The Angels acquired Guillermo Zuniga from the Cardinals for cash and designated Austin Warren for assignment.
The Minnesota Twins claimed Zack Weiss off waivers from the Red Sox and designated three players for assignment. The Marlins claimed Declan Cronin off waivers from the Astros. Infielder/outfielder Dalton Guthrie got a minor league deal with the Red Sox.
Jim Crane challenged the baseball gods. “The window will always be open.” Meanwhile the Angels Window might be closing (LOL!)
This article is about a trend toward on base percentage rather than power among first basemen. Nolan Schanuel got a mention.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
So I’m holding out hope that the Angels have a deal in place with Gio but cant announce until next week when they can put Quesadilla on the 60 day IL instead of having to DFA another player off of the 40 man.
This is why the Doyers waited until today to announce the Brasier signing since their spring training starts a week earlier due to their early season opener in Korea
Yeah, I was wondering that too.
That, and I was almost expecting a trade after the arb was done with Ward.
Warren seems like a guy who’ll pitch to a two ERA with the Rays or Stros.
Well probably not this year.
Warren released.
Not sure I understand this couldn’t they have just sent outright him to minors?
Quoted from MLBTR:
Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers. Once the Halos DFA the right-hander, they had to either trade or release him.
Thanks 2GA . That makes sense since everyone would be trying to send injured minor leaguers on the 40 man through waivers. I guess You learn something new everyday.
So assuming that we still pick up a couple of free agents who are the next DFA candidates?
Stefanic?
Herget?
Suarez?
Since there’s no depth left into position players, It seems to me after that we start cutting into the bone and the what little pitching depth Perry has tried to build.
One thing I am mildly optimistic about is the fact that for years we’ve had the jersey sellers without the complementary players needed to surround them, and now it looks like we may have the complementary players without the jersey sellers. After this year, when we know what we have, if were lucky, we may only need to add a couple of jersey sellers to become a good team. We’ll just have to ignore Rendon’s contract in 25 and 26.
Very well articulated point Hobbs. I am will fully and willingly huffing high grade Hopium.
I think we are gonna be disappointed if we expect all the young guys to turn into everyday players.
I’m hopeful for all of them, but I think they can all be exposed mighty easily.
If 2-3 of them become everyday MLB’ers long term that’ll be a win.
Nothing ever plays out the way you envision it will in February.
A whole bunch of players on our roster don’t belong in the big leagues.
That’s why they play for the Angels!
Actually, they’re already all everyday players. I am specifically referring to O’Hoppe, Neto, Schanuel, and Moniak. I am very confident that O’Hoppe will be an everyday catcher for years to come. I am also reasonably confident that Neto will be the regular SS as well. Moniak could literally go either way but worst case is he’s a 4th OF. Schanuel is the only one who because he has such a limited sample size, is at risk to not turn out. How good they will be is unknown so as long as your not counting on them to be the stars, I believe the risk is low. I think they’re all 2 win players and not negative WAR players like in the past. The more serious concern is that after this year the Angels need to find an everyday 2B, and 3B.
I specifically said long term for that reason.
The league has a book on all these guys now, let’s see how they adjust to each other.
Love the optimism even if I can’t find it in me much anymore.
No need for Bauer – we just signed Hans Crouse.
Did we? Oh Hell yeah!?
WTH is that?
Local Boy. Dana Point HS. 2nd Round Draft pick of the Rangers.
Here’s what Angels fans will be saying after he gives up those moon balls at the Big A sometime this summer. (2024)
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/08ee618e-b16d-4648-a9a1-2ae1e326acb6
And when Perry releases him.
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/341f3c1f-5990-4960-829f-507868092fd9
For those who said, WHO? Just like me!!
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/crousha01.shtml
https://www.mlb.com/video/top-prospecst-hans-crouse
He was the villain in the Christmas movie “Die Hard”
He, along with his sister Gretel, also burned some poor innocent arthritic old widow to death in her own oven in her very festive and colorful house in Germany, which she made expressly to impress and draw children to, many years ago.
I betcha I know what Perry said when he called him.
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/91cc4deb-fb13-4dd1-a7bb-de5d5d921daa
Beautiful
Yippee Ki‐Yay
Good morning, addressing the latest rumor-the Angels are talking to Martinez, no not Pedro but J.D. Looking for a bat to back Trout.
Good news-the Angels through Zip Projections are only the sixth worst W-L record for the 2024 season and not last 😃
While being a Trevor Bauer fan per say, I do believe that he has gotten the shaft for a whole host of reasons.
I have been and still am a fan of Perry Minasian. The guy is a very good GM in an impossible situation working for a man who after 20 years of guiding his GM’s still knows nothing about what he is doing. Don’t judge PTP to harshly, it was Arte’s belief that Shohei would stay an Angel, Arte who wanted Redone, Arte who hired the management of the team (Pres., VP’s etc.) Arte who does not like scouting, development, the minor leagues, and so on. Arte does not respect anyone because he wants the final word on everything and to do that he hires “Yes” men.
When will Arte OK bringing Gio back?
Plows just passed by leaving behind a four foot berm, wet, heavy snow and snow blowers will not work in this stuff,,,, 😕
Stay dry, stay safe, and have fun today.
The Orioles are loading up on infielders while we’re loading up on relief pitchers
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/orioles-claim-livan-soto-from-angels.html
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/orioles-acquire-nick-maton.html
Man they are going to be good at the positions for a while. Holliday will be up within a month. Rutschman, Mountcastle, Urias, Henderson and Holliday. Hays, Mullins, Santander, Kjerstad, O’hearn. The infield could be scary good. Wow.
I’ll admit I’m bummed we lost Soto. We don’t exactly have a lot of depth at SS. It will be interesting to see if he ends up getting better and having a good role in Baltimore.
Agreed. Losing Soto to add a guy who will be lucky to last one full MLB season on the club is just bad resource management.
This move makes me think that Holliday may be up on opening day. They need a body. He’ll get his AAA reps and be trade bait if he hits. Has zero chance to make their MLB roster without multiple injuries.
I would be shocked if he’s not
There are some damn good SS’s right now. It’s crazy. That team will have three of them that could all start for a lot of teams.
Well, if he doesn’t hit, we can claim him on the way back down from the O’s….
Mic drop.
Me too on losing Soto. Not a whole lot of major league ready middle infielders.
TrAdition
It seems like there were other options before Soto. Such a shame, I was hoping we could keep him.
Baldoquin
Maitan
Woods
Fletcher
I am not sure what this is meant to mean. We didn’t get any value, so why not keep a 22-year old who has hit in the majors (some) if we can. He doesn’t even have the hype of any of them. We picked him up from that Braves scandal years ago on a minor league deal.
OBA is very important as 27 outs is the only limiting factor in baseball as opposed to a clock like in other sports. Even after Bill James, analytics, and money ball, I believe it’s importance is still under appreciated. But slugging percentage is also very important and either one in the complete absence of the other is not good. Schanuel hit .275 last year with a .402 OBA which is awesome. But he didn’t just slug below .450, low 400s, or even below .400. He was down at .330 which is almost nonexistent and very difficult to do even if you were trying. Even if he was 100 points higher at .430, he would still be slugging like a good middle IF. But .430 would be a good start.
Yeah, that’s why I’m still not so sure about him. Many people have declared him as “part of the new young core of the future” but I think a player isn’t “core” until he is proven to be a solid major leaguer. I sure hope it works out for the young guy, he has a lot of talent.
To be fair, he essentially went straight from college to the bigs and probably would have been in the minors this year with a 2025 rookie year under normal circumstances. He’s learning on the job, as is Neto.
Schanuel really seems to be something special. His confidence in the box is far beyond his years of experience. I believe he will drive the ball for more power eventually, but he doesn’t need to be a 30-40 HR threat if he can hover around .300 and hit the occasional and situational long ball.
I don’t disagree, and he, O’Hoppie, and Neto are 3 guys that I expect to grow a lot this year.
He’s had a whopping 109 Major league at bats. He’s proven nothing thus far.
And not many minor league ABs either.
I do appreciate the fact that he has stated that he is making a concerted effort to only swing at strikes. There are others on this team who could benefit from a similar approach. Granted it doesn’t say anything about his ability.
Exactly. how dare us even think about him as our regular first baseman .
Okay start him or don’t – who cares. I just think it might be a bit early for his coronation as a “really special player”. However, if you believe it’s time to recognize and reward his specialness, please proceed.
I’m hoping that he becomes Tony Gwen or Wade Boggs esque as a hitter.
I don’t think you can fairly judge a Schanuel slugging based on last years results. He transitioned from an aluminum bat to a wood one in the majors. I’m interest to see if his exit speeds jump based on on offseason of training with the maple (or pine)
While slugging the ball for HR & 2b is going to get bigger results in SLG% the OBP% is most important. Guys that can get 200+ hits and 40-50 walks can help just as much even though they are not pwr hitters. Having a well-balanced line up is going to keep teams in the game. What is forgotten is timely hitting that moves runners and scores runs. But it all starts with getting on base, this idea of get a strikeout does not hurt is crazy stupid, and having a HR or BB is a great thing is what causes cheating. One of the greatest hitters ever was Pete Rose, not the HR type at all really, but he stretched singles into doubles and doulbes into triples by being aggressive. He would never talk to opposing players before or during or even after a game as he was all about getting on base no mater what.
You need a mix of both. If Trout is back to being Trout, getting on base in front of him is your most critical job.
It looked to me like Schanuel has much more of a “don’t make an out” mentality than one of driving the ball. However, as he masters the zone I think he can start swinging with more authority in favorable counts and the slugging will go up some.
He was recently on AM 830 talking about making his swing more explosive this off season.
If he can balance throwing his hands through the zone and making good contact (Sounds so easy) then he’s gonna rake.
“Throwing his hands through the zone”, I love that. You sound just like Gubie! 🙂
Totally agree about needing a mix. Our inability to hit with RISP pretty much sunk the offense last year no matter how many LOBsters there were. .
Relative to ShamWow, I would think with his lack of speed (lreducing the amount of infield hit opportunities) and power (outfield will cheat in just like they did with Fletch) maintaining a high OBP even with his exceptional skills will become even that much harder
Contract offer made to Gio.
https://www.si.com/mlb/angels/news/angels-notes-halos-make-trade-offer-contract-to-versatile-free-agent-remain-linked-to-all-star-dh-eg2001
Unless the prices change drastically, I think the Halos are done for 2024 offseason and get ready for camp. This is going to be a very bif trade deadline for us as Perry should have a good idea of what the core is moving forward and what we are going to need to bring in during the 25′ offseason.
This team has a ton of talent and could still be a good team, but yes I know my hopium is a lot right now and the stats say that we should be a .500 team. I still think its going to be a fun season to watch the younger players, and Trout is still the GOAT.
7 more days!
Okay, Arte listen up:
The Halos should come to an agreement with Bauer for $10M with incentives for 2024 and $20M with incentives for 2025.
THEN, sign Snell to a four to five year contract.
Get another flagpole ready for a WS flag people!!
MIC DROP!
Bauer has already said he would sign for the minimum with incentives
Yes, he SAID that, but this sweetens the pot and cheaply hooks him for two years.
Someone is going to have to sign him soon or he’ll end up successfully suing MLB for collusion as it will be painfully obvious.
Why would he have a case? Julio Arias hasn’t been charged with anything and no-one’s signing him.
if each Owner genuinely doesn’t want this Boy Scout on their team thats their prerogative.
it’s obvious now you’re just bitter about bauer engaging in consensual sex.
Well what can I say, You caught me. In fact Im still jealous Trevor didnt call me instead those
234however many floosies.lol like Kaepernick successfully sued the nfl? Oh wait..
I think of one big distinction between the two:
Kaepernick sucked at his job whereas Bauer is pretty good at his.
doesn’t matter in the situation of suing the league for being blackballed. Would make no difference in a court of law
Does the MLBPA have a grievance procedure that Bauer has to follow first?
He should do the Andre Dawson. Fill out a blank contract with blank incentives – take it to the team he wants to go to – and say – here you go – fill in the blanks.
I never made such a claim.
I was being sarcastic about the former QB.
I’m beginning to think he’s marked persona non grata in the clubhouse by the players.
What kind of case does he have if none of his peers want him around?
And based on the picture, in other Angels news, Arte got a new Mercedes.
Rex took that shot in 2016.
It looks like Arte is talking to Bengie Molina.
This was me back in 2016 when I walked Arte to his car after games. This picture brings back all the feels…..
Wait so Biggiswrth is really Bengie Molina ?
Who knew?
HAHAHAH, yep I’ve gained a few pounds!
It looks like Arte is talking to Bengie Molina about a list of complaints with the job Bengie did detailing his car……..no tip for you!
“Dirt behind the license plate!? Yep, begone Bengi!”
That’s just Arte’s “Going to the mailbox” vehicle.
Boom, Comment of the day
Zuniga signing = tell us how bad our pitcher drafts were without telling us how bad our pitcher drafts were (Or our pitching development)
Our pitching drafts have been shitty since 2009. So unless you think we should only draft pitchers that have an average velocity on their 4 seamer over 98 MPH , I’m not how this trade elucidates that fact.
Well Cowboy… (LOL)
its been a couple of years. 3 of those guys have been to the bigs, more than any other team. patience
Go back to the earlier one. Massive failure. Agree the other one is early – but quite a few college pitchers in that draft.
I know some people argue hard against this, but yet again, I’m willing to consider that some of this might not be Perry’s fault even so. We were approaching the end of the Ohtani era and Arte knew it, as well as perhaps his intent to sell. He might have told Perry “I don’t care who you want in the draft, you need to get us some cheap pitching that we can use in the next 2 years!”
We’ll never know.
I dont blame Perry at all. Billy & Jer Jer left us with virtually no pitching prospects in the system when Perry was hired in late 2020. (and in the 2020 draft we had a whopping 4 selections) Unless they were in complete rebuild mode ( which they have never been in) What was he do?
Silseth could be a genuine quality starting pitcher. Bachman is not done yet and could still be serviceable starting this year. Erla may make his ML debut this year. Even Costteiu could turn into a quality major leaguer. Not to mention Bush, Albright and Marceaux were so coveted by other teams that they were part of midseason trades last year and might ascend quickly in those new systems with different/better development .
The 2021 draft is far from a disaster but it will still take time to properly assess it.
Here it is from the horses mouth.
https://x.com/UDCincyFan/status/1755310084526076134?s=20
Looks like I had more money left for my IIWPM.
https://crashingthepearlygates.com/2023/12/04/what-i-would-do-if-iwptp/
So should we shed a tear. I could care less about that Jack Ass.
I’m trying to win. LOL
Just thought I would –
Gordon Ramsey says “Well done, Halos Fan For Life”
No. Gordon Ramsey would call him an f’in donut.
I always care about victims.
#TeamBauer.
The Japanese apparently are a much more forgiving people than some around here……
Or culturally much more accepting of that behavior?
He promised he wasn’t going to choke anymore women. I believe him. Go Halos.
I guess anyone that can throw hard tickles Perry’s fancy as to bullpen arms. He’s making decisions like the Astros and Mariners in that department.
Are the Angels ever going to sign someone that moves the needle?
Perry Minasian…King of Mediocrity.
“This Bud Light is for you, Perry”
And the Doyers ?
It’s going to be a hoot seeing what the exit velocity will be on all the hard throwers Perry’s acquired. It will be epic.
I’ll take a guy that pitches in the upper 80’s but has control, knows exactly where the pitch is going, and can hit his spots consistently over a guy that throws 100 mph but displays limited control.
What Perry hasn’t done is scratched the surface of even replacing any part of Ohtani’s on the field production. Unless you believe the Angels are better without Ohtani, anything Perry does at this point is just paying down the debt created by Ohtani’s departure.
So You love some Jimmy Herget?
Got it.
Please point out what part of “has control, knows exactly where the pitch is going, and can hit his spots consistently” is Jimmy Herget?
Share the wisdom o’wise Cowboy! 😀
Sure anyone who is walking around 2.0 BB/9 and throwing no more than 6% pitches outside the zone is hitting their spots. But if you throw puss up to the plate MLB batters will hit it along ways even if you are hitting your spots.
By the way, WTY knew exactly where his pitches were going in 2016 and 2017 when he gave up 53 HRs and a 5.51 ERA in 220 innings.
But hey to each their own. if thats what turns you on more power to you. But I prefer someone that already has the tools and the stuff to start with that you can coach up as they get more experience.
See Koufax, Sandy . 1955-1960 vs 1961-1966 or Ryan, Nolan 1966-1971 vs 1972- 1993
What about the exit velocity of the fans when Suarez takes the mound in the 5th inning , down by one, and proceeds to Suarez and they are down by 5 before the 3rd out is recorded?
You mean when Saurez goes full Barria ?!?!?!?
Don’t you mean Full Loup?
Never go full Loup !!!
🤣
I don’t have the hard data to confirm, but I suspect the exit speeds are nearly the same! 😉
What about Dylan Bundy’s exit velocity?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KMZmgHFUQ8
Projectile vomiting probably has the edge on exit velocity.
🤣
I’d say, “So, Weaver?”, but I’m not sure he was even touching 83 towards the end.
WTY was definitely low 80’s towards the end, but I’d take his heart and competitive fire over anybody on the Angels today.
No, Weaver was still around 86-88, but his curve ball was close to that velo, so batters sat junk and reacted “Fastball” aka “Straight ball.”
Also, “Fly ball pitchers” have a shorter career spans, as those flyballs tend to get longer later in your careers and there is only so much outfield available.
…and all of the neck injuries fly ball pitchers suffer from…
“I’ll take a guy that pitches in the upper 80’s but has control, knows exactly where the pitch is going, and can hit his spots consistently over a guy that throws 100 mph but displays limited control.”
Yes, that was the last two-four years of Jared Weaver’s career and you see how that worked out…..
Some around here just love to paint with a wide brush.
“Hitting spots” AKA “pitching to location” is not just throwing strikes. It’s also pitching to locations where the batter can’t get good wood on the ball.
Towards the end, Weaver’s WHIP went way up even though his BB/9 stayed close to career averages. Know why? He was no longer able to get his pitches in locations where they were not hit.
To quote the Cowboy: “But hey to each their own. if thats what turns you on more power to you.” I prefer pitchers – not throwers.
It was a different era, but this thread reminds me of one of my favorite Angel pitchers from the 80s, Geoff Zahn. Nearly half his pitches were change ups and he was amazingly effective. He was an outlier for sure. He had a nice little 3 year run during the last 5 years of his career in his mid to late 30s with the Halos, including 18 wins in 1982.
And I like pitchers not hairy itchers.
I don’t know who is going to dig into the batters box with someone that throws 100 MPH. I mean Ryan Duran and Nolan Ryan both admitted they had not idea where their pitches where going. Also Ryan Duran used to throw his first warm up pitch about 20 feet over the catchers head then slowly move them down until he found the zone. It is also rumored that Ryan Duran once hit a guy in the on deck circle.
I think the Angels new bullpen pieces can be used to instill fear in opposing hitters, if they just want to survive then they won’t really care if they get on base or not.
Hey it worked for Percy squinting at home plate before showing no Mercy
There were 88 pitchers in MLB last year that had an average FB greater than 95 MPH. I could be wrong and hitters get all weak in the knees, but I’d be surprised if many MLB hitters are fearful of hard throwing pitchers.
Umm, where can we get a few of those upper 80s pitchers with control who know exactly where the pitch is going and can hit his spots? PtP can’t seem to find them.
Wasn’t that Loup and Tepera before they signed here.
Let’s hope they are not simply waiting for top FA’s like Snell who probably don’t want to play for us. I understand to a point trying to get that premier star player, but we could be wasting time when there are still some decent players needed to fill the gaps.
Maybe the Angels are purposely signing players that can blow away the GOAT.
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1755309232499626234
If this is Perry’s new found strategy I’m not sure theres enough room on our 40 man to sign all the pitchers that can one one by him.
7 Days!!
….. 7 Days …..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=im03GUnw1qE&pp=ygURdGhlIHJpbmcgKyA3IGRheXM%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC_q9KPczAg
Haha. Good one.
Indeed.