Angels bullpen has gone from a weakness to possible strength after Matt Moore signing

For years now, the Los Angeles Angels have struggled to build a bullpen good enough to compete. It all starts from their lack of development, as the Angels have no big success stories coming out of their 'pen in recent years who they developed outside of a couple of one-year wonders. Additionally, failed signings in free agency have hamstrung the team as well.

Last season the Angels had a couple of good stretches from their bullpen, but it was still subpar. In fact, they had one of the worst bullpen ERA's in all of baseball. Some of that had to do with injuries, but it's clear that the Angels did not have enough talent.

This offseason, the Angels have made another attempt to revamp their bullpen. This time around, it might actually work.

LA Angels might've made their bullpen a strength after it was a major weakness

The offseason began with underwhelming move after underwhelming move, with the Angels signing Luis Garcia, Adam Cimber, and Adam Kolarek all to cheap one-year deals. All three of those pitchers had been good in the past, but were coming off down years. They seemed to be fine depth adds, but it was worrisome that the Angels hadn't made any real upgrades.

That changed when the Angels signed Robert Stephenson to a three-year deal. Stephenson is coming off his best season, and is expected to play a huge role in the bullpen. What's even more crucial is that the Angels didn't stop there, as they added Matt Moore on a one-year deal. Now, the bullpen looks a whole lot different.

The closer spot is a bit murky thanks to the way Carlos Estevez finished his season, but Moore and Stephenson joining him as legitimate high-leverage options gives the Angels three relievers they should be able to trust late in games.

Adding Stephenson and Moore pushes youngsters Jose Soriano and Ben Joyce to lower-leverage roles for now, with the chance to earn larger opportunities if they perform and stay healthy. The Angels will be counting on them, but not in innings they're not ready for. It also pushes Garcia and Cimber further away from needing to be relied upon in huge moments.

All of a sudden, the Angels have legitimate late-game options and actual depth. While pitchers like Garcia and Cimber are coming off down years, they certainly feel like better options to turn to than the likes of Jimmy Herget and Andrew Wantz who will both be depth pieces.

This is as formidable and deep as the Angels have been bullpen-wise in a long time. They still need to improve in every other aspect of their roster, but the bullpen looks much-improved and could be a strength after being a weakness for so long.