Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Angels

This is the latest entry in MLBTR’s Offseason In Review series. The full index of Offseason In Review posts can be found here.

Mike Trout continues to lead a team in transition as the Angels attempt to regroup following an injury-marred 2016 campaign.

Major League Signings

• Luis Valbuena, 3B: two years, $15MM plus mutual option for 2019
• Jesse Chavez, RHP: one year, $5.75MM plus incentives
• Ben Revere, OF: one year, $4MM plus incentives
• Andrew Bailey, RHP (re-signed): one year, $1M plus incentives
• Total spend: $25.75MM

Trades And Claims

• Acquired OF Cameron Maybin from Tigers for RHP Victor Alcantara
• Acquired 2B Danny Espinosa from Nationals for RHP Austin Adams and RHP Kyle McGowin
• Acquired C Martin Maldonado and RHP Drew Gagnon for C Jett Bandy
• Acquired RHP Austin Adams from Indians for cash (this player is a different right-handed pitcher named Austin Adams than the one the Angels dealt in the Espinosa trade)
• Acquired RHP Brooks Pounders from Royals for RHP Jared Ruxer
• Claimed RHP Kirby Yates from Yankees (later designated for assignment)
• Claimed RHP Blake Parker from Yankees; the Angels later lost Parker on waivers to the Brewers, but claimed him again later in the offseason and then outrighted him
• Claimed RHP Abel De Los Santos from Reds (later outrighted)
• Claimed RHP Vicente Campos from Diamondbacks
• Claimed SS Nolan Fontana from Astros
• Lost C Juan Graterol on waivers to Reds; the Angels later claimed Graterol from the Diamondbacks, but ultimately lost him on waivers to the Blue Jays
• Lost RHP Ashur Tolliver on waivers to Astros
• Acquired RHP Justin Haley in the Rule 5 Draft and traded him to the Padres for cash

Notable Minor League Signings

Yusmeiro Petit, Bud Norris, John Lamb, Dustin Ackley, Eric Young Jr., Ryan LaMarre, Tony Sanchez

Extensions

• Kole Calhoun, OF: three years, $26MM plus club option for 2020

Contract Options

• Yunel Escobar, IF: $7MM or $1M buyout (exercised)

Notable Losses

Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Bandy, Geovany Soto, Jhoulys Chacin, Johnny Giavotella, Gregorio Petit, Rafael Ortega, Tim Lincecum, Ji-Man Choi, A.J. Achter

Needs Addressed

In his second offseason with the Angels, GM Billy Eppler completed transactions at a furious pace. Many of them were much ado about little, as you might infer from the list above — the series of moves involving Blake Parker and Juan Graterol are telling, as is the fact that Eppler made trades involving two separate pitchers named Austin Adams. Gone were the Albert Pujols-type big splashes that defined previous Angels offseasons, despite the salary-clearing departures this winter of former star pitchers C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver. That isn’t to say, though, that Eppler didn’t take serious steps to improve his club. It’s more that his team had so many glaring holes that he had to make a number of small moves rather than one or two big ones.

The Angels’ first big offseason transaction helped define how the rest of their winter would go. The team entered the offseason needing to upgrade in their rotation and outfield, and at catcher and second base. Of those positions, the one that boasted the most free-agent talent was outfield, where Yoenis Cespedes, Dexter Fowler, Jose Bautista, Ian Desmond, Josh Reddick, Carlos Gomez, Michael Saunders and many others were available.

Rather than pursue any of those players, the Angels quickly traded for Cameron Maybin from the Tigers. The cost was minimal — the Angels gave up only Victor Alcantara, a hard-throwing but raw righty who probably profiles as a reliever in the long term.

Maybin looks like a bargain at the price of his $9MM option, which the Angels immediately exercised after trading for him — he batted .315/.383/.418 in 2016, a slash line that would fit well in just about any lineup. Beneath the surface, though, lies a .383 BABIP, a number that seems virtually certain to fall dramatically in 2017. Also, Maybin’s center field defense has declined as he’s aged. Defensively, he should be fine in left, where the Angels plan to use him, but his ground-ball-heavy offensive game seems unlikely to produce the power typically associated with that position.

The Angels also added Ben Revere, who provides Maybin with a left-handed complement and the Angels with some speed off the bench. Revere, alas, batted .217/.260/.300 for the Nationals last year. Revere’s own .234 BABIP looks ripe for positive regression, particularly as he’s recovered from an oblique injury that hindered him in 2016. Revere is also just 28 and would appear to be a useful bench player at the very least, particularly given his baserunning ability.

Revere has even less power than Maybin, though, and it’s hard to shake the impression the Angels missed an opportunity to add a middle-of-the-lineup bat, particularly given the way the offseason unfolded. They might well have been able to land a more potentially impactful player, or perhaps even two — Eric Thames, Steve Pearce, Matt Joyce and Saunders all come to mind — had they not acted so quickly to add Maybin, who ZiPS and Steamer both project will produce less than a win above replacement this year. There’s a bit of 20/20 hindsight involved in that assessment, but perhaps it should have been clear from the beginning there was plenty of talent available.

The Angels also acted decisively to upgrade their infield, seemingly killing one bird with two stones by acquiring both Danny Espinosa and Luis Valbuena. The Angels pounced after the Nationals’ acquisition of Adam Eaton relegated Espinosa to a bench role, and Espinosa subsequently expressed unhappiness with the situation. The Angels sent two fringe pitching prospects to Washington, and settled with Espinosa for $5.425MM for his final season before he becomes eligible for free agency. Espinosa’s offensive profile is unusual for a middle infielder — he hit 24 home runs last season, but struck out 29% of the time, leading to a .209 batting average that doesn’t figure to improve much in 2017. His defensive value still makes him a credible starter, albeit a below-average one; it’s no accident that the Nationals, a contending team, saw him as a bench piece.

Valbuena has primarily played third in the past several seasons, but with Espinosa at the keystone and Escobar at the hot corner, Valbuena will also likely play plenty of first base. Incumbent first baseman C.J. Cron is a righty and Valbuena is a lefty, but the pair will form somewhat of an odd semi-platoon, since Cron has batted a helpful .273/.317/.473 against righties in his short career (demonstrating reverse platoon splits that admittedly might well regress somewhat). Pujols had foot surgery in December that was set to sideline him for several months; although he now appears ready to go, that might have been a factor in the Angels’ pursuit of extra help for first base, since Cron could theoretically have replaced Pujols at DH with Valbuena playing first. And if Valbuena bats .260/.357/.459, as he did in 2016, his bat will play at any position.

Some negative regression seems likely there too, however, since 2016 was Valbuena’s best career offensive season. And chunk of Valbeuna’s value in past years has come from his ability to play a tougher spot on the diamond. As with the outfield, there were plenty of first basemen available on the free agent market, so there shouldn’t have been much need to pay $15MM to turn a good third baseman into one –although, of course, there’s something to be said for Valbuena’s versatility. Anyway, the Angels’ seeming infield logjam won’t be an issue for awhile, since Valbuena will miss the first month or so of the season after injuring his hamstring.

More analysis after the break …

The Angels also got a short-term upgrade at catcher, acquiring Martin Maldonado and a depth pitching prospect from the Brewers for Jett Bandy. Maldonado served as Jonathan Lucroy’s longtime backup, and with a career .217 average, he won’t be mistaken for a superstar anytime soon. He draws walks and has a bit of pop, though, and he’s an above-average defender and framer, so he’s worthy of a bit more attention than he got in Milwaukee. Bandy is younger than Maldonado but doesn’t project as a superstar himself, so the Angels were justified in taking what looks like a slight long-term hit to get a bit better in the short term.

The Angels also addressed their rotation by signing Jesse Chavez to a cheap one-year deal in November. Chavez relieved in 2016 but was perfectly useful as a starter for the two previous seasons, and with his consistently palatable peripherals, there’s no reason he can’t be again. He’ll never be mistaken for an ace, but for $5.75MM, he’s a bargain. Unlike with the outfield or first base, there weren’t many high-caliber starters available, so it made sense for the Angels to strike quickly. Chavez made the Angels’ rotation, with another versatile arm, minor-league signee Yusmeiro Petit, available in case another spot opens.

The Angels also re-signed Andrew Bailey to a very cheap one-year deal. The oft-injured former Athletics closer didn’t post good overall numbers in 2016, although he pitched well down the stretch after the Angels signed him in August. Cam Bedrosian figures to get most (although perhaps not all) of the Angels’ save opportunities, but the Angels will still lean on Bailey in some capacity this season.