Shohei Ohtani’s long-term future has been a marquee storyline in the game for the past couple years. He’s now a season away from the open market, where he presently seems on track for a record-setting contract. There’s already been plenty of speculation among rival fanbases and presumably within other front offices about the possibility of Ohtani signing elsewhere after six seasons with the Angels.
Halos’ brass has unsurprisingly maintained on numerous occasions they’re hopeful of retaining the two-way superstar for the long haul. Owner Arte Moreno reiterated that goal in a recent interview with Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “I’d like to keep Ohtani. He’s one of a kind. He’s a great person,” the Angels owner told Heyman. “He’s obviously one of the most popular baseball players in the world, and he’s an international star. He’s a great teammate. He works hard. He’s a funny guy, and he has a really good rapport with fans.”
None of that registers as any kind of surprise, of course. Anaheim general manager Perry Minasian made similar comments last week, telling reporters the “whole organization would like nothing more than to see him here for a long, long time” and calling the 2021 AL MVP “somebody that we can envision here for a long, long time” (link via Associated Press).
Neither Moreno nor Minasian handicapped their odds of getting a deal done, nor did they specify whether there any plans for extension talks with Ohtani’s representatives at CAA this spring. Both expressed general optimism about the Angels’ chances of retaining him, with Moreno telling Heyman “we have as good a chance as anybody” at signing Ohtani to a long-term deal.
As recently as last month, it didn’t appear Moreno would be concerned about Ohtani’s long-term future in Anaheim. He’d been exploring a sale of the franchise dating back at least to last summer before pulling the team off the market in the middle of January. Sam Blum of the Athletic was among those to report in the aftermath of the decision that bids on the franchise were expected to top $2.5 billion but Moreno had a change of heart about relinquishing the franchise.
That led to some questions amongst the fanbase about whether the Angels’ chances of re-signing Ohtani took a hit with Moreno retaining control. The Angels have had seven straight below-average records and haven’t made the playoffs in eight years. Moreno admitted to Heyman “we have to win, we have to do a better job on the field,” though both he and Minasian have pointed out the Halos anually rank among the league’s top ten in spending.
Cot’s Baseball Contracts estimates the Angels will open the 2023 campaign with the league’s 7th-highest payroll. They’re behind the Mets, Yankees, Padres, Phillies, Dodgers and Blue Jays by that estimate, and a handful of those big-market behemoths would surely relish the opportunity to make a run at Ohtani in free agency.
Cot’s projects the Angels for around $119MM in guaranteed commitments for 2024, headlined by the megadeals for Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. Trout is under contract through 2030, while Rendon is signed through 2026. Tyler Anderson and David Fletcher are the only other players with deals past the ’24 campaign, with the guaranteed portion of both contracts wrapping up in 2025.
Business guy tells people what they want to hear.
Really, a $50 million per year extension would only be a $20 million increase in payroll which would easily be offset by two Pandas replacing Tepera and Loup and Neto replacing Urshela.
For sure, the money is there. Arte is just going to have to go over the tax line for a few years if they want to compete. They have the cost controlled pitching now, and most likely piping thru for awhile.
He is popular, international star, really good rapport with fans. This is what I would have said. Shohei is a talent that no one has ever seen before and one that I hope will help us get to we’re we want to go to in the playoffs year after year for a chance at winning a World Series.
@halos2017
Was thinking the same thing. Moreno’s heart is clearly in it, but just like the Wilpons he just doesn’t get it.
Ohtani is already making $30 million.
Tepera, Loup, and Urshela cost about $24 million.
replace them in house and payroll doesn’t even change.
It’s not that simple. Ohtani wants to play for a SERIOUS perennial contender and the Angels are anything but. The Angels will have to at least make it to the ALCS next season for him to even be able to trick himself into believing that. The Angels aren’t going to be able to re-sign Ohtani by “matching any offer.” The Dodgers and Mets will both likely offer more than the Angels initially. It won’t be up to the Angels to match that. They will have to beat it. Whether it be total money, AAV, presence or number or placement of opt outs or whatever. I would have mentioned no-trade clauses but I’m guessing every team will have to offer a full no trade clause or at least outbid every other team in money to sign him. Not to mention spending all that money on Ohtani won’t make the Angels any better. It will just make them the same team they will be this year but with less money to spend. Moreno has to be kicking himself in the butt right now because it would be an easily affordable sign that wouldn’t hamstring the team much in the future if he had just avoided that dumb Rendon contract. I personally don’t see the Angels keeping Ohtani unless they pay him so much that it hurts their team payroll to the point they can’t win. My guess is Ohtani goes to the Dodgers unless Cohen throws money to the wind again and spends so much more than the Dodgers that Ohtani can’t say no. Either way, I don’t see the Angels outbidding both of them and that’s what would have to happen since both those teams give Ohtani a better chance of winning.
That’s not a knock on Angel’s fans. I would much rather he stays an Angel than go to either of those 2 teams. San Fran seems more likely than the Angels at this point but I would still rather he stayed an Angel. It’s just that the Dodgers are probably going to offer more than the Angels and give him the best chance of winning and Cohen is likely to offer so much that no one but the Dodgers (or less likely the Giants) can compete. If the bidding gets that high the Angels shouldn’t want to sign him. A team trying to get in the playoffs for the first time in a long time would not be well advised trying to outbid an $18 billionaire who seems to care nothing about money just to keep one player. If Ohtani doesn’t win it for the Angels this year he is not going to start winning it for them once his salary jumps to $50+ million.
Definitely not that simple but the math shows it works without Arte having to cross his dreaded luxury tax line.
Best case for the Angels is Ohtani sees his young rotation mates deal and realizes Sandoval, Detmers, and Suarez are just entering their primes. And that a few Trash Panda bullpen arms come up and deal.
That would go a long way toward getting to the post season this year while pointing to a positive future.
@Halo- That’s the thing. The Angels aren’t auditioning Ohtani. Ohtani is auditioning the Angels. That doesn’t give you a bad feeling? If Moreno doesn’t want to pass the luxury tax then paying Ohtani, Trout and Rendon those salaries would make it near impossible for them to win.
When he’s healthy, Rendon is an excellent player. I can see why fans are skeptical about him playing a full season. I would’ve thought Moreno would’ve loaded up the roster like the Padres and Mets did to give the Angels a good chance of getting to the PO this year so Ohtani could see that he was serious about winning in Ohtani’s walk year. But if it doesn’t work out this year and Ohtani decides to play for a contender, I think it would be either the Dodgers or the Mariners because he wants to stay on the west coast.
Another tough thing to watch will be the LENGTH of the offers coming out.
Data point A – ohtani will be signing to play at age 30 just a few weeks into the 1st year on a new deal.
Data point B – there hasn’t been a modern two-way player with all the extra wear and tear. If a guy like Bogey got his years from SD, you can just about expect a 12 year deal is on the table with Ohtani through age 42. Someone will go there.
But what will he look like as even a 36, 37 year old? Nobody knows. So it’s likely that the teams that can, or will, absorb a massive bad contract on the backend are the top suitors. And if Arte has any thoughts on a future sale of the franchise again, that may just worry him.
It’s not as bad of a feeling now as it would’ve been a few years ago.
We finally have good, young pieces in the rotation. We have a stockpile of good relief prospects. It is easier to see success on the horizon than it has been in a long time.
That said, we still have Arte so that is scary. If he’d actually commit to a few years over the line it would be incredible. An Ohtani, Rosario, Bader off season haul would put us in the thick of things.
I don’t understand why so many believe the Dodgers are going to outbid every other team for Ohtani. For one thing, mega contracts aren’t exactly their style, and Ohtani’s is likely to be the largest in history, and by a lot. For another, the Dodgers have been runners up in so many bidding wars it should be clear by now that they aren’t prepared to back up dump trucks full of money for anyone.
I think that IF Otani considers Dodger Stadium the place he would like to work and LA is an acceptable place to live, he will accept less money like T Turner and Judge did. He wants to win but why do it at the expense of having to live somewhere that he may not enjoy for 8 to 12 years? IF he likes NYC, then Cohen is a lock to get him because nobody outbids Uncle Steve.
There is also the trade scenario if the Angels fall out of contention early. Dodgers are then out of the running because Moreno wouldn’t OK a deal with his local rival.
The Dodgers and Angels have done trades before, and if Ohtani does become available at the deadline the Angels would field any and all offers, because there’d be no reason for them not to. But I’m really just talking about free agency and the likelihood that the Dodgers ante up the kind of bucks it will take to sign him. I just don’t see it.
I would argue that Freeman and Betts are big money free agent contracts.
If you don’t include Freeman, that’s like not including Rendon.
The Angels have to win this season, period.
If they win, they may have a shot to resign Ohtani. If they don’t, they can ask a decent haul at the trade deadline (or earlier, depending on their performance). You pick up Ohtani at the deadline and it’s acquiring a pitcher and a hitter – that’s a huge weapon for a contending team. Even a short rental of Ohtani could be a nice haul because of all that he brings to the table for the playoff run.
The Angels really win either way IF Moreno spends the $50 mil Ohtani rejects. And to the good point above: there are some cost-controlled RP coming from the Minors to save $ there.
Agree with Plug. Plus Tepera and Loup could improve to the mean and they added Estevez.
(Sorry, 2nd post should be below.)
If he ever wants to play in the postseason he will just wait out FA.
Anthony, I see you chose to refer to the Los Angeles Angels as “Anaheim” again. This time in the third paragraph. I guess you’re attempting to illicit responses like this one, but it kind of calls into question your baseball knowledge when you don’t appear to know the names of the 30 MLB teams. Leave the petty name calling to us MLBTR readers. Your better than this.
Good grief. His baseball knowledge is fine. Dont get so worked up over it. Its not officially the best way to refer to the team but its not petty or random. They are a team from Anaheim even if their name has Los Angeles in it.
I counted the word Angels or Halos 9 times and Anaheim twice. Anaheim was used once in the context of where Otani plays. He plays in Anaheim, not Los Angeles which is one county away. I defer to your sensitivity and will only call them the Angels in any further posts.
Yeah, that’s inexcusable when everyone knows they’re the California Angels.
Don’t Fence Him In
Angels & NL West – I think It might be yourself that might be lacking knowledge, not Anthony. When the Angels made changes to their name they had to keep Anaheim in there due to the agreement with Disney that gave the Angels the rights to the stadium name. Disney then made money off the name change From Anaheim Stadium to Edison Field. Moreno has chosen to not sell it and instead changed it to Angels Stadium. The way he got around the team name part was he says the team nickname is The Los Angeles Angels. The of Anaheim is the location. To be technically correct you should say either Los Angeles Angels or Anaheim, but I think you can use any thing you want that will be understood. Anthony could use Ana’s Home or Disney Land or even City of Angels because his only obligation in this regard is to be understood. The thing that bothers me the most is your over the top” illicit response” as you yourself state. When you wrote to Anthony,
” calls into question your baseball knowledge when you don’t appear to know the names of the 30 MLB teams”. Most people know that when he wrote “Anaheim ” That this was not one of the 30 team names it was a location and the correct location. You went on to write “Leave the petty name calling to us MLBTR readers”. What are you talking about?? Is this post just a sarcastic joke of some kind???
The guy gets an annual salary and is this not immune to criticism. He writes on the internet and is thus expected to get some. There is mo need to be this super defensive. I find him to be a credible writer, but it’s irrational how so many people take things non-personal personally.
deGrom Texas Ranger – Not just take things personally, but wrong about the facts.
I guess you’d have to be born before 2004 to know Anaheim Angels… just be glad he didn’t refer to the California Angels… your mind would’ve been blown.
Also, we “elicit” responses, not “illicit.” Also, “you’re” better than this.
That kinda take some of the fun out of it…….
Mmmmmm…..
Illicit…..
Illicit responses does sound sexier
How can a team, who wants to compete, go into February with a bullpen that bad.? The pen is projected to be last in WAR. So even if it over performs, it finishes 20th?
No excuse. And unless this pen vastly over performs, this team won’t win.
Where can I find that bullpen projection?
Good question. I hears it on a podcast. It you don’t need a podcast to tell you this pen is not very talented.
Toptim, go to pitchers list. You can easily see what kind of stuff these guys have.
Toptim, dont worry about Halo11. Unless you want to read about some sort of criticism or complaint that has no merit or proof, you are better off skipping his comments.
Of, have the Angels been winning lately and I’ve missed it? Has the pen been good and I’ve missed it? You can attempt to discount my opinion, but you can’t use data to discount me.
Pretty good starting staff, if you include DH, maybe the best outfield in baseball. Suspect infield, and horrible bullpen.
Trout: nice ripping. Upvoted.
I had Halo11 down as being too pro-Angel i don’t recall him being overly fond of my Adell remarks back in 2020 (although there could be multiple “Halos” in here.
When I criticize the Angels I’m too pro Angel, when I say good things about them I’m too much of a homer.
I’m probably wrong about Adell, but he’s still awfully young.
The Angels don’t seem to have a clue how to build a pen and every Angel fan should understand that.
I don’t care how good you are at a professional analysis in projecting a Pens success. Even they will be wrong more times than right. Let it play out, I see good things for this BP. You would like to see 1 more backend guy for sure, but there’s some reinforcements coming, like fast!
They can measure stuff. The can measure velocity and control. That’s like telling scouts they can’t see potential.
The Angels bullpen is light on everything. It’s been light on everything. And it’s amazing how many Angel fans keep living in denial dispute it being a huge problem for ten years.
Agree with Plug. And Tepera and Loup should improve to their means and Estevez was added. And don’t forget the Minors guys getting closer.
Go look at their stuff. It’s not good. And now that you can’t overload the infield, there is a lot of potential for it getting worse.
if the pich calling came from the dug they won’t get better. especially, tepera. they don’t even seem to knw what is his best out pitch.
Not seeing it. They were middle of the pack last season and got a little better. Not a huge improvement, but better. Plus, they have Rodriguez returning and several guys ready to move up including Joyce, that guy that throws 105 and played well in his first try at AA a few months after being drafted.
Last year the Angels were 25th in WAR. 25th in K/9. 28th in HR/9. 24th in CSW. Worst in zone contact. They were mediocre in one important stat, getting batters to swing at balls. But when they threw the ball over the plate, they got hit.
Really not sure how you didn’t see it.
They were 18th in ERA.
They were 15th in contact%. 11th in swing%. 11th in pitches in-the-zone %. 8th in out-of-zone swing % and 3rd in out-of-zone contact%. 13th in swinging strike %.
More people swung at Angel reliever’s pitches overall and out-of-the-zone than for most teams and very few made contact on the 60% of pitches that were out-of-zone.
Exactly 100 in ERA+. They were mediocre. Middle of the pack.
EVERY pitcher gets hit if he throws pitches in the zone too much. That is why not a single team’s relievers threw the ball in the zone more than 44.2% of the time and the league averaged 41%.
The Angels relief staff got better. There are 81 relief appearances by guys that had a combined 6.31 ERA that won’t be back. They replaced some decent ones with better ones. An example is Estevez had a 135 ERA+. Igesias had a 100 ERA+. They also have several good pitchers either returning from injury, Rodriguez and Canning, or about ready to get a call up like Joyce, Ingram, and Garza.
That you CHOOSE not to see it is beyond me since you claim to be a fan of that team.
ERA is not a predictive stat, nor does it tell you how well they pitched. If you can’t close the door when a starting pitcher leaves, those earned runs are not on you.
If you allow three runs in a blow out, no one cares.
If you think the Angels had the 18th best pen, that’s on you. Did you think Loup and Tepera pitched well last year? Their ERA was ok… but they stunk. When needed, they were not dependable.
The Angels pen last year stunk.
Websurfer for sure, how do u go to the bottom in BP rankings, when returning all of your pen. Not to mention adding a solid backend/closer in my terrible eyes, but expert opinion…haha.
Why is he a solid backend closer? His CSW is horrible. His swinging strike percentage is horrible. He’s a flyball pitcher in a hitters park. He has a good fastball, but based on batters hitting it, it likely doesn’t move. He allows a lot of hard contact. All that has to change if he’s going to be effective, hoping it will is no way to build a pen.
Go to pitches list. You actually will see what he does well and what he doesn’t.
Halo11, you’re about to eat crow on Estevez. How about looking inside the numbers and outside Coors. Everything is rock solid. Well, ERA just above average. It tells me his road numbers are what u can project, plus a better ERA. You might say he was a Bad luck pitcher in ERA on the road, even at around 3.
Well even on the road his peripherals are not good. I’d love to eat crow, but he’d have to make a huge jump.
Right now the best stuff in this pen belongs to Wantz. But he may have an issue keeping the ball in the park and has a below average fastball.
The guys who are current major league pitchers are not the answer. Hoping your AA and AAA pitchers step up is a horrible strategy.
Go to to pitchers list and you’ll be able to easily tell how these guys measure up to other pens.
check his stats. he is, in no way, a valuable closer. the only thing going for him is he is coming from denver
Why do you cherry pick one small piece of the puzzle you don’t like? Do you enjoy being pessimistic in the face of overwhelming facts that say otherwise?
Estevez’s ERA+ was 135. meaning he was 35% better than the average pitcher.
Estevez had a 135 ERA+. He was 35% better than average. He doesn’t have to do anything to be better than Iglesias who was exactly league average last season. Only Herget was better among Angel’s relievers last season.
The best stuff in the Angels 2023 pen belongs to a guy they drafted in the 2022 draft. 2nd best belongs to Rodriguez who is returning from injury.
Cherry pick what piece of the puzzle.? CSW, Swinging Strike Pct are cherry picked stats? Zone contact? If you think those stats are cherry picked, you have a lot to learn about baseball.
I also like O Swing. If you can get batters to swing at balls, that’s a good thing. It’s the only stat where the Angels were not horrible, and I listed it.
Oh boy. Learn something about baseball. His ERA in 2022 is about as useful as his 4.38 ERA in 2021 or 7..50 ERA in 2020.
That’s the kind of thinking that leads people to believe Myers is going to be a good RP. Or Robles. Or Middleton. Or Barria in 2023.
Let me know a year where the Angels don’t have an outlier pitcher in a small sample size.
23 k percentage. 11.1 swinging strike rate, 26.1 hard contact rate. 36.5 ground ball rate, 23.3 CSW are all mediocre at best. The Angels better hope that’s a product of Coors, or his career will be short.
I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in projections. They have never been accurate and that won’t change this year. Bullpen are volatile and impossible to predict. No one predicted the Astros to have a good bullpen. Both Montero and Stanek were 30 and older with career WAR below 2 entering last year, but both pitched great last year.
The Angels haven’t had a top 10 bullpen in ERA since 2011 and I don’t believe that will change this year, but I in no way feel like the Angels will be the worst bullpen in 2023.
I see the Angels starting with Estevez, Loup, Tepera, Weiss, Wantz, Herget, Quijada, and Barria. All of these guys had an ERA+ above 100 last year, which means they are all above average. I don’t see them finishing worse than then a team like the Reds in bullpen. I see them being better than last year. They have many depth pieces to replace any one that struggles, which they didnt have last year.
I would like to add Chafin to replace Quijada. He is a upgrade and will give them another pitcher with accustomed to pitching in high leverage situations.
I put stock in stuff. As individuals, the sample size is too small, as a collective, they don’t have the stuff.
It’s why every year they find that outlier every year, depend on him, and he’s terrible the next year. Every year.
But you get what is important in STUFF wrong. So stop putting your stock in STUFF.
RESULTS are what counts.
Simple: they are THE worst managed franchise in sports.
Arte created the high payroll mess by not investing in the organization to develop players, and provide his team with the right amount of resources to be competitive. This led to him overspending on FA, i.e. Rendon. etc. He’ll need to continue overspending until Rendon comes off the books in order to keep Ohtani and get into the playoffs. His team will only be worth more once that happens and when he finally sells
rendon is reportedly very healthy.
Is “Very Healthy” a step about healthy or 100%?
Are artificial ingredients involved in achieving a very healthy status?
I have high hopes in Rendon. But if I get reports he’s still going to be getting stronger six months from now, then I won’t.
Here’s one way to keep Ohtani. One of the top soccer teams in the world is Paris Saint German. They have one of the best players in the world, Kyllian Mbappe. When Mbappe was about to leave the team and play in another country, the president of France asked him not to leave because it was important to the country that he stay. Mbappe stayed. Maybe Newsome can intervene and tell Ohtani how important he is to Anaheim.
Interesting story and this made me smile.
Yes Arte selling the team. To someone who will run the team, like the Pirates owner. A owner who always has the team payroll, in the bottom 5 of the majors. Also spends the least amount in scouting. There is only one team, that is constitutionally in top 5 in payroll and scouting. That is the Dodgers. Who makes half a billion dollars alone in the TV deal. The Dodgers make more from the TV deal, than the Angels do all together.
Owner lets fans know he wants to keep star player. Owner makes feeble offer to star player. Star player refuses offer, leaves in free agency. Owner tells fans he did all he could to retain star player in order to save face.
Truly a tale as old as time.
Really, this is like says all 30 teams want to have Ohtani. Wanting him and signing him are completely different things obviously. Willingness to overpay is generally what matters, though Kershaw and many others have turned down the highest AAV or guarantee this offseason in some cases.
Only a hand full of teams can afford him. 30 teams won’t be in the bidding for sure.
Otani will turn down as much or more than Trea Turner and Judge to be where he wants to be. He will get 100s of millions no matter where he goes. Whichever team looks like a good bet to be competitive for the next few years and whose city has the amenities he likes will be his choice, not necessarily the highest bidder. If he even reaches free agency, that is.
What’s “overpaying” for Ohtani? I figured he ‘d be getting $50m a year, but he might get more. His salary will put all others in the shade, and deservedly so. There’s never been a player like him. I can’t recall teams doing their best to put aside money by doing everything they can to get under the luxury tax or signing low just so they’ll have the money to sign Ohtani.
Can you imagine how seemingly boring next off season will be if Ohtani signs an extension before the season ends?
Boring it well very could be. Funny how so many articles on Ohtani that are written, on something that very well could not even happen. SMH, it’s all about views or clicks on the internet. $$$$$$$$
Yes give him $50 Million and you wont win one game more. Their was better teams could could have played for yet he chose West Coast and non big market and got it. if he is smart he would go to another team yet if he choses money and comfort over winning and challenge we know what player he is.
LA is the 2nd largest market. Ohtani plays there because it’s such a big market, not because he was trying to not play in a big market.
Yes Web, big market and more of a laid back Media, with the Trout factor. Why wouldn’t you want to play with the best? Now that Ohtani has officially arrived, and as the co-best. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s in Ohtani’s head.
Are you kidding? Have you been to a game when Ohtani starts? The media crush is worse than any Yankees game.
Otani can get the money anywhere. He is looking for a winning culture and comfort. He can and will get both on his own terms. Nobody really knows how he feels about other cities and there are very few clues.
If i was handicapping what uniform Ohtani is wearing next year, i would put the Dodgers as the clear number 1.
Ohtani really is a 100 million a year player hes a top hitter and a pitcher. 1 billon 15 years makes sense.
Makes even more sense when u count inflation
mlb.com/stats/team/pitching/regular-season?split=8…
If you want more details on how the Angels did you can use the mlb site and apply filters. They were the 5th best in ERA Aug 2022, I think 12th in Sept and 7th in October. Hearing people talk bad about the Angels is getting tiring. They have good arms on their staff. They most certainly are not the worst pitching staff in the MLB. Not to mention some good arms are coming off the IL to start 2023.
As long as Artie owns the team he is moving on to the Dodgers or Padres.
Ohtani is looking to win now and he likely realizes the Angels need to spend $275 million per season through 2025 to compete but Artie will budget at the tax level plus or minus a few million.
Ohtani will not wait for the minor league system to produce.
I’m one Angels fan who lost hope in mid January. I really wanted Jacob’s as our owner.
Don’t underestimate a head strong owner, who likes to pay out for big time players. Now the question is, if he’ll go above and beyond the next few years in salary with retaining Ohtani? I as a gambling man, would say yes. He’s not getting any younger, and I guarantee he wants to win.
Bottom line: you learn, and I know for certain he’s a smart man.
I am a betting man and would not bet on an owner who is 0-20 vs the spread. And don’t over estimate a head strong owner who historically makes poor decisions. The way he has handled the team from middle August to now underlines how reactive he is and poor at leading. He may be a billionaire but people sometimes are in the right place at the right time.
In my view, Moreno still being the owner means Ohtani is gone. Once they realize that they won’t get him as a FA, they might move him mid-season to get at least something back.
Stop writing “Anaheim Angels.” They are the Los Angeles Angels. So do we call the 49ers the Santa Clara 49ers because they play 50 miles from San Francisco? No. Knock it off.
Redstitch108* 2 – What are you talking about? First off , I did not see Anaheim Angels together in this article. I might be wrong but all I saw was Anaheim as a location. Anaheim is still the location. Technically they should not say LA when referring to location it is incorrect as is the mlb.com listing team name under A. It should be listed under L because the team name is Los Angeles Angels. The location is in the “of Anaheim” part. The stadium and the nickname are required to have the name Anaheim in it and the team now has the naming rights to the stadium. It used to be Anaheim Stadium changed to Edison Field of Anaheim and now Angels Stadium of Anaheim. The writer has no obligations except to make it understandable. They can call them the Halos of Ana’s Home if they want.
My parents moved me to LA in 1961. I lived about 15 minutes from Chavez Ravine.
To me, they were the LA Angels.
Call them LA, California or Anaheim. It doesn’t matter.
Born and raised OC – and I still live here because it’s awesome. But Arte is terrible and needs to go. Go Dodgers!
2023 offseason prediction: SD replaces Darvish and Machado with Ohtani and Snell with Julio Urias. SF signs Machado to a long term deal before canceling due to the physical. Anaheim gets Machado to play SS.
“I’d like to keep Ohtani.”
Sorry to say, Angels fans, this is not the same thing as saying, “I intend to keep Ohtani.” It’s a pretty weak statement.
Also, the sky is blue.
All 30 teams want to sign Ohtani next offseason, or trade for him this July with the promise of an extension.
Dodgers, Giants, Mets, or maybe Padres are my predictions.
Disagree that “all 30 teams want to sign Ohtani…”. It’s a team sport. I’m thinking there’s gotta be more than handful of Gms out there that’ll pass on his services because two way player players do not mesh/fit in to the team’s style/strategy of playing to win. UNLESS an owner like Arte, steps in and overrules his baseball people.
Overpaid? Maybe. Overrated? Certainly. Not a team player????
You have got to be Joking. 16.67% no way . Like we have the money and Ohtani wants to come to our team, but we don’t think he would work with our strategy or mesh well with this team. Unless the owner overrules his baseball people. Says no team.
Gms out there that’ll pass on his services because two way player players do not mesh/fit in to the team’s style/strategy of playing to win.
=====================================
I generally agree with you, but this remark is kind of baseless.. There have really only been maybe two players in history that count as true “two way” players-Ohtani & Ruth.
How is that not “playing to win”?
Hey JoeB, thanks for the get back. I think you made my point? How could I forget about the Babe. The Sox did value his two skill sets and used them, the Yankees chose to focus only on one.
Agree to disagree Tim and DeGrom. And DeGrom, O is absolutely a ,”special” two way player. And deserves the money. He puts fannys in seats. I do take exception to the term two way “superstar”. 5 years an Angel, 5 losing seasons. IMO, superstars can carry a team and are clutch in clutch time. Bryce Harper gets paid big bucks and showed up in the playoffs last year. Judge? Where was he in the playoffs? Ohtani, Judge and Harper deserve the big money because they sell seats. They are entertaining. That’s what I see.
And you truly believe every team wants a two way “special” player? Not true. Case in point. John Olerud. He was that two way MLB level talent. Toronto wanted him for his hitting and fielding only. That was the deal!
LAA needs a DD or Preller type of GM to convince Arte to break the cap.
The Phillies only made the playoffs by adding $60M worth of free agents. From a value perspective, it was very poor spending. But as I said at the time, it was better for Philly to make a couple of bad signings than no signings at all.
Same with the Padres. They added $100M in three years, but made the playoffs.
LAA should’ve done the same. They drew almost a million less fans last year than what they did at their height. The additional $50M in spending would have had the capacity to generate another 500k tickets sold. That would have easily paid for the extra $50M in spending. With the ancillary benefit of enticing Ohtani to stay.
120 plus million a year committed to 3 guys on a team that can’t even Crack 500, nice.
Arte is old and clearly thinking about his legacy. When he sells, not if, the extra few 100 million to go all-in over the next few years is nothing.
Have to think he understands this and is ready to make the moves. I think this year’s actions and higher payroll are indicative of it.
Fingers are crossed I’m right…probably not.
Someone above said it best. If we sign Ohtani long term, we don’t get better, we stay the same because we already have him. The only thing signing him long term does, assuming $40m AAV at a minimum, is tie up payroll to prevent us from adding any other meaningful players. The only option is for Moreno to suddenly spend like a drunk sailor year after year, which history shows he won’t. I believe if Ohtani somehow signs long term with the Angels, I believe we will see payroll plummet back to Moreno’s personal cap of about $175m a year.
I disagree Prov. The Angels finally have starting pitching. They have a catcher and a shortstop in the pipeline. Except for the pen, which is neglected every year, they are setup nicely.
The first decade this century, the Angels had a great pen. The pen won the 2002 World Series. The pen was a major reason they won those early century division titles.
If someone in authority would make this pen a priority, their future is setup nicely.
I agree halo. I say they are the same notwithstanding what they’ve done this winter. I don’t trust Moreno at all is my point.
Halo11 – That is a good point about young starters. Arte doesn’t like spending big on starting pitching. With the young starters it looks like this will not be needed going forward.
A few questions,
1. What terms of the contract is everyone predicting? For me, if he continues at this pace, it surpasses trouts value or what the nationals offered Soto.
2. If the Angels can’t come to an extension and are out of contention, do you trade him or take the gamble of keeping and try to re sign at end of year?.
3. If trading, what compensation would be in return?
If the Angels can’t extend him and are out of contention in July, they’ll trade him.
If they have a brain, they’ll trade him.
But I don’t see them being out of contention in July.
Ohtani scares me as a long term investment. Any significant injury knocks out a big part of your rotation and a big middle of the order bat. It’s a double hit. If I had a spare $50m AAV of payroll to spend, I think I’d prefer $30 on a pitcher and $20 on a seperate hitter.
The wisest team in MLB will be the one that hands a blank check to Ohtani and lets him name his price. This guy’s is on a level that’s literally not comprehensible and his international fame will more than make him worth whatever he’s charging. No brainer no matter the organization. You either have the chips and the balls or you don’t.
Looks like Fletcher and Rengifo are slated to platoon as our starting shortstops.
mlb.com/angels/news/angels-2023-opening-day-roster