Perry Minasian now has an even deeper talent pool to explore after Wednesday’s non-tender deadline has passed. Not surprising there isn’t any frontline starting pitching added to said pool, but the Angels have needs on the grass, on the mound, and behind the plate.
Here are a few non-tendered players who could fit on the Angels:
Curt Casali (Reds) C: a catcher with a career OPS+ of 95 coming off a year he reached 125 OPS+. Rated decently with the glove, he could provide a fairly inexpensive time share option with Stassi and would currently pencil in as our Opening Day starter. I’ve been hoping for him to become available and hope Minasian snags him.
Tyler Anderson (Giants) SP: Outside of a disastrous 2019, Anderson has proven to be right at a league average starter, owning a career ERA+ of 103. Maybe he’s a starter, maybe he’s a swing guy, but he’s 30, healthy and we need pitching.
Eddie Rosario (Twins) OF: Primarily a left fielder he’s capable of handling right, although metrics aren’t too kind to him there. He’s still only 28 years old and carries a career 108 wRC+. He’s a slugger not an OBP guy but could be a placeholder for Adell and Upton insurance.
Brian Goodwin (Reds) OF: Meet the new guy, same as the old guy. Goodwin is a known quantity and could slide back into his familiar role in right field until Adell or Marsh force their way up to The Show. He’s the definition of “solidly average” with a career OPS+ of 101 and DRS rating in right field of +2.
David Dahl (Rockies) OF: His first three years in the league he was 10% better than the average hitter, even after adjusting for Coors Field. Last year he was abysmal. A lefty bat who can cover both corner positions, has a career OPS+ of 103 and likely more upside than the two mentioned above. The key with Dahl is health.
Chasen Shreve (Mets) LHRP: Lefty with a killer strikeout rate and absolutely no platoon split but a propensity to give up the long ball, Shreve owns a career 10.5 K/9 to go along with a 1.6 HR/9. Walk rate of 4.5/9 isn’t great either, but he increased the use of his split finger fastball substantially last year and recorded a career high 12.2 K/9 and 1.160 WHIP. Shreve had several multi inning outings as well. Seems like a Callaway project to me, and the Mets Fansided author wanted him back.
Matt Wisler (Twins) RHRP: Matt unleashed his slider an unbelievable 83.4% of the time last year and rode it to career best 12.4 K/9, a number that has trended upwards for 3 straight seasons. His walk rate also jumped last year but sits a 3 per 9 on his career. He’s only 27 so if his elbow doesn’t fall off after all those sliders, could still have some upside remaining.
Hansel Robles (Angels) RHRP: 2020 was a bizarre year in a lot of way and in a small sample size Robles was really bad. But for two years prior he was really good. Robles was known to be a player who really missed fans in the stands, who liked that edge and adrenaline pump. Stadiums should have fans again and Hansel, to our knowledge, is healthy. He’s a good bet for a bounce back, just maybe not a $4 million bet in this market.
Alex Claudio (Brewers) LHRP: See a trend here? Claudio has a four pitch mix and gets lots of soft contact. Not a big strikeout guy but has a microscopic HR/9 rate of 0.7 and still manages a 2.78 SO/W rate thanks to a crazy low walk rate (2.6/9). We have Rendon, Iglesias, Fletcher on the infield, let them get some ground balls and quick innings.
John Brebbia (Cardinals) RHRP: Brebbia has been a stud in the Cardinals bullpen for the last three years. He had Tommy John surgery in the middle of this year but should be ready to go Opening Day 2022. Paying him a low base to recover next year with plenty of incentives for a couple of years after that might be a nice way to bolster a unit without a lot of depth.
For depth purposes I could see Tony Wolters or Delino Deshields brought in on non-guaranteed or minor league contracts. Carlos Rodon has been plagued by injuries but wouldn’t be blocking anybody in Salt Lake and would make a great minor league signing.
Here’s a different take from the Athletic: https://theathletic.com/2238367/2020/12/03/angels-non-tendered-free-agents/
You have similar ideas for OF/C, but are starkly different on pitching. I have no opinion on who has better ideas, but I did enjoy both articles.
I should’ve added Hembree and mentioned Bradley but think his price tag and drop in velo make me nervous.
I have no feel yet for what Perry intends to do but I am hoping that it doesn’t involve dumpster diving. Goody would be a nice signing out of the non-tenders but I think we’re more likely going to be trading our way into contending.
I think it will take a mix of trades, free agents, and some good old fashioned dumpster diving. No bullpen or catching tandem ever makes it through a season unscathed and we have absolutely no depth at AAA for either.
Iglesias, per Minasian… “This guy loves to play. He goes to bed thinking about playing and he wakes up thinking about playing. The homework we’ve done on him, in Cincinnati and Baltimore, he has really taken a leadership role. It’s not only talent. It’s the person too.”
PM and the new crew from Atlanta obviously has existing background work on a portfolio of players, such as Iglesias. I would love to know who is in his “pitcher portfolio”. I would guess those are the highest probability acquisition attempts.
I’m sure we’ll soon find out. I would bet a lot of our bullpen acquisitions will be under-the-radar types.
Shreve is the same type of pitcher that we have had for a long time in the Angels bullpen in that this guy is a batting practice pitcher at giving up the HR. Eppler would say “but he has a high spin rate”. Been there and done this, it does not work so why hope that this year is any different.
Eppler had all guys like that. I’m not opposed to having one high volatility guy, especially with Callaway at the helm. There’s no way I can see what he sees but if Callaway sees a little something he thinks he can tweak to keep the K’s high and the HR’s down, I’m all for it.
Wouldn’t be sexy at all but O’day and Claudio getting weak contact and not walking guys would be nice in the 6th and 7th innings. And cheap.
Shreve is exactly the kind of pitcher we would rather play for a team in our division as giving up the long ball comes easily to him, seems like we have seen this act before to many times.
I like Shreve (and possibly Rodon) as BP options.
Archie Bradley would be a decent pick up depending on price
If I remember correctly, he and Bundy are high school buddies
Caseli is my dumpster dreamboat, but I’d be OK with signing just about any of these guys. I think Anderson could be a secretly good pick up for the rotation too and Dahl or Goodwin would shore up our line up nicely.
I always wonder how much hurt feelings play into negotiations. For example, if TB offered to match Morton’s deal from the Braves, would Morton have rejected returning to TB because they refused his option and tried to get him for cheaper? How much more would Robles make the Angels pay to get him back because his pride is hurt by being cut? Does the same analysis apply to traded players? Are Goodwin and La Stella less likely to return to the Angels because they were traded?
I’m sure it varies by player, with some refusing to consider a return to a team that dumped them and others only caring about the length and value of the deal but I wonder if there is a norm.
Also important is how skillful the player’s agent is about managing the player’s expectations.
“Maybe they simply can’t afford you at that price. You’re expensive because you have a successful overall track record, not because you suck. Let’s see what the market will bear. The off season is still young.”
Very interesting question. One I’ve pondered. And one that likely has a variety of answers based on a variety of factors.
How did the club communicate with me before I was traded/non-tendered? What would my new role/pay be? Did I like the coaches and think they will help me become my best player? How likely am I to get traded again?
There will obviously be the emotional types, but I’m sure many level headed guys and agents just take it as part of the business. Once the games begin, I’m sure players love to stick it to the club that let them go.
Being traded for Barretto is worth a grudge……lol
Personally, if I was in the last year of my contract and the team was for all practical purposes not a contender I would understand being traded no matter what the return is. It’s a little harder to swallow being traded for Naught when I still have a few years left on my contract.
Of course, if I were La Stella I would probably be a bit miffed at Joe Maddon. Put on the bench in Chicago, build an excellent rep as a pinch hitter that gets me traded away, earn substantially more playing time with my new team, and then, when my old manager shows up, I’m sent off again.
And as Goodwin, I’d still be more annoyed at the Reds for non-tendering me after they traded for me than I would at the Angels for trading me off during a losing season to test their upcoming OF prospect.
Traded for Naught? What if you were traded for Naughton, eh?
Re: La Stella, he was traded to a better, playoff team, and increased his market value accordingly. What’s wrong with that?
I think it plays a huge role. For example, after our trade yesterday the Baltimore front office said they always have trades in the back of their mind when they sign a free agent. I respect their honesty 100% but if I were a free agent I’d definitely look at the teams track record in this regard before I signed. It’s a very small league, how you treat your players is probably a well known fact. Obviously money talks and it’s a business, but it’s got to be tough to sign premium free agents without paying more if you have a bad reputation. Right now is probably a really tough time to sign anyone with a bad rep, cause who wants to be traded in the middle of Covid.
That’s a good point to. There might be a lot of guys who would like to play in Miami, but nobody in their right mind would give the Marlins a deal unless they either were hoping to be traded or have a full no trade clause.
I can see that, especially with guys with families. When I was 25 and single getting traded probably wouldn’t have been that big of a deal. Now that my life’s greatest moments are with my son I’d like to know I’m secure for a little while.
Is this why Vladdy became a Ranger?
Great take. I like the list. Let’s hope someone upstairs is reading along 🙂
If we can fill out the pen with some inexpensive arms, maybe there is budget for 2 starters (Tanaka and ?) and a top-shelf reliever (Hand)? That is my hope.