The Los Angeles Angels need much more than Gerrit Cole

The Los Angeles Angels have been heavily tied to Gerrit Cole this offseason, but Cole alone won’t be enough to right the ship.

The Los Angeles Angels have not made the postseason since 2014 and went the entire 2010 decade without recording a playoff win.

Despite this, the team still has the best player in baseball in Mike Trout, a sensational two-way star in Shohei Ohtani and a myriad of other offensive role players that contribute.

The problem with the Los Angeles Angels, aside from the far-too-common trend of the front office signing duds (i.e: Zack Cozart), has been the pitching staff, in particular, the starting rotation.

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The Angels last truly great pitcher was Garrett Richards and even he was a one-season wonder that never recovered after injuries. Talent has been an issue, depth has been an issue—everything around the starting rotation has been an issue.

Nothing is more evident of this than the fact that Angel starting pitching had the worst fWAR in Major League Baseball last season as well as the second-worst ERA (5.64), behind the Colorado Rockies.

The 2019 Angels had the 10th-worst starting pitcher ERA since the turn of the millennium. It was that bad.

That is why the Angels have been a natural fit for Gerrit Cole. Cole is an Orange County native that is coming off of a career year. The Angels are an Orange County-based team that desperately needs an ace and isn’t afraid to spend.

Cole would be fantastic. He alone is not enough.

On the surface, the Angels’ starting rotation with Cole is starting strong. Cole, Shohei Ohtani, Andrew Heaney and Griffin Canning is a good place to start.

The problem is that Ohtani is coming off of Tommy John surgery and we still are not 100 percent sure if he can handle the trials and tribulations of being a two-way player. Plus, the Angels may look to limit his workload.

Heaney has his own health issues. He has only started 20 or more games once in his five seasons with the Angels (2018). And while he has always had a lot of potential, at some point potential has to turn to production and that has not yet happened with his career 4.44 ERA.

Canning is a promising young arm as well who showed brilliant flashes in his rookie year. However, he still has a lot to prove and the team trusting him to be an impact arm on a team that is making a playoff push is a tall order.

Right away, we can see that the Los Angeles Angels need a fifth starter, although it really should be someone who can slot in as the team’s third starting pitcher.

Michael Pineda and Wade Miley are two good examples of that talent-level.

It shouldn’t even stop there. The Los Angeles Angels need more pitching depth. Some of this may come in long-relief arms that can also start (like Ross Stripling on the Los Angeles Dodgers) some may come on low-cost signings, hoping they go the Angels’ favor.

Someone such as Alex Wood could be a cheap one-year contract to watch. After being an all-star in LA, Wood only threw 35 and two-thirds innings with a 5.80 ERA last season. That could be a good, cheap depth signing, depending on his price.

If everything were to go perfect then the Angels would have an above-average staff. But that is also expecting Heaney to be healthy and turn it around, Canning to take a big leap from year one to year two and Ohtani to come back completely healthy ready to take on a big workload.

When you are asking for that many things to go your way to be successful, you know you need to keep adding.

Next. Joe Maddon does not solve the Angels' problems. dark

Gerrit Cole is a good place to start, and a fantastic signing if it happens, but there is much more work to be done for the Los Angeles Angels.

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