The angel’s wings are beginning to flap again. No soaring this year.
The Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) lost 3-5 on the road to the San Diego Padres in the 2023 MLB regular season at Petco Park in San Diego, California, U.S., on June 6. The Angels dropped both games of the three-game series to San Diego. The loss dropped their regular season record to 45-44. One more loss and we’re at a 5% winning percentage.바카라사이트
You might say that 5% is high enough, but the recent decline is alarming. A little over a month ago, the Angels were a team that was well within reach of a postseason run. As of the 17th of last month, they were 40-32 with a +8 win-loss margin. The American League West title was out of reach because the Texas Rangers had been dominating since the spring, but a wild-card berth was a possibility. At the time, they were the fourth wild-card team, trailing the Houston Astros and New York Yankees by just one game. If they could finish in the top three, they would participate in fall baseball for the first time in nine years, since 2014.
But nearly a month later, instead of improving their win-loss margin, they’ve lost seven games. Six games out of a wild card spot. Four games separate them from third place.
I’m more pessimistic because I don’t see any upside. The Angels have Mike Trout, a three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP), and Shohei Ohtani, who will likely win his second MVP award this season after winning in 2021. The Angels have been a postseason contender this season, thanks in large part to Ohtani, but their offense is slowly fading.
First, the second baseman and moral support of the team underwent surgery for a wrist injury. He was diagnosed with a fractured metacarpal bone in his left wrist, and Angels manager Phil Nevin said he could miss at least four weeks and up to eight. Trout’s absence leaves only Ohtani, who is also not 100 percent. He made a start on the mound against San Diego on May 5 and was pulled after allowing five runs in five innings. A blistered finger was the culprit. Unlike trades, blister injuries don’t take as long to recover from, but the Angels are a team that could fall apart with just one short-term setback from Ohtani.
The Angels have already been out of the postseason for a long time. They seemed to be on the rise in 2012 with the acquisition of Albert Pujols and the Rookie of the Year honors for Trout, but they’ve only made the postseason once before, in 2014. The last time was in 2009. In addition to Pujols, the Angels have added several big bats, including Justin Upton and Anthony Landon, but all of them have failed.
And this is the Angels’ last year with Ohtani. Ohtani, who is eligible for free agency after the season, is already a certified free agent. He hasn’t made the postseason in the last five years with the Angels. The player himself is hungry for a championship. If the Angels want him, he’ll have to prove his worth. Even if they don’t, if they don’t make the postseason in his final year with the Angels, the future is bleak.
They can’t trade Ohtani to secure their future. Angels owner Arte Moreno and Angels general manager Perry Minasian have repeatedly stated that they will not trade Ohtani. There’s not enough sponsor money to go around, and it’s hard to get a satisfactory return for half a year of Ohtani.
In the end, the Angels’ only option is to close the four-game gap and somehow make the wild card. A first and last dance with Ohtani is possible in a trade-free summer.