Angels News: What's Next for LA After Three Pitching Targets Sign Elsewhere?

They'll have to look elsewhere for their sixth starting pitcher.

Tuesday wasn't a great day for the Angels. Not one, but two of their starting pitching targets signed with other teams, and one of them was with a division rival. Former Angel and 43-year-old LHP Rich Hill went to the Pirates, while 2021 All-Star RHP Nathan Eovaldi signed with the division rival Texas Rangers.

Then, it got worse. On Wednesday, former two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox. He's not the same pitcher he once was, but the 36-year-old still threw 164 innings last year, and could have provided a lot of depth in the Angels' rotation.

So now what?

With Kluber off the board, there's a bit of a dropoff on the market. The Angels could target free agent starting pitchers such as Johnny Cueto, Michael Wacha or Zack Greinke. They could also peruse the trade market, but they don't have a lot of tradable assets at this point in this offseason.

If they don't want to add a starting pitcher externally, their internal options include Griffin Canning or Chase Silseth to fill the sixth starter spot, among others. But Angels GM Perry Minasian has said he wants to feel confident no matter who's out there, and those guys wouldn't really give them that, yet.

So it does feel like the Angels are going to make another move to shore up the rotation, but I thought it was going to be Kluber. With him off the board, I expect them to go after Cueto or Wacha.

Cueto had a 3.35 ERA in 158.1 innings last season with the White Sox, while Wacha had a 3.32 ERA in 127.1 innings with the Red Sox. Cueto is a two-time All-Star, in 2014 and 2016. Wacha was an All-Star in 2015. Cueto will be 37-years-old next season, Wacha turns 32 in July. Both would be decent options, and add a right-handed arm in a lefty-heavy rotation. They also shouldn't cost too much, likely in the range of the Kluber contract.

Either Cueto or Wacha would help the Angels contend next season — so we'll see who they end up adding.