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Los Angeles Angels: Don’t sleep on adding Bryce Harper

By Jason Reed

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals jogs past Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels after Trout lined out for the third out of the seventh inning of the Angels 4-2 winat Nationals Park on April 21, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals jogs past Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels after Trout lined out for the third out of the seventh inning of the Angels 4-2 winat Nationals Park on April 21, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Angels have been able to land some notable names in the past and should not be ruled out in the Bryce Harper sweepstakes.

The Los Angeles Angels were the most surprising team of the offseason seven years ago when the team landed both Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. Then, the team followed suit by landing then superstar Josh Hamilton and added to the luck by getting coveted two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani last winter.

To be fair, most of those moves did not pan out as anticipated. Pujols was good in his first few seasons but still was not the same Pujols that he was in St. Louis and now that contract is a massive sore for the Angels.

Wilson was fine as he did contribute to the Angels and Hamilton might be one of the worst contracts in modern sports. It is too soon to have a verdict on Ohtani, however, he did win American League Rookie of the Year.

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He also won’t pitch again until 2020, which could potentially derail his career as a pitcher in the MLB and turn him exclusively into a designated hitter.

With the Angels’ past in mind it is impossible to rule the team out for anyone, even though the team’s biggest need this winter is starting pitching. While the front office is going to focus on getting arms, I would also not be surprised if reports surfaced that the Angels were heavily pursuing Bryce Harper.

Signing Bryce Harper would create perhaps the most interesting three-man tandem in baseball history with Mike Trout, Harper and Ohtani all in the same lineup. Trout and Harper have been mirrored their entire career and this would set the Angels up nicely in the future.

Not only would this undoubtedly make the Angels better now but it would likely also convince Mike Trout to stay past 2020 and could create a long-term partnership with Trout and Harper. Even if results don’t come right away, both guys are young and arguably haven’t even hit their prime yet.

This would take some moving pieces for the Los Angeles Angels. The Halos would first need to move Kole Calhoun to not only open a spot in right field for Harper but to make room for Harper in the payroll.

Calhoun is in the last year of his deal (with a player option after 2019) and is owed $10.5 million. Freeing up $10.5 million would be huge to make room for Harper and shouldn’t be overly difficult considering Calhoun is on an expiring deal.

This still would leave the Angels with questions to answer in the starting rotation but signing Harper would not restrict the Angels from making pitching moves. There are not any huge arms on the market anyways and a better use of the Angels money would be on Harper, not overpaying a number two/three starter to serve as your ace.

Next. Wilmer Flores is worth a look. dark

At the end of the day, the Los Angeles Angels still are not included in the potential landing spots for Bryce Harper but I would not forget about them. The front office has made notable splashes in the past.

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