The Los Angeles Angels went for it. They could easily have traded Shohei Ohtani, perhaps the greatest baseball player of his generation and even beyond but also a pending free agent after this season, for an absolute treasure trove bounty of a haul. But, with a wild card spot within their grasp, they bought. They decided they didn't want to waste another absolutely unprecedented season by Ohtani and try to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season. In June, they acquired Eduardo Escobar and Mike Moustakas for prospects and to add depth. But the big moves came in July. They acquired Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox and then went back to the Colorado Rockies to reunite Mike Moustakas with CJ Cron and Randal Grichuk. The Angels went all in.

Since the August 1st trade deadline, the Angels are 4-10. That's not awesome. The main reason has been pitching. Since the deadline, the Angels have given up on average 6.7 runs per game. They rank 21st in ERA in the MLB this season (4.54), 23rd in WHIP (1.39), and 19th in opponent batting average (.248). Their hitting hasn't been great either and has been much too reliant on Ohtani. But revamping their pitching staff is one of the couple moves the Angels can make to turn their season around and make one last playoff push.

1) Shake Up Their Pitching Staff

The Angels haven't been able to get consistent, reliable production from their starters outside of Ohtani. Though the Angels were able to get a great start from Reid Detmers Wednesday against the Texas Rangers (7.1 innings, one hit, no earned runs, five strikeouts), his ERA is almost at five (4.93). Tyler Anderson was an All-Star last season, but ERA has ballooned to over five. No Angels starter outside of Ohtani has an ERA below four. How can they shake up their rotation to get more from there?

Maybe they can give Matt Moore a few starts. Moore has transitioned to a reliever but began his career as a starter. Transitioning him to a starter shouldn't be a full-time solution since the last time he started games he had an ERA exceeding six, but giving him a start or two could be a change of pace the Angels need.

The Angels could also sign a free agent. One potential option could be Adrian Sampson. Sampson hasn't pitched in the MLB this season but has been solid in the last couple of seasons. Granted, he's only pitched a total 139.2 innings, but his ERA has been 2.80 and 3.11 in those seasons. His WHIP has been a solid 1.075 and 1.227 in those seasons as well. Those numbers far surpass the Angels' team marks this season. Sampson is also just 31 years old, so it isn't as if he's far beyond his best stuff. He could give the Angels a nice shot in the arm to help them get to the postseason.

Lastly, the Angels could try calling up a prospect. They called up Jose Suarez with the hope for him to be a starter, but his few starts went very poorly. In 24.1 innings, he allowed 15 walks and nine home runs. Ouch. But that shouldn't stop them from calling up another prospect (the few they have left after all their trades at least) tearing up the minors to help with a playoff push.

2) Activate Mike Trout off the Injured List

Mike Trout's numbers this season have been the worst since his rookie season. But he's still second or third on the Angels behind Shohei Ohtani in basically every hitting metric. Batting average, slugging, OPS, you name it. Trout's still a very good player; good enough to be an All-Star. The Angels were 45-42 before Trout's injury to his wrist. They're 15-20 since. He reportedly has no timetable to return. The Angels need him to come back soon because he'd make a world of a difference for the playoff hopes.

Moving Forward

The Angels went for a playoff push. That was risky. They deserve credit for taking their chances and betting on Shohei Ohtani's immense talent. But they still need more. They need Mike Trout back ASAP. Most notably though, their pitching staff needs to come through. If it doesn't, maybe alterations are in order to max out that area of the team. The Angels aren't dead yet; they're seven games behind in the Wild Card race. But time is running out.