Angels free agent target: Sean Manaea

The Los Angeles Angels could use one more starter to round out their rotation after signing Tyler Anderson earlier this offseason. The Angels have improved what was already a very good rotation with that signing, but there's still more work to be done.

Sean Manaea could be an interesting bounce-back candidate for the Angels to sign.

The first thing brought up with a potential Manaea signing is that he's left-handed. My response to that is that's irrelevant. I don't care what hand a starting pitcher throws with as long as he can get outs. For most of his career, Manaea has recorded outs.

Sean Manaea should be a familiar name for Angels fans as he played the first six years of his career in Oakland. In those six seasons, he went 50-41 with a 3.86 ERA in 129 appearances (128 starts).

He's never been flashy, but he's a guy the Athletics relied on to get deep into games and give them a chance to win. If the Angels were to sign him, they'd expect the same thing.

They have an ace with Ohtani. They have young quality arms in Detmers, Sandoval, and Suarez. They need guys who you can count on to give consistent innings. That's why they signed Tyler Anderson.

Manaea struggled after being traded to the Padres. He went 8-9 with a 4.96 ERA this past season. A big reason for the big rise in ERA is the home run ball. Manaea allowed 1.7 HR/9, 29 home runs in 158 innings pitched. That's simply too many.

Manaea had too many starts when he just didn't have it. The Dodgers in particular gave him fits as he allowed an absurd 23 earned runs in 17.2 innings against them. He had an 11.72 ERA against LAD.

He wouldn't be my first choice, but signing Manaea on a prove-it type of deal to bounce back from his bad season isn't a bad idea. He at the very least is a durable arm who can give innings. Even this season when he wasn't at his best, he went six or more innings 17 times in his 28 starts. He allowed three runs or fewer in 16 of the 17.

Manaea would be the fifth starter in this rotation. The Angels could do much worse than bringing in the 30-year-old veteran.