Trading Mike Trout and 3 other future Angels roster moves to shoot down

2) LA Angels shouldn't spend nine figures on any free agent not named Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani is a player the Angels should do whatever it takes to keep. He's by far the best player in baseball, and even if he never throws another pitch again he's still one of, if not the best overall hitter in the game. To me, Ohtani is a no-brainer to keep. He's also the only free agent they should be giving a nine-figure deal to.

The Angels have an awful history of signing free agents to mega-deals. Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Anthony Rendon, I can go on but won't. These deals sound good at the time and wind up being good when the team wins something, but if the team doesn't win in the first couple of years, the contract winds up being awful when the player declines.

If the Angels were to spend a boatload of money on any free agent, it should be a pitcher. The team has lacked any sort of frontline starter other than Ohtani, and whether Ohtani stays or goes, it's unlikely he'll pitch next season. The problem is, there isn't really anyone the Angels should be paying.

Aaron Nola has had a miserable year for the Phillies. Julio Urias has had a down year and doesn't have a great track record health-wise. Blake Snell has been great but had an up-and-down couple of years before this one. Yoshinobo Yamamoto would be very fun, especially if Shohei Ohtani stays, but he's a complete unknown at this point. Other options include guys like Clayton Kershaw, Sonny Gray, Eduardo Rodriguez, Marcus Stroman, and Jordan Montgomery who I don't know approach nine figures.

The perfect fit just doesn't seem to be there for the Angels to be going all out on the market. Signing Aaron Nola won't win them a World Series in 2024. There's a lot more work that has to be done.