Is it enough to convince Ohtani to stay?
The Los Angeles Angels are pushing their chips into the middle of the table this season. Despite losing Mike Trout to a fractured hand, the Halos are becoming buyers ahead of the August 1st trade deadline.
Earlier this week, the front office announced that they would no longer be entertaining offers on superstar pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani. The announcement ended months of speculation as to what the club’s plans for the generational talent would be, as multiple deep-pocketed teams had inquired about his availability.
Winners of 7 of their last 10 games, the Angels currently sit at 52-49, 4 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final AL Wildcard berth. And while they could have easily folded up shop following Trout’s injury, and received a king’s ransom in return for Ohtani, GM Perry Minasian has opted for a different route.
Earlier this month Ohtani told reporters through a translator that he wants to compete for championships, and that losing had begun to wear on him.
With the 29 year old set to become a free agent at season’s end, Los Angeles is rolling the dice that they’ll be able to convince Ohtani to sign a long term deal and compete for that elusive championship in LA.
The Angels haven’t won a playoff game since before Mike Trout entered the league. Their last victory came all the way back in 2009 when they downed the Red Sox in the ALDS. In fact, the club hasn’t even reached the postseason since 2014 where they were ultimately swept by the Kansas City Royals in the first round.
But the front office is determined not to let the sport’s biggest star slip through their fingers. In an effort to show their determination to compete, the club went out and acquired RHP Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox late last night.
Giolito was arguably the best pitcher believed to be on the trade market, while Lopez is a flamethrowing RHP whose fastball regularly touches 100 mph on the radar gun. In exchange, the organization sent top prospects Edgar Quero and Ky Bush back to Chicago.
The 29 year old Giolito sports a 6-6 record, with a 3.79 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 131Ks through 121IP on the year. His 2.7 WAR and .232 BAA will help shore up an uneven Angels pitching staff which has struggled to find consistency for most of the year.
The California native returns to his home state after growing up in Santa Monica. While his numbers have dipped slightly since he was a perennial Cy Young finalist between 2019-2021, Giolito is striking out 25.8% of opposing batters, while only walking 8.3% of them. He generates swing and miss strikes on 11.9% of his offerings and is a dependable front of the rotation arm for the Halos down the stretch.
Giolito should slot in behind Ohtani in the rotation, moving Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval, and Griffin Canning to the middle of the pack. Tyler Anderson is likely the 6th arm in the club’s stable, while Jaime Barria is likely to become a long reliever.
The Angels were ranked 20th in ERA, had walked the 6th most batters in the majors (372), and were allowing opponents to reach base safely in 32.9% of their at bats. Adding Giolito to the front end of the rotation should help with those figures, while also reducing the burden on the club’s bullpen. The righty is currently on track for his third consecutive season of 30+ starts, as he has largely avoided any major injuries throughout his career thus far.
Meanwhile the club will hope that Lopez can regain his form from 2022 where he posted a 2.76 ERA across 65.1IP. While his strikeouts per 9 have increased this year to a career best 11.9, his ERA (4.29) and WHIP (1.31) have as well. He’s currently averaging 98.3mph on his fastball, and his swinging strike mark of 13.4% is an encouraging sign that he can turn things around. He should serve as a complimentary piece to current closer Carlos Estevez in the bullpen.
But is that enough to keep the Angels alive in the American League playoff race? And is it enough to convince Ohtani to stay? Hard to say.
The Angels have been throwing the kitchen sink at their roster this year in an effort to prove that their years of being “also rans” are behind them. They’ve fast tracked numerous players to their Major League roster in the hopes that they could catch lightning in a bottle with one of their young bats.
But injuries to Trout, Jo Adell, Brandon Drury, Max Stassi, Logan O’Hoppe, Gio Urshela, Chris Devenski, and Anthony Rendon have thrown a wrench into the team’s plans.
With all their recent promotions, Los Angeles now sports one of the most depleted farm systems across MLB. Which means they may find it difficult to go out and acquire another impact arm or bat prior to the trade deadline. That being said, that’s likely what’s still required.
By opting not to trade Ohtani, the club has essentially painted themselves into a corner of “playoffs or bust”. Failing to qualify for the postseason essentially walks Ohtani right into free agency, where he’ll command mega dollars on the open market. And even if the club manages to sneak into a wildcard spot, there’s still no guarantee that the MVP frontrunner will re-up with the club.
No stone can be left unturned for the front office at this point though. Failure to add some more firepower to the lineup could see the Halos fall out of the playoff picture, and very likely lead to a wholesale reset of the team’s management group.
After all, if Ohtani opts to sign elsewhere, and the club failed to get any kind of compensation for him, it could be one of the largest blunders in recent baseball history. Then again, we’ve seen this story before. Only last time it involved the Red Sox and the Yankees. Just another Ohtani/Ruth parable which could further connect the legacies of the two generational talents.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Mogami Kariya. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.