Angels Among Teams Eyeing All-Star First Baseman

The Los Angeles Angels have made some small signings to address their pitching heading into this season. However, they haven’t done much to address their offense, which will try to replace the production of Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani left earlier this offseason for the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he signed a mega 10-year, $700 million contract. It will be hard for the Angels to replace Ohtani’s offense at the plate, but they must be proactive in finding guys who can get on base or hit the ball out of the park.

Angels Rumors: Los Angeles Interested in Joey Votto

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman said Wednesday that Los Angeles is one of the teams interested in former Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto. However, Heyman said he doesn’t want to rule out the Toronto Blue Jays – the hometown team of Votto.

The 40-year-old first baseman slashed .202/.314/.433 with 14 home runs and 38 RBI in his final season with the Reds (65 games). Votto has been dealing with a shoulder injury that took place in 2022 and continued into last season.

Votto had an outstanding 17-year career with Cincinnati, which saw him hit .294 with 356 home runs. The six-time All-Star doesn’t have much else to prove in his career, as some believe he’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

The Angels currently have 21-year-old Nolan Schanuel at first base, who made his major league debut last season. Schanuel hit .275 with one home run and six RBI in 132 plate appearances after being drafted in the first round and spending a short time in the minor leagues.

However, the designated hitter position is not set in stone, as Los Angeles has Brandon Drury in that spot. Drury is not a one-for-one replacement for Ohtani in the DH spot and would be suited to have another bat, such as Votto.

Nonetheless, whether the Angels sign Votto or not ahead of spring training, Los Angeles is a long shot to win the AL West (+5000 FanDuel Sportsbook). If you are an Angels fan, you want to see growth and improvement from last season as they enter life without Ohtani.

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