Two months ago, on the day after his team wrapped its third straight losing season, Angels general manager Billy Eppler sat on the dais in the Angel Stadium interview room and announced his commitment to bolstering a pitching staff that has combusted often during his tenure.
He has honored that promise, but the pitching moves Eppler has made since October have appeared from a surface-level to be lateral. They have not been so transcendent as to require formal ceremonies, like the signing that took place last week in Washington, D.C., when the Nationals introduced former Angels farmhand Patrick Corbin as the newest addition to one of baseball’s staunchest rotations.