It looks to be the start of a new era in Los Angeles Angels baseball in 2024, and with Spring Training fully underway, this could be just the beginning.
The Angels will be spending most of their time at their Spring Training facilities in Tempe, Arizona, as this new era begins. Of course, with a new era comes additions and subtractions. First and foremost, you have to look at the Angels' new skipper, Ron Washington, who comes over from the Atlanta Braves as their longtime third base coach.
Washington has been instrumental in his career at helping produce some exceptional infielders, most recently with Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies and third baseman Austin Riley, who helped lead the Braves to their first World Series in 26 years in 2021. This won't be Washington's first go-around as a manager, though, as he was the Texas Rangers skipper from 2007-2014, and he helped lead the team to back-to-back World Series, but lost both.
Washington will undoubtedly bring at least some sense of optimism that's been sorely missed in Anaheim for some time as he replaces Phil Nevin. But don't think for a second that Angels fans are going to forget that their superstar unicorn of a player in Shohei Ohtani moving nearly 30 miles away to the blue team is going to be easy to handle.
At least the Angels didn't trade away Mike Trout. They now just have to hope he can stay healthy and make it through most of the 162-game schedule. That goes double for third baseman Anthony Rendon, who has not exactly started the 2024 season off on the best of terms with Angels fans.
With that said, what exactly should we expect from the 2024 Angels? Let's get into some bold predictions.
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Mike Trout plays at least 130 games
Entering his 14th year in the league, Trout will hope this will be a season of better health. Over the last three seasons, the 32-year-old has missed 249 games. Two of those seasons he played under 100 games, with one playing under 50. Excluding the 2022 COVID season, he hasn't played in at least 80 percent of his games since his last MVP season in 2019, playing 134.
Trout is essential to this team's lineup, especially with Ohtani gone to the Dodgers. It will be interesting to see just how Washington decides to use Trout and if he wants to try to limit his time in the field or offer the occasional off day. Let's all hope Trout has moved past his fluke-like injuries this season and we see one of the game's best back on the diamond for the majority of the 2024 season.
3X MVP Mike Trout doubles for his first hit of spring training đ@Angels | #LAASpring pic.twitter.com/x3qtPo3phn
â Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 29, 2024
Reid Detmers becomes the certified ace of the pitching rotation
Claiming Detmers as the ace may seem ridiculous considering the rotation the Angels could be working with in 2024, but nonetheless, Detmers is due for a solid season this year.
He has shown flashes that he has all the capabilities of being the type of pitcher the Angels need; it's just putting it all together and staying consistent. In 2023, the lefty had some major highs but also some major lows. He was going toe-to-toe with some of the game's best. But then there were other games where he would allow run after run, which would inflate his ERA.
Detmers finished 2023 going 4-10 with a 4.48 ERA in 28 games, per Baseball-Reference. The 24-year-old had a promising end to last season, finishing with a 2.41 ERA in his last seven starts. That's the kind of production Washington and the Angels will look for this season. However, in his Spring Training debut against the San Diego Padres, he allowed two runs on two hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings, per MLB.com.
âIt wasnât an ideal way to start spring, but you live and you learn and I learned a lot from that start,â Detmers said. âI went over some things in the dugout. Iâm just trying to learn as much as I can. Whether itâs on the back fields with the new staff or just understanding more about the game and learning from my mistakes.â
Angels finish fourth in AL East again
Washington is going to have a tough task coming into this division that is extremely top-heavy with the Houston Astros and last year's World Series champion, the Texas Rangers. Both of those teams looked poised again to make playoff runs, barring injuries. But the Angels also have to worry about the Seattle Mariners as well, who are trying to find their way back to the playoffs after making their return two seasons ago but missing last year.
There are some pieces on this team that can at least keep the Angels competitive most of the season, and being in the same division as the lowly Oakland Athletics certainly helps matters. But you still have to be wary if you're an Angels fan about those injuries that keep haunting your best players, like Rendon and Trout.
Over the last three seasons, the Angels have averaged 74.3 wins. Getting to 80 wins seems awfully ambitious, so let's go just above the average at 75.
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