MVN: Most Valuable Network

I was talking with my wife, Andrea, about the Angels' surplus outfielders and how the team will really need to think about what to do with them. Interestingly, she responded, "Can any of them pitch?"

Yes, it may seem silly, but it just goes to show the state the Angels find themselves in on the cusp of the new season.

The Angels had one of the best starting rotations in baseball and were poised to build on that with the addition of John Garland. But, that plan has definitely been put on hold -- if not outright deferred -- with the loss of John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar to injury, the former possibly for a month and the later likely much longer.

Now, Scot Shields will likely start the season on the disabled list, further limiting the power of a pitching staff that kept the Angels in games their offense were unable to put away.

That offense, however, got a bit of help with the addition of Torii Hunter. Among the many reasons that fans and experts alike were surprised, one of them was the shock that the Angels added another outfielder.

Hunter joins Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Matthews Jr., Garrett Anderson, Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits in the outfield corps -- and, heck, you can even include Robb Quinlan in that mix. What is a team to do?

Right now, it counts on that depth to overcome a very nervous start to the season.

We all know Guerrero and Hunter can and will hit, and that Hunter's defense will sparkle. But, we also know that Anderson's body continues to decline, and while his average and RBIs have stayed healthy, his power has dropped dramatically. Aside from the HGH speculation, Matthews has some health issues to overcome to start the season. Rivera is a man with a good bat and no definite home, while Willits is a great fill-in guy with remarkable speed.

The outfield will likely be manned most of the time by Guerrero, Hunter and Anderson, with Matthews taking more of the at-bats at DH. However, Guerrero and Anderson will likely see a good amount of ABs in the DH spot in order to keep them healthy.

With this surplus of outfielders, the Angels need to seriously consider making a trade for a pitcher. That is easier said than done, since pitching is something everyone wants and won't get rid of. But, with Lackey and Escobar gone for the time being -- and the Seattle Mariners stronger in their rotation -- it will be a tough start to the season.

Not a lot needs to be written about the outfielders' stats, their value to any team, or what they mean to the Angels. However, instead of trying to hold on to all these outfielders for depth, the Angels really need to consider trying to find out if some of their value might be better served in a trade.

Since it is unlikely the Angels will venture into the trade market -- and even if they do, what team will give up a front-line pitcher? -- perhaps the Angels can find another outlet for their surplus of outfielders.

Perhaps they can teach one of them how to throw a breaking ball.