MLB 2017: One prediction for each team

Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout’s team is still not very good

In the NBA, having the best player in the league makes you a championship contender. In MLB, not so much. Mike Trout is a historically-great player, but his team has still missed the playoffs two years in a row. The Angels placed some very bad bets on C.J. Wilson, Jered Weaver and Josh Hamilton. Their bet on Albert Pujols has only been half bad so far.

If the Angels could do it all over, they’d use their money much differently, and be more careful about who they signed to surround Trout. They have a middling lineup, a questionable starting rotation, and a bad bullpen. Their best pitcher, Garret Richards, is coming back from an unproven stem cell procedure to repair his UCL. His innings will have to be monitored closely. Behind Richards, the Angels will trot out a handful of pitchers more suited to make spot starts or fill a number-five slot on a contender.

There is a legitimate chance Trout doesn’t play in the postseason again for at least two years. The MVP awards are nice, but the Angels have wasted their chance to capitalize on the game’s best player ever under the age of 25. Trout’s fairest comparison is Mickey Mantle, except with more speed. Certain things were out of management’s control, but they’ve been unwilling to bite the bullet and spend through their mistakes to make the team around Trout better. Instead of trading for Danny Espinosa, Cameron Maybin and Yunel Escobar, why not go out and pursue Yoenis Cespedes or Justin Turner? Obviously, it’s no one but Arte Moreno’s money to spend, but the Angels don’t have the look of a playoff contender in 2017. Another year wasted as Trout’s free agency clock ticks down.