What will the Los Angeles Angels do in the 2024 season? They were unable to retain Shohei Ohtani, and they are now left dealing with the remnants of a supposed contender. Rebuilding this team will not be an easy task. Regardless, Arte Moreno is dead set on building the team the only way he knows how: throwing money at key free agents.
As it turns out, Moreno's propensity for going after big names plays a huge part in how the MLB free agency period will go, per Jon Heyman. Heyman notes that the Angels were linked to both San Diego Padres ace Blake Snell and Chicago Cubs slugger Cody Bellinger, but that interest has since waned a bit.
“The Angels may hold the key to the rest of the free-agent market. They like Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger, but for now word is circulating that they may not go for the biggest free agents. Angels owner Arte Moreno has been a big free agent player in the past, and he could change course.”
“They have a decent young nucleus and enhanced the bullpen (Robert Stephenson and Matt Moore), but fans in the O.C. can’t think that compensates for the loss of Shohei Ohtani.
The Angels also have been linked to Joey Votto and Kiké Hernandez.”
One could argue that Moreno's desire to sign the top stars in free agency has hurt the Angels more than it has helped. His biggest splashes over the last few years have been underwhelming at best and outright awful at worst. Think of Anthony Rendon and Albert Pujols as just two examples of such over the past few years. Perhaps a much “calmer” approach would help them better.
Players such as Logan O'Hoppe, Zach Neto, and the immortal Mike Trout could form a solid core. The Angels' bullpen was their biggest strength last season. A rebuild shouldn't really take more than three years, if they do it right.
Then again, there's a lot of great players on the market that might help them. Ultimately, the Angels' offseason boils down to whether Moreno would like to try and continue being competitive or to start a small rebuild of sorts. Given Moreno's history, we know what he's likely going for.
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