Angels News: GM Minasian Thinks Halos are Close to Contending

The Angels have some key pieces that make them instant contenders.

When you have all-time talents like Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the same field, you should probably be one of the better teams in the league. Unfortunately for the Angels, this hasn't been the case. The Angels have struggled for the better part of the last decade. They haven't had a winning season since 2015, and haven't made the postseason since 2014. However, GM Perry Minasian knows the team is close.

"We’re a top-heavy club," Minasian said. "We’ve got some young players, too, but we’re very top-heavy. So filling in that middle is really important."

Filling in that middle is exactly what Minasian has done early in free agency. On Tuesday, the Angels made the first big move of the offseason, poaching All-Star LHP Tyler Anderson from the Dodgers. Anderson joins a rotation with top-of-the-line talent in Ohtani and Patrick Sandoval, to form one of the best top of the rotations in all of baseball.

The Angels also want to improve in their bullpen, and add a few more depth guys in the lineup. However, with Ohtani, Trout, Anthony Rendon and breakout star Taylor Ward, Minasian has every reason to believe the Angels are right at the cusp of being legit contenders.

"We don’t feel like we’re that far away — we don’t," Minasian said. "I think we’re closer than what our record might show to competing."

The depth of the Angels is slowly starting to come together, and with plenty of offseason left, the Angels have a lot more time to solidify the roster. 

It's true that records don't always show the true value of the team, but it's time for the team to buckle down and show what they are truly capable of. There's too much talent on this roster to finish 16 games below .500.