If Bryce Harper chooses to be financially flexible, he should sign a short term deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
Mike Trout is the best player in baseball and in his seven year career, the Angels have only made the playoffs once. Trout is a free agent in 2020 and if the Angels continue down the path that they’re on, then Trout will leave them for another team.
I suggest that the Angels do what the Cleveland Cavaliers did before LeBron was a free agent, stack their team with whoever their superstar wants and hope this encourages them to stay. The Angels have proven this is strategy they’re willing to pursue, however, all their risky adds have flunked, first baseman Albert Pujols, outfielder, Justin Upton, third baseman, Zack Cozart, catcher, Jonathan Lucroy, the list of disappointments continues.
If the Angels can make enough cuts and save enough money to make an effort to get Harper, and Harper chooses them, then the Angels (for the first time in awhile) may not under perform.
Hypothetically, the Angels do have the ability to sign Harper, it may hurt their team more than help it, but if they can gather enough money in order to sign Harper to about a two year $20 million per year contract, then they’ll have a great season, which will leave Trout no choice but to stay.
In addition to this core of Trout and Harper, the Angels have “Japanese Babe Ruth”, Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is unlike anyone baseball has ever seen beside Babe Ruth, he pitches fire and is an immaculate batter. After years of dominating in Japan, he came over to Los Angeles and hoped for his skills to translate to the MLB. In Ohtani’s rookie year, he disappointed mainly due to injury, yet he still won AL Rookie of the Year because of his raw ability.
If they can get Harper and keep Trout, the Angels would have the best two hitters in baseball for a long time to come plus the most internationally recognized, Shohei Ohtani. This would remove the seemingly cursed franchise from the team they share their city with, the Dodgers’ shadow, and place them in the spotlight of baseball as the most dynamic offense since baseball’s golden age. Plus, this core would attract many other free agents in future years.
It’s a real possibility that the Angels could be anything from the Golden State Warriors of baseball, or begin tanking and rebuild within just one year based on one man’s decision. They could become a pop culture phenomenon, or Trout’s time on the Angels could be completely be forgotten in just a matter of year. These next few weeks will determine the future of the Angels franchise, will they take the risk of becoming one of the best ever and possibly have a slow, disgusting, rebuild, or will they continue in their relatively conservative ways and begin the whole rebuild process over again?