Depth charts at heart of Angels' offseason strategy

And every minute of every day between the start of November and the middle of February, this is the focus.

Dipoto discusses the Angels' new acquisitions

Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto talks about the club's moves this offseason, including acquiring Andrew Heaney

"The team that's deepest is going to wind up being the team that's on the dance floor the most often," Dipoto said, referencing the postseason and basically summoning his own rallying cry. "We'd like to be that team."

That's why, in Dipoto's mind, Thursday's trade was so important, even though it probably won't have any impact on the coming season.

In acquiring 24-year-old Kyle Kubitza -- in a prospect swap that sent 17-year-old starter Ricardo Sanchez to the Braves and also brought back relief-pitching prospect Nate Hyatt -- the Angels got what they believe is their third baseman of the future; someone who should be ready to step in once David Freese hits the free-agent market after the 2015 season.

It's a delicate balance, no doubt, but it's all about building that next wave of players while maintaining the fabric of an immediate championship contender.

"Right now, we're hyper-focused on being prepared for Feb. 19, the start of Spring Training, and getting ourselves prepared for the 2015 season," Dipoto said. "But we're always paying attention to what happens in 2016 and beyond, and trying to build in layers of depth in the system."

The No. 1 priority -- perhaps also the second, third, fourth and fifth -- is accumulating a wealth of young, controllable pitching because, as Dipoto likes to tell his front-office group, "If you tap into the pitching, you have the key to get the other things we need."

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Depth charts at heart of Angels' offseason strategy