Angels rumor: Halos showing "some interest" in Seth Lugo as a starter, per report

The Los Angeles Angels signed Tyler Anderson to join their rotation. He was the first move made in what's been a busy offseason so far for the Angels. Anderson joined Shohei Ohtani, Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval, and Jose Suarez in the Angels rotation. Because of Ohtani, the team uses a six-man rotation. The Angels still need their sixth starter.

Last season they took fliers on guys like Michael Lorenzen and Noah Syndergaard in their rotation on one-year deals. Both pitchers weren't horrible but weren't anything special. The Angels appear to be interested in taking another flier on a potential starting pitcher.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) says the Angels are among the teams with at least "some interest" in Seth Lugo as a starting pitcher.

The Angels should not sign Seth Lugo to be a full-time starter.

Seth Lugo is a guy I believe the Angels should be interested in, just not as a starting pitcher. Lugo can go multiple innings, can get lefties and righties out, and has experience pitching late in games. He has a career 2.91 ERA in 237 appearances as a reliever. The problem is, that isn't what Lugo wants.

Lugo wants to be a starter, and the Angels are showing interest in him in that role. They should look elsewhere for the rotation.

Lugo came up as a starting pitcher in the Mets system and looked pretty good. He had a 2.68 ERA in eight starts averaging almost six innings per start that season and was a key starter for New York down the stretch in their pursuit of the postseason.

Since the 2016 season, things haven't been great for Lugo as a starter. He posted a 4.71 ERA in 19 appearances in 2017 (18 starts). He then transitioned to a full-time reliever in 2018 and 2019 where he excelled.

The Mets had a bevy of pitching injuries in the shortened 2020 season and turned to Lugo once again as a starter mid-season. He had a 6.15 ERA in seven starts that season. He should get somewhat of a pass for that as he wasn't stretched out to be a starter and was thrust into that role just out of necessity, but still, it didn't work out.

Lugo has had opportunities to start since his debut in 2016 and just hasn't taken advantage of it. He hasn't started a game since 2020 and has a 4.35 career ERA as a starter in 38 starts.

The 33 year old would be a useful weapon out of the Angels bullpen but I don't see the fit with him as a starter. Is it possible he turns out to be good? Absolutely. He's shown he's a good pitcher. The Angels just can't take the gamble right now. Signing a sixth starter is something that needs to be done, Lugo just isn't the right guy.