4 free agents the Angels should not bother getting into a bidding war over

The Los Angeles Angels have a lot of work to do as they try and set their roster up to compete in 2024 and beyond. They have some nice core pieces like Mike Trout and several promising young players, but their best player, Shohei Ohtani, could be out the door any day now.

Ohtani is a free agent following his second MVP win in the last three years. The Angels never completed a winning season with him in their uniform, raising the question how they'd possibly win without him.

Chances are, if they miss on Ohtani they're going to do whatever they can to bring in another free agent or even two to help them be somewhat competitive in 2024 (even if it's not the right thing to do). These players should be targeted by the Angels, but Perry Minasian shouldn't be doing whatever he can to land them like he should with Ohtani. Bid, but have a number in mind to stop at and stick to it.

1) Blake Snell

Blake Snell enters this free agent market as arguably the best pitcher available that can actually pitch in 2024 (sorry, Shohei). Snell is coming off his second Cy Young season of his career, and one of the more dominant stretches in recent history.

Snell's overall numbers were obviously fantastic, but in his final 23 starts of the season the southpaw posted a 1.20 ERA. He allowed a total of 18 earned runs in 135 innings. Just hard to even fathom how hard that is to do. He did it thanks to allowing virtually no hits (72 in 135 innings, to be exact).

As good as Snell was, he still only pitched 180 innings. That obviously would've led this year's Angels team, but was tied for 24th in the majors. That's Snell at his absolute best, giving 32 starts and still barely finishing in the top 25 in innings. This is because Snell can lose command at any moment's notice and walk the ballpark. He led the league in walks this past season. Obviously walks don't hurt when you don't give up hits, but opponents had a .256 BAbip against him. That figures to go way up, which in turn will lead to a whole lot more runs.

Snell is obviously a great pitcher, but his value is at its absolute highest right now and he's 31 years old. With the amount of teams that need a frontline starter, Snell will be a hot commodity, especially with Aaron Nola off the market. The Angels should bid, but be careful. Don't be giving too many years or too high of an AAV for a pitcher as erratic as Snell.