International signing season kicks off on January 15, 2023.
Trades
The Dodgers acquired shortstop Miguel Rojas from the Marlins in exchange for infielder Jacob Amaya. The Orioles acquired Darwinzon Hernandez from the Red Sox for cash considerations.
Free Agents
The Padres hired Nelson Cruz to a one year deal worth $1 Million. Carlos Correa passed his physical. Right hander Shintaro Fujinami signed a one year deal with the Athletics. Brandon Belt, for his part, got a one year deal with the Blue Jays.
Craig Stammen got a minor league deal with the Padres while Greg Allen got his minor league deal with the Red Sox. Hanser Alberto got his minor league deal with the White Sox. Jay Jackson got his with the Blue Jays.
DFAs
The Diamondbacks designated J.B. Bukauskas for assignment.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Hilarious semi-quote, “…Bauer won’t play for any MLB on this planet” LOL, too much faith in mankind my erring friend.
So when is MLB’s interstellar expansion scheduled for?
Whoever wrote/said that forgets we share a planet with Deshaun Watson.
Woah
https://twitter.com/mlbonfox/status/1613707361696514048?s=46&t=3iqnsbqi9L7-phFS0f6xiw
That’s huge!
Really not sure how I feel about it tbh.
I agree. But it’s big news
How is a machine going to throw out a manager or player arguing balls & strikes? Did they work that part out?
Yes, the process has been established: managers and players will discuss it with the new addition to the New York offices of MLB:
It is indeed.
I sure hope they don’t have that annoying beeping noise they have in tennis
I was all for it because bad umpiring is frustrating. But the more I think on it the less I like it. MLB is fixing one problem (poor performance of a minority of umps) by eliminating part of the drama and strategy of the game. This seems like a poor trade-off and is a significant enough change to have unintended consequences.
I think we’ll be fine at SS. The Squid’s numbers were more than acceptable after he ditched switch hitting towards the end of the year. With his defense, even if he can hit .225 with some pop, I’d keep him in the lineup most of the time. Soto played so well he has to be given a good shot. (Granted, his numbers likely aren’t sustainable at this point). Neto is in the wings. Fletcher and/or Rengifo are stop gaps if Squid can’t hit and until one of the kids are ready.
I’d prefer spending on another starter, although the pickings are getting slim.
Since we picked up another OF’er, here’s another idea: Ward for Hoerner. (We pay about 3 points extra for the Hoerner clubhouse value on the simulator- as he’s considered one of the best in the league there.) The Cubs can move in Madrigal to 2B.
Do that, then sign Adam Duvall maybe? I mean, do you want to have a SS but no LF cause the new guy’s not gonna start.
Interesting. What about Kirilloff for Adell and Quero? (A gamble with the wrist, but big upside and will probably be an even WAR at mediocre. I know we were very high on him when he was drafted. Rumor was we thought we had him.) Minnesota has an outfielder or two to move.
Why not do a Perry Minasian piece? The queue is still open for those things and, for the time being, the links are mostly about dudes getting minor league filler contracts.
Do I get any money to play with? LOL
Thats a good question as obviously last years budget was blown by months ago.
Maybe right up to the CBT threshold which we’re about $12.2 million below right now.
No money and I’m taking Bauer. LOL
Go to the threshold and have fun. We’d seriously appreciate the content and I’m sure a discussion on what should be the final touches for 2023 would ensue.
Rather have Adell than Kirilloff.
You like Squid too. LOL 😉
Squid’s delicious. Krill has the same problems as Adell at the MLB level but Adell’s got monster dingerz potential and I dig the ladies.
I don’t consider Phillips to be a real outfielder.
But he and Shohei are so alike.
I dont know about that. I think Phillips has a better eephus pitch
Ah, but have we seen Shohei try an eephus pitch? I bet it is amazing.
ok, we won’t sign Bauer but I’m not clear on the procedure. Now that Bauer has been released is there an order for teams to claim him? Or can any team sign him whenever there’s an agreement?
Free agent. He’ll get the league minimum from a new team if they sign him and the Dodger’s will pay the rest.
If the Angels sign him (Bleh) does it make up for us paying Pujols to play for them?
Nice take.
Genuine laugh out loud.
Yes. That would make the baseball universe level.
I kinda low key wanted Hanser Alberto.
He’s a great rebound candidate on a minors deal.
From what I understand, guys like him sign minors deals where they think they have the best chance of getting promoted. Makes me wonder if Perry pursued him or not.
I just don’t know how much off brand we can fit on the roster. He’s defensively better than all our options at short and I actually think he’ll hit like “normal” Fletcher but he can’t hit like Urshela/Rengifo/Drury likely will. There’s also the outside chance gods may shine on Squid, and him with a .625 OPS is about the same as Hanser….
I feel like there is a better chance that Soto’s bat was real than Velasquez becomes league average at the plate.
plus his name ends with an O
Isn’t he one of the three tenors?
I’m thinking… the gap in contract offering to Correa is a signal of the difference between the haves and have nots (or spends and spends nots?). He went from $360 million to $200 in order to get to a small market team.
And magically passed his physical.
I wonder if the demands regarding a physical from an insurance company are more stringent for 360M vs 200M?
They are definitely different depending on contract value.
I just wonder if 200M is some sort of formulary cut off for insuring a contract with a player that has a plate in his leg.
I’d bet heavily. And also on the years.
As of now, they are insuring that ankle until the age of 34. Mets were shooting for age 43.
Maybe the Twins have a higher deductible.
i mean, half the years helps too
At $200 for six years, I’m not sure if it’s a bad signing. Of course, if the Angels had signed him, he would immediately go Wells/Pujols/Hamilton/Rendon. Did I forget anyone?
Trout.
I’m not ready to go there yet with the GOAT. 46 HR’s?
By modern standards, looks pretty solid
At $8 million per WAR, which is probably a bit low, he needs to put up 25 WAR over six years, or about 4 WAR per year.
He put up 5.4 per BB-Ref and 4.4 per FanGraphs last year.
and all in eleven games!
How many trash cans is that?
Mo Vaughn
Good morning my friends. 😀 For those of us in SoCal it will be a beautiful day, sunny and bright, like the Angels roster looks on April 1st. It’s anybody’s guess what the opening day line up looks like this year as there are so many possibilities, such as who is on second, no he’s on first, Who’s on first, that’s right,……. 😵
There’s more than a good chance Walsh does not see a lot of LHP this season, which is good. My guess is we will see 8 different player’s show up at position #6 (SS) in ’23. Fletcher (I still insist is not a SS really), Renny (Iron Glove, but could be the next Chone Figgins), Neto, Soto and a lot of others too. 2b should go to Fletcher as he has by far the best glove, but his need is at SS, so that leaves who ever starts out of ST the hottest. 3b is unknown as we really are in the dark about where Rendon is health wise. We know that whoever is hot and healthy will be behind the plate, Stassi or O’Hoppe. Outfield barring injury is set.
Canning to me is just an extra piece with no real place to be put. I hope that Ohtani says yes to a 5-man rotation of Himself, Anderson, Sandy, Det’s, Suarez, and we will be good to go. So, if we are a 6-man rotation, cross your fingers and insert a name, hope for 5 a good five but be prepared for the nosedive.
A Closer! A Closer! here we are about ready to open camp in February and you want to talk about a Closer! 😆 We will see 27 different pitchers come and go, mostly go, on the mound this season. Names we mostly know, but a lot we ask who’s that, one of you will look up the name to find out that the new guy has 25 ML innings pitched and type it in as you know about the new guy. But nobody really knows shyt about him.
Have a fun day, stay safe, and Oh! Don’t forget the inner tube and sandbags, more pineapple express on the way. 😫
Estevez was signed to be the closer. Herget is next in line.
We used ‘only’ 5 SS in 2022 so saying we will use 8 is pretty pessimistic.
Fletch and Rengifo belong at 2b.
At SS my prediction- Squid Soto and Elvis
And Neto.
💩 😭 😠 💩
What ever happened to Arol Vera as our SS of the future?
Another Angel’s top prospect who washed out just like USC QB’s in the NFL……Hi Sam Darnold!!! We should trade all our damm prospects just like the Rams and Lakers do……You Grandpa are old enough to remember the late Ram’s former coach George Allen and what he thought about rookies. Trade Sam Bachman right now before he turns into Kevin Jepsen 2.0 on us. Sorry 80%ers but our crap track record says to trade before the big sell off happens.
Here goes another batch of flexing muscles by me…….. 💪 💪 💪 💪
BYE!!!
Speaking of what ever happened…. where’s that IIWPM of yours? You know, the one where you show us all you’re not a total clown nose?
Can’t wait to see it!
Well, he is 20 years old and in A+ ball. He is a year younger than Neto, so even if he is our SS of the future, that is a few years away. (He is our #5 overall prospect, on Fangraphs Roster Resource)
So…. you’re saying total failure? Ohviously.
Why wait till a prospect fails after 100 sporadic MLB at bats to declare him washed up? Our crapfan JuJu is so strong we can discover failure in the youngest of prospects.
Hopefully you don’t shart yourself when you’re flexing those peanut size biceps Toots. BTW even though Jepsen had a fairly good career for as a setup, Sam Bachman would beg to differ on that comparison. https://twitter.com/PRPBaseball101/status/1611914276125691904
He has large, stallion like haunches.
8th inning we throw Herget’s chicken talons..9th inning, throw Sam’s stallion haunches.
We still need a SS
Trade him Perry and deliver for once……
So trade for Willie Adames then if he’s that good…..
Because guess what, we really really really need one real bad!!!
4.4 WAR 31 Hr’s and 98RBI’s……..he’s already hit more hr’s in one season than 10 David Fletchers combined.. Too bad were the M*reno Angels and can’t develop our own….. 😡 😡 💩 💩 😢 😢
This idea. Will it be in that IIWPM that we are all waiting to see?
We have one his name is Zach Neto
It sounds like the Angels are good with their roster heading into Spring Training. Barring anything unexpected, it looks like further moves will require a midseason trade or a late March deal. I’m not opining whether I agree or not with their prior moves. Just stating that’s how things seem via the Angels and their mindset. Any disagreement?
Well, it was less than two weeks ago that he put out a statement saying they weren’t done and could still add to the pitching staff.
Still holding out that we pick up one more starter.
Yes Please…what you said!!
We just suck right now……
I will always welcome MOAR PIDGEONS!
I think there is a small chance that Wacha’s price tag falls enough where he becomes worht it, but Perry knows more about Canning and CROD than we do. I wonder if he thinks one or both could contrubute this year. If that is the case, then yes I think we are done for the offseason.
Personally, I love our floor and depth. Jeff’s piece yesterday really shows that we are equipped to handle the grind that of the season this year. The big three (Ohtani, Trout, Rendon) need to stay on the field as much as possible. If that happens, I think this team can contend.
They also will have pieces to deal at the deadline to make a push if they need.
I largely agree, but I’m on the fence how much our upgrades were “quantity” verses “quality”.
Short of spending much more money, I believe PTP did a good job this offseason.
I’m stoked that the only “Big Splash” was a 13M a year starter.
I agree. The Angels need depth and hopefully consistency from the big contracts.
He got nobody of note.
Not even Tyler(Bruce Kison) Anderson does it. The only thing this organization has is to hope for, is that Reid Detmers has a big breakout year like Kyle Wright, Julio Urias, and Framber Valdez in recent years.
Toots your player analogies are so horrendously bad I think you suffer from Baseball Tourette’s.
Thanks. We have a little position player depth now.
I’ll do one on bullpen additions soon.
The practical side of me thinks we’re done.
But then I remember Perry bringing in Tepera and Bradley after camp opened last year. Granted last off season was crazy, but still it showed he wasn’t really done.
He said in the Fall we needed a SS and I definitely think he will get one.
He hasn’t signed one yet.
Elvis is next up.
You should change your handle to Desperate for Elvis.
If we honestly think the difference between good/bad team is getting Elvis Andrus we’re clenching our needfist a little too tight. If we get him cheap, what ever, fine. If we don’t get him, also fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUavFsfbFv8
Oct: Perry says we need to get a SS – it’s a hole
Nov: Desperate for Trea
Dec: Desperate for Correa
Jan: Desperate for Elvis
Feb: let’s roll with Squid
Apr: Call up Soto!
Jun: Call up Neto!
Oct: Perry says we need a SS – it’s a hole
Slight modification….
Oct: Perry says we need to get a SS – it’s a hole
Nov: Desperate for Trea
Dec: Desperate for Correa
Jan: Desperate for Elvis
Feb: let’s roll with Squid
Apr: Call up Soto!
Jun: Call up Neto!
Oct: Perry’s replacement says we need a SS – it’s a hole
This looks like a list of what’s happening in your head, minus a desperate for Dansby and a desperate for Bogarts entry, more than what’s actually happened.
Really what we know is….
Oct: Perry says we need to get a SS – it’s a hole
Nov- Feb: Rex fixates while we have no idea who the FO approached, but the Big 4 were a stupid idea so we skipped them, while lesser options did not choose to sign with us.
Nov-Nov: Frantic CtPG guy keeps hallucinating comments where people are happy about just playing Squid because do stuff and must win champiham sandwich.
Jan: Rex is desperate enough to sign Andrus.
Feb: Rex starts demanding a Marcus Semien trade because do stuff.
March: We still have no real clue what the FO has and hasn’t looked into.
July: Some twat on CtPG demands more transparency than any FO will ever give him.
In reality I give it 70/30 we go into the season with what we have. PTP can’t force any trades to happen any more than he can force a free agent to sign here. So we see what making do can do for us and look for a midseason trade if we need it.
Jonathan Villar still sucks.
Gitcho – just curious- why have you decided to be the snarky police of any post that expresses an opinion that may not jive with yours? Now I can understand if it’s TT but Rex is solid. He’s got an opinion and he is stating it. Why be so snarky and sarcastic?
Ha! It’s a feedback loop!
Oh, I used to be disgusted
And now I try to be amused
But since their wings have got rusted
You know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes
Red Sox need Elvis more than the Angels.
Agreed. Perry did far more than I thought he would. And if Eckstein could play SS season after season, Fletcher can, too!
you sound like some kind of Fletcher/Eckstein fan…
I disagree, simply because Perry said they are not done with the roster
According to Perry, this maybe fake news. https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1612899551794561024