Could the Angels sign southpaw from crosstown rivals?

The Los Angeles Angels could use starting pitching. It's the same story every year with needing more pitching. This might be the season they address it.

The Angels have Shohei Ohtani to lead the rotation and three young left handers in Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, and Jose Suarez who figure to be in the rotation in some capacity. The Angels could use at least two starting pitchers.

According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Angels have shown interest in Tyler Anderson. This Angels rumor makes a lot of sense.

The Angels should try to pry Tyler Anderson away from their crosstown rivals.

Tyler Anderson was a journeyman starter for years, posting average numbers in Colorado, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. Anderson has always been a ground ball pitcher who gives length but was never an ace.

Anderson signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers last offseason and turned his entire career around. He went 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA in 30 appearances (28 starts).

Anderson opened the season pitching behind an opener in his first two appearances but pitched so well to the point where he was starting every fifth day for Los Angeles.

Anderson is the exact type of pitcher the Angels need. He might not be an ace and probably won't have an ERA as low as he had in 2022 but he's a guy who can give the Angels length and give them a chance to win every time out.

The Angels know what they'll get from Ohtani on the mound. They do not know what they'll get every time out from Sandoval, Detmers, and Suarez. Anderson would provide stability to the rotation that the Angels simply do not have.

Anderson thrives on not allowing hard contact. He ranked in the 98th percentile in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate while ranking in the 86th percentile in barrel rate according to baseball savant.

Anderson allowed just 14 home runs in 178.2 innings pitched while walking only 1.7 batters per nine. He did only strike out 7.0/9 but he didn't allow walks or home runs to beat him. When you don't allow the opponent to hit the ball hard or give batters free passes, chances are you'll do pretty well.

Anderson will likely have the Qualifying Offer attached to him which means the Angels would lose a draft pick if they sign him. However, with Shohei Ohtani not being traded before Opening Day, these are the kinds of moves that will have to be made in order to make a playoff push and potentially entice Ohtani to stay in Anaheim long term.

The southpaw is 32 years old and will receive a multi-year deal somewhere. I'd like to see him in an Angels uniform. This Angels rumor makes a lot of sense and could fix a lot of issues the Angels have in their rotation.