Cardinals contracts should give the Angels cause to pause when looking at starters

The Los Angeles Angels would benefit greatly from adding starting pitching, and this free agency class has several high-end starters that'd make this team much better. The problem is those high-end starters will likely make more than the Angels would be willing to give out, especially when they're holding onto hope that Shohei Ohtani will remain with the club.

While high-end starters are always the goal, the Angels could still use other options to round out the staff. Pitchers on one year deals often come in with minimal risk and outperform the contract with decent to great years.

The market for those one-year rentals was just set by the Cardinals who signed two veterans to one-year deals. Both Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson will join St. Louis for next season, and both will be making a lot of money. This should give the Angels cause to pause as they look at upgrading their rotation in 2024.

The LA Angels must make sure the pitchers they sign are actual upgrades

Lynn was the first to join the Cardinals, and he got a deal worth $10 million. Yes, the same Lance Lynn that allowed the most home runs in the majors during the regular season (44) and allowed four home runs in a row in a postseason game. Even the Dodgers couldn't seem to fix him, and they fix just about everybody (sorry, Noah Syndergaard).

Gibson joined the Cardinals soon after, and he led the AL in hits allowed (198). Yes, they both delivered over 180 innings, but those innings were far from quality. They're both 36 years old, and will likely be just as bad as they just were, if not even worse.

The Angels have to make sure the pitchers they sign are actual upgrades. Signing an arm just to eat innings and not caring if he allows five or six runs isn't the way to go. Finding a quality starter that can be an upgrade over the likes of Chase Silseth and Tyler Anderson is what must be done.

Any starting pitching will be expensive. Pitchers like Gibson and Lynn with ERA's hovering around 5.00 and 6.00 respectively receiving eight figures confirm that. The Angels must either spend on the right pitcher or use their resources to improve the offense and/or bullpen. The Angels have made these mistakes with guys like Matt Harvey, Julio Teheran, and Trevor Cahill. They don't need to make the same mistake again.