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LA Angels Tuesday News Crash: Shaping Up?

January 27, 2026

This article is an overview of where the Angels roster stands. They seem to have punted on center field and the starting pitching has a lot of question marks. The 2026 MLB Pipeline Rankings Are Another Indictment of the Angels Farm.

Perry did something. He signed Trey Mancini to a minor league deal. Then he signed reliever Nick Sandlin, also to a minor league deal.

Harrison Bader signed with the Giants for two years. It looks like he is guaranteed $20.5 Million. The Yankees re-signed Cody Bellinger.

The White Sox signed Seranthony Dominguez. He gets $20 Million over two years.

The Braves claimed Jose Suarez off waivers from the Orioles and designated right-hander George Soriano for assignment in the corresponding move.

Other Minor League Deals

Dylan Carlson got a minor league deal with the Cubs. So did Gabe Klobosits. The Royals signed Hector Neris. The Cardinals signed Nelson Velasquez.

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Super Member

YOUknowulovetheIE

1 hour ago

Did the rev retire from writing about the angels?

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WallyChuckChili

1 hour ago

Reply to YOUknowulovetheIE

Stirrups, Rahul, Baseball Chick?

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Jeff Joiner

41 minutes ago

Reply to YOUknowulovetheIE

The Rev is still in our group chat but rarely writes nowadays.

Rahul graduated college and has a very time consuming job. He stepped aside a while back but gives lots of financial advice on X.

Our fearless leader is now Jessica, aka Baseball Chick. Her travel schedule is insane and she’s raising an insanely adorable daughter.

We really could use some help around here. I’ll have intern Landon doing draft coverage and the two interns are setting up all the game threads, but we could use a new voice and some help with post games.

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Super Member

Charles Sutton

40 seconds ago

Reply to YOUknowulovetheIE

He writes about art mostly now. It’s not really germane to the discussion on CtPG.

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Pineapple12

3 hours ago

Angels have claimed RHP Osvaldo Bido off waivers from the Miami Marlins.

Another decent dumpster dive pickup.

Trusted Member

Biggiswrth

2 hours ago

Reply to Pineapple12

Like his 5th team! One of these lotto tickets has to hit right? I still think it sets us up for a large trade deadline

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Pineapple12

1 hour ago

Reply to Biggiswrth

Mike Maddux will be tested like few pitching coaches have been before 😂.

Idk about large but odds are probably pretty high that Moncada, Romano, Pomeranz, Yates, Soler will all be gone after the deadline

Last edited 1 hour ago by Pineapple12

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gitchogritchoffmypettis

6 minutes ago

Reply to Biggiswrth

He’s basically in a spot where the MLB doesn’t know how to quit him. He’s just good enough that a whole pile of teams want to have him around like a spare flashlight, but he’s not good enough to bump anyone off a roster. So they all basically hope he lands in their org, they can put him through wavers, and no one claims him…. but someone always claims him. And the dance begins again.

It’s sad for those players. It’s not like they “fail” at most of those stops. It’s like they just want to get to AAA and have a job, but no one will let them just go to the minors. Nor will they keep them on a 40 man.

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Senator_John_Blutarsky

14 minutes ago

Reply to Pineapple12

You pulled his 2024 stats when he pitched in the Coliseum (pitcher friendly park).

He’s 30 years old and is out of options. His ERA+ last season was 71, and for his career it’s 83 even with his 2024 stats.

This guy has some good peripherals, but he’s waiver fodder. He may be gone once Yoan signs his contract and the team needs a roster spot.

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steelgolf

9 minutes ago

Reply to Pineapple12

He of the 5.87 ERA in 2025. Well sounds like he is right in The Angels wheelhouse.

Trusted Member

milehigh

5 hours ago

Nice article about Trey Mancini by Jeff.
https://www.si.com/mlb/angels/onsi/trey-mancini-s-incredible-story-continues-as-an-angel-01kg06fg3ws1

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gitchogritchoffmypettis

5 hours ago

Reply to milehigh

He’s more likely to make the Angels as a mid-season coaching addition, but I still really dig the guy.

Trusted Member

Biggiswrth

2 hours ago

Reply to gitchogritchoffmypettis

Brady’s buddy and good for the locker room

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Jeff Joiner

3 hours ago

Reply to milehigh

thanks.

I contacted Mancini’s agent hoping to get an interview. I’ll let you know if that happens.

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Eric_in_Portland

32 minutes ago

Reply to Jeff Joiner

That SI imprint will likely help you get more interviews and access now

Trusted Member

Mikeal1st

6 hours ago

With a lockout feeling more and more inevitable, I keep thinking that what Arte is doing might actually make sense for fans. And then I remember it is Arte.
If I were dealing with uncertain TV revenue, possible work stoppages, and looming salary caps and floors, while also knowing this team is not close to competing, I would avoid signing any big names. I would lean fully into a real rebuild and focus on building the best minor league system possible, both in talent and in support. Jeff’s article about minor leaguers continuing to get meaningful experience really reinforces that idea.
The problem is that this does not feel like a real plan. Arte is not selling off players with value to accelerate a rebuild. He is simply not buying overpriced veterans to slap on billboards. That feels less like strategy and more like the same old approach, just without the shiny signings.

Trusted Member

grichmanpoorman

7 hours ago

Yea, it’s disappointing not to see more Halos on these Top 100 prospects lists… failed f*!#ing scout Keith Law didn’t even put Bremner in his recent Top 100… but let’s not slit our wrists or anything. The rankings themselves are notoriously prone to group-think and org bias. And the Angels farm made some tangible strides forward last season, even if the Zoloft crowd around here doesn’t want to acknowledge them.

Rada kicked ass as a 19-year-old and certainly would fly higher on these rankings if not for org stigma. The HS arms from the 2024 draft performed awesomely… very likely one or both of them evolves this season into a Top 100-caliber prospect, and Perry and co. did a fine job amassing high-upside HS arms in last year’s draft, too. Davilillo, Alvarez and Lugo all look poised for a potential breakthrough. Ryan Johnson was an MLB Top 100 prospect in 2025, responded with a sub-2 ERA, and then was inexplicably kicked off the list. See what I mean? It’s guys behind keyboards. And you think they don’t have their darlings? C’mon.

Jeff, re: your final thought in the SI piece about Moore and Bachman not appearing on any top prospects lists… I mean, how could they? Neither are rookies anymore. But if Moore had been allowed to develop in the minors last season, like say, Carson Benge, he clearly would have factored in most non-Law rankings. Better numbers in AAA than Benge. Much better.

Last edited 7 hours ago by grichmanpoorman

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Senator_John_Blutarsky

6 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

Yes, it is certainly a massive conspiracy to block Angel prospects from any/all scouting assessments. The tinfoil Halo cap might be getting a little tight, bub.

Last edited 6 hours ago by Senator_John_Blutarsky

Trusted Member

grichmanpoorman

5 hours ago

Reply to Senator_John_Blutarsky

I remember when the Halos drafted Jim Abbott and promoted him straight-away… Baseball America hated it. “Time has already told for this sorry organization” I’m probably paraphrasing. So, while I wouldn’t call it a conspiracy, the Angels have long been viewed as the Dodger’s dysfunctional little sibling by the baseball media and there’s a reflex… especially with the east coast media. It’s a narrative they like to embrace. Occasionally, like in the early 2000s, the Angels get their flowers… but yeah otherwise I definitely believe it has an effect on these lists.

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gitchogritchoffmypettis

5 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

I think it does too…. but it’s a matter of being ranked 27th instead of 25th. It’s not like these MiLB pundits will ignore a really good prospect just cause Angels, then they look dumb. The problem is the Angels have very ignorable prospects.

To give you an example, I follow the Rays among other teams. They have a guy named Michael Forret in their system. He is a solid pitching prospect, very solid. If he were in our system we’d all be lathered up about how he developed a kick change so fast, how his feel for his rising fastball is great, how he throws four pitches that look MLB quality and should hold up as a starter. We’d be right.

BUT he is in the middle of the pack as far as their prospects go. He has nothing that makes him a TOP PROSPECT. Still, he’d be top 5 in our system. This is why we don’t rank well. Our talent pool is very low ceiling and it’s the guys with star potential that make a system rank high.

Super Member

RexFregosi

6 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

when it comes to prospects back over twenty years ago, I was very geeked about them – Mathis, Kotchman, Wood!, we had a solid Top 3 system. And I also recall Rev just wasn’t into them. Times have changed – I think Rev became more overall positive on having good prospects and the excitement they brought over time (not trying to speak for him, just recalling my impressions), and me? once burnt by the like of Brandon Wood and Arol Vera, Maitan, Baldoquin, twice shy.

I don’t get excited either way really and definitely think guys like Moore are underrated. Nobody here was impressed by Moore (didn’t even hit .200!!). Dang, the kid made into the MLB and got 200 ABs or so, but the jury has listed him as a failure, and are also all envious of Wetherholt who hasn’t made it yet even like most of the 2024 draft class! It’s nonsense to call the 2025 draft a failure too, half the top picks have yet to play at any level, for Pete’s sake!!! Yet CtPG rails against the top two as wasted picks.

These guys three guys in particular I think will look a lot better to everyone, even Baseball America in 3 months. But no one really knows much even me, and you’re kidding yourself if you do.

Super Member

RexFregosi

6 hours ago

Reply to RexFregosi

Wetherholt 2026 Rankings (another high draft 2b from 2024)

Baseball America: #3 overall
MLB Pipeline: #5 overall
Keith Law (The Athletic): #7 overall

Hasn’t played in the Bigs yet, so the crowd LOVES him!
Meanwhile, CMo just didn’t impress up at MLB.

I also remember the consensus two years ago, how much better Volpe was than Neto.

All rankings I take with a couple grains of salt.

Trusted Member

grichmanpoorman

5 hours ago

Reply to RexFregosi

Agreed on all this. I would still take Wetherholt over Moore if given the option… because his defense is better and his hit tool is probably slightly better, but the gulf between them, right now in demonstrable terms, isn’t that great. An even better example is Bazzana… still ranked in the Top 20 after batting .225 in AAA last year.

Super Member

RexFregosi

47 minutes ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

Me too, the Angels probably would have too. Wetherholt was 7th, Moore 8th.

We will see where all three end up. CMo has a certain mojo and a fire inside him; the other two to-date are minor leaguers.

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Jeff Joiner

39 minutes ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

I’d take Wetherholt too. Really liked watching the kid play in college.

I think the Angels rushing their prospects is bad all around. Moore could probably develop into a useful piece if he was dropped in High A to begin last year then spent the last couple of months in AA.

Instead he was in big league camp fighting to help a team going nowhere go exactly there.

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gitchogritchoffmypettis

5 hours ago

Reply to RexFregosi

You are simple saucing it too much. They love Wetherholdt because he actually plays the IF well. Moore doesn’t. He also makes much better swing decisions. Moore looked “good” in SLC for a short period of time. SLC is the slump buster of home stadiums. In Madison he looked so meh I didn’t understand why they promoted him other than to shield him from SOUL pitching.

I’m not saying Moore’s a bust. He needs a lot of work but he could be good. But arguing for him against Wetherholt, especially if your only point is that the Cardinals weren’t desperate enough to bring him up so he could suck in the MLB, is flawed. Wetherholt is actually a better prospect.

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gitchogritchoffmypettis

5 hours ago

Reply to RexFregosi

Yup. I hate the Angels 2nd pick choice in 2025. But if, say Bremner, Munroe and Slawinski all show good signs of life this first year then things look a lot different. I also don’t care about “relief risk” as much as I should. I watch the Tigers and Rays a lot. If Chase Shores (or Sam Bauchman) turns into a guy who can throw two innings of shut down ball 80 times a year that’s fine with me. If guys like TGA start throwing less hitable heat this year, etc even better.

The system was so shit last year I actually expect to see some kids take a jump forward. We can get better. It just doesn’t make us the Brewers. Not by a long shot.

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Jeff Joiner

37 minutes ago

Reply to gitchogritchoffmypettis

I’m also fine with reliever risk at this stage of the organization.

We need relievers. And starters. And outfielders. And infielders. And depth.

Teams like the Dodgers, Padres, and Cubs can gamble on upside and hope to hit it big. Teams like the Angels need to fill every spot possible so drafting guys who figure to play somewhere in the MLB is fine by me.

Ideally we some day get to the point of having some depth and taking more upside gambles on draft day. But we are far, far away from that right now.

Last edited 36 minutes ago by Jeff Joiner

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gitchogritchoffmypettis

5 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

Here’s the thing. I want the farm to be good. I do. And I know that there is some bias towards some teams when it comes to cooing over their kids. But our farm DID NOT take a step up last year. Not at all. Arms like Aldegeri and Klassen and Dana kinda shat the bed. We had Rada, who has NO POWER, which does in fact matter and shrinks his rank. We had one other real offensive stud break out in high A and another get in a DUI accident. And that’s about it.

We had some other arms look OK in the low minors, but those guys get ignored in most farms till they look good at AA. Same with catchers. Paris, Moore, Lugo all still swing and miss at pitches that are gonna eat them alive in the MLB and didn’t show scouts (or viewers) any consistent reason to think they have figured anything out even if SLC bloats their offensive numbers a little. Stephanic looked like a stud in SLC. There were quite a few kids I was rooting for in the MiLB last year and ALL of them underperformed accept Rada who is “doing his best”.

Leaving Bremner off his list is a little lame. He’s a legit pitching prospect, at least as legit as half the arms he has on that list, but that’s the only real quibble I have. There are a bunch of guys I hope/expect to play better this year. The farm completely collapsed offensively last year and I expect to see at least a few guys make improvements. Pitching wise, we do indeed have a bunch of guys who could jump up lists, but right now all of them look like relievers, and a lot of them are. Once a few of them throw 100+ innings and look good they will jump up…. probably.

But “could be” is not the same as being something. And farm rankings don’t give out a lot of high rankings for could be. Unless you are an Ethan Holliday sized talent where it is clear you have immense physical abilities to pair with thus far meh numbers you won’t show up…. and even then those guys will fall down the list fast if they don’t get better.

Our farm got worse last year. It can get better, but some of the young kids need to fix the things that say Fangraphs talks about with their pitches, and guys like Jonson and Urena and Klassen need to look like starters in AA for that to happen. And one of these guys, at least, needs to start hitting FOR REAL, not just making good contact at high altitude sometimes.

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Jeff Joiner

3 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

Ahh, they aren’t eligible for the list.

Zero chance Bachman would have made it anyway. We won’t know on Moore.