The Angels didn’t make any earth-shattering moves this offseason but have nonetheless been busy adding complementary pieces to their squad. They’ve signed utility player Brandon Drury, left-hander Tyler Anderson, righty Carlos Estévez and outfielder Brett Phillips, in addition to trading for infielder Gio Urshela and outfielder Hunter Renfroe. With just over a week until Spring Training, it seems they are still not done, with Jon Heyman of The New York Post reporting they’ve been in touch on Elvis Andrus, Michael Wacha, Gary Sánchez, Andrew Chafin and Zack Britton.
The interest in Britton was reported last week but those four other names show that the club is casting a wide net in its continued search for upgrades to the roster. The interest in Chafin makes plenty of sense since he and Britton are both left-handed relievers. They are in very different positions as free agents, however, with Britton coming off a couple of injury-plagued seasons that followed a lengthy run as one of the best relievers in the league.
Chafin, on the other hand, has been fairly consistent for a few years and has been even better recently. Even though he had a rough showing in the shortened 2020 campaign, he’s still posted a 3.05 ERA over the past six seasons. Isolating that to just 2021 and 2022, his ERA was 2.29 with a 25.7% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 47.9% ground ball rate. Either of those two, or any of the other southpaw relievers still available, would be a logical addition for an Angels club that currently has 35-year-old Aaron Loup as its best option in that department. Loup posted a ridiculous 0.95 ERA with the Mets in 2021 but saw that number jump to 3.84 last year. The interest in those pitchers seems to be wide, however, with at least 10 teams seemingly in the running.
Andrus, 34, is a veteran shortstop who has appeared in each of the past 14 seasons. Generally considered to be a strong defender and baserunner, his bat has been inconsistent, though he’s coming off a strong platform in that regard. From 2018 to 2021, he hit just .255/.302/.360 for a wRC+ of 74, but he launched 17 home runs last year and slashed .249/.303/.404 for a wRC+ of 105. When combined with his glovework and 18 steals, he was worth 3.5 wins above replacement on the season. His market has been fairly quiet so far, with the Red Sox the only other club connected to him this offseason.
The Angels don’t really have a clear shortstop at the moment, with David Fletcher, Luis Rengifo and Urshela potential options there. All three of them have spent more time at other positions so far in their careers. Fletcher would be the strongest defensive option of that bunch, having received strong grades from advanced metrics. However, he’s generally fared poorly at the plate, outside of the shortened 2020 season. His career batting line is currently .278/.324/.360, wRC+ of 87. Rengifo and Urshela were both above average at the plate last year but got poor marks for their work at short. If Andrus were brought in, he could firm up the position and bump those guys into spending more time at second or the corners. Anthony Rendon and Jared Walsh should take third and first base, respectively, but both are question marks after injury-marred seasons. Having Urshela, Fletcher, Rengifo and Drury on the roster for one second base job and bench roles would be crowded, but any one player going to the IL would quickly free up some opportunities, and some of them are capable of playing the outfield as well.
Wacha, 31, is considered by many to be the top starting pitcher still unsigned based on his strong 2022 season, but his work prior to that season is mixed. With the Red Sox last year, he posted a 3.32 ERA over 127 1/3 innings, striking out just 20.2% of opponents but keeping his walks down to a 6% rate. He made multiple trips to the injured list on the year, however, which is likely a concern for interested clubs. He hasn’t hit the 130-inning mark since 2017 and has seen his results oscillate wildly since then. He had a 3.20 ERA in 2018 but made only 15 starts that year. That was followed by ERAs of 4.76, 6.62 and 5.05 over the next three years before the solid 2022 campaign.
That shakiness aside, there is a fit with the Halos. The club currently has five solid rotations options in Shohei Ohtani, Anderson, Reid Detmers, José Suarez and Patrick Sandoval. However, they have generally used a six-man rotation with Ohtani around, in order to limit his overall workload with him also playing in the lineup almost every day. That arrangement could suit Wacha well, since he hasn’t been able to stay healthy over a full season in recent years. He’s reportedly looking for a two-year deal and has also been connected to the Orioles and Twins, though that was before those clubs acquired Cole Irvin and Pablo López, respectively.
Sánchez, 30, had an extreme profile early on his career, tearing the cover off the ball but not getting great reviews for his glovework. Those extremes have been sanded down in recent years, as his work at the plate has cooled but his defense has seemingly been less concerning of late. With the Twins last year, he hit .205/.282/.377 for a wRC+ of 89, was considered above average by Defensive Runs Saved and got positive marks for his framing from both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus. He was connected to the Giants at one point this offseason but that was before they agreed to terms with Roberto Pérez.
The club has a couple of catching options in Max Stassi and Logan O’Hoppe. However, they were connected to Willson Contreras earlier this winter and seem open to bolstering that area of the roster. Stassi was great in 2020 and 2021 but is coming off a down season at the plate where he hit just .180/.267/.303. O’Hoppe is a highly-touted prospect that came over to the club in the Brandon Marsh trade. He had an excellent year but has played just five major league games and none in Triple-A yet. It’s possible he just hits the ground running this year but it wouldn’t hurt to have another option since not all prospects immediately click at the big league level.
Financially, the club is in record territory but it doesn’t seem as though they’re maxed out. Their previous high for an Opening Day payroll was last year’s $189MM figure, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. They’re currently around $206MM for the upcoming campaign, per Roster Resource, with a competitive balance tax figure of $220MM. That latter number is somewhat close to the lowest tax threshold of $233MM, though general manager Perry Minasian has said there’s no mandate from ownership to stay under that line.
It’s unlikely that the Angels will ultimately land all or even multiple members of this group, but there’s logic to the varied approach. The club already has star players in Mike Trout, Ohtani and, if healthy, Rendon. What they have lacked in recent years is strong depth to cover for injuries or underperformance elsewhere on the roster. It seems the club has some awareness of that fact and is setting its sights on packing the roster with various quality players so that cavities don’t develop throughout the year. Speaking of Rendon, Heyman reports that he’s feeling fantastic. He was excellent for the Angels in 2020, the first year of his deal with the club. He hit .286/.418/.497 for a wRC+ of 152. However, injuries have limited him to just 102 games combined over the past couple of seasons, with diminished production when on the field. If his health cooperates, he could be a difference maker for the club this year, but it also seems like they’re planning to have plenty of fallback options around the roster. It will be an interesting season for the Angels since it’s the last year before Ohtani is slated to reach free agency, with fans of many rival clubs hoping that he’s available at the trade deadline. For now though, it seems like the club is still committed to putting together a strong team and avoiding that path.
The Natural
The moves may not be “earth shattering”, but the halos were about as busy as anyone.
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
The barrel is a good place to be if you like German beer, but the bottom of the barrel is where is where some BB teams live. Don’t go there LAA.
toomanyblacksinbaseball
Rollin’ out the barrel is the national anthem of polka towns in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Don’t mess with it.
Jerry Cantrell
The Brandon Drury pickup is a really good one.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
Why do I get Duvall and Drury mixed up all the time?
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
Well my child, they both begin with big “D”s. Take some pain meds & go lay down, sweet dreams…
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
They’re also two hitters who really don’t hit for average yet have some pop.
drasco036
I’ll take the under.
THEY LIVE!!!
GO get them!!!
mnnorthernjuice
Sign all 3!
GoogleMe
I would like to add Chafin and Andrus the most.
Not sure why so many Angel fans like Rengifo. He hit a few HRs last year, but he still had a RE24 of -13.7 last years, which is horrible. He has been consistently bad in RE24 since he has been in the league. He saved a couple runs defensively with 2 DRS, but is still a huge net negative for the Angels.
Andrus was at least close to zero in RE24, which is a big upgrade. He has put up some good numbers at Angel’s stadium.
Troutahni
What I’m the Hell are all those codes? RK8, RE49. Stop always looking at the numbers. Rengifo passes the eye test. I would like him to be a little more patient, but his aggressive approach is in great contrast to Rendon, Ward and Trout,catching pitchers off-guard. He damages impatient pitchers. If you watched more games and not spend your time with Sabeemetriccalcukus, you will see Rengifo is finally starting to put his career on the right track. He has a very muscular frame and everyone on the Angels comments on how he has great strength. I strongly feel he is going to break out much more this season than last.
Advanced stats, like Sabermetrics, provides a great look into the numbers, but you can’t really use it when you are comparing different sample sizes in the big leagues,
especially when a young player lacks a track record you can honestly analyze.
GoogleMe
RE24 is run expectancy. 24 refers to the 24 different possible combination of out and runners on base. 0,1,2 outs and 8 different possibilities from bases empty to bases loaded. Real good players like Trout and Ohtani will put up high RE24 numbers. Average hitters will put up 0. Really bad players like Rengifo will put up huge negative numbers year after year.
Halo11Fan
Rengifo doesn’t pass the eye test. He obviously fools you because you don’t know what you are looking at.
He’s incredibly loud. He makes routine plays look hard and hard plays look impossible. It’s why outs above average has him measured so low. They measure everything. So he fools people like you.
Flash over efficiently. Flash over substance.
Troutahni
I wish we could do a player proposition bet on Rengifo numbers. I say he hits. 280,an oba of. 325, 25 dingers, 80 RBIs, 20 sbs, this season
baseballteam
Angels have shown interest in the Ukrainian women from all those ads.
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
Ahhhhhh, what ads do you mean…I’m a photographer.of course…
baseballteam
They’re on many sites including some on this one. I thing Ukraine sent women in exchange for the tanks.
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
That was an exchange with Hunter I assume? Any blow included?
Seamaholic
Ukrainian women drive those tanks
SanDiegoSuperDissapointingPadres
Michael Wacha…adding to that “elite” pitching staff!
JeffreyChungus
6th-best SP ERA in a year where Janson Junk, Touki Touissant, Michael Lorenzen, Mike Mayers, Chase Silseth, and Tucker Davidson combined for 40 starts for the team btw
THEY LIVE!!!
Find a taker for Rendon! Addition by subtraction.
LordD99
There will be no taker.
He first needs to show he’s healthy and that he can be productive. Then, they’ll still have to pay down more than half the remaining deal.
Tim Stewart
THEY LIVE!!! – You would have to eat a lot of salary. In that case an unwise move. He has been hurt, keeping his production down for just 2 seasons. Many players have bounced back from 2 Injury filled seasons. The Angels don’t have a lot of depth at 3B. He looks like his defense has recovered to his good self, at the end of 22. When he has played for the Angels his RC has had only one below average (under 100). season. He had 1 season a little above average. His first season he was great. He also had a little tuff luck in the down years when you dig into his numbers. like his average on balls in play. I think there is a good chance for a bounce back.He makes a lot but I think he has not been the disaster some think he has been.
Rishi
“he had a little tough luckin the down years”-. I could see that argument for 2022. But in 2021 he was hitting the ball quite a bit weaker than his peaks.
Tim Stewart
Rishi – That is fair . 2021 should be seen as an awful year . That year I think was his worst defensive year too, although still middle of the pack. Still think he has a good shot at a productive year.. You are correct though, I should have said “tuff luck in 2022”. I did not mean to be misleading, as I think it can be.
not alkaline
Hope the Angels do well this season. Got to the Angels’ stadium once many years ago. Wanted to see Darrin Ersted and he got a hit. So anyway Angels are my 2nd fave team.
toomanyblacksinbaseball
Angles quit being relevant without Ryan and Tanana left. And Bobby Gritch’s stash.
lavey
I see you know a lot about baseball, Gritch, lol
carllafong
Bobby Grinch– his glove shrank to 1/3 the size of a normal glove.
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
Is this the grinch that stole xmas?
Jean Matrac
He’s a mean one.
THEY LIVE!!!
Grich as I recall
vtadave
Good ol Bobby Gritch.
aragon
unfortunately, angels seem to be interested in losing again. again and again!
i like al conin
Thumbs down. Thumbs down!
Clepto_
Worst managed franchise in sports.
cookmeister 2
Commanders say hi
angelsfan4life
The Angels didn’t make the big splash move this offseason. But they added pieces that help the team, by making the lineup deeper. By making the rotation deeper. They did add to the Bull Pen, they still need a closer.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
I love that Rendon originally said he didn’t want to play more than a few more years, that he didn’t care about money etc and then he took the Angels contract and it’s been an absolute stinker.
That said- I think any team taking a flier on Sanchez will be risking nothing but upside, because everybody knows the downside.
1 year/$10M (the Joey Votto deal) with a 3 year/$37.5M option and escalators that could take it to a total of 4 years/$60M wouldn’t be insane…
lavey
that’s a lot for someone in AAA
seamaholic 2
Wait are you suggesting $10m for a dude who’s lucky to get a major league contract (Sanchez)?
TrillionaireTeamOperator
I am going by the market-if Joey Gallo can get that, Sanchez can. They’re in similar positions of weakness with similar upside.
Seamaholic
Oh heck no. Gallo is one of the best defensive OF in the game. Sanchez is almost unplayable.
utah cornelius
The article just said Sanchez is above average defensively and not far off average for a catcher offensively. How the hell is that unplayable? You’re thinking of Sanchez at his low point. He’s not there anymore.
BaseballisLife
That is not at all what the article says.
“his defense has seemingly been less concerning of late”
Hardly a ringing endorsement of his defense. In 2021 he had a -10 DRS behind the plate with bad pitch framing. In 2022 he was average behind the plate and his pitch framing was positive for the first time his career.
What has been concerning is his lack of a bat
JoeBrady
I love that Rendon originally said he didn’t want to play more than a few more years,
========================
In all fairness, he hasn’t really played in a couple of years.
utah cornelius
Partly by choice, I think. The guy who said he wanted to retire soon took a pricey seven year contract. Much longer than he wanted to play. He’s compensating by inventin and/or milking every injury. He’s trying to retire on the job. That’s my theory.
YankeesBleacherCreature
He’s a DH and a poor one. Insanity!
seamaholic 2
What the heck did they get Urshela for if not to play SS? Is Rendon done?
lavey2869
He is fine, unless he get’s hurt again. Urshela is just depth.
Seamaholic
That’s gotta make ol Gio a happy camper. What a trainwreck.
lavey2869
I want Chafin, leave the others alone!!
Logistics Guy
If LAA can add all of players list In the headline. They could be get Houston Astros a run for their money.
I don’t see Seattle or Texas finishing above 500
Seamaholic
Seattle is REALLY good
carllafong
Seattle has a tremendous starting rotation– they are at least a 90-win team.
jk
Laa always find a way to lose. Your underestimating the Mariners.
Yankee Clipper
That’s an interesting position, and of course I could be wrong, but unless Seattle completely implodes I believe they have an 85-win floor. If everything goes right they could finish with 95 wins.
Halo11Fan
I’ll take the under on 85 wins for the Ms.
vtadave
@logistics – You haven’t been paying attention to the Mariners since when, 2014?
Rsox
Since Arte has decided to keep the team you know he is just itching to sign a bad contract. Gary Sanchez come on down!!!…
HalosHeavenJJ
Don’t think Wacha or Andrus is an improvement over in house options.
Sanchez might be, but he’s a hard dude to root for.
Chafin? Yes, please!
carllafong
Wacha is definitely a positive add and is an important sign. Wacha, Chafin and Sanchez. 17-homers could mean the difference in three games in the standings.
HalosHeavenJJ
The odds of Wacha coming even close to last year’s production are slim to none.
His age, injury history, and inconsistency mean he is likely 100ish innings of 80ish ERA+ in 2023.
That’s not an improvement over a healthy Canning (who is healthy and already in camp) and probably not better than Davis Daniel.
leftykoufax
If anyone signs me “Thank you very much”
Buzz Killington
Should definitely try and get Wacha.
fansincethe80s
Not one of them actually improves the team over the player they would be replacing on the roster.
Gwynning's Anal Lover
Angels should go cray-cray and sign Elvis Andrus, Michael Wacha, Gary Sánchez, Andrew Chafin and Zack Britton.
HalosHeavenJJ
Chafin is a big addition.
Sanchez is good. Stassi might be toast. And you need more than 2 catchers anyway.
HalosHeavenJJ
One thought is an Andrus signing might preclude a trade.
Perhaps Rengifo for an arm.
THEY LIVE!!!
That’s what I was thinking too. Renigfo to the Dodgers for Bobby Miller? They wanted him before.
HalosHeavenJJ
I think Rengifo is a good breakout candidate but I’d jump for joy to get Miller.
Also highly doubt LA would do this.
User 2079935927
A good breakout candidate? What do you call last year???
HalosHeavenJJ
A nice hot stretch for a guy who is 26 and entering his prime.
Last year might be a springboard for a good full season.
Halo11Fan
He can’t play defense and had one good month. Most of the time he’s unplayable.
prov356
Rengifo was better than one month Halo. He was considered for a gold glove and his bat was very solid. He just needs to repeat it.
Halo11Fan
He’s a horrible defensive player. Much worse than Adell. His nomination proves they couldn’t find three utility players with enough playing time to vote for.
He was basically a regular in June
June 200 ave, 236 OBP.
Aug 254 ave, 254 OBP.
Sept. 252. 279 OBP.
July 333. 374.
Which month was the outlier? Which month is not likely to be repeated? And he’s unplayable those other 3 months.
Outs above average has him the worst defensive player on the team, and there wasn’t a close second.
prov356
“He’s a horrible defensive player.”
I think that’s an exaggeration. I watched him play. He made some great plays and he botched a few. I believe if he can repeat his upward trajectory on defense and at the plate, he will be a future asset or a great trade piece.
“His nomination proves they couldn’t find three utility players with enough playing time to vote for.”
So if that were true, you are saying that as bad as Rengifo is, every other utility player with enough time who didn’t get a gold glove nomination is worse. Do you believe that?
Halo11Fan
Statcast ranks him the bottom 15 percent for infielders. And that’s what my eyeballs tell me. If a stat I believe, confirms what I see, I’m pretty firm in my belief. If it contradicts my eyeballs, I think a second time.
Case in point, Fletcher. He’s an incredibly loud player. Bobby Grich made the plays that Fletcher makes, but Grich made them look easy. Fletcher makes them look hard. I discounted Fletcher. But Fletcher, unlike Rengifo, makes the plays. Fletcher is rated very highly by statcast. I believe statcast over my eyes. Loud players are almost always overrated by fans. I look at wasted effort, but Fletcher makes it work somehow. Rengifo doesn’t.
Plugnplay
Halo11, u can’t just throw out a players good month to fit you argument about a player. All good players have a hot month or 2. Now let’s see if Rengifo will get hot a 2nd month this season, then he’ll have arrived. I think he can, u gotta start somewhere.
Halo11Fan
Outliers are thrown out all the time. Sure I can. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.
I’d sign Andrus. Get rid of Rengifo. And turn Fletcher and Urshela into utility players.
If Rengifo was playable defensively, I’d feel differently. He’s not.
prov356
“I’d sign Andrus. Get rid of Rengifo. And turn Fletcher and Urshela into utility players.”
I agree with that. I would add Adell to a package with Rengifo and see what we could get.
Halo11Fan
Rengifo is about to. 26, never changes and I don’t like him for who he is and I have little hope he’ll get better.
Adell is about to turn 24, has already improved defensively, is not afraid of change. You don’t like him for who he is, rightfully so, but for some reason you don’t think he’s capable of change. We disagree on that.
prov356
“You don’t like him for who he is…”
That makes it sound like I don’t like Adell personally. I don’t dislike him at all. I don’t think he has the potential that he was hyped as having when he was a prospect. I don’t see the improvement in defense you speak of and his bat isn’t ready for AAA, let alone the majors. Even if he will be ready for MLB someday, he isn’t ready to help the team now. Trade him for players who are is my thought. This is an Ohtani crunch year.
As for Rengifo, he had his best year in 2022. We won’t know if it was a fluke or if he finally gets it until we are into this season. If he maintains the bat and improves his defense, we may have something. To say he “never changes” is silly considering his 2022 season was well above his career numbers. I’m not saying he’s a player we should hang on to. His value went up last year and we could get a decent haul with him and Adell in a package deal.
Halo11Fan
Personal? How did you infer that? It’s always the player, not the person. When I talk about the person, I’m very clear I’m talking about the person.
There isn’t a shift next year. Playing Rengifo in the middle infield would be insanely stupid. Having a middle infield of Fletcher and Rengifo is beyond stupid.
The last four months of the year, Adell was +1 outs above average and I believe he made two or three of the top five most difficult plays of the season according to percentages. I don’t know how you don’t think he’s not getting better.
Halo11Fan
I just went to mlb.com. Adell made 3 of the top five catches including #1.
prov356
I watched Rengifo make some great plays and I watched him jack a few up. Adell can make good plays moving in on the ball. It’s when he has to move back that he looks lost and he fumbles.
Adell’s career strikeout rate is 34.8%. His 2022 strikeout rate was 37.5%. That’s going in the wrong direction. His career walk rate is 4.6% and in 2022, 3.8%. In fact, if you look at all of Adell’s batting numbers, they got worse from 2021 to 2022. He had over twice the PAs in 2022 than 2021 with one more RBI (26 vs 27). His BA, OBA, OPS and SLG all were worse in 2022 compared to 2021. I think any incremental improvement in defense is irrelevant based on his offense. My opinion. We can disagree.
baseball-reference.com/players/a/adelljo01.shtml
Halo11Fan
It’s hard to make great plays when you have bad feet. There is a reason outs above average says he stinks. The Angels are already going into the season with the worst projected bullpen, now they want to go into the season without a shortstop, without a shift, and with four LH starters?
And people like Perry? When he makes such huge mistakes, it’s hard to see why.
prov356
From what I saw, Rengifo’s biggest issue was airmailing routine throws to first. Again, I’m not saying he’s our answer at SS, but I have hope that he can continue his upward trending either to be a valuable utility guy or a trade chip. I don’t care either way.
I am one of the guys who likes Minasian. I believe he’s done the best he could with what Moreno allowed him to do. We’ve had what, 5 or 6 GMs under Moreno in 20 years? The results have been identical with each. Moreno is the only constant for 20 years. I believe Moreno is only spending this year to try to show Ohtani he’s serious about winning. I predict if Ohtani signs long term with the Angels, payroll will plummet again, WS win or not. I also predict that if Ohtani signs elsewhere, the team will suddenly be up for sale for real.
Halo11Fan
Go watch the last play of the combined no hitter. If you think that was a good play, then their is nothing I can do to convince you he stinks. On step to his right and he can’t move his feet quickly enough make a routine play.
He has horrible feet. I really hope the Angels are not that stupid, but I have my doubts.
prov356
I’ve never denied he’s made gaffs on defense.
Halo11Fan
It’s not the gaffs, it’s the bad feet.
Not counting Stassi, and including Rengifo’s incredible month. And including Walsh’s and Velazquez and all Angels with over 300 ABs.
Rengifo had the worst (worst meaning least desirable) line drive percentage, soft contact percentage, hard contact percentage, ground ball percentage and infield pop up percentage on the Angels.
AND statcast has him the worst defensive player on the team. If the Angels are relying on him, they are idiots.
Braves Butt-Head
Look who’s trying to win…… 75 games
User 2079935927
I know it’s fashionable to rip on the Angels, I get it.Most of you are jealous because the Angels have the 2 best players in MLB perhaps in the history of MLB. Only time will tell. Ohtani will get better. Trout missed 5 weeks last season and still managed to hit 40 bombs. (Trout has been in the league 11 years Seattle still can’t figure him out) You like to harp on the fact Rendon has been hurt a lot since he’s been signed. But when he has played he’s been very good.Both with his glove and his bat.
You don’t follow the team day in and day out like I do. This team is helluva better than MOST of you give them credit for.
The starting pitchers are young and good. The relievers are adequate I think they will surprise a lot of you.This is team is deeper with their bench players, I’m not saying we’re going to win a 100 games. But we will make the playoffs. So keep making your jokes about the team if it makes you happy.
But I guarantee you Ohtani won’t be playing for any other team than the Angels. Not the Mets,Yankees,Padres and definitely not the Dodgers. That’s the LAST thing Angels owner Arte Moreno will let happen.
Clepto_
Ok fanboy….whatever you say…
User 2079935927
Clepto, Yeah that’s what I say. Whose your team?
Halo11Fan
Clepto is a worthless troll who has no life.
This one belongs to the Reds
I have no skin in this game, but….I have said all along if he wanted to go to those teams they say he’s going to that you mentioned above, he would have when he originally came here. He chose the Angels for a reason.
I look for him to either stay put or maybe go to Seattle where they have a connection with back home if the ownership situation disturbs him.
Look at the man and how he operates, not the hype.
User 2079935927
Arte will pay him. He’s not shy about spending money.
aragon
the thing is we have show him that we can play in october. do you think we can go to the postseason? if not, he won’t stay. it was the best to trade him in the offseason.
THEY LIVE!!!
I’m a former season ticket holder when the Cowboy still owned the franchise. I rooted them on through the 2002 WS Championship. Lost interest somewhere around the time Sciocia retired. This is a horribly run franchise yet I wish the best for them. BTW Phil Nevin is a goon, a real knuckle dragging tool. The team will be lucky to win 85 games under that neanderthal.
jk
85 wins would get him manager off the year lol
jk
I rip them bc they do 2-3 of the best players in mlb, but continue to lose? maybe you can help me figure it out?
Halo11Fan
Trout and Ohtani have never played a full season together. I have no idea who you consider #3. So, you rip them because you are ignorant.
bronyaur1
Why not roll the dice on a player like this?Shona I is gone by mid-July if it looks like another disappointing year. Maybe all,the bad luck turns to good luck, and it is a fun season.
James Midway
Chaffin would be a really nice addition
Plugnplay
Yes he would, but the 3 mentioned above don’t do much for me. Hardly much of an improvement over the in house players. Unless u sign Britton on more of an incentive based deal.
Halo11Fan
I’d add Chafin and Andrus in a heartbeat. Drury would be the primary second baseman. Fletcher the utility middle infielder and trade Rengifo for anything I could get.
urnuts
Over the last 3 seasons Sanchez’s total WAR is 2.7 while Max Stassi is 3.6.
I don’t understand why we would want Sanchez. In 2021 Stassi had a 2.9 WAR. Sanchez has had down years just like Stassi, as many non Stars are often inconsistent. So, go with what we have behind the plate and spend on the bullpen and a SS.
THEY LIVE!!!
Do you really expect to compete with a rookie catcher & at best a back up catcher with no stick? That’s what the Angels have. This team needs a SS, closer, & improvements at Catcher just to contend against everyone in the division.
Tim Stewart
keep in mind Stassi was one of the better all around catchers coming into 22. He had two major head traumas. Head first dive into a metal pole and hit in the side/back of the head by a bat. He should have been out longer in my opinion. This is worse than what they did with Fletcher when he got hurt after coming back and kept him in the starting lineup a number of games that he could not swing the bat.(only take pitches or bunt) Stassi probably bounces back a little with an off season to recover. To describe Stassi as a AT BEST, back up catcher with no stick shows a total lack of understanding about Stassi’s history as well as the present state of catching in the MLB. The biggest problem with Sanchez as I see it is other teams would give him a better chance at playing time or even a roster spot. Perry might be getting asked about Stassi and wants a replacement Maybe he is hoping for a minor contract with an opt out and maybe a small signing bonus. The Angels should have plenty of at bats for catchers to showcase, with Stassi at team Italy’s camp this year.
urnuts
IMHO Sanchez is also a backup and has more down size VS Stassi. If Stassi is anywhere near 2022 he blows Sanchez away. Now if they are able to sign Sanchez for less than $5,000,000 and on a one year deal then go for it and platoon the two.
aragon
stassi’s pitch calling was terrible with some pitchers. but then he was good with others.
urnuts
Aragon, fyi only a select few catchers call pitches and Angels pitchers and catchers wear a fitted device that tells them the pitches called from the dugout.
This season watch as the catcher wear, similar to QB’s, a wristband with pitches called from the dugout .
aragon
if so, fire all the coaches including nevin.
Tim Stewart
aragon – What are you basing Stassi’s pitch calling on? remember that a pitcher mostly has the final say. unless it comes from the bench.
User 2079935927
Catcher is a defensive position. Anything you get in terms of offense is a bonus.
THEY LIVE!!!
If I’m Arte… spending his money I call in Mike Trout and ask him if he’ll name the team a new manager. Anybody but meathead Nevin. There’s plenty of proven managers out there. If Trout says, “I don’t know boss.” I then ask Trout “Do you want to be traded to the Dodgers?” This is still Trout’s team. Give him part ownership.
User 2079935927
Thar made no sense at all They live.
User 2079935927
Okay we get it. YOU don’t like Nevin. Are you Yankee’s fan still bitching about getting runners throw out at the plate because Nevin wouldn’t put out the stop sign.???
Halo11Fan
I don’t like Nevin either. He needs a push button bullpen and he doesn’t have one. In a microcosm, just look at the game logs of last series of the year against Oakland. If he makes mistake after mistake like that series, the Angels are doomed.
User 2079935927
If I’m Arte and Perry I roll the dice. I say forget what others think.
I sign Bauer. Check the Police Records with the Pasadena PD. Make sure Bauer did nothing wrong. And sign him.
Hold a press conference. Tell the public we checked into this and thought about long and hard. Bauer deserves a 2nd chance. He’s learned his lesson and paid his duesb Afrerall, Arte didn’t have a problem signing Hamilton with his past.
BetterHaloFan
Naw. Bauer isn’t playing this season. The PR nightmare isn’t worth the WAR to almost any club.
Oldhalo
I’d like Andrus on a 1 year deal and am eager to see what Neto can do. So, I’d prefer to see us shy away from anything long. I think this additional depth, one that brings speed and good base running to the table would be a benefit to this team.
I also like Chaffin. He would be a solid addition based on past performance. We have a quite a few kids in the system that can pitch now so I would be hesitant about going to long here also.
I think that both would immediately improve the team. I think that the others mentioned above could go either way and financially could be too great of a gamble if it were my money being spent.
Halo11Fan
Me too. I’d like to see Rengifo gone.
I think I was the only one here not crazy about the Fletcher signing. He’s more of a depth piece than a starter. And that’s the way it should be in 2023.
bigeasye
It’s a big what if, but if the Angels could keep this team healthy enough to play the majority of the season they can do some damage. While they don’t have a top end starter like other teams that could shut down a lineup twice in a series, they have a group of solid guys, and in a series, I’d hate to have to pitch to a healthy Trout, Ohtani and Rendon 3-4 times a game.
Halo11Fan
Ohtani was ranked the sixth best starter on MLB top ten, and that’s mainly because he pitches in a six man staff.
For one game, I’m not sure who I would take over him.
Dogham
Angels fully committed to making their team older .
Ron Hayes
Sign em.. all. Let’s go!
dh4all
Please not Andrus. He is over=rated. His playing these past few years have been especially bad. I’d take Fletcher and Rengifo anyday over that clown. Now, if they got Kim from San Diego, I’d go for trading for a pitcher.
Halo11Fan
Rengifo was unplayable for most of last year. He’s the worst defensive player on the team and you want him playing a defensive position? I really hope the Angels are smarter than that.
brucenewton
They need all 3 for sure. But in reality 4th place is where they’ll be regardless.