5 Angels players that must step up with Shohei Ohtani headed to the Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani is gone. That's the unfortunate reality that the Los Angeles Angels are going to have to deal with. The team failed to field a winning team to surround him, so Ohtani took his talents to an already proven winner.

While Ohtani is destined to win in 2024, the Angels are certainly not. If they couldn't win with him, a two-time MVP in the last three seasons, what makes them think they can win without him?

The Angels will be active in both the free agency and the trade market as they attempt to build an improved ball club, but a lot of the work for this team to really get better has to be done by the players within. These five in particular really have to step up with Ohtani gone.

1) Mike Trout

Poor Mike Trout. He committed long-term to the Angels and ever since doing so has seen the franchise take steps back. Ohtani is now gone, leaving Trout with as subpar of a roster as he's ever had throughout his Angels career.

A big reason the Ohtani era didn't result in much winning has to do with injuries. The first half of it saw Ohtani miss substantial time due to injury, and he never put together a full season of two-way play until 2021. That same season is when Trout's injury issues really started to escalate. Injuries are nobody's fault, but they did undoubtedly play a huge role during Shohei's time in Anaheim.

Trout has played less than half the time in the last three seasons. It's very hard to win when your co-superstar is out more than he's on the field. He was limited to just 82 games last season. The Angels are going to need many more than that for the team to be successful.

In addition to Trout being healthy, he has to be productive. Sure, he was still an excellent hitter in 2023 (even if he didn't meet Trout's standards) but Trout especially struggled with runners in scoring position. He hit just .214 with a .716 OPS with RISP, playing a huge role in the overall struggles of the team. With Ohtani gone, it's on him to be the primary run producer. Can he fill that role?

2) Anthony Rendon

Expecting anything at all from Anthony Rendon at this point is pretty unreasonable, but Rendon giving the Angels something would certainly go a long way in their quest to compete without Shohei.

Rendon's Angels tenure has been nothing short of a disaster. Injuries, missed games, off-field distractions, it's been filled with just about everything you don't want from a player, let alone the highest-paid player in terms of AAV.

It's presumed that Rendon is going to miss time, but maybe he can play more than 60 games for the first time in an Angels uniform. Maybe when he's on the field he can show flashes of the MVP-caliber player he once was with Washington and even in his first year with the Halos.

The Angels cannot and will not expect Rendon to be the guy they paid for. However, they can expect him to be a better version of what he has been. Can it really get any worse? It's time for this guy to show something, especially with Ohtani gone.

3) Luis Rengifo

The Angels can and should be making at least one addition to their lineup with Ohtani gone, but as of now, they have yet to do so. Until they do, it's assumed that Luis Rengifo is going to take over for Ohtani in the lineup as an everyday player. He has to step up.

Rengifo was one of very few Angels players that actually stepped up after the all-star break and after the trade deadline. He had arguably the best two-month stretch of his career before landing on the IL with his season-ending bicep injury.

Rengifo has been inconsistent throughout his Angels career, but has seemed to be more consistent when given everyday at-bats. We saw him really struggle in a utility role in the first half of last season but he was forced into the lineup everyday due to the bevy of injuries this team suffered. Once he was in the lineup, the Angels could not take him out. Rengifo was among the best hitters in the American League in the second half before getting injured.

As things stand right now, Rengifo likely slots in as the Angels' everyday second baseman with Brandon Drury taking over at DH. Even if the Angels sign another hitter, Rengifo is going to play a huge role as a super-utility player and the primary Anthony Rendon backup in all likelihood.

4) Patrick Sandoval

It's not only the hitters who have to step up with Ohtani gone, the pitching staff is impacted in a big way as well. Ohtani was not only the best hitter on the team, but he was the ace of the rotation. That is what makes him Shohei Ohtani after all.

Even if he returned the Angels' rotation was going to have to step up since Ohtani will not be pitching in 2024, but with Ohtani gone the need is highlighted even more. The young arms this team has must take a step up. Patrick Sandoval should be the leader of that.

Sandoval looked like he had come into his own following a fantastic 2022 season. He set career-highs across the board, and looked like a future frontline starter for this Angels team. Sandoval took a major step back this past season, seeing his ERA rise by over one run and having all sorts of issues locating and fighting his way through jams.

Sandoval still pitched like a fine third or fourth starter, but if the season started tomorrow, he'd likely be the ace of this staff. He's 27 years old now and has to have a huge year for the Angels to think about being competitive. Yes, the team will presumably bring in an arm to slot in at the top, but Sandoval will be right behind him. It's time for him to pitch to his potential.