FIRST HALF REVIEW
HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Angels lost Shohei Ohtani – their best hitter and best pitcher last year – and they didn’t replace him. Two of the veterans they at least hoped would make up for some of the offensive deficit, three-time American League MVP Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, were again hurt for most of the first half. So, it should be no surprise that the Angels are 41-55 and out of the playoff race. Truth to be told, it could be worse, because the starting rotation has also been disappointing. Other than All-Star Tyler Anderson and surprising first-year starter José Soriano, no one has pitched up to expectations. Closer Carlos Estévez and the rest of the bullpen started off poorly, but they have been better lately. Despite all that’s gone wrong, there have been a few bright spots – Luis Rengifo, Logan O’Hoppe, Zach Neto – that have helped the Angels slowly turn in the right direction. They are 20-17 since June 3.
SECOND HALF PREVIEW
KEYS TO SUCCESS: Manager Ron Washington has said repeatedly that his goal for this year is just to get better each month. If the Angels are going to do that, the most important thing will be to get their rotation stabilized. They hit the break with just three solid starters, Anderson, Soriano and Canning. Ideally, both Reid Detmers and Chase Silseth will get their act together in Triple-A and contribute in the big leagues, with Sam Bachman perhaps coming up from Double-A to join the mix. Perhaps it’s too much to hope for, but if the Angels finished a season with Detmers, Silseth, Bachman, Soriano and Canning in the rotation and all holding their own, that would be an encouraging sign for the future.
BIGGEST CONCERN: At times the Angels’ lineup has looked pretty anemic throughout the first half. Willie Calhoun and Kevin Pillar have been nice surprises, but neither of them should be hitting cleanup for a major league team at this point in their careers. The Angels need to get Trout back – he says he could be back by the end of the month – and they need to get Taylor Ward to start hitting again. Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell have also struggled for most of the first half, with each having just enough good moments to give some hope that they might figure some things out. Rendon, of course, needs to stay healthy.
TRADE POSSIBILITIES: Estévez is almost certain to get traded by the July 30 deadline, and the Angels might even be able to get a good prospect for him, even though he’d be a two-month rental for a contender. Reliever Luis Garcia, also a rental, could also be gone. After that, the Angels have a handful of players who are under control for one or two more seasons – Anderson, Rengifo, Ward, Canning – who are certain to draw varying levels of interest. Anderson and Rengifo are the most attractive of that group.
SCHEDULE: The Angels play 10 of their next 13 games against the Oakland A’s and Colorado Rockies, two of the teams with worse records than them. It’s not going to be enough to get the Angels back in the race, or even prevent them from being sellers, but it will allow them to keep some of the momentum they gained by winning four of their last five games before the break. They also play 13 games in August against the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers, who are also out of the race. In September, the Angels finally play all six of their games against the historically bad Chicago White Sox. Those teams all could be even worse after trading off some pieces at the deadline. Of course, that will also be true of the Angels.
