The Angels designated Brandon Wood for assignment to create roster space for Erick Aybar, who is coming off of the disabled list, according to Angels TV announcer Victor Rojas (on Twitter). After five years of disappointing performances in the majors, the Angels are finally ready to cut ties with the former first round pick, who is now out of options.
Wood followed up his poor 2010 season (.146/.174/.208 line) with a remarkably similar performance in 14 appearances this season (.154/.154/.231). The one-time top prospect will likely draw interest now that he's available; he has 161 minor league homers to his name, including 43 in 2005.
how the mighty have fallen
My prediction of the year: Jerry Sands is Brandon Wood 2.0.
You heard me.
I hate you.
I love you.
Sorry. I just really want Sands to be good.
Based on what, exactly?
Similar story.
Both are hitters with bad mechanics who can expose mediocre minor league pitching but struggle (Or will struggle in Sand’s case) against advanced breaking balls.
Bad mechanics? Are you watching the same player. Yeah, his swing is long at times but I’ve seen an adjustment already to shorten his swing with two strikes.
We are watching the same player. Here’s a scouting report of his swing and I agree.
“A product of Division II Catawba College in North Carolina, Sands showed an inefficient, disjointed swing. Starting open, he took a big stride that forced him to lean his torso back to find balance. His hips drifted forward then twisted open along with his shoulders. Because of his long stride, he didn’t give himself much time to plant his front leg and leverage off of it. He has decent bat speed but he gets by more on strength than quickness.
Though he is patient, Sands didn’t put himself in a good position to drive off-speed pitches. He occasionally buckled on good breaking balls and seldom made loud contact. He fought himself with his swing mechanics; his upper body and lower body out of sync. He wasn’t in a good position to drive pitches that he wasn’t expecting.”
If you watch his swing in slow motion his swing is extremely awkward looking. And it isn’t saying that he can’t hit a fastball, it just says his swing and long stride puts him on his front foot with his weight shifted forward on breaking pitches so he can’t hit them hard. That’s a serious problem that will take more than shortening up with 2 strikes to fix.
I just spoke with Charlie Lau. He’s seen the kid hit and said he’s legit.
He spoke to someone from beyond the grave! He’s a witch! Burn him!
Are you saying that just because Chuck has passed that he can’t evaluate the kid’s swing? I’d hold a seance to get Mr. Lau’s opinion on Sandy’s swing before some internet scouts who’s personal baseball experience probably consisted of sitting on the bench in little league. Let Sandy play before you associate him with the never-was Brandon Wood!
No, I am saying that you are a witch because you weigh more than a duck. BURN HIM!
A modern day Salem this message board is!
You are proving how much you don’t know baseball. Have you watch Sands’ at bat? His approach is better than wood’s already (2 games in MLB).
Sands and Wood both had similar minor league K% and BB% and ISO. And a 2 game MLB sample isn’t going to change that
My point proven. You are quoting minor league numbers. Look at their at bats. I am not saying Sands is a star but thus far his at bats are impressive. He’s laying off that slider on the outside corner which is promising. Can’t ask for more with a young player.
The sample size you’re quoting is pretty hilarious. Even Francouer lays off a slider every once in a while
Wish I could say the same about Carlos Gonzalez.
the logic only works if the k% and bb% stayed the same in to the majors
Well we don’t really have the sample for Sands but K%, BB% and ISO are the three stats that translate most from level to level.
Yes but did brandon woods k% bb% and ISO translate from AA/AAA to mlb?
No and the reason for that is his mechanics. Which is the same problem Sands has.
And don’t even mention Sands’ AAA numbers this season. Alb is a hitters heaven just like the leagues Wood lit up as a minor leaguer.
That is a stretch. Jerry Sands is not highly touted. Brandon Wood was supposed to be a contributing piece at the big league level. Just look at how much “rope” they gave him last year. Scosicia really wanted that kid to succeed. And Reaggins needed that kid to succeed. Now they look a little foolish with a huge hole at third base. A change of scenery will be good for him.
Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Minnesota, Cleveland, Seattle and Toronto would all be interested in theory ….
Truly, it has been a sore spot for the Halos since Figgins has left. He has an “it” factor that Aybar and Izturis are unable to provide to the top of a lineup.
Is Macier Izturis the answer?
Adrian Beltre sure would have fit in nice, but honest were do they go? Michael Young would be a good fit. Do the Angels reach out to Joe Crede? Luis Castillo? Maybe Brad Emaus can play 3rd? <——— Just kidding.
What about Chone Figgins? Seattle is already out of contention right? Last year Jack Z made a inter-division trade. While the jury is still out on that trade. So why not this year? Figgins has no long term value to the M's and I wouldn't think is value can fluctuate much at this stage of his career.
If you can get anything for him, especially a young player you would have long term control of that player and can spend that money elsewhere to fill the many holes they have. Nobody spends money worse than the M's. Heh Billy Bavasi?
It is way to early to trade within the division. The Brewers might have some interest also.
Izturis- .380 BA, Leads AL
Kendrick- .297, 6 HR to lead AL
Callaspo- .313 BA
Aybar- .313 BA
Yeah, the Angels infield are a wreck.
Giants??
couldn’t hurt to put in a claim and try to stash him in AAA for a bit if no one else tries for him. Doubt they could get him, but who knows
He can no longer be optioned to AAA, or else the Angels would probably keep him.
I thought just the Angels couldn’t option him anymore, if he gets picked up on waivers a future team has to keep him in the bigs too? If that’s the case no one is putting in a claim on him
Yep. Once all of a players options have been used up, no team can send them to the minors without exposing them to waivers first.
Someone will still claim him, though. Probably multiple teams. He can play two premium positions, and he’s still pretty young. He’ll definitely get a shot somewhere, at least as a UT. And the Angels will get a very small return.
If the future team what him in the minors he will again have to clear waivers.
The Angels will trade him to the National League where he will instantly become a 40 home run guy.
Jose Bautista 2.0?
Not a chance
Whomever claims him has to keep him on their 25 man roster correct? It’ll be interesting to see who’s willing to take a chance on him.
Dont think so. But if he is DFA’d again, hed have to go back through waivers
Right. That’s what I was thinking. DFA’ed and picked up, then the new team keeps him in the bigs or tries to send him through waivers again.
Wow, in 2010, he had 243 AB and a OPS+ of 5. Yes, five.
Jays!!!
I dunno… I mean, I realize he’s sort of like a Mystery Box – where you realize it’s probably just junk but WHAT IF IT’S SOMETHING AMAZING – but realistically, is he going to be any better than Nix? And I don’t mean to sound like a giant homer who thinks Jayson Nix is anything great, or even anything good, but, I just don’t think anyone can believe much in Wood, especially considering that it may take trading “something”, as small as it would be, to get him.
but nix is what he is.. where as Wood is failed potential…at worst wood is going to be a dud, where as at best he could be the next morrow or bautista.
nix is going to be nix, for better or worse. decent player. but AA has shown he has a knack for bringing in players that have further potential to fulfill.
Blue Jays Get Wood
Blue Jays always get Wood when trades with the Angels are a possibility.
ha!
Im thinking pirates.
I’m gonna guess Diamondbacks.
i’m going to have to agree
Diamondbacks don’t need infield depth. Drew, Mora, Roberts, Bloomquist plus Blum on DL and Abreu in AAA
The Pirates give up some low minor league pitching for Wood and offer Josh Rodriguez back to Cleveland. I could see that happening.
give em back to cleveland or work out a trade and send him to the minors
I forgot J-Rod was from Cleveland. Thanks for clarifying.
Damn
Poor kid
YES!!!!!
The next Nelson Cruz.
juan rivera for Brandon wood + cash?
Anthopoulos will provide Tony Reagins with five one-hour sessions on how to run a baseball team.
The Angels could of designated Reggie Willits or Jeff Mathis for assignment to create roster spot instead of Wood.
As bad as both Jeff Mathis and Reggie Willits are, they’re nowhere near as bad as Wood (I know, doesn’t seem possible…)
Who internally do they have to fill that role though?
And who on the street can help them at 3rd?
Pirates deal Andy Marte for Brandon Wood?
You realize that the Angels have Izturis and Callaspo playing third right?
Yeah its not like the Angels have 4 infielders who are hitting around a .300 clip or anything. How on earth are we going to replace that .143 BA and 14 AB.
You have clearly not experienced the worthlessness that is Jeff Mathis.
i hate the hell out of mathis but they can’t keep sending wood out there and sitting him serves no purpose. the time had come to let him go
Willits and Mathis get paid more than twice the salary that Wood gets paid. Plus what’s going to happened when Maicer Izturis gets hurt? Remember he is a part time player he always gets hurt.
Aybar?
As a follower of the AL West… I agree with you completely.
However, Scosicia has a strong tie to Jeff Mathis for whatever reason. My guess is that Mathis has been a great organizational guy and just simply knows the pitchers and the division.
Mathis is a good catch and throw guy, but has we know and the rest of the league knows. He is challenged at the plate and has become the designated rally killer. He just an out waiting to come up.
The Angels love catchers and have a few notable ones. Obviously Hank Conger is the present and the future. But knowing Scosicia and his track record they probably have a couple other catchers on the 40 man roster. Meaning they have options. They would not have traded Napoli if they didn’t have a plan behind the plate. The Halos feel Conger can have a “Buster Posey” impact. But they won’t but that burden on him. So you may be stuck with Mathis or Bobby Brown behind the plate while the kid learns his staff and his division.
The Angels have already gone to a platoon at catcher with King Conger vs RHP and Premium Mathis vs LHP. Conger will get most of the starts.
Jo Jo Reyes for Wood.
That would be awesome. List E5 (Edwin Encarncion) and Brandon Wood in your program as your third basemen. While the Jays are at it? Go ahead and bring up Emaus after getting returned from the Mets.
All BS aside, if they got Jo Jo Reyes for him that would be a win for them and a good fit. Plus, that would even the score between the two GM’s. After AA won the first trade is just getting rid of Vernon Wells contract. Not that Wells isn’t a good and sometimes a great player. Just the cost and the field turf took its toll and the trade was symbolic to the new look Blue Jays.
Incoming Call from *Anthopolous*
…..You probably should not pick up the phone Tony.
I could see the Pirates, maybe. He does not fit on the current roster but could get a chance to play every day at 3rd starting June 6th. (after we draft Rendon and immediately begin the Pedro Alvarez 1st base experiment)
Are the Pirates convinced Alvarez can’t play third already? This kid has an ultra high ceiling. Offensively he is already a force and on defense his rhythms remind me of Pedro Feliz. Feliz was respectable in his own right and eventually became a regular on a title contending team.
Is Pearce a better option? Last night he turned a routine play into a circus act. Regardless of what he may give up in the “run prevention” category, he is a “run producer” and with his athleticism and upside he can make strides defensively sooner than later.
NOT A FAN of moving young position players has they transition to playing regularly in the MLB.
For the record, when the A’s brought up Eric Chavez they thought he was a defensive liability. Same with the Chi Sox and Joe Crede. Both the aforemention players won a gold glove, a silver slugger and were all stars at some point. Alvarez is far superior athlete and has had earlier success then both.
The more I see of Pedro at 3rd, the more I like the idea of keeping him there. He has an absolute cannon for an arm, and he is probably as good as anybody in the league when charging in on a ball. The only thing he still struggles with are the hot shots right at him or to his backhand – but I think that can definitely improve over time.
I do like the idea of bringing in Brandon Wood to replace Josh Rodriguez though. Rodriguez hasn’t shown much of anything at this point, offensively or defensively – so I’d rather take a gamble on Wood right now.
I would pass on Rendon and take Cole. You pair him with Taillion at the top of the rotation and in three years you are the St. Louis Cardinals minus Albert Puljols, but with a better supporting cast.
The Pirates combo of Tabata and McCutchen is lethal and has a chance to be great. Plus if the catcher kid (forget his name) #4 pick couple years ago. They will have a chance to score some runs and offer power arm after power arm. The Pirates future is bright and is not that far away. Plus the Cardinals and Cubs are nearing rebuild modes.
So has a life long baseball fan, I am rooting for the return of the Pirates to prominence.
Tony Sanchez is the catcher, Cole would be the guy for me
Onewildman, I agree with you. The Bucs should definitely take Cole over Rendon. Eventhough the Pirates farm system is deplete of power-hitters, you can never have enough top-flight pitchers like Gerrit Cole. Having Taillon and Cole in the wings would make Pirates fan wishing it was 2014.
Really would you have to try and deal LYLE first
Someone should take a flier on this guy. Especially if it’s a team who probably isn’t likely to compete for a playoff spot this season. It seems unlikely that he’ll ever be a solid regular. But you never know. Players have figured it out at much older ages before.
I would love for the Jays to get him but there are a couple of problems with that. First off if we get him, who would we send to the minors? We have seen the problems with our bullpen and out of option players. Secondly with Lawrie coming up in June that just makes it more jumbled with infielders. The easy solution, I guess, would be to let Nix go OR release Rivera. Even though every Jays fan want Rivera released ASAP, I still think we have to give him at lease another 2 weeks to see if he can do anything at all.
why though? even if they put together passable seasons, toronto isn’t winning this year and neither nix nor rivera are a part of the jays’ bright future. wood could be
If Hill needs a DL stint, the Jays might have 2+ weeks to acquire Wood and evaluate who is the better fit for the bench between he and Nix when Rajai Davis is able to return.
Wood needs to go to the NL. As an Angel fan, I wish him nothing but the best and hope he can succeed somewhere. Wish it was at Anaheim but oh well. Padres might be a good place for him.
Why the hell would the Angels want Juan Rivera back?
I dunno.. why did they want Wells in the first place?
Wells isn’t a bad player, just a bad contract.
I’m not defending the trade; it was colossally, possibly historically bad. But I also think most teams in baseball would want Wells–the question is simply the cost.
but the cost is set for wells. which makes him one of the, if not the worst bang for buck in the game.
Pirates need to take him and put him at short. just let him play D and when he starts to drop the odd bomb, they are ahead of where they are now. Overbay is only there to mentor for a year anyway, then they move Pedro to 1b and maybe Walker to 3b and Cedeno or someone like him to 2b where he belongs
I hope the Pirates sport Wood soon. I could see the Pirates picking him up because of Cedeno (Enough said). The Brewers were looking for depth at SS, so another option there. I can also see the Mets grabbing him because they are on welfare and will need a replacement for Reyes once they trade him. I on the other hand need new batteries for my wireless keyboard, which puts me out of the running of getting Wood.
What about the Twins trading for him? Nishi is out for a little while and Casilla hasn’t done much. Plus if he can figure it out a little it provides the Twins with a right-handed bat.
I don’t know if the twins park is going to help him all that much.
Not really thinking too much about the park but rather if they could use him or not. Figure he couldn’t do much worse then the current options. Maybe the Reds could grab him. We know how fragile Rolen can be at times.
I say he goes to the mets. Hes an upgrade over emaus or that red headed turner who is just as bad as emaus. Wood was a ss when he was a top prospect, so im sure he can play 2nd and hes shown he can play 3rd. and usuallly when guys come to the mets they suck, why not get him while he sucks, maybe that can get him turned around. Id say hes better suited to be splitting time with murphy and backing up at 3rd.
I hope the Pirates grab him
The have Flores/Havens/Tejada as Reyes replacements and they need a 2B.
Cardinals with Schumarker on DL.
Angels get Rowland and DeRosa
Twins get Mathis and Wood,others from Giants
Giants get Slowery and others from Angels.
Angels sign Bengie Molina.
Yes, the release of possibly the worst position player in the league is going to trigger a three team deal.
The Brew Crew should take a flyer on Wood. Their bench is terrible and Yuni B has no business being a starting MLB shortstop.
Have Brandon Wood and Dallas McPherson ever been seen in the same place at the same time?
As an Angels fan, I really hope Wood plays well for whatever team he plays for in the future. Unlike most failed prospects, this kid actually had a really good ethic and work ethic, and I’ve heard plenty of stories of Wood working to improve his swing in the offseason. It’s just really sad that it never worked out for him. He still has potential as the power is still there and he’s a decent fielder, and maybe with consistent playing time, he can settle down a little. Watching him, Wood still doesn’t seem comfortable in a Major League batters box, and a lot of that has to do with how the Angels volleyballed him between AAA and Major League ball. Good Luck in the furture Woody! Just don’t do it against the Angels!