Los Angeles Angels: 2014 Review, Off-season, 2015 Outlook

Sep 17, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels fans celebrate after winning the American League West Division title against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Angels’ offseason has just begun. After quickly being swept from the playoffs by the current American League Champion Kansas City Royals, the Halos are looking ahead to their approach to maintaining a ball club that took back the American League West in 2014. Here is what we have to look forward to.

2014 Season In Review

Offense: For the second season in a row, the Angels had eleven players with OPS+ over 100. Things went just as I predicted here, with the offense being average or better almost all the way across the board, and being able to absorb any struggles/injuries to Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. Mike Trout was Mike Trout, despite the drop-off in batting average and stolen bases, and total WAR. Up the middle, the Halos were one of best in the game, with one of the few catchers (Chris Iannetta) who can post an on-base-percentage as high as .370, and a second baseman (Howie Kendrick) and shortstop (Erick Aybar). Finally having a third baseman (David Freese) to provide decent production was a boost as well. Kole Calhoun gave the Angels a lead-off hitter they can count on other than Mike Trout. Then, there were the role players: Collin Cowgill, Grant Green, C.J. Cron, Efren Navarro. It was an all around well-balanced and productive offense, which helped compensate for the team’s bullpen struggles early in the season.

Bullpen: After blowing a Major League leading 12 saves before the All-Star Break, Angels relievers only blew four saves in the second half. Thanks to an overhaul that saw trades for Jason Grilli, Joe Thatcher, Huston Street, and Vinnie Pestano, the Angels took control of the late innings. And by season’s end the Halos’ bullpen had a collective 2.59 ERA from relievers on the active roster on the final day of 2014. That’s a big improvement, and a good place to start when evaluating what the Angels’ pitching staff will look like in 2015.

Starting Rotation: Same as with the bullpen, Angels’ starters were able to stabilize their outings by finishing the fifth and sixth innings without having to be stretched. A deeper bullpen allowed for limiting starters who were tiring in certain outings. The emergence of Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker helped provide a cushion when Jered Weaver was still finishing his transition from power pitcher to effective finesse hurler. C.J. Wilson tanked in the second half. Tyler Skaggs was lost to Tommy John Surgery halfway through. And Richards himself was lost for the season in August. But having Shoemaker add another dominant presence gave the rotation a bonus they could cling to. And the bullpen helped allow the starters go only 5 innings if needed. Then, there was Cory Rasmus. Slowly, he stretched out from reliever to a ‘four-inning starter’ after Richards went down. The experiment proved successful, and now there’s a possibility Rasmus may become a full-time starter. I say go all in. That might take care of any rotation needs the Angels have beyond minor league depth.

Defense: This team just could not catch or throw the baseball in 2013. They were near the bottom in fielding, and allowed the most stolen bases. In 2014, however, things changed dramatically, as Angels defenders made great play after great play, and limited their miscues en route to leading the AL in fielding. They also cut down stolen bases with pitchers with quicker times to the plate, as well as improved skills from Iannetta. Hank Conger still has his issues. But overall, this team was much more acrobatic and fundamentally sound than in 2013. Hopefully, that stays the case in 2015.

Bench, Role Players: As mentioned before, Cowgill, Green, Cron, Navarro, and company stabilized the bench and brought ample production when players needed days off or went to the disabled list. One of the keys to a productive offense, as well as scoring enough runs to widen a club’s run differential to have a chance to win as many games as possible, are those role players. The Angels specialized in this area for several years, but it seemed to fade by 2010. Those role players began returning in 2012, and has finally paid off in helping the Angels get back to the postseason. They will be back next season.

Overall: This was an exciting monster of a team to watch in 2014. By July, they were doing everything right. All aspects of their game were functioning as they should, and this team dominated the opposition through the end of the season. And almost all of them will return in 2015.

Approach To The Offseason

Things have changed since the monster offseason of 2012/2013. The Angels’ front office is staying away from adding more huge contracts, and focusing on continuing to build around that with organizational depth. And they’ve managed to do this with a farm system thin on high-impact players. The key to their current approach: acquire depth and role players using just second-tier prospects and/or cash.

So far it has worked.

In fact, that approach was their M.O. for years under Mike Scioscia. And he specialized in getting maximum value from his depth on the bench and bullpen. This was a trademark that existed within the Angels organization the entire time Billy Beane was doing it with the Oakland A’s. He just gets all of the kudos because he has no payroll to work with. Regardless, the Angels should take pride in their own approach over the years, as well as the fact that that approach has finally returned. Below is a good look at how the Angels’ payroll will look like with players currently with the club, as well as players coming off the books.

Table provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/18/2014.

What this table tells me is that the Angels won’t have a whole lot of wiggle room this off-season. They’ll have $160 million in average annual value eaten up. So that leaves the Halos with only the option of acquiring depth instead of going for a top starting pitcher.

But do they really need that? Most likely not. General Manager Jerry DiPoto should just continue the same approach he had last off-season.

So in looking at actual needs, all they might really need is a back-end innings eater to replace Skaggs. As I mentioned before, go all in on Rasmus. He could be the Matt Shoemaker of 2015. Maybe they should give Joe Thatcher a one-year or minor league contract? He got a raw deal when he sprained his ankle, hindering his chances of accumulating a large enough sample size. I say let Grilli walk–he’ll be 38 next season. The bench is already full.

And if Josh Hamilton and C.J. Wilson turn into financial dead weight, at least it’s not nearly as bad as Vernon Wells’ contract and Joe Blanton’s production.

Overall, this club just needs to make sure its depth is plugged in. Other than that, with a full season of Huston Street, this is a team that is closer to a 102 team as is. When evaluating this ball club heading into 2015, I’d start there.

Will The Angels Be Back In 2015?

They probably will. The Rangers have fallen back, and their pitching window is closing. The A’s fell back down to Earth, their weaknesses have been exposed, and they proved they were playing over their heads. And the Angels finally got it all together after a four-year breather from the playoffs. They’ll get a full season of Huston Street; Richards and Shoemaker will be back; Mike Trout will be Mike Trout; the bullpen is still deep; and the role players will continue to allow this team to absorb struggles and/or injuries to Pujols and Hamilton.

So all they really need this off-season is a few depth pieces to replace any depth they’re losing.

We can only hope, however, that the Angels fare better in the 2015 postseason than they did against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals have the stars aligned for them right now any way. So, there’s nothing anyone can do about that but just let them have their cake. But come next season, the Angels will probably have another chance to win it all in October.