The Angels’ offseason no longer depends on the fate of Shohei Ohtani, who headed up the freeway to join the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team had to wait on Ohtani’s decision before charting the course for the rest of their roster-building maneuvers. Now, general manager Perry Minasian is free to execute his plan.
Improving their starting pitching is one of the Halos’ top priorities for the upcoming winter. They have little chance of breaking through their nine-year playoff drought without a strong arm to take Ohtani’s place.
According to Minasian, he intends to bring in talent aggressively. It appears that he has now been granted permission to examine the top free-agent prospects.
The Angels and agent Scott Boras have reportedly discussed Blake Snell, the current National League Cy Young Award winner, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
Snell’s acquisition would significantly improve the Angels’ rotation. Snell had an ERA of 2.25 and a WHIP of 1.19 with the San Diego Padres last season, making him as good as any pitcher in baseball in terms of innings pitched.
Snell has demonstrated his value in the postseason and has nasty stuff on the mound. The left-hander would find a spot in any team’s rotation. Snell could assist in mentoring a relatively young pitching staff in Anaheim as well.
Now that Ron Washington has taken over as manager, Snell might see the Angels as a developing team. The Angels are the team with the longest active postseason drought, but Minasian has reconstructed the roster around a number of young players who are eager to contribute.
Snell might be the sparkplug that turns the Angels from losers into a serious contender. A $200 million contract has been projected for him by several experts, so adding an ace pitcher won’t be enough to make the offseason successful.
Signing Snell would demonstrate to other teams that the Angels are serious about competing for the top spot, in contrast to most other potential free-agent targets.
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