In my last piece I advocated for letting the kids play. In the long term, that’s probably a good idea. However, Arte doesn’t think long term and considering this year’s shallow class of both free agent and non-tender candidates, I think it is time we set our sights so far West they are actually East.
So, inspired by the 1980 jam that has a touch of the punk roots of this site, here’s plan 2:
The Angels desperately need a legitimate ace to top the rotation. There isn’t one on the farm, probably not one on the US market, but there is one pitching for the Orix Buffaloes squad that just won the NPB championship.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, come one down. This 25 year old is absolutely filthy and would immediately slide into the spotlight Ohtani created here. He’s young, he’s vibrant, he’s everything the Angels need. Just look at these highlights.
But the Angels need far more than just an ace. The back end of the rotation is unreliable and the bullpen is in flux. Nothing stabilizes the back end of a rotation more than pushing everyone back a notch in that rotation.
Shota Imanaga we have a place for you. The lefty you might remember from the World Baseball Classic has pitched to a 3.24 ERA in Japan and sports a tidy 7.3 walk rate. Limiting free passes is a great way to go deeper in games and keep the bullpen rested. He’s projected as a 3 to 5 on a good team but he’d be no worse than our 3 here. At 29 he won’t get nearly the coin Yamamoto requires but should still have plenty of good years ahead of him.
This is 22.3" of Induced Vertical Break four-seam fastball at 93.6 MPH from Shota Imanaga lol pic.twitter.com/FLkc2ad9wA
And now for the perennial Achilles heel of the Angels, the bullpen. Carlos Esteves looked pretty good early but ran out of gas. That probably doesn’t happen if the Angels have multiple guys who are filthy and can cover for each other. And this guy is absolutely filthy.
Yuki Matsui has 7 consecutive seasons of ERA’s under 2.00. He strikes guys out, he doesn’t walk them, and he can get out hitters on both sides of the plate.
Yuki Matsui is an interesting bullpen option for a few teams. 27 year old lefty with 3 straight sub 2.00 ERA seasons in a closer role.
Low 90s fastball he throws from a low release height (he’s 5”8), plus splitter, 55 slider. K-BB% standout. pic.twitter.com/afyHFtuZeq
This is already a team that is far more exciting to watch than the one currently constructed, but while I’m living in fantasy land, let’s take it one step further and resign Shohei Ohtani to a ridiculous deal. If I’m Arte I’ll consider it a good problem to have trying to figure out how to pay for all of this as I become an octogenarian.
An ace, a middle rotation arm, a closer, and a unicorn. The Angels would be the Team Japan of the WBC on a nightly basis and create fans out of an entire nation. Most importantly, the team would be electric and much deeper and much more fun to watch.
This piece is a little tongue in cheek but the international free agent market is intriguing this year; perhaps more intriguing than in any recent year. I think the list of players who have made the transition from Japan to MLB is long enough to feel confident.
Even if/when Ohtani leaves I would want the Angels to target these players. If they did pull this off, or even part of it, the Angels would be far better on the field, at the box office, and on TV for it.
Hey man, the offseason is our “Championship” so let us have some fun !!!
Looking at the top-100 FA’s according to this publication so take it for what it’s worth….buuut….. 1B/3B Candelario just screams like target #1 for us. Insurance for the rookie & Rendon is a question that demands an answer.
I call this one – “spend $500 million for 80 wins”.
Jeff, I realize you are creating fun content and not advocating for this. However, I just cant help feeling a shudder. It just seems like more of the same ole stuff – which is probably what we are in for with the same ownership.
We’ve struck out repeatedly on past their prime & way overvalued American FA’s so why da’ fook NOT try the Japanese route? We’d at least be interesting 🙂
Of all the potential ‘Go Big Or Go Home’ scenarios, this is easily the most entertaining one and frankly, it would would probably be a wise business decision as well in terms of attention & revenue.
It’s definitely time to shop in Japan with the weak yen, but the thin FA market will likely make these guys more expensive than they should be and may end up not as exotic as expected when you put it on your shelf.
On the contrary, maybe it would be better for the Angels to look for buy-low and sell medium type like the A’s did with Fujinami.
Of course, since the Halos weren’t even named in reports as a team that watched Yamamoto workout, the chances of signing him to the Halos are assumably very slim.
Angels 2024: Turning Japanese!
In my last piece I advocated for letting the kids play. In the long term, that’s probably a good idea. However, Arte doesn’t think long term and considering this year’s shallow class of both free agent and non-tender candidates, I think it is time we set our sights so far West they are actually East.
So, inspired by the 1980 jam that has a touch of the punk roots of this site, here’s plan 2:
The Angels desperately need a legitimate ace to top the rotation. There isn’t one on the farm, probably not one on the US market, but there is one pitching for the Orix Buffaloes squad that just won the NPB championship.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, come one down. This 25 year old is absolutely filthy and would immediately slide into the spotlight Ohtani created here. He’s young, he’s vibrant, he’s everything the Angels need. Just look at these highlights.
But the Angels need far more than just an ace. The back end of the rotation is unreliable and the bullpen is in flux. Nothing stabilizes the back end of a rotation more than pushing everyone back a notch in that rotation.
Shota Imanaga we have a place for you. The lefty you might remember from the World Baseball Classic has pitched to a 3.24 ERA in Japan and sports a tidy 7.3 walk rate. Limiting free passes is a great way to go deeper in games and keep the bullpen rested. He’s projected as a 3 to 5 on a good team but he’d be no worse than our 3 here. At 29 he won’t get nearly the coin Yamamoto requires but should still have plenty of good years ahead of him.
And now for the perennial Achilles heel of the Angels, the bullpen. Carlos Esteves looked pretty good early but ran out of gas. That probably doesn’t happen if the Angels have multiple guys who are filthy and can cover for each other. And this guy is absolutely filthy.
Yuki Matsui has 7 consecutive seasons of ERA’s under 2.00. He strikes guys out, he doesn’t walk them, and he can get out hitters on both sides of the plate.
This is already a team that is far more exciting to watch than the one currently constructed, but while I’m living in fantasy land, let’s take it one step further and resign Shohei Ohtani to a ridiculous deal. If I’m Arte I’ll consider it a good problem to have trying to figure out how to pay for all of this as I become an octogenarian.
An ace, a middle rotation arm, a closer, and a unicorn. The Angels would be the Team Japan of the WBC on a nightly basis and create fans out of an entire nation. Most importantly, the team would be electric and much deeper and much more fun to watch.
This piece is a little tongue in cheek but the international free agent market is intriguing this year; perhaps more intriguing than in any recent year. I think the list of players who have made the transition from Japan to MLB is long enough to feel confident.
Even if/when Ohtani leaves I would want the Angels to target these players. If they did pull this off, or even part of it, the Angels would be far better on the field, at the box office, and on TV for it.