The Angels’ three biggest obstacles when the 2024 season gets underway.

Ohtani’s loss at the plate is equally as significant as his glaring loss on the mound. The Angels lost a player who finished with one of the best single seasons in franchise history and was perhaps the best hitter in the entire game in 2023. Ohtani would smash Troy Glaus’s single-season home run record if he stays healthy. He missed almost a whole month, but finished only three behind it.

Ohtani cannot be replaced at the dish. The Angels are not Ohtani, even if they sign a free agent like Cody Bellinger or J.D. Martinez. This isn’t to say they shouldn’t, because they should, but it’s probably unrealistic to think this lineup will improve upon what it had in 2023.

Mike Trout and a lot of crossing fingers are the stars in the middle of the lineup. Trout is still a great player when healthy. Even though he isn’t as good as he once was, he is still unquestionably one of the best and most dangerous hitters in the game right now.

Every year the Angels leave disappointed, hoping Anthony Rendon will turn things around. To think otherwise would be to misjudge him. Who is the next best option, Brandon Drury? Although the Angels second baseman is a nice player who had a fantastic 2023 season, there is a problem if he is your second best hitter.

Again, with Ohtani in this lineup, the Angels are hoping that Taylor Ward recovers, Luis Rengifo maintains his second half form, and their young players continue to develop. I’d never know enough to even be able to predict how they’d score more after he left.