Angels Reportedly Checking In on Free Agent Market's Top Players

The Halos are looking to add some real talent this offseason.

All offseason, the Los Angeles Angels have been discussing adding major talent for next season. They are determined to be competitive next year and hopefully can break their long playoff drought.

Now that the offseason no longer revolves around two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, the team is free to move on to other players. The front office has reportedly been checking in at the top of the market. 

They have been linked to both starting pitcher Blake Snell and power-hitting outfielder Teoscar Hernandez this offseason. MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic doubled down on the Angels' interest in both players.

"As active as the Angels are in the trade market, it behooves them to check in on most of the top remaining free agents, and they are doing that, from left-hander Blake Snell to outfielder Teoscar Hernández"

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic

The Angels' greatest need on paper is their starting rotation. Snell makes sense. He won the National League Cy Young award last year with the San Diego Padres and is in line for a big payday.

Typically, owner Arte Moreno has been hesitant to offer pitchers large contracts, but he might make an exception for Snell. The 31-year-old would give them a front-line ace for years to come and could help ease the pain of the franchise losing Ohtani.

Snell was as good as any pitcher in the league last season, posting an ERA of 2.25 and a WHIP of 1.19. Although he's only reached the 130-inning threshold twice in eight years, both of those seasons ended with him winning a Cy Young award.

As for Hernandez, he would provide a power hitter in the lineup to off-set the losses of Ohtani and Hunter Renfroe, who combined to hit 63 home runs in 2023. 

A two-time Silver Slugger award winner, Hernandez is coming off a good season with the rival Seattle Mariners. He slashed .258/.305/.435 with a .741 OPS, a 106 OPS+, 26 home runs and 96 runs batted in.

Poaching Hernandez would deplete the Mariners' lineup as well, a potential win-win for the Angels. 

The Angels' 2024 payroll projects to approximately $152 million for luxury-tax purposes, well below the $233 million threshold above which teams incur a tax.