Even more pitching could be Angels' Winter Meetings focus

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DALLAS -- The 2024 MLB Winter Meetings are officially here, as the annual event kicked off Sunday night with the announcement of Dave Parker and Dick Allen being elected to the Hall of Fame and Juan Soto agreeing to a deal with the Mets. It begins in earnest on Monday and goes through Wednesday afternoon through the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft.

The Angels will be plenty busy this week with general manager Perry Minasian looking at every avenue to improve a club that’s already made several moves this offseason. The Angels will also find out their Draft position for '25 on Tuesday, as they’re part of the Draft Lottery for the first time and have a 17.96% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick.

There’s plenty to look out for this week, so here’s a look at three questions facing the Angels with the Hot Stove heating up at the Winter Meetings:

1. How much more pitching will the Angels acquire?

The Angels already addressed their rotation this offseason by signing veteran free agents Kyle Hendricks (one year, $2.5 million) and Yusei Kikuchi (three years, $63 million). But Minasian hasn’t ruled out adding another starting pitcher this offseason. The Angels currently have a rotation of Tyler Anderson and José Soriano, along with Kikuchi and Hendricks, with the fifth spot up for grabs. They have plenty of internal options such as Jack Kochanowicz, Reid Detmers, Chase Silseth, Sam Aldegheri and top prospect Caden Dana. But you can never have enough starting pitching, and the Angels could take another flier on an experienced arm.

The Angels, though, appear much more likely to add to their bullpen. Flamethrower Ben Joyce is the club’s young closer, while right-hander Robert Stephenson is coming off Tommy John surgery after signing a three-year deal worth $33 million last offseason. Brock Burke, Ryan Zeferjahn and José Quijada also pitched well in the second half and offer depth. But the Angels could use another reliever or two to bolster their bullpen, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them active in that area this week.

2. Can the Angels find a power bat at the right price?

The offense finished with the third-worst slugging percentage in the Majors last year, so trading for Jorge Soler should help the offense. Travis d’Arnaud, who was signed to a two-year deal worth $12 million to be the club’s backup catcher, also hit 15 homers and 16 doubles in 99 games last year. But their other additions such as Scott Kingery, Kevin Newman and Ryan Noda don’t offer as much in the power department.

So the Angels could use another bat in their lineup to join superstar Mike Trout, who has had his troubles staying on the field the last four seasons. Anthony Rendon went homerless in 57 games last year and looks destined for more of a part-time role in 2025, so finding a corner infielder with power could make some sense. Adding a center fielder to help ease Trout’s load also could make sense, but it’s difficult to find players who can handle center defensively and offer power. They’re also not expected to be interested in a premium free agent such as Alex Bregman but will be looking to add some thump to the lineup.

3. Could the Halos swing a big trade instead of adding via free agency?

The Angels aren’t likely to make a bigger splash than Kikuchi in free agency, as he represented their biggest signing in terms of total value since Minasian took over as GM in 2020. It was also their biggest contract handed out to a starting pitcher since C.J. Wilson, who signed a five-year, $77.5 million pact with the Angels ahead of the 2012 season. But Minasian hasn’t been shy about making trades and the Angels have only a few players considered untouchable.

The Halos are still not likely to move veterans such as Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo or Anderson because they’re trying to contend in ’25, but they could dip into their farm system to swing a trade or look to trade a player as part of a change-of-scenery move such as Detmers or Silseth. Maybe a third baseman like Eugenio Suárez could make some sense, as he’s in the last year of his deal with the D-backs after they picked up his $15 million option for ’25.