Tony Reagins was promoted. He is now Chief Baseball Development Officer for MLB.
The Angels lost badly to the Giants, and Max Stassi may have to go on the IL. They now have three games in Oakland.
It looks like Thom Brennaman will try to salvage his career by undergoing diversity, equity, and inclusion training. Meanwhile Chris Russo, of MLB Network, said of Fernando Tatis, Jr. “a sort of NBA guy playing baseball…ya know, young, enthusiastic” which is nonsensical at best but could be taken as coded racism. Here is a handy graphic of baseball’s unwritten rules while we are on the topic.
The Padres have hit grand slams in four straight games.
Injury News for the Western Group
Alex Bregman is now on the ten day injured list with a hamstring injury. I guess it’s not the Astros year. The injury bug is now also biting the Rangers pretty hard.
COVID-19 News
The Pirates President, Travis Williams, tested positive for COVID-19. So now the Mets have COVID-19 cases and game postponements.
Weird News
More “There’s something you don’t see every day, Chauncy.” Vlad Jr. hit the ball twice on one swing and got a single. This pitcher probably needed to go change his shorts.
OK, they’re done.
I can see it now, Epplers departing shot is to trade Fletcher at the deadline for peanuts
haha…that would be ….funny? 10 days until the deadline.
Or he could be like JeDi and select a defense first catcher who does not pan out defensively so he is switched yo 3b. When he doesn’t oan out there he can become a backup OF.
Then leave in mid season….
I’m gonna keep adding perspective to that 2015 draft, as the fanbase has it completely wrong at this point.
Simply by value and outcomes, Dipoto’s 2015 draft was a raging success at this point. He had the worst draft position among all clubs with a first round pick, but still drafted what would become a top-five talent. It was a very weak draft class, yet three of his draftees made the MLB, one is now a key regular, and his third-round draft pick had enough value to trade for Justin Upton.
You pretty much crushed it with that post. Thank you for dropping the knowledge!
Now that we won’t face the Giants anymore, Joe Maddon says “Enough is enough.” about Shaun Anderson. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2905666-angels-joe-maddon-enough-is-enough-after-3rd-pitch-at-mike-trouts-head
This has shaped up to be a pretty good week. Rendon and Trout continued to build their cases for the Hall of Fame and GOAT, respectively. Meanwhile, the Angels stole three losses from the worst team in the NL West, placing the Angels solidly in competition for the #2 draft pick.
Time to get swept by the Mariners. 😎
The Angels are doing a great job of rebuilding their fan base and loyalty of the 1970s.
forgot the early 90’s too.
Thinking that same thing last night for the 30 seconds I looked at the game box. At least those teams had Ryan and Tanana. Remember going to those games with almost as many fans in attendance as this year?
Angels on the block, and David Fletcher could be one to go? Please be still, my heart.
https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1296806351402872832?s=19
If Fletch is gone, so am I.
That said, I get the point of the tweet. Fletch has by far the most trade value. But you still can’t trade him.
Yeah. I just don’t see how trading Fletcher can possibly help this club when he plays every position, gets on-base, and is a spark plug everywhere. I have a feeling that Fletcher will be undervalued in trade and so the Angels will hang onto him.
Until such time as Simba’s ankles are trustworthy, trading Fletcher must necessarily result in a downgrade at shortstop. I’m not holding my breath about the trustworthiness of Simba’s ankles.
fan since 71 and trading fletcher is the breaking point? ROFL
Yep. I’m broken but that would be beyond broken.
Noooooo, not Fletch !!!! He belongs here in SoCal and he is one of the few nice things this team has.
I hope this isn’t true. As bad as things look, this is the one season where we really should go for it via trade and contract swaps after a start like this. Even when it doesn’t seem to fully click, the offense manages 4-5 runs a game. If we could add one solid reliever and/or a starter who can reliably get into the 6th or 7th inning this season can be salvaged. One good week, especially head-to-head, and we could be in 2nd place over the Astros/Rangers, not to mention the WC possibilities. A couple tweaks should have us outperforming the likes of Toronto and Baltimore for the remainder of the season.
We should put Simmons, Marsh, Upton and Rengifo on the block, move Fletcher permanently to short, and kick the tires on Merrifield, Duffy, Rosenthal, Cueto, Bauer, and Clevinger to start with. I usually don’t like the latter two for a variety of off-field reasons, but Bauer has been on point and hilarious lately and frankly I think the Angels clubhouse could use some fucking life to get a fire going. Trout, Rendon, Fletcher, and Ohtani seem to mainly focus on their own work and never fire anyone up. Pujols is too damn old for anyone to listen to. Bringing in someone who might wake these guys up, even by indirect antics, is worth a shot at this point. How has nobody called a player’s only meeting yet? Completely ridiculous.
There are definitely a couple of guys who could use a kick in the ass. I realize Pujols might not get much better even with a kick in the ass.
completely disagree
This season has shown ( even with just a 60 game season ) that this team still has massive holes everywhere even with Anthony Rendon. Back in March somebody wrote a article about the farm system being ranked #25 in MLB after 4 yrs of Billy Eppler plus he didn’t do nearly enough at the 2019 winter meetings to get more pitching after the big Rendon signing. So no, Eppler has set this team back for at least the next 3 yrs and it’s time for Arte to cut his losses with him.
If the Angels want to win, they’ll definitely have to trade from outfield depth. Marsh looks like the obvious guy to go, but it also could be Jordyn Adams, packaged with say, Heaney. That said, you’re much more of an optimist about this season than me!
Adams is gone either by the summer or this winter. Too many guys ahead of him anyway. Heaney should be traded by the deadline and try to get anything out of him from a contender who needs another starter.
La Stella, Simba, and Stassi could be gone although Simba would get you squat right now due to how little time he has left.
Buttrey could be traded to a team who needs relievers. Which is basically anyone in a playoff race.
Call Detmers up and get him to pitch.
Upton is gone by next season even if he has to be just cut outright.
Billy won’t trade Jo Adell but i would trade him over Marsh as he still would have more value even though his start at the mlb level isn’t the best. (Also I like Marsh more) he would likely trade Marsh though and have Goodwin be part of the OF for the future with Jo and Trout.
Unless someone (like Cleveland) really needs a good OF NOW and is willing to shell out for Goodwin but that’s unlikely.
Agree on Marsh, plus LH bat, less wiggle in the setup, and defense lol. Like Adell but ok to swap for pitching. Wish CLE was pissed off at Clevinger/Plesac enough for a package deal, that is if there was such a thang. I thought Callaway would help, maybe I’m Living in the Past.
I wrote this thread on Twitter last night. It’s not exactly new info to those of us following the team at this point, but it’s a good read.
https://twitter.com/RahulSetty_/status/1296661126013313024?s=19
Rahul, these are great points and is a very good thread.
If I were running the Angels, right now, this is what I would consider doing:
In 2021, roll with this lineup: SS Fletcher, 1B Marsh (suboptimal position, but he’s training there right now), CF Trout, 3B Rendon, DH Ohtani, RF Adell, LF Goodwin/Upton, C Castro/Stassi, 2B Rengifo
Pitching: Bauer, Bundy, Heaney, Canning, Sandoval/Suarez/Barria, and just maybe, Ohtani. (Right now assuming we don’t trade Goodwin/Bundy/Heaney, but obviously this is variable).
By 2022, hope that CRod/Detmers develop and can take over rotation spots for the (likely) departing Bundy/Heaney, such that we can have: Bauer, Detmers, Rodriguez, Canning, Sandoval/Suarez/Barria.
The lineup looks like it should actually be pretty decent for awhile, but the key issue, of course, is long-term pitching, as well as prospect development.
Write a fanpost!! This is sure to inspire a lot of discussion.
I agree with some of your points, although getting fair value for La Stella/Goodwin won’t be feasible as they aren’t highly regarded and Simmons doesn’t have much value at this point. I also find it hard to believe that any team would shell out prospects to be one of eight teams that could win the pennant. It doesn’t make sense to do that with this playoff format.
timing is everything!
Simmons should’ve been traded a year or two ago. Bundy assuming he doesn’t fall off a cliff or get injured ( i mentioned that last year he also got off to a good start with Baltimore ) would be the best viable trade option.
In reality, Simmons was likely off the table because he’s a well-known player that Moreno enjoys watching play.
But why trade Bundy? The team needs starting pitching, Bundy has been a gift in that regard relative to cost, and he isn’t likely to fetch a return in prospect pitching equivalent to what he can deliver through the end of his contract.
Ah hah…….there you are!
I’ve been meaning to ask you about where you had Dustin May and Shane Bieber or even Dakota Hudson too for that matter in your scouting reports for 2016? Why did Dustin May and Shane Bieber not get picked sooner?
Well as for Bundy, he was a former high #1 pick so I was just hoping that we move while the iron is still hot concerning him. The two things about Bundy for sure is his durability and he’s a innings eater if nothing else. I’m just of the opinion that we need to not be afraid of being a big seller at some point…..the Red Sox even dealt away Jon Lester in the recent past.
Thanks! Yeah, it’s definitely not perfect. The reason I mentioned to trade LaStella is because we likely won’t re-sign him (limited budget), so we might as well get what we can, even if it’s a middle relief prospect. Same goes with Simba, too.
At this point, any kind of arms we can get for expiring deals, I will happily take
Rengifo sucks as a full timer.
a total punching Judy…….sounds like you don’t want to rebuild to me. The rotation is terrible, the worst I’ve seen since the 1991 and 1980 teams.
Rengifo is still very young. I think it’s too soon to assume no further development can occur. The Dodgers wanted him, and we know that Friedman’s a pretty sharp guy, so.. I think there’s some potential there
Exactly and each year the number of things that need to go right is pretty high. Ohtani needs to pitch AND pitch like an ace consistently being #1. No injuries, aging players having one last good year, etc. The Angels have hope and hope is not a plan.
Have to repeat this here….
We all know the famous “Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin’” (used to be 4 man starting pitching staffs).
We now have “Fletch, Trout and Rendon and then a whole bunch of pretendin’”
Fletch, Rendon and Trout, but the rest make us pout.
Or… the rest should GTFO. I normally abstain from profanity, but I’m less than pleased with this team.
Goodwin has been quite good as well. He’s delivered ~$17M in value over salary cost, has produced above any reasonable expectation over a period where the Angels have struggled to extract value from the OF corners, and the team still has him for two more seasons after 2020 at a very low salary.
Cheers. Could probably find a few others worth keeping, like Bundy, and Ohtani lol. Pena and Buttrey aren’t horrible and you may have calc’d value on the entire roster. Keep those providing same. Playing along with the theme in this instance, ’cause laughs.
Not sure if this is in jest, but the Angels wouldn’t be able to get equal or better value for Goodwin via trade, if they tried. Most GMs still view him as a fourth outfielder.
Which on our team means… starter. Goody doin’ a nice job for us; too many come here and don’t. Keeper.
Reagins failing upward. It’s the American way.
so did Jedi
he’s got more autonomy in the rain & mold then he had down here.
I just don’t think most people in the league view producing a winning record three out of four years, including the best record in baseball one year, while trying to drag a knuckledragging franchise into the 21st century era of analytics as “failing”.
Eppler has tried to do the exact same thing, and Arte has afforded him a substantially higher salary band to do it. He’s produced five losing teams, including the worst record in Angels history, and the most protracted stretch of losing in Angels history as well.
The fact that we all take for granted is that Billy Eppler Angels career is over, and if true the trigger should be pulled now. To allow a new GM the opportunity to clean out this roster and began a rebuild should be done forthwith. Instead of watching this fiasco nightly with the same old proven not to work cast, step up Arte so we can move on. Prolonging the change is detrimental to the team and the fans.It IS time to move forward.
Perfect season to trash the whole thing and start over.
Odds of Joe Maddon taking over as GM? Maybe in a couple years?
That hasn’t even crossed my mind, but yeah, sounds like an Arte move. Seems to me the great GMs appear to come out of nowhere. Once they’re already world famous, they’ve kind of peaked and are in decline. I think of universities that specialize in hiring tons of Nobel Laureates because it makes their website look cool, but the reality is, once they’ve reached that milestone their prime years are behind them. The trick is to find them and hire them before they set the world on fire. I guess I’m saying I’d welcome some people I’ve never heard of, perhaps on the younger side. That takes some serious scouting chops though, and I haven’t seen that in this organization in a long, long time.
“Coded Racism”, this world has gone mad. To dissect everything that is said to find what you perceive as race related in a negative way is racism in itself. And the fact Tom Brennaman is going to go through diversity, equity and inclusion training is a positive thing. And does he not have the choice in this manner? And yes he is going to try to salvage his career, it is what he does, should he go and now become a dishwasher somewhere. This is a two way street of sorts. l like the fact that he is showing that he is going to move forward in a positive manner as nan y people wil now learn from this to accept that they have the same thinking and they to know they should change. Stop with the hate, it is not healthy. Change takes place one person at a time. .
I dislike prepackaged, “received” phrases, like “coded racism,” and many others, not so much because they aren’t true or accurate, but because they discourage us from thinking for ourselves. I’m channeling Orwell here, who was a big time lefty who saw how terrible Stalin was back when all the western “comrades” were worshipping him. Orwell says we should always avoid canned phrases and use our own words to describe what we believe. It’s harder to do, but that’s what thinking and ultimately freedom costs. As for the “NBA guy” comment… Yeah, that sounds like an old white guy using the racial stereotypes he’s absorbed over a lifetime and doesn’t even recognize. I think we should be empathetic but also the guy does need to learn that the times have changed.
These guys just can’t help themselves, can they? Are we finally going to get rid of Chris “Mad Dog🙄” Russo? Pretty please?
Why is the Mad Dog on your hit list?
Read the article in the link. There are some pretty good reasons.