Ranking the 3 biggest offseason fears for Angels fans

The Los Angeles Angels haven't given their fans many reasons to be thankful in recent years. 2015 was the last time this team finished with a winning record, and 2014 was the last time they qualified for the postseason. Nearly a decade of futility from this franchise.

This is a massive offseason for this Angels franchise, mainly because of Shohei Ohtani. The best player in the world could walk away for nothing more than a lousy draft pick. There's always the chance Ohtani stays, but that's far from a given. The Angels hope to compete, but are also in the division with each of the last two World Series winners, as well as a Mariners team that has won 88+ games in each of the last three seasons. It won't be easy whatsoever.

Fans are more optimistic after the Ron Washington hire, but there's a lot more work to be done by this Angels organization. There's a lot more fear surrounding the Angels fan base than optomists. As hard as it is to hear, there are legitimate reasons to be concerned with how the Angels approach this offseason. These are the three biggest fears Angels fans likely have heading into this offseason.

3) The Angels not making a meaningful rotation upgrade

The Angels starting rotation took a major step back in 2023, going from a strength to a very clear weakness. And that was with Shohei Ohtani. Whether Shohei stays or goes, the Angels have a massive hole to fill at the top of the rotation with Ohtani unable to pitch for the 2024 season.

Fortunately for this Angels team, they have many ways they can make a meaningful upgrade. The easiest, of course, is through free agency where there are plenty of options. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Eduardo Rodriguez, any real upgrade.

The Angels have some young arms that have shown promise at times, but lack that frontline presence and don't have any in the minors either, even with how much the Angels love Caden Dana.

If the Angels strike out in free agency, it's obviously a lot harder for them to land a legitimate frontline guy in the trade market because of their lack of prospect capital. Still, it's on Perry Minasian to find an upgrade. Rolling with the same unit that was subpar even with Ohtani is a recipe for disaster.

1) Mike Trout demanding a trade

I know, I know. Mike Trout has said all the right things publicly. There's a good chance he meant what he said and wants to remain an Angel no matter what. However, what if he does demand a trade? That'd be a nightmare for the Angels.

Let's start with the obvious. Trout is the best player in the history of this franchise. The best player in the history of this franchise wanting out would be a bad thing. Trout signed a deal to remain an Angel until he retired, watching him leave would be tough.

Taking the emotional side of this out of the way, a Trout trade would still be catastrophic for the Angels for a veryy clear reason. A trade would be almost impossible to work out so that everyone is happy.

Trout has a no-trade clause, meaning he'd have to approve a trade. Trout having the ability to essentially pick his next destination likely would mean he'd have a very short list of teams he'd approve of, giving the opposition all of the leverage in negotiations.

The next reason why a Trout trade would be catastrophic has to do with the return. What exactly can the Angels get for him? When healthy, Trout is still one of the best players in baseball. Unfortunately, Trout hasn't been close to healthy enough to be treated like one of the best players in the world in a trade. The injuries, plus the remaining expensive seven years on his contract make his value decline exponentially. The Angels will search for a king's ransom and likely won't get anything close. The Angels will also have very little interest in eating money to watch him play against them.

Trout wanting out would be bad for everyone. The Angels wouldn't get the package fans expect to really kickstart any sort of rebuild. Angels fans wouldn't get to experience Trout as just an Angel. It just doesn't work, so let's hope it doesn't happen.