The Los Angeles Angels hired Sal Fasano as an assistant pitching coach and added catcher Travis d'Arnaud to the roster. The Halos snagged both of them from the Atlanta Braves organization. The numerous Braves connections could be the perfect way to orchestrate the acquisition of free agent pitcher Max Fried.
The Dodgers need starting pitchers despite already having Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tony Gonsolin, and Dustin May. The 2024 season taught the Dodgers, and other teams, that you can never have enough starting pitchers. The Angels would also have to beat out the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays for Fried. The Dodgers remain the most enticing team to go to since the franchise is in its golden era. Meanwhile, the Angels have had nine straight losing seasons.
So far, Minasian has shown an aggressive approach to the offseason. The Angels have already added Jorge Soler, Kevin Newman, Kyle Hendricks, and Travis d'Arnaud to the roster. The offseason has certainly been busy for the Angels, but are the new additions enough to convince a high-profile pitcher like Fried?