The Angels reached a two year agreement with Shohei Ohtani that is worth $8.5 Million. This avoids the arbitration hearing since Ohtani settled with the Angels. Here is the MLB Trade Rumors write up on the deal. Here is our own article discussing the deal.
Here is a nice detailed discussion of the Dexter Fowler trade. The Angels have three players in the top 25 contact hitters in the game. Kurt Suzuki also made it into the ranks of the top 50 contact hitters.
Links From Around Baseball
Spring training may start on time but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a normal spring training. MLB is dreaming up pods for the Grapefruit League. The Reds signed Dee Strange-Gordon to a minor league deal. He gets a invitation to spring training and the opportunity to compete for a roster spot. MLB will be deadening the ball a little bit for 2021. The Phillies signed right hander Chase Anderson to a one year deal worth $4 Million.
ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez died suddenly at the age of 58.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Reading into the tea leaves: Perry likes ground ball pitchers, isn’t afraid of guys who pitch to contact, and prefers one year deals.
I’m thinking Mark Melancon is our last notable piece of the off season. He won’t be that expensive, probably gets a one year deal no more than two, and fits Perry’s model. In fact, Perry was part of a front office who traded for him then picked up his option.
Do we think he is philosophically into 1 year deals or maybe under the impression from his boss that there may not be a 2022 season?
I’d be good with Melancon. Aside from prioritizing low $$ contracts, PTP seems to value some old school stuff like experience, makeup and culture. Even the Gosselin guy got praise from Amaro on Twitter for being a great teammate and smart pickup.
I think winning solves a lot of that but I can’t say I haven’t wondered if our locker room has suffered from a serious leadership void since Torii and Weaver left. Trout is the best player but not the most vocal or impassioned.
I’m not sure any of the Angel moves this winter are impacted one way or another due to a potential work stoppage in 2022. If next season’s start is delayed due to protracted labor negotiations then the only downside I see would be the herculean effort of having to fill so many roster holes in a very short period of time when the dust settles. But if they don’t play I don’t think any players will get paid. Which will really suck for Justin Upton.
Correct, no play, no pay. And no, the existing contracts don’t get extended by the amount of time a strike may happen.
I think you are right about Malancon being a good idea and Perry going after guys who allow week contact and don’t walk 3.5/9. I like seeing this. It’s what we’ve discussed wishing a GM would try in the past and I’m happy to roll the dice and see if it works. Obviously PTP won’t AVOID 99 MPH fastballs, but your “Tampa Plan” observations seem correct and I’m glad to try it. Slegers/Barria followed by a Buttrey or Iglesias is going to make for a hard 9 ABs for a team.
Weak contact too.
We got Philip Gosselin. We’re going to the Series for sure now.
I was hoping for Brad Miller, can play those same positions plus OF. But realize he has interested teams looming at him and would cost more.
Does this move allow us to trade Rengifo? The Dodgers wanted him at one time.
I think Rengifo is better but if he got us another back end arm or reliever, I’d do it.
I’m hoping we get Bud Miller because then we’d have two beers
Who?
Darn. I was hoping it was Tony Gonsolin. Now that Mullet Man is gone we could use a Frank Zappa.
Is it my imagination or have the Angels been doing a lot of dumpster diving this off season?
Especially as of late.
I woke up this morning, checked Facebook and just about the first thing I saw was that the Angels had signed a certain undesirable player. After looking everywhere it’s not true. I don’t think it was funny.
A site on IG said we are in talks with Osuna. I tend to doubt that considering his past, but nonetheless spent an hour or so looking back over his history in case it is true.
Best summary I can come across: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmacramalla/2018/09/26/understanding-osuna-why-the-criminal-charges-were-dropped/?sh=c4e1f79311f1
Jeff Fletcher tweeted that his sources said “Not a chance.”
And there was much celebrating in the land.
I’m so fuckin’ glad we don’t got [REDACTED]!!!
Cool link on the contact hitters. The Angels also used to employ 2 other top 15 guys.
I like that concept. I learned the game from a “good things happen when you put the ball in play” standpoint.
It amazed me how good the list of players was and how much contact plays. Of course, if you are 40 something and look like you’re lugging a piano down the line – sometimes strike outs are better.
Bartolo Colon says “Chicks dig the long ball.”
In case you think I come down to hard on Bud Selig and his protégé, Rob Manfred. Neither one of them could or can tell the truth and both believe that they alone saved MLB. So while on Manfred’s watch MLB bought Rawlings sporting goods and as the League left Wilson sporting goods for Rawlings to produce baseballs Manfred thought that sense MLB was slowly losing fans he would bring them back with a flurry of HRs, albeit the plan really did not work and even backfired in that salaries increased because now the owners had to pay Homerun Wages to more and more hitters who are not that good at hitting HRs. So now MLB plans to decrease the tightness wrap on the balls. Now we can get back to some real Baseball. I wonder if Manfred will still deny that he ordered tightly wrapped HR balls to be made like Bud denied that he knew nothing about steroids?
Making the ball play more like it used to is basically an admission it has been juiced in recent years.
Wouldn’t need to change it again if it wasn’t changed previously.
Knocking 5 feet of distance off fly balls is not gonna hurt our guys. I really really hope that we successfully pull off leaning a little more toward the low walks/low HR pitchers. It’s not sexy, but with some of the sluggers we ostensibly have on offense it’s the way to go. Every time our pitchers issue two walks and a HR it negates a lot of what our offense can do and it’s a cheap (yay! Cheap!) way to improve the team trying to knock that disadvantage down some.
Good discussion Grandpa. I think in addition to reducing home runs they also need to cut down on the strikeouts. What they should really be asking is how to we increase triples. It’s an exciting play and assumes hard contact yet the ball stays in the yard. Ideally if they think within those lines, it’ll make the game more exciting and focus on putting the ball in play with hard contact and moving the runners around the bases, but they still have to advance station to station.
The Angels through the years pay over the hill players more than 3 mil per and they feel that they stepped up to sign Shohei. Well many players had down years at the plate in 2020. But with his speed as the fastest player on the team I am not worried about his hitting at all. I would really like him to excel on the mound though as that is were he helps the team the most imho. But I still love to watch him hit. Can not good wrong having Ohtani on the team.
Ohtani has to be a huge financial windfall to Arte. Paying him relatively peanuts but has a large following in Japan. If only the team and Shohei were killing it, Arte would be raking in the dough. Even so, as it is, Ohtani might be the biggest net positive for Arte from a revenue perspective although I’m not sure he is maximizing the opportunity.
I suppose it could be that Ohtani wants to keep a low profile and if so, good for Arte. Protect your employees if that is what they want.