Well Angels fans, the dream of seeing Shohei Ohtani and Kodai Senga in the same rotation is dead. Senga signed a five-year $75 million dollar deal to go to the New York Mets. I’m confident a team offered him more than that as he got less money annually than guys like Taijuan Walker and Jameson Taillon, but I’m sure joining Steve Cohen and the Mets was very appealing for this right-hander who said he wanted to win right away.
The Angels were interested in Senga and it’s definitely disappointing that they couldn’t get him. However, they still have money to invest in the shortstop position (most importantly) and also some arms as well.
Is the AL West the hardest division in baseball? It has the defending champion Astros who aren’t going anywhere even after losing Justin Verlander. The Mariners just won a round in the playoffs and got better. The Rangers signed Jacob deGrom and are much improved. The Angels are improved as well with the acquisitions they made.
How many divisions can say they have four teams trying to compete for a playoff spot? Maybe the AL East? That’s about it.
The Angels added four players and lost one in the MiLB portion of the Rule 5 Draft. They had a full 40-man roster so they couldn’t select any players in the MLB portion.
The Toronto Blue Jays signed Kevin Kiermaier to help their outfield. The Jays traded Teoscar Hernandez away and failed to sign Brandon Nimmo to replace him. Kiermaier was the next-best center fielder on the board in a weak class. His bat isn’t great at all but he’s one of the best defenders in the game.
The Giants are a team that seems to be missing out on every free agent. After Kodai Senga signed with the Mets, they’re expressing interest in former Met Chris Bassitt. Bassitt is a guy I wanted the Angels to target but I don’t see them spending the money it’d take to sign him.
Next. Is the AL West the hardest division in baseball? dark