March 16: To make room for Suzuki on the 40-man roster, Chris Rodriguez was placed on the 60-day IL, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The move is just a formality, since it was reported back in November that Rodriguez underwent surgery that would keep him out of action for the majority of the 2022 season.
March 12: The Angels have agreed to bring back catcher Kurt Suzuki on a one-year, $1.75MM contract, pending a physical, per Robert Murray of FanSided.
It was January of last year that the Angels signed Suzuki for the first time, giving him a one-year contract worth $1.5MM. At the time, Suzuki was coming off an excellent four-year stretch from 2017 to 2020. He had a wRC+ above 100 in each of those four campaigns and secured himself a World Series ring with the Nationals in 2019.
Unfortunately, 2021 was a disappointing season for Suzuki, as he slumped to a line of .224/.294/.342, for a wRC+ of 76, relinquishing the starting duties to Max Stassi as the season wore on. Regardless, the Angels were evidently satisfied enough with the Suzuki-Stassi pairing to give it one more shot. Stassi will reach free agency at the end of this year.
It seems likely that Suzuki will serve in a backup capacity, given that he’s 38 years old and Stassi is about to turn 31. The latter also had an excellent campaign last year, hitting at an above-average rate and providing excellent defense for a 2.9 fWAR season.
It might seem a bit eyebrow-raising to for the club to be spending money on a 38-year-old catcher who’s coming off a down year. However, it’s worth pointing out that this year’s free agent catching market was exceptionally thin, with Yan Gomes and Manny Pina representing the top of the class. Those two signed before the lockout, leaving Suzuki as one of the few healthy catchers with a track record of success, even if he didn’t show it in 2021. The only other catcher on the club’s 40-man roster, Matt Thaiss, has only 64 games of MLB experience. Given that he has options, the acquisition of Suzuki will allow the 26-year-old to function as a depth option in Triple-A.
I coulda sworn he was retiring
Enough of the excuses. Fans come out win or lose. So why can’t Moreno spend another $50MM a season? Especially when the Dodgers are spending $300MM? Either sell the team, spend what you need to to compete, or sell all the players off and rebuild with a boat load of talent for Trout and Ohtani. But the premise that fans are satisfied fast forwarding games to Ohtani and Trout’s at bats is wrong– and that’s where the team is at right now. The revenue is there in buckets.
The Dodgers TV contract is over 8 billion for 25 years. The Angels is 3 billion for 20 years. You don’t need to be a financial expert to understand why one team can spend near 300M a year and the other can’t. Spending does not guarantee success. Even with all the Dodgers spending, did they finish in first last year? No. Did they go to the World Series? No. These owners are not owners to lose money. For the most part, these owners are here to make money. They are not going to spend more than they are bringing in. If they spent more than they make, they wouldn’t be owners.
Baseball isn’t a level playing field like in other sports. The Angels have less budget available to them than the Dodgers, but there teams that have far less than the Angels. It is amazing that Angel fans complain about the spending, but the Angels have continually brought in some of the best free agent available during Arte’s tenure. as owner, Vlad Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Albert, Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Anthony Rendon., etc. You can also throw in Mike Trout’ contract Have they all worked out? Obviously not, but you can’t say these were contracts of a “cheap” owner.
That’s all fine and dandy if you want to look at it solely from a business perspective. And I get that owners definitely do that. But fans don’t care about squeezing every last nickel out of the club. They don’t average much more in payroll than what their local cable package is worth. There’s a ton more revenue that comes from MLB licensing of broadcasts and all that gate money, which isn’t being put back into the club. It’s fine if you think that the owners should profit as much as possible but once again, fans don’t care about that. They care about playoffs and championships.
Why?????!!!!!!! That’s money well wasted!
He’s making less then 2million .Not a big number of backup catchers available. They are also familiar with Kurt as well. That’s why.
I guess they would prefer Matt Thais to backup often injured Stassi.
I’m fine with a veteran backup who is familiar with the Angels young pitchers. Not to mention you don’t have the communication issues when he catches Ohtani.
Kurt is from Hawaii. Doubt that he took Japanese as a foreign language
He knows some Japanese.
He’s fourth generation Japanese-American so you never know
Muted
Right, because a Japanese American named Suzuki from Hawaii is about as likely to know Japanese about as much as a Mexican American named García from Los Angeles.
Suzuki being Japanese and from Hawaii is able to communicate better with Ohtani than a typical catcher.
He may not be fluent, but he can get around a lot better than most.
So f…. what. So in your America people can’t have different political point of views. That’s your America. And it’s a sick America.
Right, it was the most feckless uprising in the history of man kind. An overthrow that consisted of trespassing that isn’t even a punishable in most Democratic run states. And people are still in jail without due process. And my guess is you support that.
You’re a sick human being.
Overthrow the gov with 0 weapons? That’s pretty crazy.
Lol overthrow the gov? With 0 weapons? We couldn’t even do that against your uk
Politics are an extension of morality, my man. And no one should ever feel compelled to give the time of day to the morally bankrupt.
Lol A’s that’s a big stretch man. Otherthrow a gov with no weapons? Cmon man. And I don’t even support the guy
I care about all injustice. The only political prisoners in America I know of are those January 6th trespassers.
If you know other people in prison without due process, I stand with you on that being immoral. That is something that shouldn’t happen in America.
And yet the nutjob that led the “political prisoners” on seems to care nothing about “due process” or what “America’ even means. Neither do those nutjob “political prisoners” you’re so desperate to defend.
ALL of whom seem to think free democratic elections are the problem and not dictators in charge. You know the same group who have many who actually support Putin and white nationalists. Get real!
There were people there in tactical gear with zip ties and handcuffs. The goal was clearly to stop the political process of the transfer of power, even if their organizational efforts and cohesion were awful. People who are bad at doing crimes arent absolved of doing them.
He has said that he doesn’t speak conversational Japanese, he speaks a few words of baseball Japanese. However you say throw the slider in Japanese. youtube.com/watch?v=uXOobs68h-A&feature=youtu…
All of that has been done LEGALLY under the criminal federal laws that are applicable. Sounds like you just want to make a political tribal rant about traitors who committed ILLEGAL acts. Just go back to watching your Fox News and reading your Mein Kampf!
Ippei Mizuhara is the Angels translator.
Ok Q. Now that your rant is over, can we get back to baseball?
There were weapons. Both pistols and others like bayonets attached to flag poles. As well as a gallows. Vehicles in the area were found with both weapons and bombs.
@Halo11Fan
What is it about the fact that all of these prisoners went before a JUDGE, who legally remanded them, that you don’t get? Many of those judges were appointed by The Orange Idiot that you seem to idolize. Are you that clueless?
What’s more, the only recent blatant examples of “political prisoners” were the ones held merely on suspicion in Guantamo for years without true due process in their cases. I have no doubt you have never once spoken out on their behalf. Talk about a weasel!
There are people in jail without bail, without a hearing, without a court date. Are you ok with that? Seriously, are you?
That is America’s justice system at play. Ever hear:
“The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.”
Millions of colored folks have been dealing with it for hundreds of years.
Once again, what is so special about this group other than that you share their disgusting political views?
Except for the foolish who waive their rights to a speedy trial, I’ve never heard of such a thing, but even those people typically get bail. but I noticed you didn’t answer the question.
And my guess is you have an agenda and are not really into what is right or wrong.
Right is right, wrong Is wrong. Period. It’s a good rule to live by.
watch out, guys. i was banned/suspended a few days ago talking about politics to a braves fan.
Dude, you’re harshing my buzz!
terrorism is six weeks without charge from what ive read. i personally don’t care to discuss how it involves this issue, but that’s the rule. we also know its broken a lot – look at Guantanamo Bay. Dudes have been held there for a decade plus without charge and no one talks about it. That’s an injustice we should be talking about, but no one seems to want to.
Guantanamo bay is a good counter example. So we have a Guantanamo bay in the US for people who trespass and break windows?
I think people many people believe these January 6th nuts are more evil than the terrorist who were captured in the “war on terror”. That’s why they are ok with it.
Anyway, enough politics. I’m not going to think someone is a horrible human being for disagreeing with me.
First off, you’re automatically assuming they’re “terrorists” and you want to complain about “due process”? Could you be more hypocritical?
As far I’m concerned, I’d rather the country be fighting terrorists than so-called “patriotic “Americans”” who want to do nothing but undermine everything America stands for. Yes, I think the 1/6 nuts (your words) are more dangerous.
A’sfaninUK: Stick to baseball man. I don’t see their political affiliations having anything to do with this. But if you’re going to go there, Put it together; I’m pretty sure the three of them sleep well knowing they supported a leader that fought for The US and it’s citizens. Who can say that about 46? I wasn’t excited about Trump, but would take him any day over the current regime.
As I said, some people consider the January 6th nut worse than terrorist.
You ever notice that the people who slam Trump never have anything good to say about Mr. Dementia
You ever notice people who love Trump overlook the fact that he tried to overthrow the presidential election process? Or buddied up with dictators in lieu of NATO allies. Or complains about American jobs lost while him and his family outsource everything to other countries. Or that he lied literally over 31,000 time while in office. Heck, the internet doesn’t have enough bandwidth for all the things I could go on about that repugnant loser.
they were the terrorists beating up and threatening to kill police officers protecting the congress.
I’m not sure being able to order a Katsu Sushi roll counts as “knowing some Japanese”.
You know what would have helped those “political prisoners” get out of jail? If Trump supporters had actually listened to progressive advocates for the last couple decades as they lobbied for criminal justice reform and an end to cash bail. You know, the activists right wingers have been calling “snowflakes” and that whole time. Maybe you shoulda listened to em, skippy?
Almost all of this is false haha
The country is in much better state under Biden huh? How is that inflation and your gas prices treating you?
Ever notice the left thinks the Jan 6 “insurrection” was worse than 911…. Get off msnbc and read some real news. Bunch of trolls believing whatever drunkard Nancy Pelosi tells them
America has always had enemies and always will. But these supposed “patriotic” “American” terrorists are undoubtedly the worst. So sad to see that you are such a fan of blatant treasonous terrorists. Go tell your cowardly loser idol that HE was the one that injected all of the stimulus and berated for years for the Fed to cut rates to zero, which caused all of this inflation. with an infusion of several trillions of dollars0
You’re so stupid as to think the guy that’s been there for one year caused it all. Well, if you’re going to say that, give him some credit for the largest corporate profits and the largest GDP in the history of the world.. MAGATs are such morons. They absolutely idolize a buffoon of epic proportions who is completely disgusted by the very poor trash that idolize him. Go figure!
There are virtually no catchers in this market, via FA or trade. And $1.75M, while seemingly a fortune to Moreno who is Scrooge miser on steroids, is a pittance in MLB parler.
Angels payroll tells me Arte isn’t “scrooge miser on steroids”.
For a team that plays in the LA market, I’m not at all impressed. He’s been using the Pujols contract to be a cheapskate for the past decade. Every year the team talks about how they need an impact starter and never does anything about it (save for arguably Wilson which was a lifetime ago). At least he can’t use the Pujols excuse anymore. And my comments go beyond baseball where the guy seemingly wants public lands for pennies on the dollar.
Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good rant. Arte could give out the highest contract in baseball history and some people would still call him a Scrooge…. Oh wait…
See what I mean.
Mike Trout is a generational player and still ONE player. The overall payroll speaks for itself. It doesn’t sniff what the Dodgers have been doing.
Nobody is doing what the Dodgers are doing…
Skin flint. Got it.
The point is, the Angels aren’t even trying. Angels fans on here seem to talk up how large the resources are with the Angels, and in the same breadth defend their low spending (relatively speaking) ways?
I’m glad to you coming around.
They spent 21 million on Thor. How much did they spend on Iglesias. What backup catcher did you want?
Angels need a shortstop and one more RP. They went with Lorenzen instead of a more qualified starter, I’m not happy with it, but maybe the move will surprise us.
If they don’t get the shortstop and the RP, I’ll call them out. But I’m fine with this move.
Are you serious? Thor on a one year contract coming off a Tommy John surgery. Heck even the Marlins and Rays would do stuff like that on a strategic basis.
Every year for the past several years, the list of potential targets (many by their own admission) have come and gone without every putting on an Angels uniform. God only knows where they’d be today if they didn’t have a lottery ticket fall out of the sky in Ohtani. I just hope he continues to mash and be healthy and we can truly test the cheapness of Moreno.
You may not think it’s a good signing, but it’s still 21 million. By the way, that sounds a lot like Ohtani going into last year.
It could be a great signing for all we know. It doesn’t really do anything to disprove his cheapness.
21 million dollars. At some point he’s not cheap. He may not spend his money wisely, but he’s not cheap.
When you’re underspending the crosstown team by the better part of $50-100 million every year, I think there’s a good basis for calling him cheap.
You and I and EVERYONE here knows that a $21M contract is nothing for even the most deprived revenue teams so just stop. You’re honestly making no sense.
Right, because all businesses in Los Angeles are created equal.
No one’s saying that they have the resources the Dodgers have, but you and various Angels fans have talked about the Angels resources. I’m not the one speaking out of both sides of my mouth.
The only eloquent explanation would be that the Angels fans are perfectly content with the Angels spending much less than they can and not worry so much about improving the team or playing for a championship. If that is your position, then I could see your point.
Since the Angels revenue was over $500 million and the Angels payroll was $182 million, Moreno has shown that he IS a “scrooge miser on steroids”. While he has allowed spending on position players, he will not allow multi-year deals for pitchers. Which is why the Angels miss the playoffs year after year after year.
Do you understand who Moreno is and how much he has, and how much he has earned owning the Angels? He has made two billion just on the increased value of the franchise. He gets $150MM a year for his TV deal. That’s before he sells a single ticket, hot dog, or Rally Monkey. He’s going to make another billion on the land and stadium deal. He’s the wealthiest man in the state of Arizona– and he’s 73!! If he’s not going to spend now— when will he? He has all the resources he needs and more to compete on any level. The only teams that sell more tickets is the Yankees and Dodgers. This is obscene.
Oh, he’s cheap. He was one of the owners refusing to raise the the competitive tax limit– why? The company line has been that he’ll spend what it takes, but he hasn’t and isn’t. If he was sincere he’d be excited the tax limit was being raised so he could add pitching and the players needed. This is a bad joke.
Thee Angels are a top 10 revenue team, over $500 million. Spending anything less than $250 million means Arte is raking in the profits. Spending $182 million is about the same ratio of profit taking as the Pirates. Yes, Arte is a cheapskate. He spent lots of money on position players and then refused to give any pitchers multi-year deals.
I think that’s what bothers me about Moreno as much as anything. You want to be cheap fine. But he comes off wanting to look like some magnanimous benefactor of his team and community when he’s just a charlatan.
Oh, he is most certainly cheap and dishonest with the fans. He was one of the owners refusing to raise the the competitive tax limit– why? The company line has been that he’ll spend what it takes to win, but he hasn’t and isn’t. If he was sincere he’d be excited the tax limit was being raised so he could add the players he needs. This is a bad joke.
The science from Oxford, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard all say mask wearing had little to no impact on the pandemic. Lockdowns– same thing. But guys like you want the mask because a politician says so. Now you’re excited about resigning a .220 hitting 38 year-old catcher who can’t throw effectively to second because the team tells us to be? I don’t get it. Yes, you’re right– this is the move that helps us compete for a championship!!!
Wrong. But thanks for playing Q. Now say goodbye.
The Angels’ payroll was about 187 million in 2021. The problem is that it is way too top heavy. Between Trout, Rendon and Upton that is 100 million on three players. Upton will be off the books after 2022, but an extension for Ohtani will probably be 50 million /year. It will take some adept management to put together a team that has very little in the upper minors. I don’t think Minasian is up to the task.
what makes him a cheapo is he doesn’t know or want to know that he has to spend money where it doesn’t produce immediate return. he hardly spends on scouting and development. minor league is ranked 30 out of 30 and it seems he just doesn’t care as long as he gets 3 million fans in the stadium.
He will have to if he wants to keep Ohtani. I don’t think that Arte is cheap with the payroll, I think he is cheap when it comes to Scouting and Player development. He also will be spending his time on his Life Real Estate business specifically, the Big A and surrounding property development. That leads the team in the hands of the two Billboard salesmen and Minasian. This is a failed organization which needs an overhaul from the CEO on down.
I don’t care how much he has. It’s irrelevant. How much does he spend on the Angels vs how much he gets back in return?
I love how people love spending other people’s money.
Yes, he’s gotten squat back is the whole point as proven by their pathetic lack of post season play, and even more embarrassing, not even being in the running for one in most years.
Brilliant retort.
Enough of the excuses. Arte gets $150MM just in TV revenue a year. He’s made $2 Billion on the franchise. Fans are there win or lose. So why can’t he spend another $50MM a season? Especially when the Dodgers are spending $300MM? There are no more excuses. Either sell the team, spend what you need to to compete, or sell everything off and rebuild. But the premise fans want to fast forward games to Ohtani and Trout’s at bats is wrong– and that’s where the team is at right now.
my sister is a johns hopkins educated doctor. my wife’s niece is a ucsf educated doctor and a phd in medicine from harvard. total bull! why would doctors wear masks when they are in surgeries? not to infect patients and protect themselves from viruses and harmful chemicals.
It was $182,925,936 for the 40 man roster in 2021. legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/al… I agree that roster is top heavy with Trout and Rendon. In 2023 they have $105 million on the books including projected arbitration increases and about $99 million in 2024. Leaves $100-150 million to spend each season.
Fixed a typo for you.
“Leaves $50-60 million to spend each season.”
Also, Ohtani is a double edge sword. He will either need to be paid $40-50M per year or he gets injured and does not contribute.
$200-$250 million is in the range Arte can spend and still have a nice profit. If the Angels have $99 -$105 million on the books, Arte should be able to spend $100-150 million more. Lets just take the lower number. Arte should spend $100 million or whatever it takes to get Trout into the playoffs in 2023 and 2024.
There are plenty of Catchers available by trade, Minasian lacks the necessary skills to be able to put a ball club together. Kurt Cadaver would be a better prospect.
trading requires sending young prospects ranked high which we hardly have any..
It’s not Minnassian, man– it’s Arte. Perry is being limited on what he can spend to fill out the roster, so this is the move he made. If Moreno said go get what you need…. you think this would be the signing, or there wasn’t a trade for someone younger and more productive? At 73 I have no idea why Moreno would need to save what amounts to peanuts for a man worth $4 billion and with the extraordinary revenue streams he enjoys. If he cheaps-out and this team finishes third, fourth, or fifth you will see Trout and Ohtani asking out.
So Arte wanted Claudio and Guerra.
I get it. Everything good was Perry and everything bad was Moreno.
What are they doing?? He was awful last year ugh another last place finish
The Angels need a back up catcher. Minimum salary is over 700 thousand. I’m fine with it.
you can do much worse at backup C and for 1.75
Angels, and most all teams, will need three catchers – Stassi, Suzuki and Thaiss – to navigate 162 games with fewer off days and DHs. And the payroll is a tad top heavy so they aren’t going to be looking at pricier options.
Is the site no longer linking players to BB Reference?
He was so bad last year. And now he’s older.
Not a fan of this move.
Suzuki, Kikuchi….satisfies my yen for signing news.
Wrong Suzuki. I think they wanted the other one.
Stassi is always hurt. Suzuki worked really well with Ohtani last year. Thaiss was the only other catcher on the 40 man roster. I was hoping that the Angels would bring, Suzuki back.
this is a good sign. he speaks japanese fluently and catches ball all needed for his position.
He doesn’t speak Japanese fluently, but he is Japanese, and is familiar with the language, culture and attitudes.
well, he once said he speaks the language well. how well? i haven’t seen him speak but i’d rather trust him.
Arigato!
i only know bad words in japanese.
My understanding is he wasn’t fluent but could get by. You could be right.
He doesn’t speak Japanese fluently, not even conversationally. The way he put it in an interview is he speaks “baseball Japanese”, in other words, throw the slider.
What’s beautiful picture.
Solid pickup.
He is not worth that.
Just kinda meh. A backup catcher for $1.75 million. Now that you have your backstops complete, spend some money on pitchers!!
Hasn’t that ship sailed? What even slight difference maker is available at this point?
Probably, but fans can always hope for something to happen. Trade for some high salary starters? SOOOOO tired of missing the playoffs every year because of a lack of starting pitching. Arte refuses to sign pitchers to multi-year deals and its killing the Angels ability to compete.
i am hoping they build a very strong bull pen. may be a pipe drem considering how badly the f/o botched on that last year. let us hope they have learned a lesson.
I certainly do sympathize with you as an Angels fan. You guys deserve better than the effort that has been put into the club for the better part of the last decade.
Wow, this thread really went in all different directions. Probably best to just close the comments on this one… sheesh
Just mute the Q followers. The discussion is much more peaceful and actually based in reality.
Cincinnati would have had a pretty good trade chip right now with Tucker Barnhart if they hadn’t dumped him to Detroit before the lockout.
Cincinnati had a decision to make on picking up the option, and they weren’t paying $8MM for a back up catcher. It wasn’t a dump. You snooze, you lose!
The Reds didn’t need to pay anything to keep Barnhart through the lockout. A gold glove backstop at $8M/1 has trade value in a very tight catching market. Which was very foreseeable when they cut ties with him. The only reasonable explanation is the uncertainty about the CBA timing and how it would affect the trade market.
Signing’s like this aren’t always strictly about individual stats. He might very well provide the clubhouse guidance and support needed to help bring younger players to their full potential. These guys dont have to speak the same verbal language. What matters is they understand each other’s game as a team… and what that produces on the field.
Hey man, we need players who can play. There is plenty of leadership on that team with Trout, Rendon, Ohtani, Syndergaard– come on. Suzuki is a tired player. No more excuses for this owner.
Yes, but the “players who can play” need to come from “somewhere”. Exactly where are these great catchers who can play? Because the team I support could desperately use him.
I didn’t say anything about leadership. I am talking more along the lines high baseball IQ and someone who can help pitchers make adjustments. He might vibe really well with the other guys and in turn increase their level of play. Ohtani sure seems to put a few more things together when Suzuki came around. We don’t know, we are just fans on the sidelines haha.
No doubt Suzuki has always been looked upon well by his teammates wherever he has played. Anyone who’s had a job should understand the importance of having coworkers that get along well with others.
Is this a joke? Suzuki was retiring– he’s done. This is the best we can do? Pathetic.
For you and all those like you, exactly what were the backstop options? Do you want to go with only one catcher? Do they have an MLB ready player in their farm system? I’m just not sure why this even matters to anyone hating on the deal. Worst case is that they release him at some point and write-off some loose change.
Your argument lacks creativity. What were the options after all the options have been removed? Is that your question? We should be happy with a player who would have retired if it wasn’t for the Angels throwing him a life-line? The season has been over for six months– there was time to address this issue? And now we will do what we have done for years– backfill our missing spots with rehabbing players and over the hill, marginal players, while people like you say there were no choices– of course there were other choices. Right now at best, AT BEST the Angels finish third, and most likely 4th unless they add two more legit starters. Texas is now closing the gap in a big way and could push them to last if their pitching falters. BTW… Syndergaard is a rehabbing player. We have no idea what he will be… All-Star or Bust? The Angels also had the choice to focus on player development– they have not and as a result our system is largely empty. The two catchers they did draft (Thaiss and Ward) were both moved out from behind the plate and not allowed to develop. it has been their choice to keep drafting middle infielders.
So please get creative for us and explain what they could have, should have done. To be clear, not years ago but today.
Are you kidding? Catchers have been signed and traded for the whole off season, but not for us. Where is the dramatic improvement of this team? Retaining Iglesias is not an improvement– it’s status quo. We swapped Syndergaard for Cobb. We added Loup from the left side— improvement. Trout and Rendon are coming off injuries. Adell is not ready to play every day. We have no legit 4th outfielder. We need at least two starters and two more legit bullpen arms. Where are we finishing right now? Not ahead of the Astros or the Mariners, and I doubt the A’s. Texas is vastly improved and they are not done adding. Maybe Suzuki is their best option today, but what lead us to today? Certainly not developing talent has lead us here. Horrible bloated free agent signings lead us here. Top heavy contracts lead us here.
Once again, that’s complaining about the past. I’m not arguing that the Angels aren’t a poorly run cheap organization. But the move itself is not really one to get all that disappointed about. You seem to be disappointed for really other reasons and taking your frustration out on this signing.
Heck as a Yankees fan, it’s tough not having seen them do squat either. I’m still shaking my head over why Seager won’t be in pinstripes next year. He made all the sense in the world.
You still havnt proposed an alternative to Suzuki.
Complaining about the past? Are you a serious person or just gaslighting people? The past as you call it is the present off-season. Moreno sets the budget and limitations. As the wealthiest man in Arizona and having made billions as owner of the Angels he has every financial capability to add to the roster whatever he needs, especially with Upton’s $28MM coming off the books in six months, as well as Syndergaard’s $21MM– that’s $49MM in two players. His annual revenues are extraordinary– he simply doesn’t have the will. The Rangers just acquired a legit catcher today, but it’s your contention there were ZERO options to the Angels? The Yankees have a surplus in catching. The Cubs’ catcher is available and has been advocated for by Maddon. There are young, emerging catchers in other organizations that are available. Our two catchers cannot take us the distance– highly improbable. And if Stassi gets hurt, which has been his pattern– then what?
Yes, but that isn’t TODAY. The decision TODAY is to sign him or not. Are you literally that clueless?
BTW, I’m a Yankees fan and no one thinks we have a “surplus” of catching. in fact, it’s a default situation where you don’t want to trade a guy that might bounce back offensively even though he is a DH and not a catcher. And you want to hang your hat on Higgy? Hardly much of a difference with him and Suzuki.
Sober up. You let every option pass by and sign a player who was ready to retire out of desperation, and your answer is that’s the best we could do today? If they had been proactive earlier when there were more options we wouldn’t be in this position. You are aware the Rangers just traded for an excellent catcher— that’s TODAY. But this is our only option? Try to love yourself more. You deserve better.
Yes, but who are these prospects you have that would garner an “excellent catcher”, as if that was your only need. You sober up and stop living in the rearview mirror.
Guy, we are in the here and now. It’s not the rear view mirror– it’s actually happening in real time. You say Suzuki is the best we can do, and I let you know Texas got a much better player today, and your response is that we don’t have any prospects to make a trade like that. If that is indeed true, whose fault is that? You need better self-esteem. You deserve good things just like other people. The Angels have prospects and players enough to trade and sign for what they need to compete. If you want to pay to see a 4th place team for another year– have fun. I do not. Why is it that so many other teams draft better, develop better, trade better and win more consistently? No playoffs for seven years is acceptable? Questioning is looking in the past? Well, you better learn from the past if you want a future.
The “fault” that you seem to want to assess is in the PAST. What about this simple fact do you not understand??? It’s like you’re living in an alternate universe. The Angels have one of the lowest ranked farm systems and while I’m sure you could put together a package of your best prospects to have gotten Garver, is that seriously what you want? As if that is the missing link to a WS run? WAKE UP! Their problems go way deeper than this.
Also, considering who the Twins traded for an MLB SS with that specific need in mind, it’s very debatable if there was ever a fit there.
OMG. Are you a family member of Moreno? His lawyer? Accountant? He has the money to buy whatever he wants and never feel a thing. Here is a plan for you… sign the Japanese star right fielder to play right field, and use Adell to obtain a frontline starter. Trade prospects, which they have for Chicago’s catcher. Go sign two more bullpen arms. They should have signed either Stroman, Rodon, or others… but since that’s the past and for this exercise we can’t do that I would trade whatever I have to get two starters. If i had to move Walsh to right and use another bat at first I would. We need a shortstop, so move Fletcher to short and trade with the Mets for Jeff mcNeil. There are an infinite number of trade and signing options that can still address our needs. None of this happens in a vacuum, the Angels are making choices, and as usual a lot of them are bad. I do not blame Minnassian. I blame Arte. He claims to be willing to spend whatever he needs to win, and then he ties the hands of the GM. This GM did not get excited about signing Suzuki– he had no choice after Moreno put him in this position.
First off, what the heck is the comment about Moreno when all I’ve done is vehemently bash him all over this thread???
You sound like every unreasonable Yankee fan of the past who declare things like:
“They need to trade for Felix Hernandez.”
“They need to trade for Mike Trout.”
As if just wishing it makes it happen. I know you think you are some genius GM but there are various considerations that act as blockades that you and I may never know about. Not the least of which is your cheap owner. If he spent money, that could solve various problems. But he won’t and you guys have limited prospects and front line starters aren’t going to be had with Adell alone, not even close.
Hey man, we need players who can play. There is plenty of leadership on that team with Trout, Rendon, Ohtani, Syndergaard– come on. Suzuki is a tired player. No more excuses for this owner.
Good move for the Angels, they have terrible depth behind the plate. I thought that Suzuki would be a good fit for the Orioles as a mentor to Adley but i guess it wasn’t meant to be
Guy has a bad year and gets a 250k a year raise, what a country.
How hard would it have been to sign Carlos Rodon or Kikuchi, maybe even both. Angel fans deserve to have a winning team but this owner is holding them back in every single way. Maybe once he passes away somehow the Angels will finally get to winning again.
Why do “Angel fans deserve to have a winning team” more than anyone else’s fans?
Not a big fan of this guy.
I swear this guy said he was retiring after last season. $7.00 a gallon for gas will do that.
This guy is still playing?
Did anyone discuss Kurt Suzuki on an article about Kurt Suzuki? He’s still a good catcher and a good hitter. He only had 219 AB’s last year, and didn’t play regularly. What are you expecting from someone playing so irregularly? Do any of you know how hard it is to play a day here and a day there and get your timing against professional pitchers?