Angels’ director of pro scouting Nate Horowitz has left the team. Jobel Jimenez, formerly of the Cardinals, is now an assistant hitting coach for the Angels’ minor league system.
Non-Angels Links
MLB Trade Rumors published their predictions for the top 50 free agents of 2021-2022. All three of those writers predict we will lose Raisel Iglesias. The Angels were mentioned as possible landing spots for Marcus Stroman, Carlos Rodon, Jon Gray, Steven Matz, Hector Neris, Ryan Tepera, or Danny Duffy. Here is the corresponding Fangraphs article.
The recently fired Jayce Tingler landed a job as bench coach in Minnesota. The Twins also hired David Popkins as their new hitting coach.
The Cubs claimed Wade Miley off waivers from the Reds and picked up his option.
Dusty Baker signed a one year contract to return to the Astros in 2022.
Former Mets manager Luis Rojas may end up as a base coach for the Yankees. They apparently liked his interview.
Andrew Heaney has a one year deal with the Dodgers for $8 Million plus.
Former Mets pitcher Pedro Feliciano died in his sleep at the age of 45.
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https://twitter.com/Alden_Gonzalez/status/1458260204471177217?s=2
The question here is what does he mean by “a certain type of quality?” If by that he means E-Rod and DeSclafani (coming off a career year will stink again next season) I think I will sit out the 2022 season.
https://www.mlb.com/angels/news/featured/visit-san-manuel-stadium-home-of-the-inland-empire-66ers
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1458191425854533636?s=20
I read an article this morning that said the Marlins need outfield help and are relatively pitching rich. The Trade Simulator says that Taylor Ward for Steven Okert is an acceptable trade. What say you? Is this a decent low dollar way to help the bullpen?
I like this. In reality we may have to send some AA pen arm too or something.
I came up with a trade for their SS Rojas and Luzardo for Adell and a Rengifo level prospect. May or may not make my off season piece.
The Marlins just gave him a short extension. He’s still cheap so they may not be fired up to trade him.
I dunno. The trade simulator seems more generous this year for some reason. I keep trying out trades that it accepts but they seem more unrealistic than in past years, especially for pen arms.
Maybe our old farm trash is worth a bit more this year?
On a not kidding note. Perry, call Jacob Junis and offer him 3M and an MLB invite to be a swingman for us. If he can be made to lower his HR/9 a little he’ll be solid once through an order guy. GET IT DONE PERRY! YARRR!
I just want to make sure everyone realizes that Chris Bassitt will be 33 on opening day. So washed up. This is further evidenced by the fact that his ERA jumped from 2.29 to 3.15 and his ERA+ SKYROCKETED from 183 to 130. He’s ohviosly in decline.
I know you are trolling a bit, but 2020 was a career year for Bassitt and the 130 ERA+ still represents great value (and in line with his 2018 season as well).
I would be happy if we could swing something for Bassitt (and for a predicted 9M, it leaves us a lot of space). Send them Gosselin or Maitan and maybe Barria (as they are likely losing a 1B or 3B) in trade, especially as it is mostly a salary dump for them)?
I’ll take Bassitt and be happy. I just love how Bassitt is exactly what we all complain about around here… but it’s Bassitt, so it’s OK this time.
Bassitt at 130 ERA+ is better (by quite a bit) than any of the arms we have signed in the last few years (Harvey, Cahill, Cobb, Quintana, Teheran) and even in line with the best we got out of Bundy.
I don’t think it is what we complain about – I think needing to step down to Bassitt as our main (or only) acquisitions is what we complain about. But if Bassitt is the ‘second’ SP we pick up (after a higher tier guy) I think we are all super happy.
Oh yeah, you know my view, there are no low risk pitchers available ever, generally speaking. I’d take Bassitt for sure (unless they wanted a pile of our best prospects).
But you and I both know that if I left his name out of it and just said “33 years old, history of injury, slight downturn from really good stats…” it would get a different response from “Let’s trade for the guy you have all watched beat the pants off the Angels on TV for the last two years so his name’s already in your head…” I mean, this is the fanpile that viewed Rendon as a “sunk cost” as soon as we signed him. Honestly I’d be just as happy to have Manea or Montas if they come cheaper in trade.
Heck. I should kick off the dream where we trade a pile of prospects and young meh starters for all 3 of them… then sign them all to extensions… then make the Big A the same dimensions and wind conditions as The Big O Toilet…. then win 20 World Series titles.
Could you imagine if a single team combined players, prospects and salary relief enough to get all three of those guys? That would be kind of cool.
are you trolling too? I don’t think a universe exists where Goose, Maitan, and Barria gets you Bassitt
How good is Bassitt if he’s not pitching against us? (Serious Q)
Still good. But we over rate him a bit I’d guess. But good. I want good.
Ehh. I think the Angels would rather trade for Cole Irvin. Then Arte can save money on field maintenance.
A’s fire sale might be happening. How do any of these pitchers sound? Or maybe Elvis for MI help?
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/athletics-trade-rumors-payroll-olson-chapman-manaea-bassitt-montas.html
elvis andrus? no
Yeah, I like Bassit and Menaea but not with Andrus. Hell no.
Yes to Bassitt but hard no on Manaea.
Just no Montas for sure. Let’s get their catcher.
Yeah. That Montas is horrible. Who wants this guy?
Once a steroid user always a steroid user. Or at least the risk is there.
Bassitt would be nice.
Getting one of these guys via trade frees up options for more bullpen pieces and a better overall pitching corps next year.
Andrus is a net $8 million hit after Texas pays their part of his contract. Taking him on would almost certainly move Fletcher to short as he has the better glove.
But if taking Andrus money on allowed the Angels to acquire any of those three pitchers at a reasonable return you’d have to consider it.
Bingo Jeff. This is where I think the Angels have to eat someone’s bad contract to get something really good in return. I was looking at Castillo trades with the Reds. If we also took Moose and his huge contract, would the Reds, be more inclinded to take a lesser package?
Elvis and Bassitt hit both “needs” for us and stay within reason on budget. Would allow us to fill other holes in the bullpen and still go get more starting pitching.
Can’t wait for the “If I were Perry to drop”. This is going to be a great offseason for the Halos.
That trade would be exactly what the angels need as it would fill 2B and give us a top of the line arm. Moustakas contract is bad (but not terrible) and I guess a lot depends on whether the Reds decide they are going to compete this year. Also, Moustakas last full season (not counting 2020) was actually really good, so interesting to see what the Reds would value him at.
This is the sort of “squint and it’s pretty” trade I have been looking at. Get Castillo or Gray from the Reds, take Moose off their hands, move Fletch to short. Have 2 good starters and a banger offense. Take out Moose and play Fletcher at 2B and Velazquez at SS when you need to shift to a defensive team.
The only problem is that Moose is a really big payroll speed bump. This trade will bring on 20-25M in payroll each of the next 2 seasons. So yes, it gets me a pitcher I want, and if Moose rakes then we are big winners, but it isn’t as though, now that we’ve traded for these guys, we can suddenly afford more FAs.
It may be cheaper/safer to sign solid but “not moving the needle” starters and then trade for reliable bullpen arms…. I donno.
We all know what Heaney will do next year now that the Doyers have their hands on him. It reminds me how often we minimize the talents of our players while they are here.
Heaney was given many years of work here that was below .500. Maybe with the Dodgers coaching he will finally have a plus .500 season.
Yes because EVERY TEAM CHEATS!!!!!!!! except of course, the holy, perfect, never cheated (at least caught – you could have used a DeCinces bat for a fishing bob) Angels. FSM forbid some other MLB team actually invests in coaching staffs that know their jobs. (probably 22-25 other teams have competent staffs, too)
The “Competent Staff” is the one organizing the cheating…
Doyers are cheaters, can’t prove it, but it makes more sense then believing they are so much smarter than everyone else.
CHEATERS!!!!!!!
I think it’s probably both.
Correa vs Seager? With the Bat it is a tie, but with leather it is Correa hands down. I would like either one but for thre fact that it would mean that we probably would miss out on Stroman. Please Perry bring in Stroman no matter the cost.
With all the youth in Toronto they will reach out for at least 3 big FA’s.
Baez just can’t get on base and Story had a down season and that could be a bonus.
Having the Rendon contract on the books and Arte’s cheap ways means we will have crappy cheap presents under the Christmas tree.
Stroman might require $20M+ AAV for 4 years. He’s not a No.1 and maybe a No.2. Stroman is the fallback for most teams after Max goes off the board. I think this is a risky move.
Stroman would be a godsend on this squad. Not an “at all costs” type player but he consistently takes 30+ starts a year and his worst year in the last three was 33% better than league average.
Ohtani, Stroman, Sandoval, Suarez, is the start of a really nice rotation. Of course we still need a bullpen.
Agree. Stroman would be a solid # 2 for us. If we got him it would also be nice if we could add a Gausman.
I can support it, just have some trepidation.
I would be happy if we can get such a good SP for 20M AAV. That would still leave us some wiggle room to get another starter and bullpen pieces.
I don’t think we can afford Max anyway, so stating by targeting Stroman might be good move – make him our first choice, show we value him.
Yeah. I’d be shitting joyful kittens if we were to get Stroman and retain Cobb and Raisel. Add Villar and I may bust out a puppy too.
Riskier than chasing Scherzer till he (and a bunch of other arms) are off the board? I thought we were looking for new and exciting ways of doing things, not Cole/Bauer 3.0.
Well Seager is the best looking ballplayer, hands down. #nohomo.
Saw the angels were linked to E Rod and Ray, and as much as I am happy to be tied to good pitchers 5 left-handers seems imbalanced to me. As an alternative, I have never rooted for the Angels to sign a guy as much as I want us to sign Jon Gray
I’m glad I’m not the only one hoping they sign Gray. I think he can be had for significantly less than the tier 1 free agents with a relatively high floor and ceiling.
I think Ray pairs well with Gray. If we end up with E Rod, I hope that is paired with a higher tier starter (like Stroman).
E Rod out of the AL East intrigues me for sure.
I like E-Rod, the QO makes him less attractive. I say he goes back to Beantown.
I have the same feeling. Or maybe Toronto as they will likely lose at least one of Semien and Ray.
I’m hoping that Horowitz’s departure signals a complete rebuild of the Angels’ scouting department with Perry bringing in a bunch of folks he knows and trusts.
C’mon Arte – Robbie Ray or bust.
Aim high. Ray is the 4th option on our list…
Whose list? Who is necessarily a better fit – both quality and cost-wise, considering out needs.
Well, since I am saying SP is our first priority I am not putting artificial cost limits on my wish list.
I would say my list is:
1) Scherzer on 1-2 year deal
2) Stroman on multi-year deal
3) Rodon on multi-year deal
4) Ray on multi-year
5) Scherzer on 3 year deal
After this the “mid-tier” guys like Gausman come into play. Because of injury concerns I rule out Kershaw and I simply don’t like Verlander so leave him off.
Redon just can’t stay healthy and as an Angel he would stay healthy?
Same. I’d be happy if we got Ray, but likely not for what he’d fetch – likely around $20-$25m per year. Signing Scherzer for $70-$80m/2 years and giving him an option along with either Stroman on a multi-year deal or Jon Gray would turn the rotation around quick.
Agree, your No.1 is my No. 1. If we get him, we really don’t need a second starter via the FA market.
But here is the issue with Max and the Angels. Quick trigger manager and a 6-man rotation. We could see how the Dodgers mishandled him and his make-up during the post-season. I say Max ends up with the Giants. Farhan > Perry.
Not as sexy, I like Gray, Cobb, DiScalfani, lower AAV guys set to provide bang for the buck. Hell. maybe even Greinke on a 1-yr, if under $10M.
Gray would be a good add but we’d still need a Number 1 or 2. Gray is marginally a #2 but really more likely a 3. Hard NO on Greinke. The guy has zero velocity left in that arm.
Greinke already said he wants to sign in the NL.
Yes, you are correct. I forgot about that. I am sure he wants to be able to hit.
Can he play shortstop? Good bat.
Hey, if he wants to hit, he can pinch hit on days Shohei is pitching when the reliever is scheduled to bat.
Yeah, the Grienke thing is kind of Stienke but he will take the ball every 5-6 day and compete.
Honestly, I’ll watch ol’Murder Face and enjoy it. Remember that game where he was telling opposing hitters what he was gonna throw before he did it as an FU to the world? That was baller.
I like your not sexy picks, especially if they come with a slightly sexier bull pen. If our offensive starters are healthy I think we will be surprised how well the team does with a rotation ERA at or near 4.
Lol. No ERA near 4 !!! That’s why we don’t target all the crappy guys. The reason we target Stroman etc is that we need our SP ERA under 4.00.
Soooo…. after you sign Stroman and Gray who are you going to go get that will actually lower our rotation’s ERA below 4? Or are they just gonna magically have ERAs a full point lower than career averages?
Hell, even Houston’s ERA was almost 3.8, Atlanta’s 3.9. If we can hit that with our offense I’ll take it.
Well, you’ve already got Shohei and Stroman. Both should be right around 3.00 if not a little under. That gives you some wiggle room to be under 4.00. I would not be shocked to see Sandoval put up a 3.50 or 3.60 ERA next year.
And Suarez is capable of being close to 4.00. You add one more decent arm in that mix and wah la, you have done it.
I think we’ve been watching different Marcus Stromans the last few years. Don’t get me wrong, I totally want Stroman, but he’s not gonna have a 3.00 ERA.
Probably true. Just the fact he comes to the AL from the NL would mean the ERA goes up a little. I could see 3.25 or something like that…
Even an ERA of 3.38 with alot of IP would be a huge help to us, as I am sure you’d agree.
Heck yeah. I’ll take him.
Yeah but 3.8 is still under 4.00. And in order to have that 3.80 ERA (is that team ERA or starters?) you certainly are going to have a few guys under 3.50. Assuming we had Shohei around 3.00 or 3.10 and Stroman similar I too would take that….
Gitcho optimistic? Are you feeling okay?
Signing guys off their career year rarely works well. A dude with a checkered injury history doubles that concern.
I’m a solid pass on Ray. I’d much rather spread that money out among the staff. We keep talking starters, but assuming we have a lead who do we hand it to?
We had a very good starter for one season last year and Arte does not believe in paying closers big dough so we will not see the return of last years closer. Arte is a loser and lived off of Stoneman’s work for years.
The big issue with Ray is injury, but the big plus is he’s probably the only guy on this list with the stuff to become a true ace. He’s a nasty AF pitcher. I just wish we didn’t have to pay 175M to find out.
Exactly. We can’t afford to miss that big right now. Not with the Trout/Ohtani window where it is.
We need to hit on our free agent signings. I know pitchers are always one pitch away from the IL, but I’d feel a lot more comfortable predicting what Stroman, E-Rod, Gray, and others will contribute than Ray.
Angels had a scout at Verlander’s showcase.
So did the Milwaukee Milkmen
Please no…..
We would have Kate Upton sightings at the BIG A, just saying.
She would look good in red.
I’m okay with Verlander, but not so much the expected price tag. If he somehow completely misinterprets his market and is available below qualifying offer, we should try to make a deal.
Verlander on top of a six man rotation is likely ideal for him. The fact he can likely be had on a 2-3 year deal is attractive.
Dude is a whiny bitch, but he’s also a very hard nosed competitor. I think this team could use a red ass in the mold of Lackey or Erstad.
Haven’t had a real hard-ass since WTY
We all hate him now, but if he was on our team so many dudes on CtPG would be buying his jersey and sheepishly trying to get their wives to wear them to bed by July. So. Much. Grit.
I’ve said it a hundred times. I hated Dustin Pedroia with a passion. He’d probably be my favorite, and many others, if the Angels had drafted him.
Agree. Verlander could be good if at a not-so-ridiculous price.
Boy oh boy, the opinions are gonna fly today. Stroman vs the cheaper Matz or Syndergaard? Siemen to 2B and Fletcher to SS? Correa or Seager or Story or pass. Let’s hope that everyone’s opinion is respected as there are gonna be a lot of revisions posted.
Heandog is back, well sorta. The Dodgers signed him so he is back to SoCal.
There are two must have’s for us in mho and they are Stroman and Taylor. Let the “If I were PTP I would” begin (Let the fun begin.) With trades and deciding which subs should return? Do Trout and Redon play a 150 games? Do Marsh and/or Adell return as starters? How does our returning pitching staff look in terms of innings? Yikes at figuring this all out. Are the owners going to lower the “Cap”? I can’t wait to see what everyone has to say.
I’m so over Arte’s fear of the luxury tax. Stroman, Kershaw and Duracell. Hard pass on Correa and Seager. Adell, Trout and Captain Caveman in the OF.
We need Kershaw so that we can continue to complain about Arte overpaying broken down old men.
That would be a buttercup. He would start 2 games, in spring training, and go down with his recurring back spasms, and return to make 1 start at the end of September.
bravo, i’m still laughing.
Is’nt Kershaw 32? If that’s our re-definition of “broken down old men”, I’m in real trouble…..
It has to do with the number of innings that arm has logged, not chronological age. Similar to how Kobe broke down in the NBA.
The stretch to end the 2012-2013 season where he had to carry the team to the playoffs to the achilles tear. Never the same
People sometimes forget that we can’t view athletes who start their pro careers really young in the same way we view most others.
Absolutely and, as you said, Kershaw fits this example to a tee. Lebron is a freak and he’s showing those signs as well.
lebron is a roid freak and he’s showing those signs as well.
fixed that for you.
can’t argue that, thanks for the fix.
Anthony Rendon was 29 when we signed him, he’s 31 now, and he’s totally done. I heard it here, so it must be true.
Haven’t you been reading all the comments on SS here? The community consensus is that we should pass on all the high $ shortstops and instead sign somebody relatively inexpensive and use our resources for pitching. Maybe 2002 has talked about getting Semien or somebody, but again, most folks here are not in favor of bringing in Correa, or Seager or especially Story.
Indeed. And not Stroman or Matz, but and (or another set of two good SPs).
Stroman and Matz …
Stroman and Gray …
Stroman and Ray?
If looking for a combination of upside and stability, it would be hard to beat Stroman and Gray.
Probably looking at $33-$38M AAV for that duo. How much does that leave for the pen?
12-17M. Or nearly nothing if we also sign Raisel.
Of course, that depends on how one schedules the contracts – doesn’t Arte work on yearly payroll rather than worry about AAV (which is fine for cap considerations, which the Angels never exceed).
Backending Stroman or Gray’s contract, even by a few million, might free us up some space. Give us some freedom – knowing Upton is off the books next year.
That’s the only way I see it working as well. Somebody gets one heck of a backload.
Full disclosure my ideal off season would be Stroman and Gray. Two dudes I figure will post consistently. To do that and add a bullpen, those deals would have to have low first year salaries.
Make it happen Jeff. Bring Perry over for an interview and let’s have a serious talk with him. Tell him, we are his worst nightmare if he fails to make this happen. Tell him how it was CTPG that ousted Billy Epps.
That would be awesome. I’ve always wondered wht a platypus sounds like when he laughs.
We were the legit demise of “Buttercup.”
I think we could do it but we’d have to trade for further pen arms. I’d also rather have Cobb than Gray if Gray costs twice as much. He’s not twice as good at all.
But will he pitch twice as many innings? Or pretty close to it?
That’s the rub with Cobb. Now if I feel like I’m fine having Cobb make 15 starts and Detmers/Canning taking another 15 then save the money.
All options can still be explored and should be looked at and besides swimming upstream is good for if nothing else than for the exercise. Have the “consensus” conferred with Arte? But the truth be told I have not talked to Arte of late either. Yes pitching is what we need the most as we all agree. But realistically our offence is in need also of something better to help too, like Taylor as an acquisition from the FA list. Taylor can rotate to give time off for any position on an almost daily position rest.
Stroman is the first one to go for as Ray will cost a lot and as I have posted many times over, Don’t Sign a Player Coming Off a Career Year is a very good rule to live by in today’s game where the Injury List is usually pretty long. Rendon came off a career year and how did that work out so far?
Well, I agree that Taylor would be a good add for us. Assuming we can lock up Raisel and Stroman first I have no issue with bringing Taylor in. We just need to take care of those other things first. And again, none of the high price tag shortstops. You mentioned them at the top of your comment so I focused on those guys…
Just bring back Simmons for half of what he made in 2020 and spend all the money on starters. Shohei, Trout, Rendon, plus the young guys is enough offense. Don’t need to spend any more on position players.
I would love to see Simba again if his head is screwed on straight.
Simba is done as an Angel. He would be a capable gap filler until another SS comes long but it is not in the cards.
Doesn’t have to be Simba specifically, but he’s probably around the price point that we should be looking at. Simba will probably have to settle for a 1yr, $6-8M deal. Whatever middle infielder the Angels go with is only a stopgap until Jeremiah Jackson/Kyren Paris are ready.
I think we’ll do something like this. Another option is trade market; Dejong, Segura, Rosario. I believe the Cardinals, Phillies and Guardians are looking to move these guys from their roster.
I’m playing around on the trade simulator quite a bit. Miami also has Rojas in the last year of his deal.
Rojas would be a good fit with us. He’s a nice under the radar pickup.
Plus he’s coming off a bit of a down year for him so I’d expect a bounce back in the BA category (.265 maybe goes up to .280-285).
I thought he received an extension, no? 100% onboard with that Jeff.
BB Ref shows there’s a $5.5 million option on him for next year with a $500k buyout.
https://twitter.com/MarlinsComms/status/1453729475363962884?s=20
I forgot to link about Chris Rodriguez and his capsules. Sorry.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/angels-chris-rodriguez-expected-to-miss-most-of-2022-season-after-undergoing-shoulder-surgery.html
As an afterthought, the article says that first base/outfield coach Bruce Hines is gone.
History is something to learn from.
Ouch, that’s not good news. See you in 2023 c rod.
Yes, the Yankees have coaching staff openings. They let go Reggie Willits (yes, THE Reggie Willits) a week or so back.
Arte should hire Reginald, if only so that we can polish our monocles in an approving (or disapproving — your choice) manner.