Good Morning Angels fans! Have some links!
Angels News
Good News Everyone! The Angels won 3 in a row!
More good news, Rengifo is back! And he may be trade bait, but he is back!
Bad News Everyone, Mike Trout got injured AGAIN. “Nothing Serious” Press x to doubt.
At least Trout gives food to the very hungry and undernourished guys in SLC. That’s nice.
Wait, someone is trying to trade for Detmers? That is a sell low right now, nuh uh.
Around Baseball
The Mariners are to be laughed at, they have such a terrible offense and are ruining their chance to win the division, already blowing a 10 game lead. Even shaking up their offense yesterday did not help.
Seats for the final game in Oakland are $102 for the cheap seats. Yeah, price gouging the remaining fans is so on brand. As is the giveaway being a stadium replica. Oh, and the email about the remaining Oakland employees that they are fired some OCT 2nd.
The Phillies have the best rotation in baseball and the best record when their SP go 7 innings. Angels have 13 games of that happening and are 10-3, which is not that bad all things considered.
As the Trade Deadline nears, who gets traded is brought up a lot. One who could be moved is Skubal, who has been the best pitcher in baseball since September of last year.
One who is a buyer and a seller is the O’s who, despite being one of the best teams this year, may trade some of their vets. I guess it can make sense? They have a crowded roster and may want to keep their farm restocked.
Anything I missed? Post below for upvotes!
For anyone who missed it…
Jeff Fletcher
@JeffFletcherOCR
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1h
Mike Trout is not playing tonight in SLC.
And he’s returning to Southern California to be re-evaluated.
Yep. So much for day to day. Everything stops until the pain goes away and then the process starts over.
Why would the club even want him to come cack this year. Just rest rehab and get ready for next year.
The Angels’ third round pick Ryan Prager has decided not to sign with them, and is going back to Texas A&M. It’s is *exceedingly* rare that a college player drafted in the top three rounds does not sign.
Perry is really not good at this. Traded his best two prospects for 6 starts from Giolito. Lost arguably his highest floor, most polished pitching draftee in this draft.
That sucks. I liked Prager
It makes the Dana-level overpay for sixth rounder Dylan Jordan look moronic. That was almost 800k – surely enough extra to persuade Prager to sign.
Ooof, hadn’t even thought of that
How/why do you think this happened? Don’t they exchange figures with the agents to see what it’ll take for the player to sign? Change of heart by Prager?
Does it open up more money for Gatwood?
At lease we get a comp pick in next year’s deeper class *shrug*
Poor communication, bonus pool mismanagement.
It doesn’t open up more $$ for Gatwood, no, because the Angels forfeit all the slot money assigned to that third pick (almost a million).
Gotcha
And the comp pick comes between the third and fourth rounds next year, so the Angels lose about 25 slots, mitigating whatever advantage gained by a deeper draft class.
We’ll land that senior-sign yet!
This is not how you rebuild.
From the all-reliever draft, to trading Bush + Quero (both of whom are thriving) for two months of Giolito, to losing Prager (something less that happens with less than 1% of Day Two signs) – Perry Minasian is just not good at farm development.
Or, summarized otherwise in a chart:
So that basically answers the question about whether he should be kept. Regardless of the challenges of working for Arte, there are others who could definitely do much better and that’s the first step for Arte. Hire a decent GM which he probably won’t do.
you can blame a lot of shit on Arte, but not the draft – that’s ALL Perry.
I wouldn’t call Bush’s starts in AAA “thriving”. In fact he now looks like a mediocre 24 year old that might have reached his ceiling. but Quero has finally gotten and stayed hot this was a huge loss for the Angels.
Just saw the news that Kyle Hurt will be having TJ surgery. Maybe the Dodgers don’t know how to develop pitchers.
Don’t know how, but Arte did this to the Dodgers…..
Anthony Rendone has 133 PAs this season.
Without looking it up, try and match the below numbers to his BA, OBP, SLG ?
.293
.233
.275
BA .233 OBP .293 SLG .275.
i still love the guy but recently saw a comparison of counting stats from his 2019 year and what he’s done with the Angels since:
(W2019)/LA (2020-24)
HR: 34, 22
2b: 44, 45
R: 117, 103
RBI: 126, 117
If the Angels were able to trade Anderson to the Dodgers, what would the return look like? Would somebody like Wrobleski (14th on MLB Dodger prospects) be reasonable, or a gross overpay?
Arte likely needs to eat some contract to get Wrobleski. But considering the Dodgers are top tier luxury tax payors, every dollar Arte eats saves them close to 2.
Jackson Ferris is an arm in High A that I’d love to snag from them.
I was looking at Ferris too, but figured a Top 10 Player at only High A was likely out of the question.
Yep “paying” Anderson makes him pretty attractive compared to what trading for Crochet will cost a team. There should be at least a couple teams we can get a top 10 prospect from in return for him. Maybe a little more.
Sorry, we’re still worsier than them. In 1995, we blew a 13 game lead to them…
And since we are bringing up the past, in 2001 the Mariners won 116 games, finished with a 14 game lead and then choked their way out of the playoffs.
IN 2002 we qualified as a Wild card and won it all.
Scoreboard Red Scoreboard
They had a 2-game lead on us in 1995, with two to play. They blew that Lead too.
I think it was max 11 game lead- we hit that in early Aug and were still up 10.5 games the morning of August 17th. Good times.
You’re right Rex. It never got more than 11 GB
Drury is due!
That explains why he’s a bit wider these days….
Angels are a model of consistency.
22-29 at home
22-28 on the road
Home record has made a significant improvement from its early season debacle.
Yes. I was actually surprised when I saw it.
And have now won 7 out of our last 10 games.
Thank You Seattle.
The Angels should claim Diego Castillo and give him the rest of the season at the big league level.
He’s only 26 and has carried a high OBP across a ton of AAA games. But he’s never been given much of a chance at the big league level.
Odds are it won’t work out but we know Drury is gone after this year so why not see what the kid has?
This is exactly what we should be doing…. as long as we are a dumpster fire anyway, look for Max Muncy type dumpster dives. True, it may take 15 dives, but in our situation, who cares?
How times have changed…Trout’s setback doesn’t even get a mention on MLB homepage.
I have quit even worrying about Trout’s possible return. This has just become a sad, sad situation. I’m enjoying our youngsters and their enthusiasm and growth, Thanks for the memories, Mike. Probably time to move on and start the Hall of Fame countdown. 😪
The thing is, he’s really not that old for a baseball player. The injury issues over the past 4 years have been stunning.
Are these injuries that would be associated with long time PED use?
A torn thumb ligament, broken bone and torn meniscus aren’t to my knowledge. Can’t say about calf sprains and sore backs as there are a lot of reasons for those.
eh, highly highly doubtful
If, by PEDs you mean CtPG Guy ju ju. Yes. It can drag even great players down.
He’s a notoriously slow healer, though, and a lot of PEDs speed up recovery.
Today’s Lineups
No need for SLC
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/angels-vs-mariners/2024/07/24/745231/preview
We all know that 8 back on July 24th is impossible but…we’re only 8 back on July 24th!!!
https://x.com/trashpandas/status/1815902157201125456
Good!
he definitely will bring back a starting pitcher with veteran grit for the 2024 stretch drive, though i’d rather get Pete Alonso for him.
We really could have an interesting AA team next season if Perry plays the trade deadline right.
Here’s my simple plan for the trade deadline — put everyone not named O’Hoppe, Neto and maybe Soriano and Joyce on the block and see if anybody wants to overpay for any of them, while moving all the expiring contracts for whatever we can get.
I still want to hold onto Adell too…. cause I just don’t know how to quit him
Same. He’s looked a lot better at the plate in stretches, including this recent one.
I really want to see how he closes the year out. His overall numbers will be bad, but he has a chance to close on a good note and possibly be part of the future.
Honestly, it’s his defense that gives me hope. He looked lost… as he often does when he sees a slider at the plate now…. but he applied himself and slowly got good.
He always had natural ability in the OF. I saw it in the low minors. It just took him a while to get it together in a stadium. He’s never gonna be Tony Gwynn, but he has a solid large swing. He’s fast. He’s strong. We could luck into a guy who has GG defense, hits 30 HR, steals 20 bags, can fill in in CF…. and strikes out a lot with a .220 BA.
But I’ll take that. Gorman Thomas with good OF defense and speed? Sure. And I think he can get that if he gets comfortable and gets his head behind his skills.
Is this over what was expected $ amount? Will this affect signing any of our remaining unsigned players? (I know Gatwood isn’t signing)
11th-rder Trey Gregory-Alford signs
for $1,957,500 ($1,807,500 counts vs pool)
record for 11th rd, most ever in pool era after 4th rd.
https://x.com/jimcallisMLB/status/1815887669169123621
One Ryan down. One to go.
https://x.com/Jared_Tims/status/1815931012549099721
Plus these Day 3 guys.
https://x.com/CarlosACollazo/status/1816124804191379935
Fantastic!
Unfortunately none of them are named Nolan ( or even Lynn)
Weird they’d have to overpay that much for Johnson. As a college 4-year junior, he didn’t have tremendous leverage. Seems like he was picked where most scouting departments would have slotted him.
Caden Dana got a record $1.5 million from that slot a few years ago. I expected Trey to beat that number by a bit but nearly half a million.
Staying in SL because the Free Clinic Dr in SL is better than our team Dr./ training staff in Anaheim.
https://x.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1815961443969425879
Trout is obviously a piece of shit who doesn’t care about baseball and is just collecting his load of dough. He’s almost certainly a cancer. This org is a joke.
All joking aside. I hate the “Star bought food” articles. EVERY VET WITH A BIG CONTRACT DOES THAT. It’s expected. It’s tradition. It’s only news if a vet with a post arb contract DOESN’T do this.
I can already see Arte telling Perry to stand pat at the trade deadline since we’re “only” 8 games back 😆
its better than trading real MLB assets for AA lotto tickets
Not really.
Every time one of you guys (not just you) talks about “established MLB assets” you’re doing one of two things:
Ignoring where we are at with those assets who have clearly established what they can do for us.
Or you’re saying to avoid trading “Asset” for prospects but what you are really thinking is “keep Asset…. and buy more Asset…. and trade for Asset too.” Which isn’t likely while the team sucks.
There is zero indication Arte is selling. Unicorns aren’t real. Neither is a 300M rebuild just because “rendon’s off the books”.
Bonus: If any of you guys have ever said “BUILD THE FARM!” before but are now wanting to keep MLB assets…. what the fk was your plan?
Depends on the assets.
If those assets are likely to help you win in 2-3 years, keep them.
Anybody not under contract in 2026 and beyond should be dealt for players who may help win at that time.
📣 oh boy-Renny has returned, gee whiz that is exciting news 💤
Why would we not be excited by the return of our best hitter ?
He Got the only hit with RISPy’s last night for us.
I sure as hell aint complaining
One of the more exciting players we’ve had since Trout and Ohtani played for us.
Free the Heefalo!
Believe in the Heefalo GPB!
Keep Heef ! Keep Heef ! Keep Heef !!!
So your a Heef Keeper proponent?
Because he’s our best hitter AND our best trade chip, so it’s good either way.
Because he is hitting .300+ in how many At Bats? He can’t field, think, run, and I know he has a gun. This will be the first time maybe he doesn’t cost us 5 losses in his limited seasons yet.
I get people love Rengifo and I like him too but if we got a good trade offer, you move him. This team has a chance to do a semi-quick rebuild targeting contention when Rendon’s money is off the books in 2 years and can be spent elsewhere.
I get we occasionally look feisty and maybe you can trick yourself into thinking next year will be different but there is no reason to expect anything meaningful from Trout anymore as an everyday player so the goal should be replacing his value with several above average players. Keeping a guy like Rengifo to play on bad teams at the expense of a faster rebuild just doesn’t make sense.
Trading Rengifo and completely whiffing on the return will be funny, especially when he helps the Dodgers/Yankees win the WS.
Wild rationale a year after being too scared to trade Ohtani and setting back the rebuild years as a result.
All because we had beaten some really bad teams heading into the trade deadline.
Being scared to be bold is why we will win 72 games in perpetuity.
So Signing Grandpa, Hambone & Rendone wasn’t bold?
If anything it was too bold and reckless
I thought Grandpa was terrible when it happened. The problem with Hambone and Rendon is that they didn’t just not perform as well as they had been, they both pretty much never performed at all. They were total losses. Because Arte missed out on Beltre, I think he wanted to make up for it with Rendon and it blew up on him. Hambone was a big risk, but at the time Rendon was signed, he had just completed 4 consecutive years as a 160 OPS+ player. If you look at the large contracts given out by owners over the last 15 years, how many have come close to panning out. The odds are just not in your favor. They need to go back to 3 and 5 year deals and or stay on this side of 34.
I think it’s key to remember to forget that Rendon was good in 2020 and then Angels shit ju ju piss bitching caught up to him and the injuries started to mount at a hilarious rate. Gotta preserve the vibe.
Fkn Rendone and all those surgeries he keeps getting so he can avoid playing sports. What a dick.
It’s also important to NEVER look at Rendon’s bref page before we signed him at age 29. And NEVER EVER look up who played 3B for us the five years before we signed Rendon.
Respectfully, who cares what he accomplished in DC. He’s been here for 4.5 seasons and is currently slashing .233 / .293 / .275 and has hit 13 HRs since 2021 😂😂😂.
Injuries suck, hopefully the $200 million helps Tony sleep better at night.
Yes. Accept you figure out if the decision to sign him was reckless by looking at what happened before you signed him, not after…. unless you’re a 5 year old.
A healthy Rendon and Trout with Ohtani the last 3 years with a little help would have been a postseason team. We have combined making bad decisions with being terribly unlucky.
Yah. This is why I’m not constantly on the hate train. We would have been pitching stressed, but if Arte had gotten what he’s paid for from any of his huge contracts we’d have at least made a wild card the last 10+ years.
we’ve had good enough offense for a playoff team all along on paper (injuries, man)
but we’ve never had a post season-capable pitching the last decade.
I’m hard sale when you’re trying to convince me to trade one of our best players of the last 2.5 years.
There’s no reason Rengifo can’t be apart of the youth movement. If you trade him, you better hit.
Anderson, Ward, Estevez, Pillar, Garcia, Strickland should all be moved without a second thought.
rebuild?
Arte doesn’t rebuild, he reloads.
But he reloads blanks.
Yes. And sometimes, when I talk to a woman, she isn’t interested in getting to know me. Which is why I just sit in my room watching Netflix, eating chips, and muttering about society.
Let’s not become baseball incels just because no one will guarantee their prospects for us.
What’s more valuable — 6 years of Rengifo (assuming we can extend him) or the prospects we get back in return?
It’s a legitimate debate, which is why we have it almost daily. Rengifo’s floor is 2-3 WAR with defensive flexibility.
The prospects. Because I don’t assume we can resign him and I know we need four of him in order to be good.
It’s always been we desperately need to improve our rotation to compete, but let’s also remember Seattle has a good rotation but they suck because they can’t hit.
Pirates fan here. Yes. We do not want the Angels becoming that. It sucks.