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Hideki Matsui Angels Acquisition Analysis

Crunch Sports Staff, 17 Dec 2020

Acquisition of Matsui should keep the Angels the front runner in the AL West.

The offseason Major League Baseball chess match continues as Hideki Matsui has been signed by the Los Angeles Angels 'at Anaheim' for one year.  Matsui possesses significant offensive firepower, even in his mid-30s, and he put up very good numbers in New York last year even when the new Yankee Stadium's tendency to help hitters is factored in.

The year 2009 was actually a comeback year for the Japanese star as he improved drastically on 2008 averages and totals while producing World Series numbers that were actually marginally better than Barry Bonds' from the 2002 World Series.

Even though the New York Yankees acquired Granderson, with the loss of Matsui the Yanks have lost a more complete offensive player.

The acquisition of Matsui by the Angels should help maintain the status quo in the AL West and keep the Angels as the team to beat in that division.

The expectation that the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Los Angeles Dodgers should all have better teams next year than the Angels has lead to some really long, and attractive odds for the Anaheim based team.  Currently the best price for the Angels to win the World Series is with Sky Bet, where they are priced at +1600 (16/1).

With the Angels looking good for the playoffs next season that price should shorten and there is value in sprinkling the Angels right now.  Those who wait will likely just get a worse price down the road.

Go to Sky Bet to bet on Major League Baseball.