Inbox: Are Angels charting the proper course?

One final Angels Inbox before I go. Let’s get right to it …

Do you think the Angels are headed in the right direction as an organization? — Ben W., Chino Hills

This is the utmost question, but it is dependent on how “the right direction” is defined. To some, it’s a path that sacrifices losing in the present while in pursuit of sustainable winning in the future. To others, it’s maintaining a competitive roster each season. Neither path is necessarily incorrect. The problem comes when an organization chooses the latter when contention isn’t truly feasible, thus severely mortgaging its future for no reason.

The question: Is that where the Angels stand?

I posted a poll about this on Twitter, centered on whether the Angels can be contenders next season if Garrett Richards is healthy, and the results were interesting:

Legitimately curious: If Garrett Richards does not need TJ, do you think the Angels can contend next year?

— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) August 3, 2016

Legitimately curious: If Garrett Richards does not need TJ, do you think the Angels can contend next year?

On one side, you can say the Angels would at least be within earshot of the second American League Wild Card spot if Richards, Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano all had healthy ulnar collateral ligaments and if Tyler Skaggs wasn’t set back two months. On the other side, you can note that the Angels will have trouble filling out their rotation next year, even if Richards doesn’t need Tommy John surgery. And that the farm system will be thin for a long time. And that the free-agent class doesn’t have the marquee names worth spending on. And that too much of the Angels’ budget will still be tied to aging veterans.

First-year general manager Billy Eppler has continued to say the Angels will aim to contend in 2017, and I get it. You can’t truly rebuild with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols on your roster, or with owner Arte Moreno signing checks. But underneath whatever is stated publicly, I think the Angels should aim to contend again in 2018, when all their starting pitchers project to be healthy, when Josh Hamilton finally comes off the books and when Trout still has three years left on his contract. Anybody who isn’t controllable through then should be used as trade chips.

I think the Angels understand this, too.

What’s the most likely solution for left field long term? — @JohnHollands65

This is a question that requires us to first pause and consider how bad the Angels’ left-field situation has been. Since the start of the 2015 season, the Angels’ left-field OPS, .593, is easily the worst in the Majors, 32 points lower than the 29th-place Braves. Last year’s mark was the fourth-lowest since 1974; this year’s is sixth-lowest.

The three players the Angels acquired to help in left field …

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