I am not finding all that much news today. Maybe Alex Bregman will sign somewhere. Maybe Nick Pivetta will sign somewhere. Who knows?
Farhan Zaidi is now a special advisor to the Dodgers.
The Yankees signed catcher Ronaldo Hernandez to a minor league contract. They also signed Tyler Matzek to a minor league deal. Janson Junk got his minor league deal with the Marlins.
What if the other roster move is moving Neto to the 60 day IL?
It could happen
Lets hope not. June 1st would be way too long to see the wunderkid’s 2025 debut.
Trout is #39 on Top 100 Players Right Now.
Only if they stay healthy this is a .500 team. There’s room for a lower record with a peak of about 84 wins. This expecting 5 WAR from Trout and losing 1 from Neto.
Not all bad trades come back to haunt you. Ky Bush headed for TJ surgery.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/ky-bush-white-sox-prospect-tommy-john-surgery.html
Yeah but even if one of Edgar Quero’s legs unexpectedly falls off we still couldnt claim we won that trade.
Losing Quero hurt the farm, for sure. However, outside of him, what did we really give up of value?
Furthermore, Perry has done a really nice job of restocking the catcher pipeline with Juan Flores, Gabriel Davalillo, and Dario Laverde.
The long-term ramifications of those deadline moves are minimal, unless Quero somehow turns into something special.
It’s not what we gave up, it’s what we should/could have received in return…more or better, or maybe both, more and better.
Doesn’t matter on the back end of the trade we have some nice catching options in the system. We sure could have used some more pitching and OF prospects in that trade.
We went for it in the last season of Ohtani and Trout. It is what it is, gotta move on.
We lost tradeable prospects and received nothing in return.
I think the Angels have added around 6 WAR this offseason. If they can get 3-5 WAR out of Trout that would be an additional 9 to 11WAR which (presuming no slippage from the other players on the team and not too many injuries) would put them around 72-74 wins. I think that would be considerable success for this team.
Yep. That’d be fine as long as we see some more youngsters getting better over the long haul.
74 is right where I have them.
Michael Petersen in, Kelvin Caceres DFA’d. Cowboy was prophetic in thinking Kelvin was on his way out.
This does beg the question who is next. Moncada and Jansen need to be added and Stephenson is the only 60 day IL candidate I can recall.
Peterson throws ⛽️ – 97 mph average FB.
Took Perry a while, but he has finally learned to build a ‘pen with flamethrowers
it looks like Peterson was out of baseball for 2 complete seasons in 2020 & 2021 (COVID maybe ?) so not sure what happened there. While His MLB numbers were atrocious last year in 16 games for the Marlins & Doyers, in his 35 game season at homer happy AAA OKC Peterson was outstanding. 33 IP 1 HR 0.758 WHIP 1.64 ERA 12.0 K/9 and 5.5 K/BB. I’m sure this is what drove the Angels to claim him.
The other positive about this move is Peterson has 2 minor league options left so we can stash him down in AAA for insurance.
MLB’s hit hard thrown pitches a long, long way.
Being able to hit locations is what matters – whether you throw 105 or 85.
Given his injuries, can see Caceres going unclaimed and staying in camp
I think Turks is going to be closest to the pin on the next announcement as Gustavo Campero will probably be the next 40 man casualty (after the Stephenson 60 day IL move) but with Perry you never.
Good signing – I’d give it a “B” overall. This addition should be enough to have us fighting with the Sacraland A’s for 4th place in the West.
The best news is that the American League is weak this year, and if enough of the old guys on the Angels put together career years, there could be a chance to play into October.
This is the most optimistic post I’ve seen from you in quite a while, Senator! Safe to say we are World Series-bound!
The value of having experienced veterans in the clubhouse is highly underrated, especially for a young team.
Hendricks, also known as “The Professor,” will be a great mentor for our young pitchers. Joyce will have the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest closers of all time, Jansen. O’Hoppe will learn from D’Arnaud.
Building a strong culture matters. Hiring Wash was step 1 — we saw some good development last season. Bringing in established vets is step 2. I’m satisfied with how the rebuild is going.
JD, if he is around the big club, can also share some of his experience with our youngins.
You’d know we aren’t rebuilding because we would have “won” the bidding for Santander, Alonso and Scherzer in addition to Kikuchi by now and be racing face first into a battle for third place.
Alonzo and Scherzer would’ve been bookmarks, not a rebuild.
Id rather have JD Martinez but that wouldn’t happen without a Taylor Ward trade and would unleash some epically bad defense in the Outfield every night.
This is exactly what I was thinking. I love “the kids” and I want to have all the kids a platypus can produce. I also hate the idea of blocking all those kids with 20M+ veterans with multi-year deals that we can’t trade and have to play.
BUT you don’t want to go full Lord of The Flies and maroon the kids on an island of chaos. I think PTP has done a good job of building the boring veteran solidity we need. Washingtons & friends, Trout, Rendon (yes, players like him), Hendricks, Jansen, D’Arnaud, even Anderson…. they have a veteran the kids can actually learn from in every spot on the roster.
It’s a great investment. If Travis makes Logan 20% better we have a cheap All-Star captain. If ANY of our kids learn to control a strike zone like Anna Kendricks does it will be worth millions to the team. If even one of our relievers learns to tease the strike zone the way Jansen does, or learns his cutter we have taken a huge step.
Plus they’ll show the kids how to act along with Washington.
I can’t believe a team that’s only 21M away from the Luxury Tax is THIS bad but if they are gonna spend money this isn’t a bad way to do it even if it doesn’t “move the needle” very much.
I’m satisfied the Angels are not signing big name FAs and coughing up compensation picks but as far as the “rebuild,” Angels are not all-in so hesitant to think this will turn around this decade. More dramatic measures are required to hasten the time to get back to become a perineal division winner. Seattle and Texas and now the As look sustainable.
Still have yet to hear about coherent plan to turn this around. I feel this is more of a, “try-to win now, hang onto the best trade assets to compete, stockpile past-prime players in attempt to hit paydirt, stay under the luxury threshold and hope a good quantity the young players become all-star level.” This is a grind in work, Am I missing something?
Too bad Perry doesn’t learn to master the Transfer Portal. Rebuilding could move along quicker…..if in fact we are rebuilding.
I still think, unless the team is just magically good, Anderson, Rengifo, Ward, Anderson #2, Moncada and Jansen are all trade candidates. I’d like to trade some of those guys now but I have no idea what’s on offer for them at this point.
At least a few of those guys will have very little trade value in July as they don’t perform well or get injured. But that’s biscuits. They are water and flour.
It’s not my preference, but it’s not the end of the world to let the team roll, let kids play in the minors so you see what’s happening there, have the draft happen so you have an even clearer picture of what you need in the system by July. Then make more targeted trades for prospects.
For example. If happy lightning strikes and it looks like Adell and Moniak both settle into minor greatness then the “we only have Rada and Lugo in the system” issue changes. Especially if we also get a good OF prospect early in the draft too.
Or if Fontenelle blows up in AA and we draft that guy from Tennessee with our second pick, then maybe try to trade for a 19 year old beast that may develop into 3B gold instead of trying to get a solid 23 year old 3B prospect in trade.
The FO was pretty conservative in their FA pursuits. That’s pretty much what rebuilds look like now. It’s very hard to tear a team down all the way to the studs all at one time.
And due to the combo of the Trout/Rendon contracts it isn’t really possible to get below a $150 million ish payroll anyway.
Let’s say they traded Ward, Rengifo, and Anderson for prospects (which I’d like) and filled those spots with Austin Hays, Yoan Moncada, and your pick of meh back end pitcher. Not a ton of savings there.
I think the goal here is to give the kids at the MLB level a decent enough team that they can show up to the park and expect to win enough that they still care and play hard while giving the kids on the farm a chance to develop.
Come July several veterans will likely be traded.
If you’re young, unproven and not playing hard, regardless of wins/losses we don’t want that guy
If AM/PM were being honest with themselves and the fans, Anderson, Heefo and Ward to a lesser degree, would have been dealt last year for pure prospect dumps. Fast forwarding to this year trade deadline, the take back will be less. Angels are trying so hard to avoid the appearance and terminology of a rebuild that they are actually doing a poor job at it. End of the world? No, but there is little margin to skip opportunities.
You mean Anderson. Rengifo was hurt and Ward was hitting very badly heading into the trade deadline. I don’t think there was much on offer for them then. Rengifo almost certainly would have been delt if healthy, there was published interest in him.
If AM/PM were being honest with themselves and the fan
So Toomgis is a Halo?
in the end, Jansen has upside. If he’s reasonably good and the team is out of it at the deadline (likely outcome), then he’ll have trade value and maybe we can get another George Klassen. If he’s reasonably good and the Angels are in it, then he’ll have value to the team and be one less hole that needs to be filled. If he’s bad, then it’s only a 1-year deal and no long term payroll issues.
There are no bad 1 year deals so the Jansen signing is fine. $10 million is maybe a slight overpay but it’s the cost of being one of the worst teams in baseball…
If Jansen is on the team in July, then something has gone terribly wrong. He needs to be Estevezed as soon as possible so we can continue to restock the farm.
If Jansen is still on the team in July, that means we may have backed into quasi-contending.
If he’s still on the team in July that means the signing didn’t blow up since the trade deadline is now at the end of July.
They shouldn’t wait till the deadline to deal him. The earlier you trade him, the more you can ask for.
Ummm….that’s one viewpoint.
Accept for when the deadline is just days away, trade options are thin, and the trading partners are desperate.
Just think, just subtitle a story “Crickets” and they will come.
MASTERPIECE!!!
Looks like my son and I will be at the Guardians vs Angels game on Sunday the 23rd in Goodyear. Anyone going to be around?
Nice. I love that park. I’ll already be back from my trip but enjoy.
We are hitting that game because its on the way out of town. Baseball and a road trip back home with your 16 year old son. What’s better in life?
If you can figure it out, let me know. That sounds awesome.
I hope my son still wants to spend time at the ballpark with me when he’s 16.
I’m thinking that one year of Jansen for $10m is a good deal. That seems to give a bullpen of Burke, Crouse, V Gonzalez, Jansen, Joyce, Quijada, Suarez and Zeferjahn to start the season with. And easy choices to get rid of when/if Stephenson returns from the IL.
It also gives guys like Cortez, Minacci, Torres, and Bachman a clear chance to stay in the minors long enough to actually be ready to be promoted.
I still don’t understand keeping Suarez around. He must have incriminating pictures of Arte!
It’s just one of life’s many mysteries, like Scioscia’s undying love for all things regarding Jeff Mathis.
Why not take a look at the other left handed arms that available for around 2M and see?
Perry cooking per usual.
1 year, $10 mill for Kenley is good work.
Agreed. The type of signings we should prioritize during a rebuild. If he sucks, oh well, if he’s good he’s easy to trade.
Much more preferable signing Jansen than Kimbrel. He likely steps into the closer roll.
Agreed.
WARNING:
40 man player jettison incoming
One is required now. Stephenson to the 60 day IL will open up Jansen’s spot but Moncada needs to be added.
I wonder if Caceres is still recovering from last years injury? Could the Angels move him to the 60 day IL too? He hasn’t pitched in a professional baseball game since September of 2023.
Ooh, a plot twist. I’m not sure. I think we’ll know soon.
Nice to land the veteran in the bullpen.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/angels-sign-kenley-jansen.html
Pair him with Joyce and Quijada(maybe Stephenson)late in the game…
Not horrible…
Will give us a chance plenty of nights.
Todavía necesitamos uno más por favor
Yeppp. Could do a helluva lot worse than Joyce-Jansen-Stephenson-Zefer.
That’s a solid top 4. I want one more!
If Stephenson ever pitches for the Angels.
Oh he will. Arte wants so bad to take advantage of Stephenson’s Injury Bonus year. So he can tell his friends what a great deal hes getting from him 2027.
I heard he’s working out with RenDone.
😆 Recliner aerobics! Careful they don’t injure their elbows while dipping a chip!
Rendone: “…ooooh….calf cramp, calf cramp!”
Two more seasons of possibilities (’25 & ’26).
Gives them the option to rotate closers so they don’t wear down by July. Joyce , you will pitch the ninth every other game, Jansen, you will pitch the 9th the other days. If you’re not scheduled to pitch the ninth, it is a day off, unless we are in the post season.
Aren’t you being a little too optimistic about save opportunities SG?
That’s why I didn’t use the term “save”. Just that they will pitch the 9th regardless. 😁. 74 win team isn’t going to fool me!
74 wins….. not bad!
Actually they are saying that they will both be leverage guys, so if you need a guy to kill a rally in the 6th inning, one of them comes in, then you still have a guy available for the 9th.
This is a thing that I like. If a guy like Zeferjahn also develops we have Dibble/Charlton/Meyers. Go red team. I luvs you red team!
Angels signed Kenley Jansen
Huh. Interesting.
Huh….what?
1yr 10m
I’ve never needed a baseball season to focus on more than right now.
Happy Pitchers and Catchers Day to all! Hope you’re in the best shape of your life!
So……do you post here often?
LOL….
…yes?
LOL, was feeling silly this morning.
I’m sure Mia has been working her normal off-season program and is ready for Spring Training and the long season ahead.
Let’s hope our Halos have been putting in the work like Mia & Trout.
just need a couple sessions in the batting cage to get my timing down.
There’s no running till next week, right?
It seems like forever since I took a couple of cuts at the dish….
If my time in team sports has taught me anything, it’s that the running always comes first.
Seriously….I mean, if all goes according to play it could well be the last baseball season. So, let’s enjoy it!
The alien invasion is gonna rock, though!
We probably have at least another 5+ years…
https://x.com/ResisttheMS/status/1889362180010811707
Mia, you got posted and we signed Kenley.
Do it again, do it again!
Ahhhh, tis the calm before the spring training storm. And speaking of storms, we are about to get some needed rain and snow this week!
Yes, that is some good news.
This could not come at a better time for most Central Valley farmers. Almond trees have yet to blossom, row crops are planted. Let’s hope we get a solid amount of rainfall now and snow to melt over the summer.
Across the street a neighbor used to have an almond tree, one season of Devil winds broke it off even with the ground level like a pencil. Beautiful when it bloomed though.
Cool photo pic Charles, I have a framed autographed version of it I got at the Big A. Is ST here yet?!?
