A year removed from the 2019 World Series and mere months removed from finishing the 2020 season with the best record in baseball, the Los Angeles Angeles have been silent.
“Maybe it’s a bit of a hangover from the past two season,” said Angels GM Mike Lowe in a joking tone to reporters during his end of the year press conference earlier today.
“In actuality, we have money to be spending, and (owner) Art (Moreno) has given me some clear goals, but we’re letting the dust settle a bit to see where things align,” said Lowe. “We have our eyes on a few guys externally who are currently available in the market, but we’re also exploring some internal candidates for open positions and trying to decide how best to balance all of that and where and when those guys fit.”
Although Lowe wouldn’t specutlate on names, it is beleived that some of the internal candidates include outfielder Augusto Ramirez, and infielders Ben Simmons and Willi Castro.
As for external candidates, the agent of Wil Myers has been in consistent contact with the Angels, but nothing serious has come of those talks just yet. It is believed that Lowe is comfortable taking the compensation that would come along with Myers signing elsewhere. “He has been the offseason’s top prize, and that’s no different today,” said Lowe when asked about Myers.
The Angels division, the AL West, has proven to be a formidable challenge since the league’s inception in 2015. At times, every team in the division has had a moment on top, and now with the realigned divisions, Vancouver is added into the mix; a team with one of the most respected and active GMs in the league in Nate Brooks.
“We’re seeing teams famished for starting pitching, and we feel very fortunate to have a staff we’re very happy with,” said Lowe. “We know teams love to throw around the word ‘ace’ when it comes to a pitching staff, but we feel as though we have 3 legit aces on this team.” Lowe was referring to 2019 Cy Young Award winner Steven Matz, the breakout WAR leader for pitchers in 2020 in Derrek McGriff, and perhaps the best right-handed pitcher in SSG Baseball in Gerrit Cole.
2021 is sure to bring a lot of surprises and change to SSG Baseball, but the Angels hope to remain one of the top teams in the league and push for their third consecutive playoff birth and a third trip to the World Series under Lowe’s tenure.