Although the Angels' pitching wasn't one of the highlights of the roster and was thought to be an issue heading into the postseason, many believed their lineup would help carry them deep into the playoffs, at least into the ALCS. But the Kansas City Royals swept them in the ALDS and now the team needs to find some answers in the offseason.
Aside from the Washington Nationals, the Angels were the worst hitting team in the MLB division playoff series up until this point. In three games against the Royals, Los Angeles compiled a .170 batting average and .248 on-base percentage to go along with only six runs scored and 18 hits. They were outscored 15-6, and their star hitters - Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton - combined for a dismal 4-for-38 batting with two home runs and four RBIs.
The team won't have to worry about any of their impending free agents because none of them were significant contributors (except for Huston Street, whose option they'll pick up), but something seemingly must be done. Although the team lost their best pitcher in Garrett Richards to a torn patellar tendon back in August, that's no excuse for the MLB's best team to get bounced, nonetheless swept, by a wild card team that hasn't been to the postseason since 1985. The Royals are a good baseball team, but the Angels showed no signs of life in their first playoff appearance since 2009. Sunday marked the third time since 2004 that the Angels were swept in the ALDS under manager Mike Scioscia.
Scioscia, the longest tenured manager in the MLB, is signed through 2018 under a 10-year, $50 million contract. Although the blame could be partially attributed to some of his decisions, such as having 12 pitchers on the postseason roster for the ALDS, the Angels lineup just wasn't able to hit, and that's hard to pin on a manager. (A decision that could get a manager fired was epitomized in the AL Wild Card game when Royals manager Ned Yost brought in rookie Yordano Ventura to relieve James Shields.)
Fortunately for Scioscia and the rest of the team, general manager Jerry Dipoto says the Angels have built a foundation for success and big changes will not be made in the offseason. Dipoto says he wants to add depth to the bench and pitching staff, but the team is less than $10 million away from being hit with the luxury tax in 2015. CBS Sports' Mike Axisa suggests trading C.J. Wilson, but that will only save them a few bucks since it's likely they'll have to pay much of his salary (owed $38 million over the next two seasons) being that he just had his worst year as a starter (13-10 with a 4.51 ERA and 1.45 WHIP). Others are essentially untradeable (i.e. Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols) and they have a core in place with Trout, Richards, Kole Calhoun, and Mike Morin to go along with their many veterans.
So, in short, it seems as if the Angels will do nothing significant except add maybe a mid-tier starting pitcher or a middle/utility infielder. They had the best record and offense in the MLB, but faced a young and hot Royals team who caught them off-guard. There's honestly not much Dipoto could do to improve the team, except hope that Richards comes back healthy when expected and Tyler Skaggs has a successful recovery from Tommy John surgery.
"I can't say enough about how impressive I think the Royals were these last three days, but it doesn't change our group," said Dipoto, in this MLB.com article. "We had a fantastic season, won 98 games. Our desire was to win a world championship, and obviously we fell short, but I still feel really confident in the foundation of the players that were here."
