Angels Rumors: Halos Interested in Adding Another Top-End Starting Pitcher
The Angels still have a hole at their sixth and final spot in the starting rotation — with Shohei Ohtani on board, the team has utilized a six-man rotation to limit his innings.
With the addition of All-Star LHP Tyler Anderson, they have five clear starters with Ohtani, Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers and Jose Suarez. If the team wanted to fill that hole internally, they would have options with Griffin Canning or Chase Silseth.
However, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported that the team is interested in one of the top starters on the market — Japanese star Kodai Senga.
Senga has dominated in Japan over the last 11 seasons. He has a career 2.42 ERA in 275 games. Last year, he went 11-6 with a 1.89 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 148 innings. He would round out arguably the best rotation in all of baseball, especially at the top.
The Red Sox and Blue Jays are reportedly interested in Senga, as well, among others. It remains to be seen if the Angels want to spend more money on the rotation, after shelling out $39 million over three years for Anderson.
However, it could be a good investment, not only for the immediate rotation, but also to potentially convince a Japanese owner to buy the team, with two of Japan's top talents — Senga and Ohtani — on the roster. If owner Arte Moreno was okay with spending more money, this may be the best place to do it.