Trying to recap this last week without turning this column into War and Peace might be difficult. Brevity has never been my thing, but let’s try to recap.
Ultimately, the story of the week was the Angels kickstarting an organizational rebuild in many ways.
John Mozeliak started the bloodletting by cutting Alek Manoah then followed by trading Chase Silseth and Logan O’Hoppe to the Rangers for a 19 year old who was on nobody’s radar. Honestly I thought trading Silseth on his own would net a better return, Mo runs the show.
There were three Perry pieces off the roster.
Then came Monday and not quite all hell broke loose but a decent chunk of it did. John Henry did a good job updating a thread that ended up well north of 500 comments.
Jose Soriano was shipped to the Blue Jays and the Angels landed who I consider to be their new top prospect. Landing a kid as young as Nimmala with that type of bat speed and potential power is really sweet. I’ll dream on this kid for a while.
Then, the trade I called last month went down with Cleveland: Jo Adell for catcher Jacob Cozart. Combined with the O’Hoppe trade it proves that Mo values defense behind the plate.
But wait, there was more. In the one trade the Angels absolutely nailed at the deadline, Mo flipped hot starter Ryan Zeferjahn to the Cubs for catcher/designated hitter Moise Ballesteros.
If you were looking at the preseason prospect rankings, the Angels added two 50 FV prospects from the upper half of those lists on Monday. That is how a rebuild begins.
But wait, there’s more! Brent Suter was flipped for a former top prospect who has not yet panned out. Nacho Alvarez Jr. has a solid hit tool and could be a utility player. Or not, but he only cost Brent Suter. And Kirby Yates was traded for a pitcher.
All that activity was followed by a day the CtPG faithful have longed for: Jorge Soler was DFA’d among a flurry of moves. That cut, following the trades, signaled a new direction for the Angels.
To recap this last week or so:
Out: Alek Manoah, Chase Silseth, Logan O’Hoppe, Jose Soriano, Ryan Zeferjahn, Jo Adell, Brent Suter, Kirby Yates.
In: Arjun Nimmala, Moises Ballesteros, Jacob Cozart, Eddie Micheletti Jr., Nacho Alvarez Jr., Mason McGwire, Angel Rivero, Angel Arredondo, and Kyle Robinson.
That much of a roster teardown should provide opportunities for some young players. I think three guys are clearly on the Angels radar and should be up soon.
But, with a lockout looming do we want to add them to the active roster?
All that new talent follows the talent picked up in the draft, and the new guys are getting off to notable starts.
Also down on the farm, third baseman Jake Munroe has a 24 game on base streak going as I type this. If I jinx it, sorry Jake.
Expect to see a lot more minor league coverage. If that is what the Angels are prioritizing, then that is what Angels fans should prioritize.
From around baseball:
The Dodgers are scuffling and I love it. Just need them to slump for one playoff series this October to make me happy.
Some times things don’t work out according to plan. Like Casey Mize getting shelled in his Padres debut.
But at least the Dodgers lost Skubal’s debut as well.
FanGraphs rates every prospect traded at the deadline. The Angels did pretty well considering Ballesteros lost his prospect status.
I would have loved to get the prospect return from Boston that Baltimore received for Adley Rutschman.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. I am not working this weekend so lots of miles on the bike and beach time with the boy are in store. I will get a credential for Monday and get a feel for the post trade deadline vibe. The three nicest guys to me have been Detmers, Adell, and O’Hoppe and two are gone now. But I will check the pulse of the more plugged in writers and the staffers I know and see if I find out anything interesting.
