Los Angeles Angels: Three free agent targets to pursue this offseason
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Angels already made a great offseason move in extending Justin Upton. Now, what free agent targets should the Halos pursue?
The Los Angeles Angels are in the worst place you can be as a sports franchise — in between. With Mike Trout leading the way, the Angels theoretically should have enough talent to make a postseason run each and every season. However, despite having the best baseball player this century, the Angels have not been able to win a playoff game since 2009.
For the most part, some bad front office contracts and some unlucky injuries have been the Angels’ pitfall. Los Angeles signed Albert Pujols to a massive 10-year, $240 million dollar contract in 2012. Now, that contract is doing nothing but hurting the Angels. Of course, we all remember the disaster that was Josh Hamilton’s contract.
Thus, the Angels have enough talent to float around .500 throughout the season but do not have the depth to make a push deep in the season. Los Angeles was in the Wild Card race for most of the season but fell flat late as the Twins caught fire. The Angeles finished five games out of the second Wild Card spot.
The Angels likely do not want to sell, as trading Mike Trout would be the worst received deal of all-time. However, the organization has no farm system to pick from or to trade, so they cannot go there. Therefore, the Angels only real option is to splash in the free agent market. Here is three free agents they could consider this offseason.