Halo Heaven! Angels on Verge of Landing $37M Ace in Massive Trade
The Los Angeles Angels have had an eventful offseason thus far.
After some bad luck with injuries and overall underwhelming production in the 2024 campaign, the Angels finished 63-99.
In a clear attempt to address major pitching issues, the Halos signed southpaw Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year, $63 million deal and right-hander Kyle Hendricks to a one-year, $2.5 million deal.
The Angels also signed veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud and shortstop Kevin Newman this offseason to try and help offensive struggles — but with Mike Trout projected to have another huge year, it would make sense to continue the pitching focus.
This next potential move theorized by Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer links the Angels to Gold Glove winner and two-time All Star right-handed pitcher Marcus Stroman.
“The Angels are worth bringing up because they’ve already taken on a bad contract by way of their deal for Jorge Soler,” Rymer writes. “Stroman is a sensible option if they fancy another such move, but their rotation looks decent enough as it is.”
Stroman, a 33-year-old from the New York Yankees, is coming off a slightly down year. He is reportedly being actively shopped by New York, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
The 2024 season saw Stroman sport a 4.31 ERA in 154.2 innings pitched with the lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio of his career at 1.88.
With some help lowering his ERA closer to his career average of 3.72, he can easily be added into the Angels rotation and make an impact for L.A.
Another huge offseason move came one day after the 2024 season ended in the Angels acquiring Jorge Soler.
The 2021 World Series MVP batted .241/.338/.442 with 21 homers, 34 doubles, and 64 RBIs last season for the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves.
As Rymer says, the fact that the Angels were willing to take on his contract — he inked a three-year, $42 million contract before the start of last season — means the Halos could also be a good fit to take on Stroman’s $37 million deal.
Stroman would give the Angels much-needed depth in the rotation, and supply them with a player who made an All-Star appearance just two seasons ago with the Chicago Cubs in 2023.
