The Angels signed Jacob Webb to a minor league deal over the holiday. The Fangraphs “Absurdly Preliminary 2023” ZiPS standings have the Angels tied with the Mariners for second place at 84 wins. Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline picked Logan O’Hoppe to be on his five players most likely to win Rookie of the Year in 2023. Hunter Renfroe, Taylor Ward, and Mike Trout all made it onto Bleacher Report’s top 25 outfielders of 2022. Pitching Ninja named Shohei Ohtani to the 2022 Face of Baseball Award.
Julio Teheran signed a minor league deal with the Padres.
Bryce Harper got the full Tommy John surgery after all. The Phillies extended Dave Dombrowski through 2027.
Alek Manoah called Gerrit Cole the worst cheater in MLB history while chatting with Serge Ibaka over their cricket tea and fish sperm.
Mike Clevinger signed with the White Sox.
The Pirates made a deal with veteran first baseman Carlos Santana.
Roberto Osuna re-signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the NPB.
Ex Dodgers In Trouble
Yasiel Puig is considering a defense of entrapment in his federal gambling case. Meanwhile, Trevor Bauer suffered a couple of adverse rulings in his constellation of lawsuits and appeals that are related to the alleged sexual assault of the San Diego woman.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Well this was an interesting read.
https://archive.ph/2022.11.28-222427/https://www.ocregister.com/2022/11/28/farm-failures-how-the-angels-player-development-system-broke-and-the-plan-to-repair-it/
Good for Fletch and a must read if you’re an Angel fan . I’ve always thought he’s been a thorough reporter (as evidenced by the level of research done for this article) yet has been impugned by a false narrative that he’s been more or less just an Arte ass kisser.
I found it interesting that so many current and former Angel employees were able to contribute to this story including both Dipoto & Billy.
Although I don’t agree with the assertion that Dipoto has drafted any better in the Emerald City than here other than he’s had a lot more first rounders and been there longer.
https://www.bucsdugout.com/
https://fansided.com/mlb/mlb-teams/pittsburgh-pirates/
LTBU!!! 😂  👊  😜 
https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/CTAproviders.htm
Thanks, I was looking for this information…I mean for a friend….
On another note, Santana can play the Hell out of a guitar also, been a fan for years!
But can he pitch? ( and I don’t mean Ervin)
Abreu to the Astros. Now what old man can we demand we sign so that we can then comment that our team needs to get young and focus on the farm all while complaining about a lack of depth when said old man gets hurt?
This professional hitter was the perfect CtPG guy signing. He’s even good… till he slams face first into our JuJu shit pile. What do we wish for now?
He fits in well there, must want a ring.
Or gold plated diapers..
Automatic like!!
That lineup was already scary and got even better.
When/if they lose Verlander though the SP depth is pretty suspect. You might see a lot of 10-8 ballgames down in Houston
But so many pitdjers signed for $500. Do you wanna hear about it 5000 times instead of me just showing you where the man who looked like Arte hurt me on the teddy bear? Here goes….
Burn the teddy bear then.
 💪  👈 
OK. Light the bear on fire, then take it in your hands and show us where the man who Arte reminds you of touched you on the burning bear.
I remember this was the argument back when the Angels signed Josh Hamilton a year after signing Pujols and Mike Trout exploding into the scene, despite desperately needing a starting pitcher (due to the departures of Santana, Greinke and Haren) – “Angels will win lots of games by the score of 10-9.”
Well, in fairness we lost a lot of 10-2 games those years….
Also, Hamilton the play did explode onto Broadway a few years later, so it worked out well.
Eh. Age is just a number. As are scores in sportsball games. So subjective are arbitrary being binary. We are all winners I feels.
brantley could have been our guy.
$60 million for 3 years for a 36 year old?
Pass
Remember…the owner is calling the player personnel shots in Houston now with help from Reggie Jackson and Jeff Bagwell. Maybe we’re witnessing the first steps of the Morenotifcation of the Astros?
it will come to fruiting in 2025 when jose abreu drops a “too blessed to be stressed” zinger.
So we should hire Jim Crane to be our new POBO?
No actually the Astros should hire you!!!
Sorry but my salary demands would be too high for those cheap bastards.
Lower your AAV and tack on ten years of involuntary servitude, I mean “Personal services” on the end.
Cheap bastard or fat bastard?
That’s always been a CTPG thing, hope that the enemy gets worse rather us getting better. 😜  💪 
Or a 24 yr old who can’t hit.
Same age as the owner. BTW Dusty Baker must be a huge “Moneyball” analytics guy at 73 yrs old. 80%er Nation LOL!!!!! Wouldn’t consult with any of them, might as well ask a ant colony.
Because you have the communication skills of a Pomeranian I can’t tell what you are saying re Dusty. He actually does seem to be OK with partnering with a data driven FO and applying analytics at age 73. Good on him, best of both worlds.
So he’s better than Soth and Maddon who both probably didn’t like Sabermetrics…..LOL!!!!!
HIPPPOCRITT!!! I wonder if Vlad Putin is still riding a Grizzly through a stream without his shirt on? Back to Beisbol, most of these old guys still don’t like this stuff and rely on a better team roster
You don’t make sense.
Yes, Putin is still the John Lennon of our time mixed with some James Dean and a little Hellen Keller.
STILL
CAN’T
WAIT
FOR
YOUR
IIWPM
Looks like a retired mob Hitter. I’m Italian, so I can say it.
Not even a self-inflicted Guest rec to be found, Tooty.
I have good friends in common with one of the guys who was running that gambling ring. It was zero surprise to any of us when he got caught. The extent of his earnings and the amount of cash they pulled from his house was, though.
Using a check cashing place as the conduit for gambling proceeds was a bad, bad idea. Left hard proof all over the place.
In movies, criminals are all brilliant. In reality most criminals are criminals because they are too stupid (or/and lazy) to make money legally. I’ve known a couple public defenders and a couple DAO prosecutors and none of them ever came across the “criminal genius”. Just a massive pile of dummies.
The Joker
Heath Ledger version.
Um. He’s not real. Not a real thing. Like “80%ers”. Not a thing. The Joker isn’t a person who walks around and no one says 80%er around here, though if The Joker was real he would definitely not say that Car Ramrod shit. He’d also set you on fire.
Jeff between your gambling ring friends and the people on this site, I’m starting to worry about you hanging around with some pretty shady characters.
Eggszaktly. Especially when he has people like Vic Rojos and ME on his speed dial. 🤣
https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/los-angeles-angels-2023-top-30-prospects
For your reading pleasure, here’s what one website thinks of our top farm guys. Sounds upbeat.
Good find, positive POV for a change.
Interesting that they rate Silseth so high. The MLB trade simulator certainly doesn’t.
But its encouraging how quickly an organization can improve a beleaguered farm system when you have a GM who actually views this as a priority.
Kudos to the Pillsbury Platypus.
Silseth is going to turn into a Claude Osteen type pitcher, I think. 4 pitches to bite the corners with good control.
He reminds me of an Aaron Sele type of pitcher. Nibbles on the edges
CJ v 2.0?
This means we have more real depth in the rotation?
Ohtani, Anderson, Sandoval, Detmers, Suarez, then Silseth and Barria. Then hope for the rebirth of Canning or Chris Rodriguez or Bachman/Bush sticking in the rotation.
Are we one SP away from ok?
I think C-Rod is done in the rotation and has WAAAAY more value as a RP. Plus C-Rod is close to K-Rod so that logic works right?!
Just as long as we have our quota of Rodriguii.
Agreed. I like C Rod as a multi inning guy. Suarez is good for about 5 innings. Let Rodriguez take the next 2 to 3 innings and save some of the middle relief guys.
Do that twice per week. Over the course of the year, it adds up.
And Osteen also had a nice motorcycle park on the 60’s and 70’s
Joel Osteen has a special message just for you. All you have to is call a 1 800 number and probably support his poor poor ministry. It’s tough when your church can only afford one NBA stadium to meet in.
In going over the sim’s ratings vs. the actual trades it seems it under values prospects in general.
That said, the Angels top prospects have 50 grades on the 20-80 scale so it isn’t like any of them are thought of all that highly here.
I do like the farm a bit better than most, but I’m assuming payroll will remain high or increase. If we “only” get three cost controlled bullpen arms from the Pandas, that saves us the Loup/Tepera/Free agent contracts and allows $15-$20 million to be spent on an impact player elsewhere.
At this point in time, I still like spending on Swanson as a SS for us. We have 3 up and coming SS in the minors, but to gamble that they are MLer’s or that we have quality SS on the big-league squad is too much a gamble, not just for now, but for years to come. I’m hopeful that Soto or Neto can come through and realistic that Correa and Turner have no interest in SoCal, Swanson is a strectch on the budget, but still doable if Arte is still trying to win.
See, the way the sims work is if you over value your favorite MLB player then it extreme overvalues prospects but if you like prospects other than prospects that are consensus top 50 then it underrates them. But the most important factor is what I am arguing for and how much I need to be right. That is what generally determines prospect value on the sims.
The sims don’t use any math at all.
Pillsbury Platypus….. gold
Thanks
Is it just me or does it look like the Angels are going to have something of depth in a couple of years?
50’s does not mean can’t miss. Angels need 60’s. For this reason, Angles farm is bottom third in MLB. Out of this list, I like Silseth as the one to make dent in this organization. I’m “hopeful” for the rest.
Silseth has a Looooong way to go to be a positive contributor to any MLB team. You take out that stellar debut in Oakland and he was 0-3 8.64 ERA 1.89 WHIP 2.84 HR/9 and a 1.019 OPS against in his last 6 MLB appearances.
The Only saving grace is that these numbers are very similar to Detmers’ brief debut in 2021.
Silseth was drafted because he had experience both starting and relieving. I think he deserves another year as a starter in the minors but if he’s not pushing his way up to MLB level after that, he can be a good reliever.
Sadly, that last line also applies to Bachman and Bush, which is why the farm is rated so low.
By no means is Silseth a lock as a starter, I just think his path is more suited as a starter. Bush and Bachman are classic short-inning types.
Silseth had real good numbers in the minors, was not a nibbler that some alude to. He was pressed into MLB duty early, got hit around, lost some command and went back to the minors to dominiate, again. As far as starters go, he ranks the best out of the 20 FA draft to have a chance to make it into the rotation.
I actually really like the idea, the old school idea I might add, of letting a young pitcher with potential come up to the MLB and get his face punched. Then you send him to the minors with an idea of what he is working towards. Sure, don’t do this if you are in a tight pennant race, but otherwise it can’t hurt as long as said youngster knows it’s OK if he has problems in these starts, it’s a stress test.
I also like that strategy. It is one thing for a coach to tell you what the next level is like, another to experience it.
I also like letting a guy come up as a reliever for a couple of months. Not only to face MLB hitting but also to get used to the locker room, the travel, all the things that go along with being in the bigs.
This just in:
I’ve checked in on Bogaerts & Turner for SS.
Okay, then I’ll take Swanson and Correa.
 😆 
Next up, Winter Meetings. What will Arte allow to happen? Right now, the needle has not moved much on the forecast attendance meter, so there is still hope for surprises just yet.
Bringing Renfroe to SoCal was a great move imho, his cannon arm will be a huge plus, like when we had Kole’s Kannon. With Ward in LF our outfield “D” will be really good.
With the Dodgers coming back to earth by losing so many good to great players, our chances are good at winning more than they do with a couple of good deals. 🙂 
Being that I am a fan for all our teams in SoCal, how about those USC Trojans, could be a huge surprise after next weekend. Surprising College Football upsets this weekend too.
Who would have thunk that the Chargers would have such a better record than the Lambs, Opp’s, I mean Rams 😂 . We watched so much football this weekend that I don’t remember when the last time we did this. It was fun though.
I am glad we took a serious step on addressing the offensive pit that has been the Halos’ LF for around almost a decade.
Not if we trade Ward.
You are reading too much IIWPTP. Adell or Ward in LF?
You are right Grandpa. Thank God its not reality
As long as we also trade for someone to replace him then its ok. Adell needs to be in AAA
You’re not going to sign a free agent or find anyone in a trade that will come close to replacing Blake’s bat without paying out bookoo bucks and/or prospect capital.
Good with those guys starting but Ward and Renfro don’t scream “really good” defense to me. Both are average atheltes and won’t cover too much ground. Let’s just say, capable.
I think capable to describe their defense would be a very charitable adjective for those two.
I’m very charitable this time of the year 🎅 
Definitely walking on egg shells when used the term “capable.” Ward in LF is unproven and still looks like a guy who does not want the ball hit to him.
What are you seeing and where? While his playing time in LF was limited, he was a decent RF’er and above average arm in right. He never dogged out in the grass and left his feet to make the plays. As a former catcher, his speed is average, his jump on a batted ball is very good compared to the fact that his has limited experience.
BB-ref has his defense in left field as negative. His routes aren’t naturally great and it took him a while to become competent in RF, so one can hope that with experience he can get up to competent in LF.
Hes fast and has a great first step, but unfortunately Blake’s first step is typically in the wrong direction
That is worse than Taylor’s first step I will grant you.
one thing I find interesting, if a bit sad, is that in my younger days, playing leftfield, I could read the ball off the bat. As soon as it was hit I knew where to go and how hard I had to go to get there. Somewhere along the line I lost that ability. I wonder if it has anything to do with vision.
I remember reading that Ted Williams had 20/10 eyesight. I’d be curious to know if that mattered in his fielding. In any case, for me now, restricted to softball, there’s always a hesitation, a slower reaction while I figure out where the ball’s going. I don’t know if that has anything to do with Ward’s or Adell’s first steps but since it matters to me I’m leaning towards that explanation. Their eyeballs aren’t good enough.
I went duck hunting a few weeks ago. Got a goose and the guide told me to run as it was falling. I knew it was going to drop five feet in front of me. Left field skills.
He is more comfortable in RF as we saw. But he may show us more in LF after some PT. But not much to grade him on in LF.
Agree,my eyes tell me his ball off the bat reads are not good. He looks like a guy learning to play the position (which he really is). They are better than Adele’s but that is not saying much.
if Thaiss isn’t dfa’d this spring that will mean will have only 4 catchers on our MLB roster in 2023 with only one that I would trust behind the plate (or any where else in the field for that matter)
Scioscia love for catchers lives on…. it’s in our DNA
I have a feeling Thaiss is traded. Not for much, but traded.
A club like the Pirates could give him a roster spot and let him move around a bit. If they can undo the Angels swing teaks and turn him into a good player.
They won’t offer much for Thaiss, but it will be more than if they claim him on waivers.
I wonder if they wait as long as possible this spring to look for suitors. Maybe someone get’s hurt in ST games and they try to get some value for him with a team that all of a sudden has a need.
Otherwise I just don’t see him passing through waivers to get back to AAA. I think that’s why Wallach was signed to replace him at AAA.
This is just my own completely groundless personal bugaboo, but how friggin many OF do we see go from average to bad, or solid to “bad first step” or “bad routs”? Even Trout kinda sucks now. J Up went from meh to horrid. Do you guys realize that Adell was a good CF in the minors? Crazytalk. I have even seen outfielders on other teams that I know are good also come play at the Big A and look bad.
Ever since they changed out the stadium lights a few years ago it seems like a lot of outfielders have problems. I swear to gah I think they are an issue. I think extremely good OF are OK but average outfielders become “bad first step” guys and flawed OFers are doomed at the big strobe, I mean big A.
Here’s the thing…. we keep assuming Renfroe goes to RF because ARM. The thing is, Ward became a solid RF by the end of the season. He also has a strong arm, it’s not Hunters cannon, but it’s strong. Renfroe’s played in LF before. Guys with very strong arms have played LF before. If it’s gonna jam Ward up moving him, they don’t have to.
Its more than an assumption. its actually came straight out of the Platypus’ mouth:
Yeah, I know. All I’m saying is that this isn’t the Koran (blessings be upon it). If they get to Tempe and Ward’s flopping around like a baby deer out there in left it’s not that big a deal to flip them. They can totally do that.
We can disagree here, but both have very good arms and that stops the taking of extra bases. “Average player’s” don’t hit the HR totals of Renfroe. While Ward is not the best hitter, for us in LF he is very good, as we don’t have but below average LF’ers usually.
Average athletes who can cover ground. Not talking about their ability to put the ball over the wall.
Yes. That outfield is defensively solid. Not the 2007 Braves.
Just sent in my wish list to the North Pole with an assist from a 10-year-old, an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old, all Grandson’s and all cousins. It included a new Toyota Tacoma, a new Swanson shortstop, a new Vasquez catcher, and the Angels making the World Series. If the Big Guy has his “Red On” I might get some of what I asked for with the boys. Lots of fun stuff over the long Holidays.

If O’Hoppe is in the conversation for rookie of the year, that would really help the Angels. It would take away another hole in the lineup. They just did that too with Renfroe and Urshela (the latter via depth). Right now offensively until injuries, there are no holes. The only questions are Rengifo and/or whomever takes over as the other utility guy playing SS sometimes plus the fourth OF.
The rest is pitching, including the bullpen.
Still need a Short Stop
No we don’t, we got Maitan coming up, am I right or what?
Maitan has feet made of concrete. Unfortunately that last burrito did him in.
Since Milwaukee seems to be in the mood to trade valuable players for junk, how about Wiily Adames, who might be more conforming to Arturo’s budgetary constraints?
I would love that move. Adames would be a great alternative to the high priced FA’s. He’s a second tier guy with good pop in his bat.
My feeling is stay away from the high ticket shortstops out there; namely Trea Turner and Correa. Just say no.
Any big money going out now should be for pitching.
Adames seems to be recently popular in the trading circles. However, MLB trade simulator puts his surplus trade value at 41.3. Since I’ve been assured by many here that all 30 teams use this system to value trade components , it would take a crap load of our fledging farm talent and young MLB talent to acquire him. And Adames is Arb 2 so he’s probably going to get about a $9.2 Million salary for 2023.
I would think if Arte really did authorize that additional amount of salary for 2023 there are cheaper options (and less overall talent) that can be acquired for less draft capital but still provide stability at the position and may allow us to fill other needs at other positions ( Backup CF, 6th starter & back end bullpen help)
Please show me a quote where anyone told you that MLB teams use the actual trade sim website. Not that they use a system similar to what the trade sim site uses, but the sim site.
I want to see if you poop this offending quote out faster than Tootie Too poops out his IIWPM.
Or hell, just show us a bunch of the trades where the sim site was wildly off on a trade value. Again, not just a couple trades. And not just 3 points of value. If the sim’s worth all this complaining there’s got to be so so many examples of how it doesn’t represent what FOs actually do.
Thanks. Can’t wait to see it.
Please show me the quote where I alleged such an egregious offense?
Are you referring to this?
I though this was a blatant attempt at sarcasm that apparently flew right over your oversize cranium. If you had read all of my previous posts I think this would be obvious to you. Here’s one: https://crashingthepearlygates.com/2022/11/18/angels-acquire-gio-urshela/#comment-212077 This was a reply to one of your posts on the Gio acquisition thread from 10 days ago where it appears you were championing the MLB trade simulator as a closer methodology (a simular simulator?) to what teams actually utilize to determine trade value.
Boy Gitcho It sure sounds like there’s an internal conflict going on between Mr Gritch and Mr Pettis. I always wondered if they really got along.
Yes. I truly fell into the chasm of sar. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
plop.
Adames would be a godsend but also cost what little farm we’ve built up.
Rosario is in his last year in Cleveland and could be had for less, but is a lesser player.
Perhaps Miami is willing to move Rojas.
Or Wendle. as a LHB, His splits would blend well in a platoon with a RH Rengifo (with fletcher moving to SS for those games)
Yes, I still have my Wendle trade crush.
Let’s just get both. I want to field a team that is just Trout, a catcher, a pitcher, and six guys who can at least survive a few games at SS at least once this year.
The reality is you need to build a team that can withstand multiple injuries and still be competitive.
Rendon, Urshela, Wendle, Fletcher, Rengifo, Walsh with Soto in AAA is such a team. Alas, we will have Squid instead of Wendle.
Ward, Trout, Renfroe with Adell and Moniak behind them is not.
I’m working on a piece now, but the 2023 team looks a lot like every other team we’ve rolled out in the last decade.
I’m only half kidding. Give me a team with six dudes who can kind of handle shortstop and hit for a .700 OPS.