Angels make key move to get Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani more help
By Rylie Smith
The Los Angeles Angels are aiming to make their team better this offseason, and they’re making the right moves by signing Brandon Drury.
The Los Angeles Angels have some of the best players in the league, particularly Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. With these two players, the team should be a championship-caliber one, but it’s not quite yet as they’ve lacked reliable help on the roster.
They seem to be making the right moves, however, this offseason as they most recently acquired Brandon Drury.
Utilityman Brandon Drury and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a two-year, $17 million contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Drury, 30, won the Silver Slugger at the utility position last year and is the third bat the Angels have acquired this winter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 21, 2022
The Angels could look like an entirely new team next season with the solid increase of hitters joining the team. Ohtani and Trout deserve a championship team considering just how much of an impact they have on the league, and with Ohtani eligible for free agency in 2024, now is the best time for Los Angeles to do what they can to give him one.
While Drury isn’t nearly as powerful of a hitter as Trout or Ohtani, he’s still above average. Over the 2022 regular season, he slashed .263/.320/.492 for an OPS of .812. If he continues to perform this well next season, he’ll be bound to help the team.
It may be a long shot to say they’ll be contenders next season, but they very well could be the most successful they’ve been since their last World Series win in 2002.
The Angels may emerge with newfound success this season
Ohtani and Trout are some of the best assets the team can have, and with other great players added into the mix, things can only go upward. The Angels have struggled for success since 2002, only making the playoffs six times since and missing them entirely every season since 2014.
They need all the help they can get. Ohtani and Trout, unfortunately, can’t carry an entire team, and giving them help in the lineup is a great place to start with development.
After the 2022 season, the Angels had the seventh-worst batting average (.233) of the league, the fifth-worst on-base percentage (.297), 15th-best slugging percentage (.390) and eighth-worst OPS (.687). Trout and Ohtani are significant sources of power, but as shown, the team could stand to improve all around.
Success won’t come overnight, but this season could bring some very noticeable differences.
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