Los Angeles Angels might need to go a different path from Hyun-Jin Ryu

The Los Angeles Angels have still not signed the frontline starter that everyone knew the team needed this winter and now might be better off calling an audible.

The Los Angeles Angels needed to revamp the starting pitching heading into this winter and with the new year nearly upon us the Angels have not made the necessary signings to revamp the rotation.

After missing out on Gerrit Cole, the Angels did make a massive move in signing Anthony Rendon, who plays third base, not pitcher. Aside from Rendon, the Angels have added Dylan Bundy and Julio Teheran to the rotation.

Bundy and Teheran — Teheran specifically — are not awful signings for the team to make. The Angels need depth in the starting rotation as well and both pitchers provide that. Teheran has started 30 or more games every season since 2013 and Bundy has started a combined 89 games in the last three years.

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There is nothing wrong with going out and getting reliable starting pitching, especially for a team that is often plagued with injuries The issue would be if Teheran is the best starting pitcher that the Angels get this winter.

The biggest name left on the market now that Dallas Keuchel signed with the Chicago White Sox is Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is coming off of a career year in which he led the MLB in ERA and finished second in National League Cy Young voting. Ryu has a combined 2.21 ERA in the last two seasons.

The problem is that Ryu is not durable. He has just 44 combined starts in those two seasons and 2019 was the first time that he had started 25 games since 2014. He is not on the right side of 30, either, as he will be 33 by the time the season starts.

That is a risky signing to make and the Angels are going to have to outbid any other suitors to sign him, so chances are that he costs a moderate penny. Keuchel got a three-year, $55 million contract, which is much more in range for the Angels than the $20 million+ per season that Ryu might get.

With the risks that are involved with Ryu and the team’s track record, it may be best to go a different route from Ryu the rest of the winter. But where does that lead the Angels? The only other way to get pitching is via trade and the only trade that is doable would be for someone such as David Price, which would be a salary dump for the Red Sox.

That isn’t it. This plan involves not signing a frontline starter, which goes against everything we think we know about the Angels. At this point, the team should focus in on depth.

This certainly is a bold strategy but even if they sign just Ryu, they are still an injury or two away from the rotation falling apart. Instead of spending that money on one player, the Angels can take the Dodgers’ strategy of having seven-eight starters at the big-league level with those not currently in the rotation helping in the bullpen.

The team will not get any spectacular pitchers if they go this route, but there are some decent options still available. If I ran the Angels, I would look at the trio of Ivan Nova, Jason Vargas and Alex Wood.

These will be three relatively cheap options that would absolutely help the Los Angeles Angels’ rotation. Nova is the consistent arm, who may be a 4.00+ ERA guy at this stage in his career but has started 120 games in the last four seasons.

Vargas has been consistent in the last three years and could provide a great start for the Angels here and there. The former Angel has started 81 games the last three seasons and has a combined 4.61 ERA. Again, not great, but he is good enough to provide depth for the Angels.

Alex Wood is the tricky one as he is coming off of a season that he missed almost entirely. This is where the Angels’ gamble would be and it would not be a bad one to take as Wood is not going to be an expensive option and has a high ceiling.

It was only three seasons ago when Wood had a 2.62 ERA for the Dodgers and even in a “down year” the following year, he still had a 3.68 ERA. He is someone who could emerge and be a great signing for the Angels.

This would give the Angels a plethora of starting pitching options; Teheran, Bundy, Nova, Vargas and Wood would join Shohei Ohtani, Andrew Heaney and Griffin Canning in the rotation. With Ohtani’s health and role being unique, this could even allow the team to deploy a six-man starting rotation with two guys that can fill in at any time coming out of the bullpen.

The Los Angeles Angels offense is going to be great next season and at this point, it might just be smarter for the team to just get a few guys that can build the depth out rather than spend on one guy to make a good start every five days.

Next. How the Angels can take Betts away from the Dodgers. dark

They are not going to be a team that needs to win games 2-1. At this point, the Angels might as well just lean into their identity as an offense-first team.

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