Two of the three teams based in Southern California are in the playoffs. And then there is us. We’re the one shitty house with an overgrown yard with a hooptie parked on it in an otherwise nice neighborhood.
At least for now. The 100 loss season was a perfect cap to Arte Moreno’s tenure as owner but we can expect brighter days ahead under Kroenke. It feels so weird to type this, but the Angels have the richest owner in baseball. Granted, Kroenke is highly unlikely to go Steve Cohen and spend money stupidly, but he is a real estate guy and realizes how important hiring the right architect and laying the proper foundation are and that reflects in his sports teams.
I know as fans the front facing image of management is the field manager, but the Angels need a front office and plenty of other things first. There are a ton of reasons why the Angels can slow roll the Kurt Suzuki situation. It’s not like he’s going anywhere.
Getting to know Kurt a bit this year I think the Angels misplayed the situation. I think it is important to have somebody with a positive attitude who can keep the game fun amidst all the losing. But I think that guy is best as a first base or bench coach. Not that it would have mattered a ton this season, but if Suzuki was in either role I think we would all be happy to have him back. But moving him from manager to one of those roles will be awkward. By placing him in the manager’s seat, the Angels now need to either keep him or likely lose him from the organization.
Time to break up the text block. The Angels added a new arm yesterday.
Ok, so let’s bring on the rebuild. 2027 could go a whole lot of different ways. Kroenke could do anything from making a huge, immediate impact to letting the rebuild and tank job continue. We truly have no idea.
What we do know is these guys will no longer be on the Angels roster.
And, finally, Mike Trout is moving off center field. Father Time is undefeated and this position change seems different than others, particularly for Trout.
So now it is time to look forward, particularly in center field. Who will play CF for the Angels in 2027? I have a piece publishing simultaneously On SI that I will link here. And here it is.
But in the meantime I took a look at outfielders the Angels should pursue.
And starting pitchers the team should pursue.
And relievers the team should pursue.
In each exercise I try to identify an A level signing, a solid veteran, and a bounce back candidate. After all, we have no idea what the goal is for 2027 or even who will be calling the shots.
From around baseball:
There are four playoff games scheduled for tomorrow. Looks like I might have to sacrifice myself and smoke some ribs or something for the family.
The Snakes extended their manager for another two years.
FanGraphs thinks everybody but the Yankees is doing playoff roster construction the wrong way.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. Playoff baseball is incredible and I hope to attend another Angels playoff game in a few years. In the meantime, enjoy watching the games on TV.
