The Los Angeles Angels and general manager Billy Eppler know that they must add some starting pitching if the team wants to end a five-year playoff drought.
Speaking at the general meetings in Arizona on Monday, Eppler said that Los Angeles has the ability to be aggressive this winter.
“We know that we do have the ability to be aggressive if we want to,” the general manager said, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. He also made sure to note that the market has yet to play out yet, meaning that it’s hard “to forecast” what might happen.
It’s not a secret that Los Angeles plans on going big-game hunting in both free agency and on the trade block. The team has already been linked to Cy Young finalist and Southern California native Gerrit Cole as well as World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg.
This is the type of move Eppler must make if the Angels want to be taken seriously as legit playoff contenders in 2020. That’s only magnified by the presence of the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics in the American League West.
With payroll flexibility and the need to add at least one front-line starter, we’re expecting the Angels to be active this winter. Eppler did nothing to throw cold water on that idea.