Shock and Awe: Angels Favorite to Land Top Free….
The Angels sunk to the bottom of the American League West last season, posting a 63-99 record while watching the crosstown Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series by featuring their former phenom, Shohei Ohtani.
Los Angeles’ AL entrant often lives in the shadow of the city’s favored Dodgers and had to slog through the majority of the 2024 campaign without their lone remaining superstar as Mike Trout sat out most of the season due to injury.
Angels general manager Perry Minasian proclaimed this week that Trout is “gearing toward being ready for Spring Training” in February, according to Eva Geitheim of Sports Illustrated, but his being ready for Opening Day is no lock.
Earlier this week came news that budding star shortstop Zach Neto may not be ready for the start of the 2025 season, according to MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger.
Neto had surgery on his injured shoulder on Wednesday in a bid to recover from an injury suffered in the final week of Los Angeles’ disappointing season.
The Angels need a pick-me-up, and their moves thus far — signing pitcher Kyle Hendricks and trading for designated hitter Jorge Soler — don’t move the needle much.
However, R.J. Anderson predicts a move sure to bring joy to Orange County: signing a would-be staff ace in free agent starter Blake Snell.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner would certainly be a landmark signing for Los Angeles’ second team. However, his 2024 outing with the Giants wasn’t exactly the stuff of legend.
Lat and groin injuries held Snell to just 20 starts in what appears to be his lone season with the San Francisco Giants. He went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts.
Despite the less-than-stellar campaign in the Bay Area, Snell declined his player option to remain with San Francisco after playing 2024 on a one-year, $32 million deal and dove back into the free-agent pool.
Spotrac projects Snell’s market value as commanding a five-year contract for more than $131 million.
