Morning Angels fans. Have some links.
Angels News
Another day, another “Angels in on Snell maybe please sign him” from Boras’ mouthpiece Heyman. But, there is a twist this time as JD Martinez is now also rumored? WHY?!
Ugh, well, at least the new posters are up at Angel Stadium. Wow that is sad.
Maybe it is fitting, since USA Today sees Angel Stadium as 26th in all of Baseball. Come on, I know it has some structural issues, but it isn’t THAT bad… right?
Around Baseball
The MFY are imploding. Aaron Judge is now hurt, causing their fans to panic. With Cole also down, will they finally sign Snell? Nah. They are going after a trade with the White Sox instead.
Wow, people are not holding back vs the A’s. Their president was called delusional for thinking the LV ballpark will be as good as he says.
In Good News, Baseball is more popular than it has been in 16 years, with participation at 16.7 M. This is just in the US.
Baseball starts in Korea next week, and so players will leave Thursday. Some Dodgers are sick and are staying home for now. Meanwhile, some Padres will get ready to party.
Some other website woke up and chose violence. Baseball Reference roasted all 30 teams.
Anything I missed? Post below for upvotes!
Continued good pitching today and not much hitting. 11 Ks and just 2 BBs.
Crap, Padres getting Cease.
I say crap, because I wanted the Yanks to get him.
Because then they would lay off of Snell.
So that if Perry does want to sign Snell, he wouldn’t be in a bidding war with the Yanks.
San Diego is not afraid to trade it’s prospects.
I don’t understand what they’re doing. You don’t trade away Soto and then trade for Cease. You want both if you’re contending and neither if you’re rebuilding.
You do if you know there’s no way in hell you’re going to re-sign Soto. Too bad the Angels didn’t adopt the same philosophy with The Unicorn
Soto was about the money.
Neither were we when we traded Marsh.
They draft very well. Padres can bounce back in a big way this year.
Boras is going to bid up the Yanks now, since Cole will be on ice this season.
I was reading earlier today that Cole will only miss one month …. we’ll see if that is accurate, but I don’t think it was a season-ender for him…
Yet…
Cole will not be back in a month unless he decides to try and pitch injured. Velocity and movement will be down substantially.
Well hopefully he’s out long enough that we don’t have to face him the first time we play the Yankees May 28-30th.
Snell does not seem to want NY unless of course, they dole out a 7-year deal but I’m calling the Dodgers as to where Snell will land, guaranteed postseason. Short contract, high AVV, opt outs.
Snell to the Angels feels like fodder, like JD.
Szymborski had some nice words about Griffin’s 2023 and hopes for 2024.
Fangraphs – Canning
Griff! Could even sneak in as the Halos ace this year.
Dodgers Stadium 10th? I’ve got it ranked 4/5 just in California!!!!
SF (Most beautiful stadium to walk around I’ve ever seen)SD (Just above LAA because it’s newer)LAA (Nice, though a new stadium is deserved)LAD (WTF is so great about this place?)Oak (Sorry, great fans when I went, but that monster in the outfield drops it)I just noticed I rank them by age somehow.
SD is leaps & bounds superior to Anaheim IMO.
LAA is my happy place. I may be biased.
It’s where I decided to get a divorce.
That is BASED !!! haha
Anaheim ain’t bad, but Angels “fans” are generally pretty lame I’m sorry to say.
I’ve had fun at doyer games in CholoRavine wearing Angels gear so I don’t even dislike that venue.
Baseball venues, even when their below average, are still cool in my book.
Big A – No better place to watch a baseball game.
if you want anything beyond that, you’re basically out of luck.
I haven’t had a bad day at any ballpark yet.
Agreed. All ballparks are fun. Aside from the Big-A, I’ve been to games in LA, SD, Seattle, Chicago (Cubs), Milwaukee, Detroit and Toronto.
I want to see a game in Boston pretty badly.
Yeah for me personally, Petco is my favorite ballpark I’ve been to anywhere. SF is nice too, but I prefer SD.
And both of them are vastly superior to the other 3 in the state.
I don’t get why people love Dodger stadium so much. It’s an old piece of garbage but not old enough to be classic. It’s just old. And maybe I am weird for this but the fact that everything in the park is baby blue instead of Dodger blue drives me absolutely nuts.
Pull into the parking lot on a summer afternoon and the smell of urine and feces, kind of like an outhouse at a multi day concert, overwhelms you.
And that’s just the players’ parking lot.
I like Petco alot too ! It is not just the ballpark inside, but the VIBE around the park and outside are very cool …
Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means ‘a whale’s vagina’.
Completely agree re: Petco Park. I wish I was a Padres fan. haha
I wouldn’t quite call it garbage but not old enough to be a classic is the best way to describe it. Nothing really interesting, nothing really horrible. No real character outside of the “76” ball. (Is it still there?)
Red Sox didn’t see the signs? Gialito to miss the season.
Signs, signs, everywhere signs…..
I love that you’re old enough to remember that song.
I guess he used to be long haired and freaky
Better them than us. To think I was pro-Gio trade when it went down. Boy was I WRONG !!!
Horrible sign, should cost a GM a job. It did for Dombrowski regarding Sale.
6 posters on the front of the stadium but only 2 of those players have jerseys for sale at mlbshop.com
Ridiculous.
JD Martinez wouldn’t bother me much. It reflects that Rendon is unlikely to stay healthy and that the offense on the team would crater once Trout inevitably gets hurt.
If you’re looking at Snell, then you really should be looking at more offense and Sano probably isnt it.
Does JD play 3B?
His signing would “block the kids” far more than signing Snell IMO.
The only kids worth worrying about blocking would not be affected by Martinez DH’ing.
Wrong. An open DH allows us to give AB’s to Adell, Moniak, etc.
Signed JD means he plays every day.
You are correct, but from a purely selfish standpoint, I’d rather watch JD in the DH role than those other guys, and I’d also really prefer him in the clean up spot as opposed to Rendon. I am not a fan of rotating players through the DH because you don’t really have one. Not to ignite any flames, but I would have been happy to see Snell or Monty, Bellinger and JD all added to the team. I believe that would have made them a potential wild card and a lot more interesting to watch. It would have meant no Adell, with Moniak and Hicks as the 4th and 5th OFs. Bellinger could have provided depth at 1B as well. It would not have impacted Neto, O’Hoppie, or Nolan. I would have rather seen that team. This would be a much deeper team with Moniak, Hicks, and Rengifo on the bench. I believe with the current team, it’s going to be a long and painful year albeit with some good discoveries and highlights.
None of those signings would have caused me to wage Jihad against Arte.
This notion that signing one or two big time players, particularly starting pitchers. would “block the kids” is ridiculous.
This team has/had enough holes to play the kids AND sign a dude or two.
I say this as a person that was cool with the Angels making zero relevant signings, but it’s fairly obvious that every “kid” worth playing is going to play and we still have holes.
Two things can be true at the same time.
I agree, I’m good either way but if I had a choice, I would have done what I suggested so that we could be both evaluating and at least a little competitive. I would prefer that they took a long term approach as opposed to one year at a time but I’m pretty much with you on this.
I love the ownership of selfish!
Selfishly, I want the Halos to sign NO more FAs. Moar $2/seat tickets for me and the family!!
That is a very valid and well substantiated opinion.
Yeah like I said Neto, Schanuel and O’Hoppe are the 3 you dont want to block and they wouldnt be.
I’ve seen enough of Adell to be honest and I suspect he won’t even be on the roster in a few weeks to make that an issue.
Could we use more offense? Yes. Does plugging up the DH spot make sense? No.
I understand not paying Snell what he wants and not giving Monty 7 years. But why haven’t Clevinger and Lorenzen signed yet? Clevinger might be getting told by Boras to wait for the two big guys but Lorenzen isn’t a Boras guy.
Get one of the righties in camp.
But why take up that roster spot for no real overall benefit? Let the kids play and use this season to figure out what the team really has or doesn’t have.
Which “kids” will be blocked if the Angels sign Snell-Monty-Lorenzen-Clevinger?
Just soak up salary cap to limit what we could offer when a game changer is available
Well – I think the starting 5 are Detmers, Sandoval, Canning, Anderson and likely Silseth. Given the money Anderson is making, he is not going anywhere. So the other 4 are young and might as well be given a full season of evaluation. I see no reason to have any of thise 4 not start every 5 days.
And if there is an injury- there are guys like Rosenberg and Suarez who can fill in. Signing any of the players you reference probably would mean one of the young starters not getting the season long look and experience that could make a difference going forward. And again, for what reason?
The odds of the young pitchers making every start are virtually nil.
Suarez & Rosenberg are barely warm garbage.
Snell-Monty do NOT block anyone and they help us on the mound now and potentially help us as trade bait if we suck as many expect. The only downside is the money and even that’s debatable IMO.
I think money is a big issue here. There is tremendous uncertainty as to how many fans will come to the park and watch this team as well as about the future of television revenue. As such money does factor in since I doubt Arte wants to commit another $30 million plus – especially to a pitcher (he has never been a fan of shelling out money for pitching to begin with). That said, I am fairly certain that if Perry could make a compelling case that signing Snell or Monty would give the Angels a legitimate chance at postseason and drawing 3 million fans, Arte would pony up. But I do not think that a reasonable case can be made for that. And, as a result, why spend the money?
The Angels drafted 20 pitchers a couple of years ago. There is a lot of young pitching in the Org. If young guys go down, replace them with other young guys. There is a value in determining whether you have gold or fools gold. I think this is the season to do it.
You make a compelling argument re: money.
I don’t agree with you that Snell-Monty block the kids in any meaningful way.
I suppose I’m meeting you halfway here.
Based on last year and this spring, Sandoval looks like he’s ready for LOOGY duty. Detmers is not a #1 or #2 (sorry Pineapple). We really need two effective SPs with Canning, Detmers, and Anderson penciled in at 3 through 5. If we do that, we could be much more competitive.
But for what ultimate reason? To be “competitive”? That has been the goal of the last 10 seasons and the guiding principle. When is that given up and replaced with determination of what real resources are in the Org and then building a young, dynamic team that can actually compete at the higher levels? Competitive seems to mean 73 to 79 wins and that is just not a strategy for the long term success unless you have someone like Ohtani who brings fans in no matter what the team does.
I would rather the team test the waters this season – really see what it has and does not have, and then build accordingly.
I agree that using the word “competitive” in the context of the roster was a bad choice given how Perry, JeDi, Eppler and Arte have abused the roster.
EVERY season there is a surprise team or two that vastly exceeds expectations. This is particularly true if the pitching is strong.
I basically agree with you on all points.
That as a strategy is almost as compelling as “when you wish upon a star”
There goes F71 with his patented daily Strawman.
The kids are indeed going to get their day in court. This was the strategy that most supported and they club is following it.
If they decide to sign a pitcher or two at the last moment, it does nothing to impede the youth movement that is clearly underway.
As far as my comment that surprise teams emerge every year, it’s a fact, not a strategy.
Most of those “surprise” teams have had a plan in place and built up their farm systems with young talented players who then result in the “surprise” – when it is not really a surprise but the fulfillment of potential and a plan. Like the Orioles last year – they may have been a surprise to some but not to anyone paying attention to what they were building over time.
LOOGY is a position that no longer exists, thanks to Manfraud.
If Silseth ends up being the 6th guy, something tells me he will still get half a season’s worth of starts with the big club.
Of course he will. Pitchers get booboos throughout the campaign. Our SP depth is still shit.
I think Silseth has enough potential that you give him the ball and tell him he is the 5th starter. Mentally that is valuable. Its completely different if he is just a fill in if someone goes down.
I agree with you. I was just pointing out that Silseth being the first guy up from Salt Lake won’t block him from getting valuable experience with the Angels
We used 14 starters last year. We will use whoever is #6 in line a lot (and 7-12 plenty).
I miss the bygone days when Old Hoss threw 73 complete games. The other starter, Charley Sweeney, has a fascinating story, worth googling. 1884
On June 14, 1974, Ryan threw 235 pitches in a start against the Red Sox. Ryan’s stat line from that game: 13 innings, 19 strikeouts, 10 walks, 58 batters faced, three runs allowed. It marked one of three times in his career (twice during 1974) that Ryan had 19 K’s in an extra-inning game. Ryan made his next start on just three days’ rest and fired six scoreless innings against the Yankees.
There is no pitcher in MLB today that could accomplish that.
Insert Bavasi quote next
While Bavasi gets his due for being an asshat, I do not recall the “beloved Cowboy” was immobilized and helpless, incapable of making decisions, and could never have intervened.
Damm cheap Gene!
Or there is no management staff in place that would endangers their high priced assets the way they did in years past.
I think a healthy Scherzer or Verlander could have replicated Ryans feat but they are from an older pitching mindset when inning seemed to matter as much as stuff.
I’m starting to believe that is exactly what the team is doing. They cannot be serious about JD.
Just looking at Lorenzen, would you give him a 2-year? There is no reason to believe he would outperform his contract. It’s kind of like, just settling for an arm because there is a hole.
Exactly- I don’t see Lorenzen or Clevinger being appreciably better than what the team already has. And signing one of them likely means a guy like Silseth gets less experience. I don’t see why it would make sense to do that.
I’m reaching here, but signing a DH could allow Perry to break the OF/Sano logjam with a trade. Maybe move Mickey or Ward?
In a sense, it’s unfortunate that Hicks is performing so well this Spring.
Adell has almost zero trade value at this point IMO. We might as well give him the AB’s and hope the light turns on. We’ve his plummeting stock this long, we’re compelled to see it thru one way or the other…,
I agree on Adell. He’s not going to fetch anything of value alone in a trade, so unless he’s part of a package – we’re toking the hopium that he finds lightning in a bottle.
Right now i think Adell is #5 (or #6) on depth chart.
the one reason to keep him is for a PR in later innings
Let me get this straight. So The Yankees put a phone call into the White Sox so they could float rumors about rekindling their interest in Dylan Cease so that BorAss would lower his asking price on Snell and sign with them .
The White Sox on the other hand have now disclosing conversations with the Padres about a Cease Trade in order to get New York off the dime and include the Yankee prospects that they really want.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/dylan-cease-trade-rumors-padres-white-sox.html
Man everyone is playing 5D chess here.
Unfortunately Perry is playing “Chutes and Ladders”
I thought Perry preferred to play Clue
He did, but he was fixated on “Colonel Mustard in the Library with a Candlestick” that Carpino and Kuhn wouldn’t play with him any more.
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/angels-vs-royals/2024/03/13/747983/preview
Todays lineup:
Rengifo
Nolan Ryan S
Trout
Ward
O’Hoppe
Sano
Adell
Fontenelle
Soto
So Rendon, Drury, Neto & Hicks are too sore from their off day to play in todays game?
It’s interesting that Rengifo is playing shortstop for the first time this spring.
When taco Tuesday strikes back:
Sign that guy up, he has talent. He can play at the Big-A entrance any time Arte is in his office.
Ah, I imagine the Halos just wanted to get the other guys some at bats. It’s spring training after all.
Of the last four, is there anybody there who will open the season with the ML team? Adell is in a state of limbo with no options, maybe Sano and Adell being show cased to other teams today?
Drury and Neto to open the season as starters and Rendon maybe a platoon with Renny? Hicks I think has beat out Adell for the 4th OF job.
As of now I think Adell makes the team due to having no options. If there’s no real DH on the roster that opens a spot.
OF: Trout, Ward, Moniak, Adell, Hicks
IF: Rendon, Neto, Rengifo, Schanuel, Drury, Sano
C: O’hoppe, Thaiss
That’s 13 position players. If anybody on that list is off it is Sano. He’s on a minors deal and has the lowest defensive value.
Completely concur re: the OF’s. I’m 100% on board with rotating guys thru DH.
I’m inching closer to the “we should sign one more starting pitcher” camp. The only question is big ticket (Monty / Snell) vs. small ticket (Cleve / Lorenzen) vs. buy low ticket (Bauer).
Better starting pitchers are needed for October but I’m ok for now.
I am still on the ‘Bauer’ will be toxic to the organization. He is the anti-Trout (not chill, all hype, all-ego).
I’m in the “High upside redemption” project camp.
Ron Washington, with his previous foibles can mentor Bauer thru his own. That’s how you PR spin it. Moreover, the media barely knows that the Angels exist.
He will come cheap and can be easily jettisoned if it doesn’t work out off the field.
He is immediately our best SP and is also a potentially excellent deadline trade chip.
I see just one other candidate- Adrianza, but those are the PPs
He gives the team more flexibility in the IF than Sano does (can he even play 3B well? seems more like a DH candidate that will then compete with Adell/Hicks for ABs).
Adrianza can play 3rd
I meant Sano – can Sano play 3B ….
Rengifo at SS…scary. Need Neto to stay healthy for 162,
Agree, but I still think Soto/Paris are the real backup for Neto if there is any injury.
Would have been nice if we had a real IF back up that could field all of the positions (or at least 2B, SS and 3B).
Soto/Paris is better for sure. When and if Neto goes on the DL, would be able to activate. But the occasional day off, afraid we are stuck with Rengifo.
Adrianza likely makes the club
How is his glove, “Squid-like?” His bat is.
Regarding the posters
Jon Heyman is a Troll. Front Line sales rep for Borass, and when did Borass ever do the right thing for the Angels. 👺 👀
When Nick died, and that’s about it.
Like the guy or hate him…but at least hate him for the right reasons. It’s not his job to do the right thing for the Angels. He’s an AGENT that is hired by PLAYERS to represent PLAYERS.
If it was in Arte’s or Carpino’s best interest to screw over Boras, they’d do it in a heartbeat. It’s part of the game.
Sure it’s his job to get the best deal for his clients, no I did not say he was not good at what he does. But if you make a deal with a team and lead that team to believe there is a deal on the table and then shop that deal, while that may be his job it still is not the kind of guy you want to do business with.
As far as “Hate” that word was not used and is very seldom in my vocabulary.
WHY should he? WTF do the Angels “deserve” from an Agent?
The irrational Boras hate is hilarious here.
Taylor Ward, someone I’m rooting for the most this season:
The sound of silence. That’s what Michael Stefanic remembers most about that frightful afternoon in Toronto, when the Angels’ Taylor Ward was struck in the face by a 92-mph fastball from Alek Manoah.
“I’ve never heard 40,000 people go so quiet so quickly,” said Stefanic, the Angels second baseman that July day. “The Blue Jays were competing for a playoff spot, the stadium was packed, the fans were rocking and rolling, the ball came out of Manoah’s hand, and all of a sudden a hush came over the crowd. Everything just stopped. It was like time stood still for a second.”
It seemed like a lot longer for Ward, who still was trying to comprehend what happened as he crumpled to the ground, blood gushing from a cut near his left eye and trainers from both teams rushing onto the field to tend to him.
“When it happened, you don’t really know how bad it is,” said Angels outfielder Mickey Moniak, who was on first base when Ward was beaned. “Sometimes guys will get hit in the head and they’re down for 10, maybe 15 seconds, and they pop right up. In those first 30 seconds, you’re hoping that’s the case. And unfortunately, it wasn’t.”
Ward remained on the ground for several minutes as a visibly upset Manoah held his head in his hands and several Blue Jays took a knee, some bowing their heads in prayer.
Ward was helped to his feet, carted off the field and transported to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with a broken nose and three other fractures — one below his eye, one near his temple and one by his jaw.
“You hear the sound and it’s just scary,” said Matt Chapman, who was playing third base for the Blue Jays that day. “You never want to see somebody go down like that.
“We’re all fighting each other to win baseball games, but at the end of the day, we respect each other, and nobody’s wishing ill will on somebody else. I have to imagine there’s some things you have to overcome mentally from an injury like that.”
Eight months later, Ward is in spring training with the Angels, ready to reclaim his spot in left field and in the heart of the batting order, seemingly no worse for the wear.
He had season-ending reconstruction surgery in which three metal plates were inserted in his face, one of which doctors went through his eyelid to put underneath his eye, and he couldn’t eat solid foods for about two months. But a tiny scar on his left eyelid is about the only physical evidence of the accident.
“The surgeon did a great job,” Ward said last week. “I’m just thankful it wasn’t any higher or any lower.”
Any higher, and Ward could have suffered serious damage to his brain. Any lower, and Ward could have lost some vision in his left eye, a potentially career-ending impairment for a right-handed hitter.
But the physical recovery couldn’t have gone much smoother for Ward, who resumed hitting Nov. 15 and had played in 12 Cactus League games through Monday, batting .310 (nine for 29) with three doubles and four RBIs. The mental scars appear to have healed as well.
“The first pitch of live batting practice, I was on my heels a little bit, but after that, it seemed like riding a bike,” Ward said. “Honestly, there was a game the other day where I got three pitches up and in, and that kind of got to me a bit, but I was able to turn the page pretty quickly.
“I do believe guys are going to try to go up there this year. Why not? So I think being able to turn the page as quickly as possible and get back to my approach is going to be the most beneficial thing for me.”
For the Angels too. Ward had a breakout season in 2022, batting .281 with an .833 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 23 homers, 22 doubles and 65 RBIs in 135 games, and was on a lengthy tear before he was hit by that pitch, batting .304 with a 1.047 OPS, five homers, seven doubles and 17 RBIs in 20 July games.
As Ward went, so went the Angels, who were four games back in the American League wild-card race on July 29 and took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning when Ward was hit by the pitch with the bases loaded.
The Angels went on to lose 6-1. They won their next two games but lost seven straight and 16 of 21 in August to fall out of contention, missing the playoffs for the ninth straight year and suffering their eighth straight losing season.
The loss of Ward might not have triggered the Angels’ collapse, but it certainly was a contributing factor.
“He was producing at the plate and playing an incredible left field, and he’s one of the best players on this team,” Moniak said. “We missed having him in the lineup and playing every day out there. It’s a next-man-up mentality, and we did our best to fill that void, but we weren’t able to get it done.”
The Angels need Ward, who is expected to bat fifth behind Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, to remain healthy and productive to help offset the loss of slugger Shohei Ohtani. Ward believes he is up to the task.
“Last year I ended the season trending up, and when I started hitting again in November, I actually felt the same as I did [in July],” Ward said. “I learned a lot last year, just early on with the struggles that I had, about the things that make me click and focusing on those little things in my drill work. My swing is feeling good.”
Ward now wears a helmet with a protective C-flap that he is confident will prevent another ball from hitting him in the jaw or face. He also was buoyed by conversations he had with players who have endured similar beanings, such as Justin Turner, who was hit in the face last spring.
“They said you just have to get back up on the horse as soon as you can, and to try to put it in the back of your mind the best you can,” Ward said. “I think I’ve done a really good job of taking their advice and really implementing it.”
It shows.
“He looks really good right now — he looks the same physically and at the plate,” Angels catcher Matt Thaiss said. “It’s crazy how quickly he kind of rebounded from that, and it says everything about him.
“He’s a gamer. Something like that could have really affected him long term, and here he is, a couple of months later, just grinding like he always does. He’s as good as new.”
I’ve been a bit pessimistic re: Ward overcoming the perceived psychological hurdle of the HBP, but I’m now cautiously optimistic that he is indeed “fine”. Seems like a good dude in life. Easy person to root for.
Hanging around camp, I can testify that there’s no better dude than Taylor Ward
I’m not a sports memorabilia guy, but my wife purchased a signed Ward autograph photo last August for my BDay.
Is this your interview or is there a link?
I appreciate you asking for a link. The times I do, most people don’t read anything from it and turn it into a political (coming from a certain newspaper) or personal (the writer is trash) matter. I’d rather have content to launch a conversation from… who/where it came from are minimally important.
In this case it was from LAT writer Mike DiGiovanna
F the LA Slimes !!! Buncha’ leftist hacks.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist,,,
Solid point. I just like to be able to read/verify the source data.
As a way to get around people attacking the story before they open it, you can alias the link using the chain looking option in the formatting tools.
Not the LA Time or a Mike DiGiovanna story
Love that rec!
One of the things I love about this site is you think you can do everything right, but someone will inevitably point out something from left field. Make it fun and lively!
Totally agree about JD Martinez John…. It makes no sense and would be a total waste of money/resources. While many good arguments could be made for signing Snell (primarily that with Ohtani’s departure we desperately need an Ace to step into the rotation..). Snell makes alot of sense, especially on a 1-3 yr arrangement even with player opt out like other Boras client deals …
But JD,please… We already have a glut of OF’s that all need AB’s and any of whom could use that daily DH spot. Not to mention the likelihood that our players over 30 (Trout and Rendon) may need to utilize that DH spot. We really don’t need JD.
If it’s even remotely true, Artie may be panicking about the potential reduction of in game attendance because of the lack of jerseys and virtually no chance for success this year. He might be interested in 1 year deals or longer ones with opt outs as short term interest generators. Who knows at this point.
If I had to guess, Borass is doing his typical thing trying to use the Angels to drive whatever market there is for his clients upwards. We have seen this with some frequency.
Yeah, that would not be surprising. On the other hand, Snell apparently likes living in So. Cal and probably could/would keep his home in SD… In alot of ways the Angels make sense for him… of course, if the Angels know that (apparently Snell is saying he wants the Angels to sign him..) that hurts the leverage that Scott might otherwise have had … If we could get him on a short deal I would jump on that …
To me signing snell to a short term deal where he could opt out after one year makes no sense. If he has a good season he’ll exercise his opt out and the team is left with less than nothing considering the second round draft pick that we gave up. Now if you could at least get a second year out of it before he exercises his opt out then I’m way more interested.
That makes sense… perhaps that is where the hold up is. Agree that a two year minimum is important.
That’s why signing Montgomery is the better option.
I really don’t think he wants to come here or we’d be hearing his name in the baseball press every day.
Rumors or lack thereof are unreliable indicators either way.
I tend to agree that all signs point to Monty signing with tejas or possibly NY skanks, but it wouldn’t be the first time that the Angels signed a big time guy out of nowhere.
But typically the price Arte paid for the being the mystery team was a vast overpayment. Its not my money but that would be stoopid here.
True statement.
I completely agree. It’s not my money, so if they want to sign Snell, that’s fine and will probably make the team better (no long term deal though please). Martinez makes no sense. We don’t need a DH only. That would really constrain roster construction on a team with a bunch of out of options players.
If they were to trade Adell (or Moniak) and could upgrade the team then maybe it makes sense but I dont believe either have any great trade value where they would get any thing back of any substance in return. It’s time to let the kids play utilizing matchups while resting the oft injured vets as much as possible.
Just to make sure it’s clear — the fanbase generally wants to moan and complain about the Angels not bringing in additional talent. Then they don’t want them to sign JD, Snell, Montgomery etc because it’s too much money and wouldn’t be worth it.
Ok. You can see the problem I imagine.
I think the fan base is split between those seeking a Hail Mary type signing that they perceive might add some excitement and those who want to see the youngsters get a full season of play and evaluation
I would say that unless Snell or Montgomery or JDM puts the Angels over the top in terms of a potential playoff run, then spending the money is a waste. Why do it? From my perspective signing Snell or Monty might turn a 68 win team into a 72 win team. Is that worth 30 million? Signing Martinez might add 2 WAR but take up a roster spot from a young player. Again – why? It’s not going to make any significant difference.
I realize the team lost Ohtani and some are feeling sad and want something to cling onto to feel like there has been some replacement of a player like that. But to throw away money for no real reason when you are already doing so with Rendone makes little sense in my opinion.
It’s not a binary choice. The kids are going to play regardless if the Angels do or do not sign a high profile guy. Signing Snell doesn’t block ANY of the kids in any meaningful way.
People can be cool with the kids playing while at the same time stumping for Snell-Monty.
The only kid(s) that might be in trouble are Adell & Moniak. The rest are getting their shot.
I agree on this assessment.
I have no problem adding some more players to make the team more enjoyable for this season, but only if it doesn’t cost player development and it doesn’t burn money that could be really useful in the future, when there is a FA that we really wish we could get but Arte says “too bad, we spent that money already.”
I think I’d be fine with a Lorenzen/Clevinger move to give us more rotation depth, which is needed.
I’m a hard pass on the JDM boat, because we have so many outfielders and we need the DH position for Trout/Rendon especially.
All that would change if Perry could pull off some neat trade to reduce the logjam somewhere, but I’m not sure what that would be, and it likely wouldn’t be worth it.
How does Snell or Monty or Lorenzen impede the youth movement?
The kids that are worthy of playing are indeed playing.
If any of them are signed the likely casualty will be one of Detmers, Silseth or Canning as they are the only ones in the rotation with minor league options.
C’mon dude, we’ll have an injured starter by mid-April. No one is getting blocked. Our rotation as currently constructed is average at best and with little depth.
I wasn’t addressing the strength of the staff. I was commenting on your take that “The kids that are worthy of playing are indeed playing.”
Are you saying those 3 should not be on the MLB staff and need more time in the minors to develop?
I’m saying that the current starting 5 will not pitch the entire season. I say that because it basically never happens, particularly in Anaheim.
If we signed Snell or TBD and we wanted to ensure that they younger guys get their starts, we can easily slide Anderson into the long relief/spot starter role.
This board is schizophrenic. Everyone has been decrying our lack of depth & health for years – and for good reason – but now if we sign one more proven starter, we’re suddenly blocking a kid.
Signing another veteran starter makes sense on multiple levels and the downside, apart from the money argument, is weak.
While I agree depth is important. Quality of innings is also an important factor. Aside from Snell, Lorenzen/Clevinger are not guaranteed improvements over what we have already
Lorenzen – Are you getting 1st or 2nd half versions.
Clevinger – Can he find some semblance of his old self or is he the 2023 version with a declining strike out rate and increased HR%.
Granted that Clev & Lorenzen are no locks to perform. Do you know what (which?) other pitchers are not locks? Our entire staff.
Between poor performance & injuries, this team should have no qualms about adding another arm into the mix.
Bauer is sitting right there. He would be our best starter. For free, essentially.
As I said, I’m fine with adding a Lorenzen/Clevenger, which has an equivalent impact on “impeding the youth movement” as Snell/Monty. So I don’t think we are in much disagreement there. Although I do agree with other postings here that point out that Detmers/Silseth/Canning would lose their spot, which isn’t ideal if we want them to grow. The idea that there is a guaranteed injury and that they’ll pitch a lot anyway might be a little tenuous.
I’d be more concerned about blocking position players (if we were to sign any more, which I doubt anyway).
I really disagree that Snell makes sense on a short term deal with us, especially with opt-outs. I think that is one of the things Perry should absolutely NOT do, as it would be on par with one of his worst moves (Syndergaard).
This team had a bad season even with Ohtani. We are not on the verge of a WS title.
A team on the verge of a WS title goes out and adds the hottest FA pitcher available to “boost them over the top” on a short term high cost deal, sacrificing a draft pick and signing money, and accepting the risk of a player that seems to go back and forth from being mediocre to Cy Young every other year.
A team that is a ways from a WS title does NOT do that.
If we want to sign a guy like Monty to a longer term deal (which he wants) that is less AAV (good for our tax), gives us some rotation stability for a few years to build on, and also doesn’t cost us drafting/signing strength, then I’d be way more up for that.
Was Syndegard a bad move on a one year prove it deal? Moreover, Perry turned it into Hey Mickey.
and Jadiel Sanchez. He’s been an intriguing prospect since he’s been in the Angels system even though he is slightly over age for his level.
I was unaware of that or him. Thanks.
I’ve thought about it, and to be fair, I do think that was one of his worst moves as GM, because $20MM was a big overpay, and cost us draft/signing/money penalties. Syndergaard was too much of a risk for that.
But then later Perry made a separate excellent move, trading Syndergaard.
When I thought about it, I didn’t think it was fair to connect the two. Like “hey, good job making that bad signing earlier, because you got fortunate and were able to strike gold with him by trading him later, so keep on doing that.” Um, no.
Not good judgement to connect those two separable actions. Per Per got bailed out from the acid bath tonic treatment.
All solid points.
That said, $20 million “prove it” money for a guy not far removed from being a dominant #1 seemed like the market rate at the time, but I’ll concede the argument to you.
Lynch (my wife’s maiden name) IV is horrible…we’re gonna hammer him!!
A poster of Anthony Rendone in front of the stadium????? THAT is supposed to fire up the fans??? Yeeessshh. I think maybe some people in the front office may just be a little tone deaf and out of touch with reality…. Carpino/Kuhl cough…. cough.
Many Halo fans will get fired up seeing the 2024 team leader in malcontent and missed games.
Putting Rendone up like that is completely out of touch. It would be hilarious if he was photographed in a pool of money waiving irreverently to the fans!!
They would be better served putting up a photo of an usher and link it to some sort of contest, and change the photo out every 2 weeks or every month.
Why not show the love for the field maintenance guys or batboys
#missedopportunites
I nominate Strike Force
Throw this up there😀
It’s just a sad commentary on the Angels roster…..