Both Taylor Ward and Logan O’Hoppe are day to day after Monday’s Diamondbacks game.
The Blue Jays traded Cavan Biggio to the Dodgers for minor league right-hander Braydon Fisher. Speaking of minor league right-handers, The Brewers signed Joel Kuhnel and the Cubs signed Jorge Lopez.
The Twins designated Diego Castillo for assignment. The White Sox designated left-hander Tim Hill for assignment.
Hunter Renfroe is on the injured list. Originally, his issue was reported as a broken toe but now it is only a bone bruise. Bryan Woo had an MRI on his forearm and he will not even need to go on the injured list.
Shane Drohan, a Rule 5 pickup by the White Sox, has been returned to the Red Sox. Careful about putting different colored sox in the same washer load!
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
#bachmansback
Maybe the Halos will turner into overdrive?
I thought you meant called up but I see he’s back, as in a rehab assignment. Still, that’s good news.
Not his fastball . He was pretty hittable tonight
Tonight’s Lineups
No Halo yet at 1:55
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/angels-vs-d-backs/2024/06/13/747192/preview
Halo is there now…Ward is in!!
and O’Hoppe is in!
Plumbing problems (Yuk Yuk) solved with Stefanic at 2B.
Some people want to trade pretty much everyone and others want to trade no one. Everybody else is somewhere in between. But it’s complicated, mostly subjective, and unpredictable, regardless of one’s position based on the following considerations:
There is not much data to support any of the positions. It’s judgment based on interpretation of that limited data and the completely subjective thoughts regarding new ownership for which there is no data.
I personally believe some things are more likely than others but most are really unknown. I think the likelihood of the club being competitive next year is low so I am inclined to trade anyone who is not here after that. With that said, Ward and Sandy are only under control for 1 year more so they are definitely on the bubble for me. 26 would be the earliest for me but 27 is a more likely possibility. But I have no idea what Arte will do if he keeps the club, who the new owner would be if he sells, if they would be an improvement, who the club acquires or drafts, how good any of those players will be, and how the current players develop. And because of these things, I really don’t know where the window is.
For me, considering the unknowns, I would be unlikely to trade anyone with 3 years or more of control that I considered having value and lastly, trading anyone would be based on whether I believed the return was sufficient.
Let the rocks fly. 🙂
Well thought out and reasoned. I see your point on decent young players under control for a while. They are essentially prospects so why trade them for other prospects. I think that’s a fair point.
I would add that I’d trade almost anyone to fill positions of need with top prospects. Like the O’Hoppe deal. The Angels desperately need a future stud 3Bman so I’d give anything to the O’s (including Soriano and maybe Ward) for a player like Coby Meyer.
I definitely agree about 3B
Yeah, if I were Perry I’d be looking at all the teams within striking distance of the Wild Card and seeing who has position player prospects totally blocked where we can get a possible core player in trade for some players that hurt a little to lose now… even fairly young guys. If we gained 3 top 50 prospects as part of a pile of returns for the guys we expect to trade but were also required to trade a guy like Soriano I’d be bummed out but that’s how you build back better.
I was going to write a longer piece on this and probably still will, but here’s the basics:
The Angels will possibly be good again in X plus 3 years. This organization is devoid of talent at every level. Ideally X is when Arte sells and we get a real baseball operations department, but we can’t control that.
We’re obviously in rebuild mode, though, so we can say X is 2024.
Logic would state any players who will still be here 3 years from now should be kept and given opportunity to develop.
Any players who will not be here in 3 years should be traded for pieces that might help the next good team in 3 years.
Ward, Rengifo, and Anderson are perfect candidates to trade this season. Between those trades and a good draft our High A and AA teams could see a notable infusion of talent, putting the next likely competitive team 2-3 years out if some things break right.
I agree. My only point is there are so many unknowns you just have to make assumptions. There are no guarantees regarding the players they acquire and draft, or even some of the players they have now. And certainly not as to when and if Arte sells, and to who, making all of the guesses and assumptions difficult. You have to assume that both the current and possible future organizations are competent. For young position players I am currently only sold on Neto and O’Hoppe. But there is time to allow all the rest to develop because we’re not good right now.
I can guarantee you that teams, other than the Doyers, have to do a bunch of shit that isn’t guaranteed to work. I can also guarantee you the Doyers will buy a solution to any problem they have. It’s just not that hard. Most teams that do well have at least a few things flop their way. A lot of bad teams had some moves catch the house on fire.
Asking for any plan outside that reality, or being a dick Angels fan who declares that “a good org plans to have all their players injured and finds a way to win”, is just a recipe for frustration.
Understood.
The only guarantee is there is no guarantee.
But what the team has done over the last decade has (1) not worked and (2) resulted in a couple of horrible contracts which handcuff the Org for years.
So it’s almost George Costanza like – do the opposite. And that means focusing on building the Farm and EVERYONE is tradable in the right deal. It’s about the odds – not about eliminating uncertainty.
After 10 years of abject failure- including 6 seasons with two MVPs on the roster, doing the opposite- even in the face of heavy uncertainty- is the best bet imo.
Not just pickin at you here….
I think it’s kind of stupid that so many people around here keep bringing up options for “when we have a new owner”.
There isn’t much of anything pointing to us getting a new owner at all in the near future. And, in the case of Arte, even if he explores selling, THAT isn’t a clear indication that there will be a sale any time soon at all either. PLUS we keep really really over estimating the powers of this mystical new owner who will probably be more like Arte than different in most areas.
I know the Doyer envy is strong on this site. But in most cases, new ownerz don’t work out like that. They work out more like the Carolina Panthers new owner…. or the Mariners…. or the Rangers…. things get better, but at just about the same pace as they do with most teams that try (lookin at you White Sox).
I could own the team. It will still probably take until 2028 to build a solid year in year out contender. Even if NewOwnerz Duh Unicorn is out there, I wouldn’t start typing out plans for it till the paperwork’s done.
I get it and that’s why I was saying no one knows how long Arte keeps the team or who he sells it to if he does so they’re complete unknowns.
7 is the key here. Most minor leaguers don’t make it in the majors (if they even get called up). I’d much rather have Soriano, who we *know* can pitch at this level, to a couple of question marks.
I’m gonna be gone for two weeks.
Hope you guys can survive without me 🙏🙏
Survive but probably not flourish.
I didn’t even know you were here.
😀 😄 😃 😂
I said in the game thread last night that the thing that really impresses me about Soriano is his ability to change his approach at will and maintain his effectiveness.
He has said in interviews that his focus the last couple of games has been getting ground ball outs and going deep into games, and you’ve seen how effective he can be at that.
But last night after he gave up that HR, you saw him flip a switch and make a decision to go after guys instead and he managed to strike out the side and was just as effective.
The dude can pitch AND throw. He has command and control and knows how to use both. His stuff is absolutely filthy too. Other than Shoehei, he has to be the most promising pitcher we’ve had on the Angels in the past decade.
Timmuh King Fish!!! (sigh…)
That Soriano guy is kinda good at the baseball thing….
Here’s a question:
If the Phils would take Trout and Soriano for a top 5 prospect in their system and agree to take on all of Trout’s remaining salary- would you do it?
I would in a heartbeat. Trout’s salary is an anchor which will only become heavier as the years pass. This would be a step in the right direction to heal this Org’s mistakes.
in a word: no
Respectfully- you are thinking too narrowly. Like an emotional fan. Think about what that would do for the long term in terms of flexibility on payroll. Then when Rendone’s contract expires everything would basically reset with all kinds of opportunities.
I continue to wonder why anyone cares about individual players on a team that won 73 games with Ohtani and is headed towards 100 losses this year. Long term vision is the only thing that matters at this point in my opinion.
no offense but you make the mistake of thinking Arte would then put the money back into some other players’ salaries. Consider what happened with Ohtani’s salary. Where did it go? Nowhere. The IIWPM articles assumed we’d have the same payroll as we did in 2023 but instead Perry had about $40 million less.
I think trading Trout and Soriano would give us no Trout, no Soriano, and no new signings.
I am presuming (hoping) all of this would be tied into new ownership.
Ah yes, the new ownership who also hates money and will spend their socks off…. The Unicowner. You know. Like Phillips with the Mets.
Unicowner 😂😂 I’m using that
Worked out for the Mets, eh?
This….. I doubt he will dump the money back in……he might not be given a chance to do that much more in the future, a lot of guys aren’t going to want to sign to play here. Other than the huge overpay in years a money. And I think even Arte is done with that after the Rendon contract.
I don’t think Arte’s gonna be FA averse once the TV money thing gets settled. I think he’ll do what he’s always done. Team was ranked XYZ in value and…. ohhhh wow, teams payroll was generally ranked XYZ as well! Spreadsheet magic!
But as it stands now, which are the three expensive FAs that will put us in the ALCS next year?
Yah. We need to get young talent growing and, honestly, it looks like that’s what they are doing, warts and all. There will be a lot of burn out and failure doing that, and plenty of fans are too candy assed to sit through it, but they’ll likely figure it out eventually. I don’t even think Perry’s “done” for sure. I think the Perry/Washington “build muh cheap team” exercise may be the plan for a couple years and then, if it’s not bearing fruit, it’ll get clipped.
I watch the Reds, Pirates and Rays a lot. Teams that are supposedly “good” with prospects. And they are. But I don’t think CtPG Guy has a clue how many prospects fail at the MLB level. He says he does, and then he moans about hopeless player development, but I don’t think he realizes that the Rays have a big ol’ pile of busts on their list to go with their successes.
We will likely have 2 out of three prospects wash out like Kyren Paris. But if we get a few solid position options and a few arms settled in over this year and next I am fairly sure we’ll have a top ten payroll again soon.
Yes. Which is exactly why you need loads of prospects. If 70% of even the decent ones fail to reach their potential then it’s the law of numbers. Grab as many as possible.
The TV money situation can not be understated. Arte has no idea how much TV money he’s going to get next year, which makes it impossible to set a budget for next year much less the next decade.
As a businessman, cutting costs while hopefully developing talent is a very prudent approach to 2024.
The problem is we simply don’t have enough talent to develop nor has Arte really spent on ways to improve the development. We can add talent through trades and the draft. Arte has to decide on the latter, but is moving in the right direction.
Yeah. But if you’re a genius who also cares about wins and is a real baseball man budgets and business and stuff are just whispers on the wind as you rush headlong into being the Crimson Doyers.
Put in a less “Arte chapped my asshole” way, making moves to clear payroll isn’t the end all be all. This is true. Last FA class, with Ohtani off the books, is a good example, no matter who our owner is. Other than Ohtani, there weren’t many “clear some space for him” FAs out there I thought we should sign.
So, with Trout off the books, Rendon too, it really just gives us the ability to either roll the dice on two more 30M a year guys who will likely be broken by our shitty fan juju or gamble on 5 less impressive FAs. Of these 5, at least one or two will be a bust probably. When we sign them CtPG Guy will bitch like he’s been stabbed because it’s not Garrit Cole. Problems…. not exactly solved.
And that’s IF THE TOP 5 FAs WANT TO PLAY IN LA/OC. Which narrows the benefits of having that 60M to play with even more.
I’m not saying trading Trout’s the worst thing that can happen. But it isn’t a clean reboot that solves lots of problems either. Owner doesn’t matter, it’s still trading an elephant so you can maybe buy…. another elephant.
lol.. saying “respectfully” and then telling me what I’m being and what I’m thinking is pretty funny
HMMMMMMMM!!!
What cook said and add F no!!
Just curious- what was your position on trading Ohtani in 2022 – and be honest please.
And follow up – if you were against it – do you now realize you were wrong from an Org standpoint?
Sorry, not taking the bait like you did…have a good day.
That is weak ass shit right there. Hope you realize it. Have a vanilla day.
Clearly you took the bait…again.
Your bait is weak-ass
Maybe, but I’m getting free rent in your head.
I promise you are not occupying a single neuron. I am completely unimpressed. I enjoy the banter and ideas. But your approach is completely weak.
Anything you say Mister Always Right.
At least I have an opinion and state it. Your hiding behind’not taking the bait’ is WEAK ASS
It is called taking the high road.
What names will you call me now?
Haven’t called you abt names. I asked for your opinion and to be honest about past opinions. You came back with that ‘bait’ thing. That is weak ass.
You taking the high road with your “F no” and passive aggressive “not taking the bait like you did”. Puhhhhlease. You try to appear uninvolved and above the fray but your passive aggressiveness is so obvious.
So what!!! Nobody cares!!! It’s just a game!!!
And I’ve got you hook, line, and sinker again.
‘78 on ‘71 crime going on…
Crime Dog to the rescue.
Well, it wouldn’t be a high pitching prospect, obviously, so I gotta also go with a hard No. Judging by high ranked MiLB OFers from the Halos, I would be gun-shy on that.
Understood. But the wheels on Soriano could fall off tomorrow.
Compare the Soriano wheels with prospect wheels? Same can be said.
I have a feeling this site is going to be greatly disappointed in who does NOT get traded from this roster. Outside of the Anderson, Drury, Sano if he ever gains value and some pen arms, I doubt much gets moved, doubt any of the cost controlled young guys are going anywhere, to get younger more cost controlled guys……thus kicking (rebuild) can further down the road…….with an owner that will never admit to a rebuild or ever using that word. Doubt Ward or Trout is moved. Doubtful that Dandy Sandy or Adell is sold, or is even worth what we think we get in return. May as well ride it and see if they develop, over some other teams guys that aren’t likely to develop here either.
I don’t see any O’Hoppe for Marsh deals happening anytime soon. Besides Arte isn’t going to ever give away is only (perceived) golden boy, main tent trapeze artist attraction Trout.
Good comments. I agree that Soriano and any prospect could follow the same path. But if you could get rid of Trout’s salary obligation.,,,.My job over the last 35 years has been identifying weaknesses in client’s businesses and fixing them. I am frequently unpopular in what I suggest and implement- but fortunately successful over the long term. I don’t care if people think I’m wrong. People are typically emotional sheep who overvalue and have difficulty seeing reality until it hits them in the face. Predictive analytics and making the ‘best’ move from a strategic point of view can be difficult to sell to a sports fan. But it is exactly what this franchise needs. I think everyone needs to be thinking analytically here and throw out any emotion or short term connection to any player.
This explains a lot about you…you’re that guy.
I am and proud of it. You are a sheep and/or a lemming
Been telling people what to do your entire life…yep that guy.
Not afraid to state my opinion. Always willing to listen IF someone states their opinion and can back it up. But ducking behind “not taking the bait” well….you know what that is.
Wow, that does present an interesting question. It would definitely make the Phillies a formidable team for the next couple of years, and would drastically lower the Angels payroll for the up and coming yutes. I still think you would have to get a top 5, a top 10 arm, and one more young 2022 or 2023 draft guy from their low A club.
I think it would be something to seriously consider. Getting rid of that payroll- and all of it – could be huge long term.
There are three possibilities here.
The Angels are selling Soriano for a prospect worse than Soriano + salary relief. In this case, the trade is a pure salary dump that might benefit Arte’s pocket-book but is going to make the team worse in the long run.
The Angels are getting a prospect that is better than Soriano. However, if this were true that would mean Trout is being valued as an asset (even with his current salary). But if Trout is an asset, it would be far better to trade him and keep his salary on the books in exchange for multiple prospects.
The Angels are getting a prospect that is the same value as Soriano. I suppose this trade would be fine, but include Soriano and the prospect at all in this scenario? If the Phillies are willing to just take over Trout’s contract, do that instead.
In a minute. Love Trout, and he’s head and shoulders the best homegrown Angel ever. But let his continuing decline happen close to his hometown, and who knows? Perhaps he can have a Grandpa like renaissance.
And who gives a crap what cap he wears in the HOF?
We know how day to day goes with this club. There are players who have been on the 10 day IL for 2 months.
An offensive explosion of 8 runs happened when two of the better hitters of the team sat out the game.
Baseball is crazy.
Nice to see Neto flex those extra-bases muscles last night. Hopefully Jo goes back to April Jo and shorten up his swing more, let the hits go where there may be, and if it’s a HR, then good, if not, good as well. Nice to see the Angels beat up a bad pitcher and not turn him into a sudden Cy Young candidate.
What happened to Cavan Biggio scares me, because I see some parallels to Schanuel. Granted, Nolan is younger and has a ton of room to improve. But Cavan’s original calling card was that he gets on-base. But when major league pitchers learned they just have to throw him strikes, well, he couldn’t hit. I hope Nolan has a better outcome.
Some have suggested Nolan get sent down to the minors to work more on his overall game. Why rush him now? I can see that happening if they determine both Drury and Rendon come back soon. Luis’ bat is too valuable to make him a utility player, so they will permanently slot him at 2B, then Drury at 1B and Rendon at 3B, leaving no room for Nolan.
I totally agree about Nolan. I actually think he will need to change his swing to have long term success. In order to get pitchers to throw outside the zone, they need to be convinced that if they throw a pitch in the zone it will get hit hard. Nolan doesn’t hit the ball very hard most of the time.
Nolan has been consistent with hs Exit velocity over his 2 small sample size seasons with the Angels. He generates an average Exit Velocity on 82.5 MPH.
As a result, Pitchers can challenge him in the zone as ground balls don’t get through the infield and the outfielders can play shallow with impunity since they have little concern that he will hit it over their head. I know hs has increased his home run frequency lately ( about 1 in every 25 At Bats the last month and half after only hitting 2 in his first 200 AB’s initially) but no doubles will mean no real value IMO.
Interesting comment about Cavan, Smithy. His Exit Velocity is also low as it has been in the mid 80’s the last few years even worse than Nolan’s. Except last night in his 3 AB’s with the Doyers hes already hitting balls over 90 MPH without striking out so obviously they’re already starting to work with him. Of Course desperation is great motivator.
Excellent points. He’s a big guy and should be generating a lot more force.
It’s the magic Doyer juice.
Still some room to add a little man weight (he’s 22). An off-season concentrating on the weight room and not his “never sit” routine (other than to poop and eat) all day long. Can’t we expect to see a noticeable uptick and increase with his hard contact rate in the years to come? Seems like a smart kid that will and can make some adjustments.
I don’t know what the chances are with his obviously lack of pop to become more pop’ish? Or this an “it is what it is” set in stone thing, typically?
One day i think he needs to go down and spend some time with the Panda’s, the next day I think he’s our future everyday 1st baseman. One thing, his defense at 1st is MLB approved.
Free the Never Sitter!
Soriano in bullet points:
• has poise and always maintains his composure
• is not a two-out headcase
• commands his pitches
• is mature for his age
• looks and acts like a winner
• possesses an effective skill set of speed and off-speed pitches
Soriano has some trade value which arguably is as high as it may ever be. Do you trade him or keep him?
Keep Him!! A/logic’s bullet points could have an entire staff built around them.
But that is now and is what makes him valuable from a trade perspective. We have seen how these things can deteriorate quickly.
Yes, let’s trade the best arm in our entire organization!
He is the best arm now – but we have seen how these things turn out. Things can change quickly. I always say sell high particularly as this team is unlikely to compete until 2027 at the earliest.
I’ll take the glass half full road.
Its not pessimistic to say this org would benefit from depth of prospects more than a single solid player. Especially when his peak performance is being wasted on an Angels team that is years away from competing. By the time we’re maybe good as a team, he the individual player may be hurt or gone.
We’ve lived through Trout by himself. Or Ohtani by himself. Its not a recipe for success. They need to strip the entire thing down and start accumulating a volume of assets even if that means losing some individually enjoyable players.
Yes. My point exactly. Thanks for making it. I feel this Org has to maximize value on every tradable asset at this point. We need a viable farm and individual players are arguably a waste since the team is not competing any time soon.
Soriano isn’t a FA until 2029
He’s a keeper.
But this maybe our best chance to get value So Better trade Soriano now to avoid the rush. In fact while we’re at it, Perry should be unloading Caden Dana for some Rookie ball prospects the first chance he gets.
ha!
But if the Angels make it a habit of selling/trading their best players, how do you build a team?
Who are you talking about?
They didn’t trade Trout or Ohtani.
How do we really know he’s a ‘best player’
It’s a question of whether their ‘best’ players are actually any good. I would take 2 or 3 top prospects and build the farm. Not all of them will develop however building the farm creates future depth and everything flows from there. Individual players are arguably less valuable on this team at this point.
It shouldnt be a habit but if you look at the Anaheim Ducks across the street, they made the tough call to trade or not re-sign some popular players in their prime because they determined the TEAM’s real competitive window was probably 4+ years away from serious contention and by the time 4 years pass, those popular guys currently in their prime will be expensive, older players who may be a drag on all the 24 year olds hitting their prime.
They decided the window of the team didn’t match the peak of the players, so they moved them for assets that would align with the time frame they intend to be winning a title.
I’m Mr. Trade but Soriano is a keeper. If he puts it all together, he has the arsenal to be included with the Tier 1 starters in the league. It’s between the ears now.
I agree. His upside is high.
We have said that about ALOT of players
Soriano >> Skaggs or Heaney or Detmers or Tucky – IMHO
Lol. Why are you even asking ?
What a ridiculous question. Of course you keep him !! He is young, under team control for quite some time and his ceiling is the Stratosphere. And he’s a pitcher !! No way you trade him.
I would think you are a Mariners or Astros fan for even asking this Fan…
Patrick Sandoval?
He’s talking about Soriano.
I get it – he’s under team control and why would you trade that? But he’s also at a much higher value than would otherwise be expected and a couple bad starts and that’s all gone.
My only focus is building up the farm system. It’s all I care about at this point.
But I do understand he is well under team control and there are reasons to keep him. But it is a risk. I have lots of examples of overrated players not being traded by this Org when there value was highest.
I would very much want a competent, trusted front office to trade him and anyone else and start a real rebuild with more depth propelling it and guys around the same age all maturing at the same time to open a longer, sustainable window of contention.
We do not have that front office though so I’d keep him now, wait and see if theres an ownership and GM change soon.
Fair point
Agree.
Compared to Joyce he is miles ahead. Both have dominant fastballs, but Soriano is able to spot his much better right now, and as you say he controls his breaking pitches well enough to keep opposing hitters off-balance.
Joyce has alot of work to do in that last area …
To paraphrase a very old baseball truism: “If I threw 101 I’d be poised too”.
Neto = 1.6 WAR
O’Hoppe = 1.4 WAR
Soriano = 1.4 WAR
Kidz to Keep. I’d be thrilled if Neto and O’Hoppe can get their batting averages over 0.270 at seasons end. Consistent ABs in the batters box, presenting a problem to the opposition pitcher. Neto is a bit inconsistent sometimes, but I cannot forget, he jumped straight to the big leagues.
Clearly Soriano is a keeper. No argument.
Soriano took a giant step last night, let’s hope he keeps improving, the Angels may just have a pitcher that other teams would be fearful of facing.
Vairy Nice Jose!! (Not Suarez)