LA Angels: 4 giant whiffs from Arte Moreno before MLB lockout

The LA Angels made some good moves in the offseason before the lockout, but they also missed out on what would have been big moves.

There were several players they were being linked to by reporters/insiders who cover this league, but they couldn't get many of them done.

There were four players in particular who they've whiffed on big-time so far. In order to fix this, the front office is going to have to come roaring back when the MLB lockout is over.

No. 4 giant whiff from Arte Moreno before MLB lockout: Chris Taylor

The LA Angels were rumored to be in on Chris Taylor, and Arte Moreno and the front office weren't able to get it done.

An All-Star in 2021, Taylor has defensive versatility that could have really helped the Angels. He's played all three outfield spots, third base, and he of course can play both middle infield spots.

Taylor isn't elite offensively, but he's still solid. In the last five years, Taylor has hit .265/.343/.461 (.804 OPS) with a 114 OPS+. Those numbers are fine for a shortstop, which is where he'd be playing for our team. There aren't a ton of good hitting offensive shortstops in the American League, so those numbers would do.

Taylor is already of course comfortable playing down here in the LA area, as he's been a Dodger since 2016. He'll remain a Dodger unfortunately, and our shortstop options are becoming more and more minimal as a few of the other big names are already gone.

No. 3 giant whiff from Arte Moreno before MLB lockout: Kevin Gausman

Kevin Gausman is a starting arm that the LA Angels were rumored to be going after, and Arte Moreno missed.

Gausman ended up going to the Blue Jays, after he had a tremendous season this year for the San Francisco Giants. It was the first All-Star season of his career, and his first season posting a sub-3.00 ERA (2.81).

Gausman was lights out, going 14-6 and posting a 145 ERA+ on the year. After losing himself in 2019, Gausman has been building so much momentum for what should be a strong 2022 during these last two seasons. In these last two years he's struck out 10.9 batters per nine frames and posted a 1.057 WHIP.

The Angels could have really used him. Instead, he'll be pitching in our league on a different team. This team has made just one big move for a starting pitcher, and only has three others (Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, and Jose Suarez) who have proven to be capable of pitching in a strong rotation.

Gausman would have been in one of the top three rotation slots, and was one of the safest starting pitching options in free agency.

No. 1 giant whiff from Arte Moreno before MLB lockout: Max Scherzer

Arte Moreno and the LA Angels had been eyeing Max Scherzer since the trade deadline. It wasn't even just the front office, too. Even Mike Trout was in on recruiting Scherzer to Anaheim.

And Scherzer was interested in us, too. He wanted to go to a west coast team at the deadline, and he really liked the Los Angeles area.

At the end of the day, the Mets offered him an insane $130 million over three years. That's over $43.3 million per year in average annual value, which is crazy.

The Angels weren't able to match that. As much as I bring up how Moreno has lots and lots of money and can spend at a high level, I can't knock him for not being able to get a deal done at that price. If he did, I doubt he re-signs Raisel Iglesias, who was important to bring back.

In a perfect world, we would have been able to negotiate with him and see him taking interest in coming across the freeway. Instead, he took interest in coming across the country.

With all this being said, however, this offseason is still not over. The lockout will eventually be done with, and we'll be able to improve and make up for missed opportunities. There are still good free agents available, and we have plenty of money left to spend.