The Los Angeles Angels have used a six-man rotation when Shohei Ohtani is healthy ever since they got him. This makes sense, since Ohtani was pitching with more rest in Japan. It’s not easy for anyone to get used to a standard five-man rotation while also having to worry about hitting.
Fans are interested in what will happen with the rotation if Ohtani goes. Now that Ohtani is gone, will they go back to a regular five-man staff, or will they keep six starters because that’s what Angels pitchers are used to?
Perez Minasian told Jeff Fletcher of the OCR that they are fine with switching to a five-man rotation and that he thinks “the arms we have in-house can handle it.” It’s a good idea to switch to a five-man staff, but this group of guđťš—s isn’t very good.
It looks like the LA Angels won’t be getting a big first-year starter.
It is a great idea to switch to a standard rotation with five starters. With only five players, it’s hard enough for this team to put together a strong rotation. Having six makes it even harder to do that, and that’s before you add all the depth guđťš—s you need. This is bad news because it makes Minasian believe that the rotation can stay alive with the guđťš—s they already have.
Keep your word, Angels. If they don’t add any starting pitchers, the team’s staff will likely include Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning, Tyler Anderson, and either Jose Suarez, Jaime Barria, Chase Silseth, or Kenny Rosenberg. Oh no!
I think guys like Detmers and Sandoval have a lot of promise, but neither has shown that they can be steady. Griffin Canning had a good comeback year, but he’s just a fourth starter in a good rotation. Tyler Anderson’s year was terrible. This is your last chance to get a fifth starter.
With a starters’ ERA of 4.47, the Angels were 19th in the big leagues. The 3.14 ERA they got from Ohtani in 23 games counts of that. With a new coaching team, will things get better? Could be. Things didn’t get much worse, though.
They’re young and have some good skills, but they haven’t shown anything in the major leagues yet. This isn’t ideal when there are so many good choices in this year’s free agency class.