Angels can make moves count at Meetings

There’s no argument that 2016 was a disappointment for the Angels, who lost a number of players to injury and then lost 88 games. But there are concrete reasons for optimism heading into 2017. With smart moves, a solid core of returning position players and the hope that they’ll get a run of good fortune in the health department, they see no reason to think they can’t contend in the American League West once again.

The Halos have already tried to pull off a few of the former, trading for outfielder Cameron Maybin, bringing back reliever Andrew Bailey and signing free-agent pitcher Jesse Chavez and outfielder Ryan LaMarre.

• Hot Stove Tracker

The Angels have more to do, however, and they’ll get a chance to check off a few more boxes at the upcoming Winter Meetings, which run Monday through Thursday.

MLB.com and MLB Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of the 2016 Winter Meetings from the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center outside Washington, D.C. Fans can watch live streaming of all news conferences and manager availability on MLB.com, including the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 8 at 6 a.m. PT.

• Angels continue regroup for ’17 at Meetings

Angels fans eager to see more of the roster reshaping by general manager Billy Eppler could get their wish during these meetings. And even if there aren’t any signings or trades right away, there should be plenty of seeds planted for later in the offseason.

Club needs

Second base: The Angels signed Cliff Pennington last offseason, and he played 58 games at second in 2016. But he profiles as a backup infielder. The Angels should be looking to fill this vacancy with candidates such as Chase Utley and Neil Walker available. Utley would figure to be more of a short-contract stopgap measure while the younger Walker would presumably command more years and dollars. Other free-agent possibilities include Chris Coghlan and Steve …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com