Today is the deadline for teams to either tender a contract to arbitration eligible players or cut them loose so they can join the free agent pool. The Angels entered the offseason with a dozen such players, but after trading Griffin Canning to Atlanta then shipping Matt Thaiss to the Cubs are down to 10.
Across baseball, there are quite a few ballplayers on the tender/non tender bubble and some would be nice additions to the Angels.
This was a tough reality check for Angels first round draft picks as Jordyn Adams was also designated for assignment this week. Local boy turned good Eric Wagaman joined Adams in being booted off the roster.
Why so much roster movement across baseball? Tuesday was the day for teams to set their roster ahead of the Rule V draft next month. In the Rule V draft teams can select prospects with certain amounts of minor league time that are not yet on a team’s 40 man roster. You can read all the details here.
Some intriguing prospects were right on the bubble and some are now available to be drafted by the Angels or any other team.
It is fair to expect more activity today as teams try to trade players they might otherwise cut loose. Keep coming back to the site for updates (and please update in the comments).
Unfortunately, this could be the last flurry of roster activity for a while. First there’s Boras client Juan Soto at the top of the food chain meeting with all the big clubs. All of his suitors will wait to see his decision before pivoting to other targets.
On the pitching side, Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki won’t sign until after January 15th when teams will have more bonus money to throw at him. There are already rampant rumors Sasaki has agreed to a handshake deal with the Dodgers, but the Japanese youngster is said to be “insulted” by such allegations.
That said, there could still be movement on the second tier of free agents. The Angels are said to be interested in Japanese hurler Tomoyuki Sugano. The pros: a nine pitch mix that he uses to keep hitters off balance and a miniscule walk rate. The cons: he’s 35 and lacks MLB caliber velocity. I’m still all for it at a decent price.
Sugano, Anderson, Kochanwicz, Kendrick, Detmers won’t remind anybody of the 90s Braves but it would be a serviceable rotation and give the youngsters time to develop, and that is key. Plus I believe Detmers has one final option year so we could let him develop in AAA if Perry signs another arm.
As we continue to assemble the Angels 2025 team and look to the future, let’s take a deeper dive into FanGraphs report on the Angels farm system. As you can see from this graph, the top of the list now has a 55 FV player and a 50 FV player so the ceiling is being raised a bit. Now look at the ETAs of the top 12.
Half of that list is expected to get a taste of big league action in 2025 with three more joining in 2026. For those of you not familiar with the FV grade, take a look here. The projected Future Values of guys like Cortez and Johnson comes from FanGraphs already pegging them as MLB relievers rather than starters so this is a very practical assessment. If any of them develop as starters, their value will increase.
The bottom line is that the Angels could, actually should, be sporting a much different team at the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026 than they do right now with a pitching staff that is largely cost controlled. Keep in mind Jack Kochanowicz and Ben Joyce no longer appear on this list.
Perry could have ample opportunity to add to the prospects list this year, too. The Royals are showing interest in Taylor Ward. Perhaps they are willing to part with Brady Singer who is not a prospect but would be a cog in the middle of the rotation for years to come.
At any rate, if the Angels surprise folks and end up as Wild Card contenders this year, great. But if the team does as expected, Perry should have some nice trade chips in Tyler Anderson, Luis Rengifo, and Taylor Ward to help the rebuild.
From around baseball:
Never mind the devastation throughout the area from a hurricane, a billionaire is pissed he can’t get taxpayer money in time to build a new ballpark so he’s threatening to move the team. Manfruad is pushing back on those statements.
Meanwhile, new pictures of the devastation of Tropicana Field have surfaced.
Congratulations to this year’s Cy Young Award recipients Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale. I though they both deserved the award this season.
There was also a very strong case for Zack Wheeler to win the NL Cy Young, however, and his great season deserves a lot more attention than it is receiving.
The MVP Awards are a few hours away but I’ll go ahead and congratulate Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani now as that is a foregone conclusion.
Again, there is another great season that deserves much more attention than it is receiving. Bobby Witt Jr. just put up a season for the ages.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. I lost a near and dear friend this past week. A man I loved like a father who loved me like a son and we will celebrate his life today. Yet another reminder that life is short and love is the greatest gift of all. So hug your loved ones and prepare to enjoy them over the hustle and bustle of the holidays.
