No on-the-mend free agent or pitcher who has been designated for assignment — think Tim Lincecum, Kyle Lohse, John Danks — would measure up to Garrett Richards, the Angels ace who is expected to undergo elbow ligament-replacement surgery and be out until the middle of 2017.
The Angels could trade for a back-of-the-rotation starter, but there's not enough in their depleted farm system to acquire a front-end pitcher like Richards.
"Replacing Garrett Richards, a talent like that … is impossible," Angels closer Huston Street said. "But there are all sorts of ways to win a baseball game.