Angels: C.J. Cron trade shows full commitment to Shohei Ohtani’s offense

The Los Angeles Angels traded first baseman C.J. Cron to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later on Saturday.

The Los Angeles Angels continued to stay busy in their activity-filled offseason. With less than a week to go until the first Spring Training game, the Angels traded first baseman C.J. Cron to the Tampa Bay Rays.

C.J. Cron was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise barren farm system for the Los Angeles Angels over the past few seasons. Cron was the Angels’ first-round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft and hit .289 in 397 minor league games.

While Cron could not replicate those numbers in the big leagues, he was progressing throughout his career and was turning into a solid corner infielder. In 2016, his third year in the league, Cron hit .278 with 16 home runs and 69 RBIs in just 116 games. However, Cron took a step back in 2017.

Cron spent time in both the majors and the minors in 2017; playing 100 games at the big league level. Overall, Cron hit .248 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs. The decent power numbers were still there, but so was a career-high 96 strikeouts.

Cron is still a solid player that can thrive in the right conditions; he should be a nice addition to the Rays, who surprisingly designated all-star Corey Dickerson for assignment (because of a slow second half, maybe? Maybe for salary reasons? Who knows).

As for the Angels, though, this trade signaled one thing and one thing only. The team is going all-in on using Shohei Ohtani as an offensive player. Perhaps the biggest question in the entire MLB heading into the season is how the Angels will use Ohtani; they gave us the answer.

First, it was reported that the Angels would be using a six-man rotation, which makes sense considering Ohtani’s offense. The Angels have enough arms to run a six-man rotation (if they stay healthy) which in turn allows Ohtani an extra day of rest in between starts.

That way, Ohtani can still be in the batting order four or five of the six-game rotation, depending on staggering off days. The addition of a sixth man gives Ohtani that extra day to prepare, throw a bullpen, etc.

That should have been enough of a telling tale, however, the Angels let everyone know their intentions with this deal. By trading Cron, the Angels are essentially going all in on the idea of Albert Pujols moving back to first base.

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Sure, he can be a defensive liability at times, but first base is arguably the least important defensive position on the field. Moving Pujols, of course, opens up Ohtani to DH on his off days and hit for himself when he pitches.

The Angels’ depth at first base allowed them to make this deal. With Zack Cozart now manning third base, the Angels can utilize Luis Valbuena at first base when Ohtani is not in the batting order and Pujols is the DH. Other days, Valbuena is going to serve as the backup third and first baseman. If anything drastic happens, the Angels have Kaleb Cowart to backup at third.

Overall, this C.J. Cron trade should not be looked at in a personal manner; Cron is still a solid player with a lot to offer in his MLB career. However, the Angels were poised with a choice: More C.J. Cron in the lineup or more Shohei Ohtani in the lineup.

Next: What is the Angels' ceiling in 2018?

And, well, the choice was an easy one to make.