The Angels Are Horrible And The Future Looks Even Worse

CAROLINE BREHMAN. Shutterstock Images.

There is one name that really crystallizes how fucked the Angels are. It's not Mike Trout even though he's the most important player on the roster. It's not Anthony Rendon either even though his contract is among the worst in all of baseball. It's tough to get less production for $38 million dollars a year.

The player that most clearly shows the apocalyptic future of the Angels is Jack Kochanowicz. He's a 23 year old starting pitcher who has never pitched in AAA. He had a 5.41 ERA in 32 AA starts and was rushed to the majors right before the All-Star Break. He's made two starts and the results are probably what you thought they would be: 7 IP, 14 Hits and an ERA of 14.14. At this moment in time, Kochanowicz should not be in the major leagues. 

Kochanowicz making starts is what a team does that has no organizational depth and even worse, no organizational plan. They rush players up because they are desperate and flailing. A person drowning is a very dangerous thing because they will bring others down with them.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea. Getty Images.

I know the past decade has been lousy for the Angels but it might really bottom out soon. They had one of the worst farm systems in the game before they traded the few good players they had for guys like Lucas Giolito, Eduardo Escobar and C.J. Cron in last year's desperate attempt to trick Shohei Ohtani into staying with a contender.

This was a team that couldn't finish .500 with peak Ohtani and Mike Trout. Now Ohtani is gone and Trout is hurt more than he's healthy. That's not an exaggeration. 

SINCE 2021:

Games Mike Trout Has Played In: 266

Games Mike Trout Has Missed: 319

Trout is signed through 2030 at $37.1 million dollars per year. Rendon is making $38.6 million dollars this year and the next two as well. For some reason, Robert Stephenson is currently in the first year of a three year/$33 million dollar deal. $11 million dollars isn't that noteworthy by MLB standards but it is wild he won't pitch at all this season. The biggest free agent signing they made last year has been yet another disaster.

The blame for all of this falls on Arte Moreno. He's also far too prideful to do what needs to be done moving forward. I think you need to go full on tear down and build everything up from scratch. Trade everything you can. Take on bad contracts to get back more prospects. If they committed to an Orioles style rebuild, imagine how good they could be to start the 2030's with the revenue you'd get from a team based in Los Angeles?

I'm sure some Angels fans are reading this annoyed. They'll look at some decent players they do have like Logan O'Hoppe and Zach Neto. I think Nolan Schanuel could be a pretty good hitter one day. This is nowhere near enough. You have Tyler Anderson pitching far better than he has any right to throw and the Angels still sit at 42-57.

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There is a week before the trade deadline. They need to move Tyler Anderson, Taylor Ward, Carlos Estevez and anyone else you can get any value for. Would the Rockies give you prospects if you took on Kris Bryant's deal? Go for it. This is the mindset the Angels should have.

Finally, don't rush guys like Jack Kochanowicz to the major leagues. Start washed up veterans instead. Sign guys like Johnny Cueto and have those guys waste bullets instead. Don't potentially hurt a future asset. Don't worry about winning in 2024. Don't worry about winning in 2025. Or 2026. Or 2027. Actually tear it down. It's the only way out.