The Angels Without C.J. Wilson

I’m a fan. I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you’re probably a fan too. What do fans do in November when games aren’t be played and your team isn’t exactly headlining over at MLBTR? You make inferences, educated guesses as to what next year’s team will look like. For the past three years, there have been few constants: Weaver the ace, Trout and Pujols, Aybar and Kendrick. The final one has been this, “C.J. Wilson is a #2 starter”. Well duh, he strikes hitters out, his ERA is low, his hair is luscious and he’s married to a super-model. What more do you want out of your #2 starter?

Well, I’m not going to say disaster struck last year, but something bad enough happened that really called into question C.J.’s place on my inferred team. He sucked, big time. He wasn’t hurt, the velocity on his fastball was fine, his mechanics were largely unaltered, he just wasn’t effective. He was missing his spots, his breaking ball lost it’s bite, his pitch selection was just off, and he was hittable. You’d almost rather say he’s hurt. At least then you could explain C.J.’s aforementioned suckiness. Frankly, neither I or anyone else has any idea what we’ll see from C.J. Wilson in 2015. But what happens if the worst comes into play and he’s just not an option for the Angels?

The rotation, believe it or not, isn’t hindered too greatly. Because Garrett Richards is a young ace, Weaver still passes as a mid-rotation option and Shoemaker has stepped up into a similar spot, the Angels aren’t too hurt without Wilson. It’s nice to have lefty starters, but Hector Santiago really wasn’t that bad at all last year in the rotation and looks as if he’s cemented his spot as a #4 starter. The Angels also have Nick Tropeano from the Conger trade who pretty much is demanding a spot in the rotation with his performance. That’s a heck of a rotation alone, but it doesn’t stop there. Cory Rasmus will be converting to a starting pitcher this offseason, and though it was a limited same size, he looked awfully good in 4-inning spurts at the end of last year and has the quality arsenal of a mid-front of the rotation pitcher. Then there are the swing-man types that also put up good numbers, like Wade LeBlanc and Drew Rucinski. And yet it still doesn’t end there. Nate Smith and Tyler DeLoach are a couple of LHP that posted ERA’s below 3, K/9’s above 9 and respectable BB/9’s in AA this past season. They also have high upside arms in Sean Newcomb and Ricardo Sanchez as well. The point is, the Angels are fine in the rotation without Wilson.

But what about the bullpen? Given Wilson’s prior success as a closer and set up man, this could legitimately be an option. As evidenced by his career .197 BAA with lefties, Wilson could profile quite well as a lefty specialist, if not an elite setup man. First, you’d have to get over the fact that he’s making $17 million a year, and also that this would only come about if he were given up on as a starter. But what if they had to live without him in the bullpen? I daresay the depth will make this an easy predicament to overcome. Having arms like Street, Smith, Jepsen, Morin, Diaz, Pestano, Bedrosian, Gott and Salas makes the Angels bullpen a formidable one to say the least, but then they added LHP Cesar Ramos in a trade and have Jose Alvarez coming off injury to compete for lefty specialist spots.

Conclusion: Basically right now C.J. Wilson is a $17 million flyer you take. This often happens toward the end of long contracts for players in their 30’s. Wilson’s struggles last year may be a fluke. He lost his command and no one really knows why. He might return to very good-ness (not dominance) and give the Angels the annual low 3’s ERA and 200 innings. Or, he may have lost whatever magic he had for good. In either case, the Angels should be fine.