By Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Contributor

Jared Walsh is no stranger to swinging himself out of a slow start. His debut season back in 2019 saw him log an OPS of .605 through 79 Major League AB’s before rocketing into All-Star form. This trend follows Walsh all the way back to the Minors as well. His breakout 2018 season saw Walsh hit .172 over the last few weeks of April into early May before blowing up with a Cal League leading 14 HRs to end the second month of the season. Though Walsh may only have seven hits through his first 63 ABs more than half are doubles as he has recorded four on the year. Walsh has shown that his pitch recognition and strike zone control still exist at a Major League level, in fact he is currently walking at a far higher rate than he ever has at the Major League level. Walsh has 11 walks on year which outpaces his All-Star season by nearly double as 2021 saw him walk just 6 times through his first 60 ABs. The tools for success are still there, it just requires a little more time to bring it all together. 
 

At minimum a guy like Walsh should be getting a hundred something ABs before making any rash decisions, especially considering this thin infield depth. We haven’t seen nearly enough time pass to truly make judgement on Walsh in just his first month back. The unfortunately thin organizational depth at 1B has made it so that the Angels have no choice but to let Walsh get back on his feet at the Major League level. Sure you have prospects like Trey Cabbage seemingly ready to go offensively, though his glove at 1B still needs some work before it's Major League ready. At least with Walsh you know you will get plus-defense with a real potential at All-Star offensive production. Add in the fact that a 40 man spot would need to be cleared for Cabbage and suddenly the move becomes less feasible. That being said I do truly believe in Cabbages offensive potential with his .957 OPS on the year alongside 18 HRs to tie Jo Adell and one other for league leader in Triple A. Perhaps if Cabbage were more developed defensively this would be a different conversation, but as of now that is not the case. 

The Angels aren’t exactly hurting for offense either. Among all Major League teams the Angels currently rank top 6 across multiple offensive categories including HRs, RBIs, Runs, Total Bases, and OPS. While you don’t ever want to wave away the ability to get better the Angels are not in a position to make hasty decisions in order to rush some extra offense to the lineup. Half the lineup has at least 10 HRs so far (Drury, Renfroe, Trout, Ohtani) with Taylor Ward and Zach Neto slowly creeping their way up the power rankings. The majority of those hitters are healthy, aside from the recently injured Neto, which brings a sense of plausibility to maintained offensive success going forward. The Angels have enough leeway to afford the time needed to let Walsh get his swing back in order out of the 9-spot. 

I understand the thick of the playoff push has people wanting to make improvements quick enough to keep up with the chase but as it stands the best course of action is to allow Jared Walsh the space and trust to return to his All-Star form. Moving for an external replacement at 1B would be straight back to square zero in terms of organizational progression. The offensive output of someone like Paul Goldschmidt may have a distinct allure when paired with this lineup, but a trade for him would only return the Angels to their previously broken M.O of collecting overpaid veterans. Taking on a 26 million dollar multi year contract for a 35 year old 1B does nothing to improve the Angels ability to resign Shohei Ohtani come free agency. On top of that you'd have to tear up the prospect floorboards in order to swing a trade to bring in the Cardinals former MVP. Considering contract and ability I’ll take an arbitration eligible potential All-Star at the tenth of the cost of a potential MVP especially when it keeps you flexible enough for Ohtani. 

Sure you have some guys on the big league roster who could theoretically play first base but realistically they can’t cover enough time to justify taking significant reps from Walsh right now. Matt Thaiss is a fine option every now and then but with the Angels catching depth already so thin you need to prioritize affording the Thaiss/Wallach tandem adequate days off. The health of both catchers is essential to season-long success and needs to be treated as such. Drury can play 1B but with Neto injured you’re going to want him at second as much as possible to avoid Luis Rengifo ABs. Gio Urshela is unfortunately down for the count, leaving the Angels tapping the bottom of the well with Andrew Velazquez now getting Major League reps. The Angels just don’t have the infield flexibility to stomach losing another incumbent glove right now, especially one with the offensive potential that Walsh brings.

The road to playoffs is paved with patience and measured decision making. If you start cutting players because of one bad month you’d whittle your roster down to the nuts and bolts in the dugout seats before half a season has passed. Guys like Matt Thaiss would have never had a chance to become the essential contributor he is if we judged everyone on their first month. For now the team needs stability any way they can get even if the offense may not yet be there. A healthy and productive Walsh makes this lineup look absolutely filthy and it would be a massive disservice to rob both the team and the fans of the opportunity to see him swinging at his best. For now we're just going to have to stick it out for the time being, for better or worse, until this rosters health shapes back up. Until then the Angels aren't in any position to consciously remove options from the table at the Major League level.