As previously noted, the Angels acquired Gio Urshela from the Minnesota Twins. The Twins traded with the Reds for shortstop Kyle Farmer.
Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert will play for team Cuba in the World Baseball Classic. So will Yoenis Cespedes.
Aaron Judge wants to win. I guess that lets the Angels out of the bidding.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
What the heck is this nonsense? https://www.sportskeeda.com/baseball/news-mlb-rumors-theo-epstein-linked-la-angels-league-insider-predicts-club-will-announce-president-ceo-offseason?key4=skbaseballfb&utm_source=FBAUTOFEED&utm_medium=SKBaseballFB
A rumor on a site nobody has heard of. Probably stems from Bill Shaikin wondering in the LAT a few months ago about the Angels new owner getting someone like Epstein or Billy Beane to overhaul the front office.
Makes no sense unless Epstein knew who his new owners were gonna be.
Actually in the Athletic
https://twitter.com/lockedonangels/status/1592406294098751488?s=46&t=xpL12oPAcFVyyHE4BDkWZw
I could see it happening if someone buys the team he’d like to work for.
Not completely out of the realm of possibility he’d want to be the guy who got Mike Trout a ring
But Jim Bowden is a know-nothing asshat who got kicked out of baseball team management for being part of an international bonus skimming scheme that was uncovered by the F.B.I.
His analysis and predictions as a writer are just as horrid.
Sure, of course, I was just providing a better source for the prediction.
This offseason?? Heck yeah. I’m good with this, at least the Epstein part. Some new owner must be coming with deep pockets. They know to move up the timeline of this hire to work the Ohtani situation. Perry is in over his head.
Holy Hell! This happened earlier this week?
“This comes after star shortstop Trea Turner signed an 8-year deal with the team earlier this week.”
Yes, nonsense!
If only we got that SS from the Reds then we’d have a Farmer and Adell.
I want to work Cowgill in there somehow…
Is Mike Lamb available ?
We would just be leading him to Webster Slaughter
Too bad Moo-se Skowron isn’t available
Hi-ho, Soriano
Maybe get Justin Bohr to come back. He sat out last year after getting let go by the mighty Diablos Rojos del México.
I don’t dig on swine
How about a Royal with Cheese?
Maybe sit back and rasise Hank CONGERs
Along with raising Congers, toss in some Robbie Ray and segregate Mike Trout and Kevin Bass
but the real kingfish…Catfish Hunter and Mudcat Grant
Shohei said he thinks the Angels should have traded him at the trade deadline last summer for the most in return. As each day passes, I get more of a feeling that Shohei truly is gone in his mind’s eye. It makes no sense whatsoever to continue this charade of pretending that he wants to stay.
Hey G-Pa,
I disagree, they ask these guys soooooo many questions posed in so many ways, this point in time statement sounds like a heartfelt epiphanous statement, but I see it as an answer to a posed question.
Kinda like, you’re asked of these 20 listed Thanksgiving items, which 10 would you want on the table. You don’t pick roasted Brussel sprouts (On the list), so headline reads, “Grandpa baseball says he wouldn’t have roasted Brussel sprouts on his Thanksgiving table.”
Thats funny Grandpa because everyday that goes by , I feel stronger that we will re-sign him.
Did I ever tell you the story about the jack?
https://vimeo.com/182510201
Damn, that hits DEEP
What in the hell did I just watch?
I don’t believe that Shohei ever mentioned that the Angels should have traded him?
If he did, it would be so out of character.
Where did you read this?
Exactly. My first thought was “source?”.
Shohei Ohtani thought ideal time for Angels to trade him was last season – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
Shohei was being analytical. He said that’s when the Angels would have gotten the best return.
He’s right.
He did not say he wished he was traded.
Big difference.
Quick note: If Yoenis Cespedes plays for Team Cuba in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, that’ll affect his availability for his city league team.
Who else calls BS on Boras’ “…several [Lucrative/doable] multi-years offers [For Bellinger] have been received…” Boras looking at one year “Prove-it contract”?
I call BS!!
Who’s with me?
💩 😕 💩
You can’t see huh, well you were told when you were young that doing what you did causes blindness. 😁
Perhaps that explains my need now for reading specks….
MLB trade rumors is discussing possibility of punching up the outfield. Time to decide if Adell’s struggles are intrinsic limitations or (yet another) failure of the coaching staff?
There’s always an inherent danger when you draft someone that strikes out a lot. IMHO it’s very hard to “Solve” the issue or teach good strike zone recognition. You either have it or you don’t.
On top of that Adell’s defense is atrocious-I didn’t see John Kruk take such bad lane/paths to fly balls in the OF.
I think this should be his cut-bait season and that should be early after ample opportunity.
But It seems like every prospect strikes out a lot now a days
True but Eppler especially loved raw athletes who he figured would pick up baseball once they played full time.
Overall athleticism is great, but the skill of hitting a baseball is separate from it. Nobody will ever call Miguel Cabrera or David Ortiz good athletes but they could hit. Conversely, Michael Jordan was an incredible athlete who couldn’t.
Unfortunately, Epplers novel philosophy has not panned out for the Angels and may have cost us dearly. The very fact that both Jordyn Adams and JJ have been unprotected in the rule 5 draft is proof of that.
Its still too early to declare a complete failure since the 2019 and 2020 have generated some talented athletic players that are still developing (Kyren Paris, Werner Blakely & David Calabrese) but his 2016 -2018 drafts ain’t looking good.
Well, with all this launch angle crap it’s no wonder!
It has been almost a full season of opportunity. We should probably just burn him in the Tempe Diablo parking lot as a sacrifice to the gods and see what that gets us.
Now there is a time proven idea.
👍
I tell you what I think. I think Adell’s 23 years old. Behold, Jo Adell’s bref.
Like most 23 year olds, he still needs to cut down on strike outs. His defense is still not good. His defense did, however, actually make a huge improvement from dumpster full of burning hair levels of bad to just meh bad. He’s actually at a level where if he had a slightly above average OPS+ and his current defense he’d have some WAR build up.
So he needs to, by hook, crook, hit, homer or walk, get his OPS up by 100-120 points. If his defense improves, that would be nice too, but if he hits in the mid .700 he’s fine. He’s had 557 MLB at bats, many of them taken while being soul crushingly bad in the OF, which may have broken him a little. So that’s basically a season of suck.
I think the main failure is the Angels Baseball Fan community. I don’t think I have ever seen a fanbase this unhappy to have BPs #2 prospect two years running, instantly desperate to point out he’s lower on the other three big rankings. Nor have I seen such a massive appetite to start shitting on a twenty year old when he sucks at first. It was like a German fetish convention around here from the word go. We get the team we deserve… and the prospect debuts we ask for.
At least in spirit half the limpets on this site cut bait on Adell after about 200 ABs at age 21. It completely mystifies me how so many of us beg for a farm system and then do this. As though every prospect the farm produces will be Juan Soto at 20…. or grrrr whimper “he is a bust.” It’s not gonna work that way guys, so maybe we should be honest, stop bitching about lost draft picks and a weak farm, and just start demanding splashy free agent signings.
Is this a make or break year for Adell? Yeah. Why? He only has one option year left. Same with Moniak. Do I think anyone’s “failed” at this point other than CtPG Guy? No. Not yet. If he gets a regular streak of playing time this year he’ll probably cross 800 ABs and that’s when he may be cooked. But he has a ton of power. He can get those OPS points he needs without becoming Wade Boggs. So it won’t surprise me if the FO decides New Hitting Coaches + Jo Adell having nothing left to prove in the minors at age 24 (in April) = give him playing time and see if he sinks or swims. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad choice. There have indeed been plenty of players that took till age 24 to get good at MLB baseball, I’m OK with seeing if that happens here.
Sounds like he still has trade value as POBO Gitcho still covets him. So quick , we need to trade him before the MLB trade simulator trade value surplus (1.9 -Ha Ha!) finally wises up.
I don’t think this is the make or break year because he has an option left. If he doesn’t make the team or isn’t good enough this year, he can play in AAA. In 2024 he either stays on the team or gets DFA’d. Since he won’t be arb eligible in 2024, the Angels can pay him league minimum, so it should be at least worth giving him a shot in 2024 regardless of how this season turns out.
we kept Adell and traded Marsh for a reason.
i guess. Jo is #1round premium pick
he will get many more opportunities here but if he’s the weak link, here really means to me SLC
yes and the reason was that nobody was going to trade us the #1 catching prospect in all of baseball for Jo Adell
We’d be selling low if we moved him. Unless there’s an offer that really helps the Angels, it’s zero risk to hang on to him.
I don’t really believe in Adell but he has made some progress. I would use him as a 4th OF this year and see where he is after 2023.
…maybe a 5th OF?
He could be 2nd best OF or 5th best or SLC-bound
Better for him to be working on contact/defense in AAA than spending a lot of time on the bench.
Sitting on the bench behind Mickey hitting a robust .200 is tough times indeed.
He was lousy last year in the minors. He focuses better at the MLB level. He can do workouts to improve.
I think this question will be answered in ST.
Not just Adell but Ward also turned back into a mediocre player. Not addressing the outfield would be insane.
And the Reds traded with the Pirates for Shortstop Kevin Newman.
So the impetus of all of these transactions is the ascension of Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz? Who knew?
84 days more till P&C report
“Aaron Judge wants to win. I guess that lets the Angels out of the bidding.”
But Can He Pitch?
Yes, the monkey can play drums and pitch.
Sneaking delivery, good control, probably only a BP arm like the rest of our pitching prospects
https://youtu.be/0veiTgUQLKw
Wow check out the rotation on that slider. He must have gone to Driveline.
Could also gif this with the obligatory “Los Angeles Angels of Orange Count/Anaheim/St. College, blah, blah, blah…”