Los Angeles Angels: Players that must play better to make postseason
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Angels front office is continuing to add pieces to make a postseason run but also need in-house players to step it up as well.
The Los Angeles Angels have only made one postseason with Mike Trout on the roster, in 2014, and were swept in the ALDS by the wild-card winning Kansas City Royals. Los Angeles has not won a playoff series, let alone a single playoff game, since the same year in which Trout was drafted: 2009.
If the Angels fall short yet again in 2019 it will not only mark an entire decade since the last playoff win but it also could be the last straw for Trout, who is set to be a free agent after the 2020 season.
Nobody knows what Trout’s priorities are except those that are close to him but being the best player in baseball and never winning has to be frustrating. Even half a year of Trout is worth an insane asking price, so if he wants out, the Angels might be better suited in trading him in 2020.
The team will cross that bridge when it gets here but the front office is hoping to eliminate that bridge before it even happens. Thus, the front office added four players, Justin Bour, Matt Harvey, Trevor Cahill and Jonathan Lucroy, all on one-year deals, to avoid the contracts coming back to bite them.
Whether or not this will produce results is yet to be seen but it does follow the Angels’ tendencies of the last several years, which obviously have not worked out.
Even if the four new signings play great, the team is still going to need some in-house players to step it up. Here are the three players that can make or break a playoff run if they improve their play.