LA Angels Tuesday News Crash: Extra Pick

To add insult to injury, the Dodgers may even end up with an extra draft pick thanks to Roki Sasaki. Will Billy Wagner make it into the Hall of Fame today?

Rhett Bollinger tackled the unenviable job of taking a close look at Angels pitching in the first quarter of this century. Yes, there were some good pitchers. None of them are still around.

The Blue Jays signed Anthony Santander for five years with an opt out and pending a physical. Toronto designated Brandon Eisert for assignment to make room for Santander. The Giants have a minor league deal with Joey Lucchesi. He got an invitation to spring training. Ryder Ryan got a minor league deal with the Pirates including an invite to spring training. Chasen Shreve got a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves.

Long time catcher Andrew Knapp announced his retirement as a player. He says he would like to manage some day.

Photo credit: Rex Fregosi

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Marcotor
Trusted Member
26 days ago

How Chase Utley gets 39%, and Bobby Grich can’t buy his way in is a travesty.

Born_in_59
Trusted Member
27 days ago

Congrats to the three new members of the hall of fame.

steelgolf
Legend
26 days ago
Reply to  Born_in_59

What A-hole didn’t vote for Ichiro? Who ever it was should have their voting rights taken away.

Mikeal1st
Trusted Member
27 days ago

Doyers look like they’re trying to win every game.

Twebur
Legend
27 days ago

Angels move, more quesadillas…Lefty Quijada’s new deal with Angels includes ’26 option

https://www.mlb.com/news/jose-quijada-angels-2025-contract

Last edited 27 days ago by Twebur
Angelz4ever
Super Member
27 days ago

This just in:

Dodgers will carry 42 players on their active roster and will defer those two additional spots from the 2035 season.

Jeff Joiner
Editor
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Charles Sutton

I like that frame and delivery. Smooth like butter.

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend

Billy Wagner….

Heres a look at two closers….

1115 games. 1283.2 IP. 1173Ks. 1.00 Career WHIP 652 Saves. over 19 years.
853 games. 903 IP. 1196 Ks. 0.998 Career WHIP. 422 Saves. over basically 15 years.

One is the all time greatest tingle up the leg puddle in the pants most bestest ever unicorn that a sports writer would allow to make love to him in a bar in Tijuana. The other is a guy who can’t get into the Hall of Fame. One of these guys wore pinstripes. The other did not.

HalosFanForLife
Super Member
27 days ago

Wow. I always thought of Wagner in the same kind of way as Mariano (as in “game over” mode) – but not to the same extent. I had no idea he had that many k’s. Wagner was scary good and played his role. Great analogy.

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend

Wagner plays four more years, especially for a top team like the Yankees, and he may have passed Mariano

steelgolf
Legend
27 days ago

I look for The Dodgers to cycle guys onto and off of the DL/IL with frequency this season. As long as no player complains, as in the Eppler case, then they will get away with it.

grichmanpoorman
Trusted Member
27 days ago

Guess I’m not a big enough Halos homer to remember the one inning Yates threw for us in 2017.

Cowboy26
Legend
27 days ago

Thank You Billy.

grichmanpoorman
Trusted Member
27 days ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

To be fair… he had yet to realize he’s Lee Smith in 2017.

Angelz4ever
Super Member
27 days ago

Can we compile a list of free agent players that did not sign with the Dodgers this offseason? I am sure that would be pretty easy and short.

You know what, let’s defer the list until 2035.

Last edited 27 days ago by Angelz4ever
Cowboy26
Legend
27 days ago

The Doyers now have 42 players for 40 Roster spots. They will need to get rid of 2 players before they can announce the Sasaki & Yates deals.

Time to take a break from whining about the heathens from the north destroying baseball and see if we cant pick up (or trade for) someone off of their roster that can improve our ball club.

WallyChuckChili
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

Can’t they just defer those two players?

Cowboy26
Legend
27 days ago

Nope.

Also look to the Doyers to sign a bunch of crazy Minor League deals with Opening Day/early season opt outs with large MLB conversion salaries. According to Roster Resource ( and other sources) , The Blue Crew have up to 6 injured pitchers currently on their 40 man ( River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, Brusdar Graterol & Michael Kopeck) that wont be available for opening day due to elbow & shoulder surgeries/injuries. They cant transfer them to 60 day IL until right before the season starts.

Say what you want about their spending habits, their pitching development absolutely destroys pitchers arms. I’m shocked more free agent pitchers dont stay away from them for that reason but if you are getting a boat load of cash and a ring I guess its worth your arm falling off.

Last edited 27 days ago by Cowboy26
Twebur
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

pitching development absolutely destroys pitchers arms

……and esophagi

Cowboy26
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Twebur

Wait. In the case of Sasaki, Wally is Right ( And Im not referring to Patrick O’Neal’s baby mama dad)

As an international free agent signing, he doesn’t have to be added to the 40 man until the start of the season so The Doyers only have to jettison a player for the Yates signing.

red floyd
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

I believe you missed the sarcasm tag on Wally’s comment.

Cowboy26
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  red floyd

I did It just took awhile to crawl out of the chasm.

steelgolf
Legend
27 days ago

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Well played.

Born_in_59
Trusted Member
27 days ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

Can we just give them more money to throw at Roki in return for a pitcher not recovering from surgery and an outfielder?

Jeff Joiner
Editor
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Born_in_59

Yes. We have about $800k in bonus pool remaining and can trade in $250k increments.

So we could trade the Dodgers $750k in bonus pool funds for players.

WallyChuckChili
Legend
27 days ago

But wait, there’s more.

Now Kirby Yates to the dogers!

steelgolf
Legend
27 days ago

Uggggh.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend

Having the option to laugh or cry, always choose to laugh.

I’m finding this situation to be quite humorous at this point.

WallyChuckChili
Legend
27 days ago

I’m guessing Pete Alonso will now sign with the dogers as a P. Hitter. Highest paid bench player.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend

If he fits within their strategy, they just might sign him….

WallyChuckChili
Legend
27 days ago

And Bregman because, why not?

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend

It would be awesome if they actually got Alonso and Bregman…. and then lost to a hit Brewers team in their first play off round. Dave Roberts can complain about how threatened he felt in Milwaukee and how all that threatyness and chapped anus pain caused his team of champions to not champion.

Still something to root for here.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend

The more contracts that could go bad, the better!

Pineapple12
Super Member
27 days ago

😂😂😂😂😂😂

WallyChuckChili
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Pineapple12

I’m happy for dodger fans. It’s been such a slow offseason so far for them.

Fansince1971
Legend
27 days ago

In thinking on what the Dodgers have done and how it has taken the concept of equity amongst MLB baseball franchises and blown it to bits, MLB has to do something or else the integrity of the League is in jeopardy.

My thought would be a $125 million floor in exchange for a $225 million salary cap with 5% bumps in each every season. I also think there needs to be a way to give teams credit (ie less cap charge) when they sign players they draft and develop to a long term deal thereby encouraging owners to keep franchise type players beyond free agency (good for the fans).

If the Union is realistic at all (they were not in ‘94 but maybe the last 30 years has changed things a bit) they will see that the floor concession would be significant and would outweigh a few teams spending like drunken sailors. All owners would be forced to spend bringing more overall revenue to the table. Also the League would be made healthier via more parity.

WallyChuckChili
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Fansince1971

Drunk Sailors are still spending

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend

Why should they not execute their strategy?

Fansince1971
Legend
27 days ago

In other professional sports Leagues the interests of the integrity of the League is taken into consideration. As an example, trades have been blocked in the NBA if the Commissioner believes it could create a super-team and affect the overall competitiveness of the League. There is an interest in competitive balance in major sports leagues. While there will always be elite teams, and haves versus have-nots, what the Dodgers are doing is arguably not in the best interest of the game.

red floyd
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Fansince1971

As an example, trades have been blocked in the NBA if the Commissioner believes it could create a super-team and affect the overall competitiveness of the League.

Chris Paul to the Lakers anyone?

Cowboy26
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  red floyd

But in fairness to the NBA, the league owned the Hornets at the time

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend
Reply to  Fansince1971

There have been no trades that have been blocked by the NBA commissioner to prevent the creation of a “superteam”.

The situation you are likely referring to is the Chris Paul trade when the NBA owned the Charlotte Hornets. David Stern did block that trade, however Stern did not veto the trade as the Commissioner of the NBA but rather, as the acting owner of the Hornets.

L.A. agreed to part ways with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom in exchange for the then-26-year-old point guard Chris Paul.

The league owned the Hornets when Dell Demps (Charlotte GM) sanctioned Paul’s trade without Stern’s approval. The situation enraged other NBA teams, leading to the commissioner calling off the deal.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend
Reply to  Fansince1971

A-N-Y owner could have signed Yates and Scott. Maybe the frustration is misplaced and should be directed at the 29 other owners for not competing more aggressively to sign these players.

MLB never promised “fairness and impartiality” across in how each team spends money and builds its roster. Unless MLB decides to centralize ownership so that there is one owner for all 30 teams, there will always be the “have’s” and “have nots”.

Until that magical day when the players agree to end the “cash cow”, the Dodgers can spend whatever they like on their payroll and gleefully pay the luxury tax as per the CBA.

WallyChuckChili
Legend
27 days ago

29 other owners don’t have the dodgers media deal

Kiyotchan
Super Member
27 days ago

Or the richest Japanese sponsors.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend
Reply to  Kiyotchan

Arte had Ohtani and was able to generate a fraction of the Japanese media market that the Dodgers have gained with Ohtani.

Why is that?

Kiyotchan
Super Member
27 days ago

If I recall correctly, MLB gets $$$ from Japanese media company for the rights to broadcast MLB games there, not certain how much it is worth, at least 100M when Ohtani signed with Angels 7 years ago. Arte must have made pretty good chunk with a number of Japanese companies for ‘Billboard’ sale, and he does not have to disclose any of that, right? So, you can say that Japanese sponsors/companies have supported the salaries of Shohei and will continue to do that.

Kiyotchan
Super Member
27 days ago
Reply to  Kiyotchan

I meant to say, not certain how much it is worth now, at least $100M per year when Ohtani signed with the Angels 7 years ago.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend

Which came first: winning or the media deal?

The Angels had Trout and Ohtani and couldn’t win let alone chip away at the Dodger media market…despite being 26.4 miles away via I-5.

If you take the Pirates and move them to LA and move the Dodgers to Pittsburgh, I guarantee the Dodgers would get a much larger media deal in Pittsburgh than the Pirates have.

Everyone wants to be “close” to winner.

Cowboy26
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Fansince1971

Players won’t agree to a salary cap. Never have never will. The Owners wont agree to a salary floor without a cap and more meaningful Revenue Sharing and I just dont see teams like the Doyers and Yankees ever agreeing to sharing their local revenues.

The best they can do is hope for real CBTpenalties ( like loss in draft picks and international signing pools) that really retard teams from spending. I’m not sure the extent of the work stoppage that will be needed before MLBPA capitulates to thesis time of reforms. it could include an entire season.

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend
Reply to  Fansince1971

I think the floor should be AT LEAT 125M. Maybe more. 135M. Revenue sharing should be required to be paid to players and teams should be given enough to hit this mark.

I think that a “cap discount” for signing players you have or would have paid arbitration salary to would really help central division type teams. It would also make good development way more valuable. It would also help young players get extensions faster.

I think the cap and floor should go up every year by a little less than what the highest AAV of the last off season is percentage wise compared to the average payroll. So if the lowest possible payroll HAS to be 135M this can’t be cheated and the cap is the top, what ever that is, then average payroll would be say 200M.

The “top guy” gets 40M a year. So say that that is 20% of the 200M average. Work out some sort of formula (FO geeks will love) that makes it so that the cap jumps 25% of that for the next season and the floor must go up 10% of that same percentage amount.

Some way that the cap for all the teams goes up by basically one huge AAV regularly and the floor goes up a measurable chunk of the same at the same rate. Make it so that the vast majority of ball clubs are massing together in the 170-190M range of payroll even if some teams are hitting say a 280M cap and some are at a 135M floor.

Count all deferred money against the cap and make the cap penalties really hurt. 100% tax on cap overages and a loss of 50% of Intl free agent funding and the earliest pick the team has in the draft. Something like this is to tamp down the “glory effect” where the best teams are drawing in the best Intl layers via fame. A team can go over the cap to sustain a WS push, but it will really hurt their future and limit the ability to cash bully their way to the top AND corner the market at the bottom of the player pipeline.

Maybe also find a way for teams that spend on MiLB salaries and development to get benefits against the cap and/or a raise in revenue sharing money.

Some version of this could get the most players getting paid more money on more teams but allow for a cap that keeps teams like Milwaukee relevant.

DMAGZ13
Trusted Member
27 days ago

K-Rod belongs in the Hall!

steelgolf
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  DMAGZ13

I don’t know if he will get in. Didn’t he have some domestic violence issues? If so, he probably doesn’t get in.

Cowboy26
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  steelgolf

He beat up his father in Law

steelgolf
Legend
27 days ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

That’s right, yeah, he probably isn’t getting in.

Marcotor
Trusted Member
26 days ago
Reply to  DMAGZ13

Maybe the Hall of very good. Not the HOF, although the bar seems to get lower and lower every year, so maybe he has a chance.

Last edited 26 days ago by Marcotor
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