Los Angeles Angels: Players that must play better to make postseason
By Jason Reed
1. Zack Cozart
The inspiration for this entire article came when looking at Zack Cozart‘s 2018 season and how it fared in comparison to his 2017 season. When the Angels netted Cozart after his breakout 2017, it seemed like it would be a great signing for the team that would not only help the infield depth but also give the team another viable bat alongside Mike Trout.
The results could not have been farther from the expectations as Cozart had a pretty bad year in his first season with the Halos that ended prematurely due to injury. Even before Cozart had to sit the rest of the year out, he was not particularly great for LA.
After hitting .297 with a .933 OPS in his first all-star campaign, Cozart came crashing back down to earth in 2018. In 58 games played last season, Cozart hit a feeble .219 with a .658 OPS and only five home runs and 18 RBIs.
In fact, Cozart had the fifth-fewest RBIs of players with at least 250 plate appearances. On the bright side, he did not strike out a lot and at least got on base with a decent walk rate, but it was still nothing to call home about for Cozart.
The Angels will take anything better than the 2018 numbers that Cozart produced and don’t even need him to play like an all-star. If he continues to struggle, the $12.67 million per year the next two years is going to look awful.