How to fix the Angels

The Los Angeles Angels have been one of the biggest disappointments in baseball so far as they are 6-10 overall. The Angels have struggled in general as a team as their bats have not hit well while their rotation has still been missing that genuine fifth starter. Jordan Walden has not had many save opportunities but has been fairly solid so far. Jered Weaver and CJ Wilson have been the bright spots of this rotation as both of them are off to great starts. Howie Kendrick has probably been the best hitter for the Angels so far. The Angels underperforming but the question is how do they turn this around?

1. Find a Third Baseman that can hit and field.
The Angels have put Mark Trumbo at third base for his hitting occasionly but his weak defense has made them use Alberto Callapso at third third. Callapso is not that good of a hitter and the Angels need to get more production from the hot corner. The obvious trade candidate for the Angels is Mets' 3B David Wright. Wright is one of the best third baseman in all of baseball and he has gotten off to a great start this year 2 home runs, 8 RBIs, and a .439 batting average. The other key is the fact that Wright is very good defensively which makes him the ideal fit in Anaheim. The Angels would have to send multiple players and prospects to get Wright but it could pay off huge overall.

2. Improve the Outfield Offensively.
Vernon Wells and Peter Bourjos have sboth struggled offensively so far as both are hitting for an average that is below .240. Both Bourjos and Wells are strikeing out a lot and Wells is definitely showing signs of age while Bourjos is probably in a sophomore slump. Wells defense is on the decline while Bourjos should keep his spot due to his very good defense in center field. The man that could give a kick start to the Angels from the outfield is top prospect Mike Trout. Trout is currently tearing it up at Triple A as he has 1 home runs, 11 RBIs, 6 stolen bases, and a .400 bating average. His OPS is 1.063 and Trout seems worthy of a promotion back to the big leagues. Trout could be an immediate game changer in the lineup for the Angels and could also put the necessary pressure on Wells and Bourjos to get them going offensively.

3. Find a Fifth Starter.
Jerome Williams won the fifth starting job in the Angels' rotation out of Spring Training and he has been a disaster in his to starts. Unlike Ervin Santana, who has also struggled, Williams is not making it deep into games and has a WHIP of 1.71. The Angels need a quality fifth starter if they want to have a truely elite rotation and the answer could be in Triple A. That starter is 23-year-old starting pitcher Garrett Richards. Richards has gotten off to a red hot start in Triple A Salt Lake this season as he has an ERA of 1.67, a strikeout to walk ratio of 9 to 2, and is averaging a strikeout every inning. Richards also the Angels' best pitching prospect and could be a consistent starter at the back end for the Angels. If they decide to trade for a fifth starter, some options include Oakland's Bartolo Colon and Brandon McCarthy, Minnesota's Carl Pavano, the White Sox's Gavin Floyd, Washington's John Lannan and Houston's Wandy Rodriguez. No matter what they do, the Angels will definitely find an upgrade in the fifth starter role.

4. Have Patience
Yes, the Angels are already 7 games behind the Texas Rangers but it is only April and with two wild card spots, there is no reason to panic. Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter have not had the best of starts but they will get going soon and allow the Angel offense to take off even more. The rotation has been pretty good with Jered Weaver looking like an All-Star while CJ Wilson is proving why he was worth a five-year-deal. Dan Haren hasn't been too bad and I expect to refind the form that made him an All-Star in the past. The bullpen has been good and Jordan Walden has only had one save opportunity while lefty Scott Downs has been dominate. The Angels have had a rough start but this team is too talented for this to continue so I expect a turnaround soon for the Angels.

David Wright: Where will he be in the long term?

David Wright has become one of the best players in baseball but he is also a great trade chip for the Mets in their big rebuilding plans. However, Wright is currently the Mets' franchise player and a long-term contract extension is definitely a possiblity. Wright has a team option after the season so the Mets have some time to work out an extension or wait for the right trade offer to move him for tons of prospects. So, how could this play out for David Wright and where might he be playing in the future.

The possibility that the Mets decide to give Wright the long term cotranct he is looking for is realistic. The Mets would love to keep their franchise player long term but they will have to put an offer similar to that of Ryan Zimmerman's extension and Adrian Beltre's contract. Wright will also have to be convinced that the Mets can make a fairly quick turnaround and become a World Series contender. David Wright could also get the chance to be one of the few stars that stayed with one franchise in his career and he could become a legend in Queens. The Mets would definitely be interested in bringing back Wright but the decision to see if Wright will stay in Queens will be up to the star third baseman.

If Wright decides he wants to leave the Mets for greener pastures, the Mets could get a great deal as tons of teams would love to have a third baseman as good as David Wright. Suitors for Wright could include the Philadelphia Phillies, the Detroit Tigers, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels, the New York Yankees, and the Cleveland Indians. The Mets have the potential to get a really good deal for Wright with teams of this caliber that could use the upgrade at third.

The Dodgers are a realistic candidate to go after David Wright due to their strong start and the stability of the new ownership group of Magic Johnson, Stan Kasten, and company. David Wright would allow Juan Uribe to move to second base and give the Dodgers a tough lineup. The Dodgers would probably have to center a trade around 24-year-old second baseman Ivan DeJesus Jr. due to the impact that shortstop Dee Gordon has made. 19-year-old outfielder Joc Pederson would also have to be a part of the package for the Mets in a David Wright trade. The Dodgers would have to put in a couple of other prospects to get this deal to work but a David Wright to the Dodgers deal is realistic.

The Angels biggest need is a third baseman who can both hit and defend and David Wright is exactly the perfect fit in Anaheim. The Mets could also include lefty SP Jonathon Niese as the Angels have been looking for a good pitcher at the back end of their rotation. 1B/3B Mark Trumbo would immediately become a trade chip and could even be the replacement in New York for David Wright. In this scenario, 23-year-old SP Garrett Richards could be the replacement for Niese in Queens while 19-year-old 3B Kaleb Cowart would give the Mets a long term replacement for David Wright. The Angels would have to thrown in a few other prospects but this would give the Angels the third baseman they needed.

The Diamondbacks need tons of help at third base as a trade for David Wright could turn the D'Backs lineup into one of the best in baseball. Wright would be a huge upgrade over the D'Backs current starting third baseman, Ryan Roberts. The D'Backs could base their trade package around 19-year old pitcher Archie Bradley as his chances of being in the D'Backs rotation could be small due to the fact that the D'backs rotation for his 2014 ETA is already filled. 21-year-old third baseman Matt Davidson and 19-year-old catcher Michael Perez could also be key parts of a Wright trade. They will then only need to throw in an extra prospect on top of that as a David Wright to Arizona deal should be considered by the D'Backs. The only concern for Arizona is how much of a budget impact this will have as Wright may push the Arizona budget near its limit.

The Tigers could use Wright for a defensive upgrade but that would create an even larger logjam between Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Victor Martinez as V-Mart would probably have to be traded. The Yankees would have to wait till the offseason to move for Wright as that would allow them to move Alex Rodriguez to DH. The Phillies need a third base upgrade but it would hard for the Mets to deal Wright to a division rival. Cleveland is an interesting possiblity as third base prospect Lonnie Chisenhall could be the centerpiece of a David Wright trade. The Indians could come out of left field to make this move just like they did last year to get Ubaldo Jimenez.