Throughout Angels Twitter, there are all kinds of buzz on the Angels being buyers. Some are excited to try to contend this season and some are frustrated by the thought of being buyers. I am personally one of the more frustrated individuals and this is why.
The game tonight is currently pending, but as of this moment, the Angels are 53-49. I will admit that the offense has been firing on all cylinders, but that is not going to be enough. The problem is obvious and it’s our starting pitching, as it has been. But, any of the top 5 starting pitchers on the trade block would most likely include Jo Adell. Billy Eppler has said that he does not want to tear the farm system down and wants to buy controllable talent, but that is pretty tough to come by based on who may be available before the deadline.
The Angels are also currently 4.5 games out of the wild card spot with the Indians taking the first seed, the Athletics taking the second seed, the Rays 1 game back, and the Red Sox 2 games back.
The number one problem that I see is that the Angels do not have the starting pitching to get through the rest of their schedule. Besides the rest of this month, the waters go from bad to worse.
July 25th – Baltimore Orioles (32-69)
July 29th – Detroit Tigers (30-67)
August 2nd – Cleveland Indians (59-42)
August 4th – Cincinnati Reds (46-54)
August 8th – Boston Red Sox (56-47)
August 12th – Pittsburgh Pirates (46-54)
August 15th – Chicago White Sox (45-54)
August 19th – Texas Rangers (51-51)
August 23rd – Houston Astros (66-38)
August 27rd – Texas Rangers (51-51)
August 30th – Boston Red Sox (56-47)
September 2nd – Oakland Athletics (
September 6th – Chicago White Sox (45-54)
September 9th – Cleveland Indians (59-42)
September 13th – Tampa Bay Rays (58-47)
September 17th – New York Yankees (66-35)
September 20th – Houston Astros (66-38)
September 24th – Oakland Athletics (58-45)
September 26th – Houston Astros (66-38)
The Angels should finish July strong. Then hopefully have a decent August, but their schedule has some tough teams (Indians, Red Sox 2x, Rangers 2x, and Astros). If somehow, someway, the Angels are still fighting for a Wild Card spot after that month, they need to be scorching hot. The teams they are going to have to fight through an unbelievably challenging September (Athletics 2x, Indians, Rays, Yankees, Astros 2x). Every team they face in September is contending for a playoff spot beside the White Sox, although things can definitely change by that point.
I do not think that the Angels are going to be willing to give up any of their top talents, meaning that anyone they will be able to trade for will not be the quality we are looking for. The offense looks solid with plenty of controllable pieces. They need to focus on developing the younger players for the MLB or future trade chips, find out who Griffin Canning can be, and square away an at least average rotation before they start trading away prospects and going all-in on a playoff run. I honestly believe that if they can just continue to hold off for one, two, or three years max, that is when they may have the opportunity to go all-in on a true championship-caliber team.
From a very hopeful Angels fan every single year, the Angels need to sell anyone that is expendable.
Featured Image: Los Angeles Angels Public Relations
