Raise your hand if you had Las Vegas leading the division after seven weeks.
No one?
Well, here we are.
While the Angels have a lead, there are several teams chasing them, and the West is starting to look like it could get very interesting. Here’s a look at the biggest needs around the division.
Las Vegas Angels
The Angels are ahead of schedule on their rebuild, which puts them in an interesting spot.
The hitting looks great. The pitching looks about like we expected: meh.
They’ve got plenty of arms, but what they don’t have is a true top-of-the-rotation guy.
So now comes the difficult choice: stay the course and hope the rebuild continues to develop, or splurge a little and see what happens?
I’m voting for splurge.
Best fit: Joe Johnson, Orlando Devil Rays.
Orlando hasn’t indicated that they’re selling anything, but they’re struggling to get to .500 and are devoid of picks for the next couple of seasons. That’s not exactly a recipe for patience.
Johnson is 36 years old, which obviously makes him less than ideal for a rebuilding team, but he’s also probably the only legitimate top-20 arm who might actually be available.
Las Vegas didn’t expect to be here this soon.
They’re here now.
At some point, you have to stop rebuilding and start trying to win.
San Diego Padres
The Padres are another team that could use an arm or two, but they’re already top four in the league in runs allowed, so let’s focus on the offense.
There are several slow starters — pretty much everyone they acquired from Kansas City in the offseason — but the biggest hole is in the outfield.
Alex Cole is fine in right field.
Fine.
That’s not exactly the adjective you want attached to your starting right fielder when you’re thinking about October.
This feels like a team that could make a splash rather than settle for another retread.
Best fit: Bernard Gilkey, Cleveland Spiders.
Yes, the contract is big.
Yes, he’s been inconsistent.
Yes, the rates are tantalizing.
And yes, he’s having a good season.
Cleveland has already indicated he’s available. And if San Diego can get Cleveland to eat some of the salary this year and send some interesting pieces back, this gets very intriguing.
The Padres don’t need another guy who is merely adequate.
They need someone who makes the lineup better.
Gilkey does that.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers already solved one of their problems by trading for Bill Spiers, so naturally they’ve created the opportunity to find another one.
They could use another middle infielder, but let’s focus on the bullpen.
Second-to-last in bullpen ERA is not generally where you want to be if you’re planning on playing meaningful games in September.
They don’t have anyone really standing out as a stopper, either.
Best fit: Alberto Reyes, Chicago Cubs.
Nobody knows if he’s actually available, which is usually a pretty important detail in these exercises, but Reyes would make a lot of sense.
He’s having a strong season, he’s only 28, and he would give the Dodgers a legitimate arm at the back end.
The Dodgers don’t need to completely remake their bullpen.
They just need someone they can hand the ball to without immediately checking the schedule to see how many games are left.
Arizona Diamondbacks
This has been an uncharacteristic year for Arizona, and the starting pitching is a big reason why.
They’re loaded with depth at the back end of the rotation, but what they really need is consistency.
Aaron Sele has had an odd year — not bad, but not exactly great — while Floyd Youmans is starting to show his age.
Arizona has never been particularly afraid of taking a big swing, so why start now?
Best fit: Hideo Nomo, Minnesota Twins.
Nomo needs a change of scenery, and Arizona needs something to happen.
This feels like the kind of move that could accomplish both.
Nomo would provide some much-needed help to the rotation and, perhaps just as importantly, galvanize a fan base that has watched an unusually mediocre version of this team.
Arizona doesn’t need five more back-end starters.
They need somebody who can take the ball every fifth day and make people think this team might actually be good again.
Nomo could do that.
And if Arizona is going to make one of its patented big swings, this feels like exactly the kind of situation where they should.