The nice win aside, unless the Angels go on a hot streak they really should be preparing to spend the second half of this short season playing for 2021 and beyond. What does that mean? Seeing what they have, and thus getting a sense of what they need. Let's take a look at the team, section by section, to get a sense of things.
Starting Pitching: It started promising but has dropped off--except for Bundy. Even if he drops a bit, there's reason to believe that he's finally become a good #2-3 and the Angels should try to lock him up in the offseason, as he only has one year of club control left in 2021. Heaney and Canning look mediocre and probably can't be counted on to be better than #4s. Canning in particular is disappointing: I just don't see him having the stuff or backbone to be the #2-3 we hoped for, but obviously there's time. I actually like Sandoval better than either of them, at least in terms of his mentality on the mound. But in Heaney, Canning, and Sandoval, the Angels have three solid #4s, and at least one (Canning) has the potential to be better. Oh yeah, Julio Teheran is awful.
I don't think the Angels should give up on Ohtani as a starter, especially given that his offense continues to backslide. As far as the rotation in 2021 is concerned, I wouldn't count on him; meaning, any offseason plans shouldn't really factor him in.
On the farm, Chris Rodriguez, Jose Suarez, Jose Soriano, and the forgotten Jaime Barria, all provide depth that could contribute in 2021. And, of course, there's Detmers and a few others. But I wouldn't expect any of them to be major contributors right away, although I think Rodriguez and Detmers could develop to major league ready very quickly, and Suarez and Soriano still have potential.
Taking everything into account, the Angels need two starters. I'd go hard after Bauer or Gausman, but also take a serious look at Odorizzi, Paxton, Ray, Stroman, Walker, etc, or hope for another Bundy-esque gift - but only as a second starter. They really, really need a Bauer, with Gausman as a nice consolation prize; if they get one of those guys, they can go cheap on the second option and hope the young guys develop.
Catcher: The duo of Castro-Stassi has been pretty good this year. Even though Stassi has tailed off a bit, there's enough promise to hope he's a late bloomer as a Travis d'Arnaud type and may even be able to carry a semi-regular role. But I'd be tempted to bring back Castro for another year, or someone similar. I'd love to see them go after Realmuto, but they need to spend their money on pitching.
First Base: What a Flustercuck. With "playing for the future" in mind, Pujols shouldn't be getting too many starts. I'd like to see Simba back at SS for another year at least, so with Fletcher at 2B that means La Stella as the primary 1B in 2021. Ward and Walsh don't seem like major leaguers to me, but I'd like to see Thaiss given more regular playing time. I think there's a decent major leaguer there, but he needs playing time.
Second Base: Fletcher belongs here--he's elite defensively here, merely decent to goodish at SS. He also works as a super UT, but I think will perform better with a regular gig. Rengifo, like Adell, doesn't look like a big leaguer, but there's a solid ballplayer there - in time. I think he's going to sneak up on us in the next year or two and be a quality super UT.
Shortstop: Simba will get his job back when he's healthy. Pretty much regardless of how he plays this year, the Angels should make him a qualifying offer in the offseason. If he accepts, it is a win-win: the Angels get another year of his defense and maybe a resurgence with the bat, and Simba gets a chance to rebuild his value for a bigger pay day after 2021; if he says no, they get a compensation pick. I think he'd accept. If he leaves, Fletcher can handle the job, with La Stella at 2B and Rengifo the UT, and Pujols/Thaiss/Marsh at 1B.
Third Base: Rendon is a stud. He's hitting .238 yet is still 7th in MLB WAR, despite missing the first few games.
Left Field: Now's the time to see if Upton can find his bat. Give Upton the starts and see what happens. If he doesn't start hitting, bring Marsh up. I think he'll adjust more quickly than Adell. Upton will then have the offseason to ponder how he salvages his career and will go into Spring Training with competition for the starting job.
Center Field: I am a tiny bit concerned. I know, 10 HR and a .700 SLG. But that's it: he's not walking and he's not hitting 2Bs or 3Bs, which means not a lot of line drives. My worry is that he's turning into an all-or-nothing guy. I'm not that worried yet, but there is the possibility that he turns into a .270/40 HR guy sooner than we think. But he's going to be really good no matter what, I just hope we have a few years at least of the peak offensive Trout that we've seen since 2017.
Right Field: The term "cheap quality labor" comes to mind. We're all looking forward to the major league version of Jo Adell, but Brian Goodwin's performance makes the wait palatable - and he's under club control for two more years. Until at least one of Marsh or Adell breakthrough, he has more value to the team than in trade. He might be a trade candidate next July.
DH: I've voiced my concerns about Ohtani elsewhere: I don't like what I see when he steps to the plate, and the numbers reflect that. He still has the upside, but it seems pitchers have figured him out and he hasn't adjusted. There's still a great hitter there, but we're not seeing it yet. If he resumes his pitching career, the rest of the starts can be sprinkled in as rest days for position players.
Bullpen: Such a mess. The Dipoto legacy of "just put something together" has never worked, and still isn't working. The basic approach of "See what parts you have for 2021" apply most obviously to the bullpen, but this offseason some money needs to be spent. To some extent the Angels could focus on acquiring starters, and then fill out their bullpen with up-and-coming pitchers like Suarez, C Rod, and Soriano - in addition to Pena, Buttrey, and whoever else is halfway decent this year.
I think the problems with the pen and largely a reflection of how poor the Angels have been at developing pitching prospects. Hopefully that will change.
I saw a game once, where Bugs Bunny climbed a pole in NYC on top of the Empire State building to catch one, and the Statue of Liberty had his back, when the Umpire called the batter "Out", and the batter complained.
So I imagine as long as the ball is on the fly!?
I believe the rule is that your last point of contact before making the catch has to be the playing field. You can't jump into the stands (or dugout) and then make the catch.
However, I assume they would have let Jeter do whatever the hell he wanted.
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Randy Gradishar reacted to Angelsjunky in Playing for Next Year and Beyond - Some Ideas
