Predicting Los Angeles Angels' 2016 Record Going Into Spring Training

Members of the Los Angeles Angels‘ front office should be sued for malpractice. How else can you explain having the best player in MLB in Mike Trout, an All-Star starter in Garrett Richards and a future Hall of Famer at first base in Albert Pujols and still be so average? Looking at last year’s team maybe you can forgive them for being caught off guard by the Houston Astros, but what is their excuse now?

Both of the Angels’ big moves this offseason where changes on the infield. The Angels traded Erick Aybar to acquire Andrelton Simmons. Simmons is a defensive upgrade, but he still has to prove his consistency offensively. The other move they made was to trade reliever Trevor Gott for Yunel Escobar. Escobar will either replace David Freese at third or upgrade second base. The problem is that Escobar can only play one position. Freese is still a free agent, so there’s always a chance that he could be re-signed and allow Escobar to play second on an everyday basis.

The heart and soul of this team outside of Trout is the deepest rotation in all of baseball. After Richards there are seven more quality arms that can share the starting load in Los Angeles. C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver provide the veteran leadership with Matt Shoemaker. After those three is the quartet of Andrew Heaney, Hector Santiago,  Nick Tropeano and Tyler Skaggs, and each of them has shown the ability to start at the major league level.

Where the strength of Trout and the starting rotation ends, the weakness of the bullpen beyond Huston Street and the infield begins. The Angels have been treading water this offseason, once again leaving Trout to carry the burden for the entire team. Having made no significant changes, the Angels won’t see one in the standing and will end up with an identical record to 2015 at 85-77 in 2016.