San Francisco Giants: Top 5 teams targeting Madison Bumgarner
4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
There seems to be a change of heart — or perhaps a wake-up call — that is taking place in Anaheim.
Someone must have pointed out that the Mike Trout guy who plays center field for them is pretty good. That Shohei Ohtani guy is pretty good too — and is only 25.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have flirted with mediocrity almost every year of Mike Trout’s all-time great career. The front office has been shy to spend a little extra and enter the dreaded luxury tax zone.
But it seems that the Angels are stirring as free agency heats up. They’ve been attached to some of the top names.
They’re listed as one of the top options for Gerrit Cole along with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cole will be seen as the absolute prize of the offseason, but among those three teams, Madison Bumgarner will surely be seen as a valuable fallback.
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If I was a betting man, I’d bet that Cole winds up with a clean-shaven face and wearing pinstripes next season. And since I would be abducted and tortured by every diehard San Francisco Giants fan if I even mentioned Madison Bumgarner on that blue team, I’ll pass.
In all seriousness, what has held the Los Angeles Angels back for so many seasons hasn’t been their offense. They’ve been attached to guys like Anthony Rendon this season, but it’d frankly be a waste of money.
They have a core of Mike Trout, Justin Upton, Andrelton Simmons, and Shohei Ohtani. That’s plenty.
The issue is that the starting rotation just hasn’t been good. As soon as Jered Weaver and his mid-eighties heater set sale for the retirement homes in the San Diego area, the Angels lost a legitimate ace.
They had a couple years of Garrett Richards dominance. They still have Andrew Heaney who shows flashes of brilliance. But the latter is their current number one option.
That’s not good.
To make matters worse, their number two option doubles as a designated hitter and is coming off of Tommy John Surgery.
Madison Bumgarner would easily slide into the position of ace in the current Angels rotation. That spot would be his for the entirety of the contract unless something miraculous happened with Albert Pujols coming off the books.
With the Houston Astros still looking like the long-term favorites to win the AL West for the next couple of years, identifying an ace who can win you a Wild Card game is incredibly important for the Angels.
Bumgarner was made for that pressure.
At the very least, how fun would it be to have two of the best offensive pitchers on the same team? There could be a possibility that the Angels would forego using a designated hitter in 40% of their games!
The number one thing holding that back from reality is the Angels’ willingness to spend.
If they are willing, they could land themselves a game-changing starter.