MLB rumors: Jordan Montgomery destination heating up, Cubs add 1B competition, Angels Ohtani replacement
- The Angels are zeroing in on pitching replacements
- Cubs add a veteran to their youthful 1B competition
- Jordan Montgomery's destination appears to be coming clearer
By Josh Wilson
Angels looking at pitching options
The Los Angeles Angels waved goodbye to perhaps the most star-studded player to ever play for their franchise in free agency this offseason. Two-way megastar Shohei Ohtani opted to head to the cross-town Dodgers and leave the Angels behind, who he started his career with.
The Angels struggled to build around the elite one-two offensive punch of Mike Trout and Ohtani, with Ohtani remarkably yet to even play in an MLB postseason game.
With the Dodgers, expect for Ohtani to be a regular force in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Angels haven't done much work to replace Ohtani on the roster. Replacing him is no simple task, primarily because he played both sides of the field. It would take two players to replace his impact on both ends.
They're finally looking toward the pitching side of things, with Mark Feinsand reporting that the Angels are extremely likely to wind up with either Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell. Both Montgomery and Snell are represented by the same agent, Scott Boras, who has held several of his high-profile clients out from free agent deals even as MLB Spring Training games get going.
At present, the Angels rotation looks like this (H/T Fangraphs):
- Reid Detmers
- Griffin Canning
- Patrick Sandoval
- Tyler Anderson
- Chase Silseth
Fangraphs projects all of those players to have a 4.00-plus ERA in 2024. Either Monty or Snell would serve as an upgrade to what the team has on staff currently.