Angels at a Crossroads?

The Angels find themselves in a considerable state of flux despite winning 98 games last season and being anchored by a 23 year old MVP.   Things could end up changing in a hurry for a team with a manager averse to changes and a clubhouse chalk full of veteran leaders. Let’s look at the circumstance the Angels find themselves in.

• Jered Weaver might be done. It’s true. He had a great run for a few years, being one of the perennial Cy Young candidates, but that was 600 innings and eight miles per hour ago. What we see now is the effects that age and experience can have on a pitcher. Weaver’s fastball is down to 83 MPH. How many effective pitchers stay at that speed? Furthermore, there’s now little or now difference between his fastball and his change up. The problem this presents is that Weaver’s one of three clubhouse leaders, and is also one of the more fiercely competitive pitchers in the game. He may not take an assignment anywhere other than the rotation too kindly. Second, he’s owed 17 million a year for this year and next, meaning the Angels couldn’t simply ship him away. Third, Mike Scioscia is the slowest manager in baseball when it comes to making a move away from a veteran. Things could turn contentious in a hurry if the Angels aren’t willing to roll out Weaver every fifth day, even if he’s no longer a major league caliber starting pitcher.

• Josh Hamilton. I can’t add anything new to this scenario any more, so I’ll just quickly summarize it. He’s owed $83 million across the next three years, he’s been less than good for the past two, he’s had a drug and alcohol relapse, is coming off a serious shoulder surgery and Arte Moreno wouldn’t say Hamilton would ever play another game as an Angel. What hasn’t been said so far is that his replacements haven’t exactly done much either. Matt Joyce is in his final year before free agency and looks like a platoon player, and not a very good one at that. Collin Cowgill is a bit of a spark plug for the Angels and provides good defense, but his skillset is more befitting of a fourth outfielder, not a starter. The Angels could find themselves perusing the trade or free agent market pretty soon.

• C.J. Wilson may be removing himself from future consideration. Wilson, much like Weaver, is also owed $17 million a year for this year and next year, making a trade unlikely. This typically wouldn’t be an issue at all if Wilson were pitching as well as he had up to two years ago. But last year was a downright awful campaign and this year he’s shown the same inconsistency that made him a pariah among fans. This comes in conjunction with his outspoken feelings toward Angel management in how they’re handling the Josh Hamilton situation. Calling out your boss really isn’t a good idea, in any profession unless it’s seriously due, which in this case it isn’t. If Wilson can’t find the strike zone and put hitters away, the Angels may be inclined to move him into the bullpen, trade him or even release him altogether.

• Hector Santiago will keep trying to work out as a starter. That’s great and all, he hasn’t been bad, really. His ERA is decent and he’ll get you five solid innings before things completely fall apart. But Scioscia doesn’t trust him and his stuff really does match more of releiver’s arsenal anyway. The issue with that is theAangels already have two lefties in the pen that can provide them length with Cesar Ramos and Jose Alvarez. Obviously one of them could be sent to the minors, but considering C.J. might better fit in the bullpen as well, the Angels may have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to left-handed bullpen pitchers. The Angels could end up trading one soon.

• DH isn’t looking too hot right now. Do I believe in Cron? Yes, but do I also acknowledge his short comings and the fact that he’s lost at the plate right now? Definitely. But the alternatives aren’t exactly inspiring. Efren Navarro’s numbers from AAA don’t seem to translate to the big league level, he’s more of a reserve player. Then there are a few guys in AAA they may consider like Kruass or Grant Green, but those don’t look much more promising that Cron either.

So what’s the future hold for the Angels? Well no one really knows, but the Angels are likely doing everything in their power to plan for it. Garrett Richards will be back this next week, Matt Shoemaker has become a pitcher we can count on, and there are worse options that Hector Santiago for 5 innings every 5^th day. But for Weav and Wilson? If things don’t turn around and the Angels become more progressive in their thinking, we could see both Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano in the rotation. This goes back to Dipoto preparing for the future by trading their expensive 2B for a future starting pitcher and trading their backup catcher for a different catcher and a future starting pitcher as well. In fact, the money saved from dealing Kendrick may offer the angels the freedom to acquire a legitimate LF at the trade deadline if need be. As for DH, that simply looks like an issue the angels will deal with this season. They need to give Cron a legitimate shot at running away with this role, and if not, there’s always the remote chance Josh Hamilton comes back and does something useful.

As far as planning for the future goes, here are a few names we may see the Angels pursue at the deadline or the offseason if the offense continues to flounder in LF/DH.

Yoenis Cespedes (deadline or winter depending on Tigers performance)

Alex Gordon (winter if the Royals are too cash strapped to pick up his option)

Justin Upton (deadline or winter depending on Padres performance)

Jason Heyward (winter)