xander Bogaerts - Seattle Mariners

The Mariners are reportedly interested in the big four shortstops, and Xander Bogaerts seems like a very realistic target to come to Seattle and join their young squad. The Mariners just won 90 games for the second consecutive season and made the postseason snapping their long drought.

Right now, Seattle has J.P. Crawford at short with Dylan Moore as their second baseman. Signing a shortstop like Bogaerts could move Crawford to second base and make their team instantly better.

Seattle already added a middle of the order bat in Teoscar Hernandez and have Julio Rodriguez to hit in the front of their lineup. Adding Bogaerts, a guy who can hit third and be an elite run producer for them makes them so much better.

Bogaerts slashed .307/.377/.456 with 15 home runs and 73 RBI. It was a down year for Bogaerts in the power department as he hit 23 home runs in 2021 and has hit as many as 33 back in 2019.

Bogaerts has received MVP votes in each of the last five seasons, finishing as high as fifth. He's won three Silver Sluggers including each of the last two seasons and has four career all-star appearances. He's one of the best shortstops in baseball. He also has won two championships and brings a level of experience Seattle lacks.

The fit here is really perfect and I hope it doesn't happen.

Cody Bellinger - Oakland Athletics

It seems rather likely that the Athletics won't make any signings at all. They're a team that refuses to spend money and seems to have zero intention on competing. Something they can do is sign Cody Bellinger, a player who has struggled mightily but can bounce back.

At one point Bellinger was in the conversation for best player in baseball. He won the MVP award in 2019. He could hit, hit for power, run, field, and had a strong arm. Unfortunately, Bellinger seems to have forgotten to hit since that magical 2019 season.

He's slashed .203/.272/.376 since the 2020 season with 41 home runs and 134 RBI. He had 47 home runs and 115 RBI in 2019.

Bellinger can still run and is an excellent fielder, but the bat just disappearing is why he was non-tendered by the Dodgers.

The Angels should not consider signing him as I don't think he bounces back but what if he does somehow become the player he once was? Do you really want to see him re-discover his swing in Oakland? They'd still be a bad team but he'd net them great prospect capital at the deadline. This is a move I don't want to see at all just on the off chance Bellinger re-discovers his swing.