Angels Offseason Moves (So Far)

The baseball season may not be back, but I am! Last season was an emotional roller coaster that broke down near the end. A couple of us were left on the ride for a few hours before firefighters could come and get us, but we had a good time nonetheless. We may be in limbo with the upcoming season, but it's still a good time to be an Angels fan.

Now that we're ready to get back up again, let's break down the Angels offseason moves this winter:

THE BULLPEN

By far the most consistently broken and glaring problem the Angels have faced since the departure of Fransisco Rodriguez has been the dependability (or lack thereof) of their bullpen. Angels made some big moves and are taking some gambles in an effort to turn their biggest weakness into their biggest strength.

Ryan Madson

Two years ago (pre-Tommy John surgery), Madson was one of the biggest surprise closers in baseball. Thanks to Brad Lidge starting the season on the disabled list, Madson was given the opportunity to audition for the closer role and ran away with it. He compiled 32 saves in 60.2 innings with a 2.37 ERA. In 2010 as a setup man, he had a 2.55 ERA and has been a solid bullpen arm since transitioning from a starter to the bullpen in 2007. Following Tommy John surgery, the Angels are taking a gamble that he will return to form, but it's not a high investment at a $3.25 million base salary. Madson will most likely serve as the Angels closer this year if he starts the season healthy, but we can't rule out a Jordan Walden-like collapse.

Sean Burnett

This was a guy I had not even heard about until the Angels signed him and am embarrassed to say so. The guy piled up a solid season last year, but was buried behind the flair of Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen. In 56 innings, he had a 2.38 ERA and a 9.1 K/9. Solid arm that will provide 7th and 8th inning depth.

Add these two guys to a bullpen that was carried by 3 solid arms last year (Kevin Jepsen, Scott Downs and Ernesto Frieri), the Angels shouldn't have any problem holding on to late leads.


THE ROTATION

What was supposed to be the most feared rotation in all of baseball last year was derailed by injuries and inconsistency. I think every pitcher, including Jered Weaver, got hurt or gave up a million home runs (we're looking at you Ervin...). Weaver missed a couple weeks early in the season, Dan Haren battled back problems all year, Jerome Williams mysteriously collapsed in the clubhouse and struggled with his command when returning, CJ Wilson played Jekyll and Hyde in the first and second halfs, and Santana couldn't keep the ball in the same area code.

The season ended with Angels letting Zack Greinke walk in free agency while trading Santana and getting nothing in a botched trade for Haren. The Angels have 3 holes to fill and here's what they did:

Joe Blanton

Oh my god, what were they thinking giving this guy $15 million over 2 years? I don't know why people are trying to talk themselves into thinking he was once a great pitcher. The dude had an ERA under 4.00 only TWICE in his MLB career (3.53 in 2005 and 3.95 in 2007). The rest of his career has been filled with home runs and nothing else. Blanton was second to Santana's home runs allowed last year and also gave up the 2nd-most earned runs as well. If the front office is hoping for a bounce back from a terrible pitcher, they should've stuck with Santana. That money would have been much better spent on Brandon McCarthy (2-years, $15.5 million with Arizona) if he was open to playing in Anaheim.

Tommy Hanson

Angels traded power-arm and former closer Jordan Walden to the Atlanta Braves for Hanson in what I think is a great move. Hanson is a young, solid 3-4 guy in the rotation with plenty of upside to his young career. Walden proved he couldn't handle the pressure of the full-time closer role and let his inexperience get to him. Walden tried to throw harder to get out of jams instead of pitch smarter. While Walden may turn out to be a great bullpen arm somewhere down the line, the Angels were definitely the big winners in this trade. In Hanson's 4 years in the majors, he is 45-32 with a 3.61 ERA. If the Angels can get 12 wins out of him, I think the trade will be more than worth it, but I also see Hanson as a 14-win guy. While 2012 was a down year filled with home runs and his whole career is trending downward...aw screw it! Please get 12 wins.

Starting pitching is going to be a struggle this year, especially if CJ Wilson doesn't step up. The offense and bullpen are what will have to carry this team. The Angels are really going to have to hope letting Torii walk was the right decision because they'll look pretty dumb if Peter Bourjos flops and Torii leads the Detroit Tigers to another World Series berth.