Los Angeles Angels: The potential trade market of top starting pitchers
By Jason Reed
3. Marcus Stroman, New York Mets
Marcus Stroman is coming off of the best season of his career and in his age 29 season, which also so happens to be a contract year, chances are that we are going to see an even better version of Stroman in 2020.
Ironically, Stroman got worse once he was traded to the New York Mets from the Toronto Blue Jays. After posting a 2.96 ERA in 21 starts with the Blue Jays, Stroman finished the season with a 3.77 ERA in 11 starts with the Mets, raising his yearly total to 3.22.
Still, Stroman would undoubtedly be the best pitcher on the Los Angeles Angels and would actually give the team someone who they could be comfortable with pitching in a one-game wild card and/or game one of a playoff series.
Whether or not this is a possibility all depends on the Mets’ success this season. On paper, the Mets have the talent to at least be a wild card team in the National League West. However, there are two factors working against them.
First is that they are the New York Mets, they always tend to mess it up. Second is that they play in a stacked NL East that includes the 97-win Braves that arguably got better, the 2019 World Series Champion Washington Nationals and a Philadelphia Phillies team that improved.
There is a chance that the Mets have some bad luck and are out of the playoff picture come July 31 and shop the pitcher they just traded for a year prior.
The Angels could absolutely afford half a season of Stroman, they would just need the perfect storm of the Mets disappointing while being in a place to add a half-season rental themselves.