The Angels have acquired outfielder Randal Grichuk and first baseman C.J. Cron from the Rockies, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Right-hander Jake Madden and left-hander Mason Albright will be headed to the Rockies. The Angels have officially announced the deal, adding that they will also receive some cash considerations in return. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports that infielder Kevin Padlo has been designated for assignment and Taylor Ward has been shifted to the 60-day injured list to create some space on the Angels’ roster.
The four-player swap is the latest move in what has been already been a busy month for an Angels team determined to contend. With Shohei Ohtani possibly departing in free agency after the season, the Angels are desperate to make the playoffs, and have added Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Eduardo Escobar, and Mike Moustakas in other trades to address roster needs.
Tonight’s trade also brings a pair of familiar faces back to Anaheim. Cron was selected 17th overall by the Angels in the 2011 draft, and he spent his first four Major League seasons with the club. The Halos had back-to-back picks in the first round of the 2009 draft and notably picked Grichuk 24th (one selection ahead of Mike Trout), but Grichuk never saw any MLB action for Anaheim, as he was dealt to the Cardinals as part of the November 2013 trade that brought David Freese to the Angels.
Colorado’s tendency to try and retain players it particularly likes in free agency has created some doubt about obvious trade candidates in the past, but on paper, Grichuk and Cron both looked like clear candidates to be moved prior to Tuesday’s deadline. Grichuk is in the last year of the original five-year, $53MM extension he signed with the Blue Jays back in 2019, and about $3.11MM remains in owed salary before the end of the season. Cron is in the final year of his own extension with the Rockies, and has roughly $2.42MM still owed in 2023 salary.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the cash considerations from the Rockies amount to $2MM, thus putting approximately $3.53MM extra onto the Angels’ books. This puts Los Angeles a bit further over the $233MM luxury tax threshold, as the Halos look poised to pay the tax for the first time since 2004 (the first year of Arte Moreno’s ownership). The actual dollar value of a first-time tax penalty is pretty minor, but it does underscore the Angels’ commitment to finally ending their string of losing seasons and non-playoff baseball.
This desire to win has been hampered by a number of significant injuries up and down the roster, so in a sense the Angels have had to be aggressive just in order to patch holes. Grichuk has experience at all three outfield positions, but figures to mostly play left field in place of Ward, whose season is probably over after he suffered facial fractures after a scary hit-by-pitch incident in Saturday’s game. In the best-case scenario, Ward is able to fully recover and get back to the lineup by late September, just in time to be available for what the Halos hope will be some playoff baseball.
Once Mike Trout returns from his hamate surgery and Jo Adell returns from his oblique strain, the Angels might even have an outfield surplus, considering that Ohtani has the DH spot locked up. Still, that’s a problem Los Angeles will happily face down the road if it means their lineup is finally back at something resembling full strength.
Grichuk is enjoying one of his best seasons at the plate, hitting .308/.365/.498 with eight homers over 263 plate appearances after missing most of April recovering from offseason surgery for a sports hernia. Turning 32 years old in a couple of weeks, Grichuk’s career hasn’t lived up to his first-round potential, as his propensity for strikeouts and an inconsistent overall offensive profile has limited his production. From 2019-22, Grichuk had only a 90 wRC+ over 1942 PA and totaled 1.8 fWAR, with a sub-replacement -0.2 mark in 2022.
It’s far from certain that Grichuk has turned a corner, as his .367 BABIP and some significant home/road splits are warning signs that some regression is inevitable once Grichuk is out of Coors Field. That said, at a relatively low acquisition cost and a pressing need for offense, it is a risk the Angels are willing to take.
Cron figures to step right in as a regular first baseman, possibly solidifying a position that has been a revolving door all season in Anaheim. It remains to be seen how the rest of the field might shake out once the injured players start returning, but for now, Moustakas will probably take most of the time at third base while Escobar plays second. Zach Neto will presumably remain the regular shortstop unless he also needs to visit the IL after missing a few games with back soreness. Brandon Drury might be back from the 10-day IL within the next week, further bolstering the infield ranks and maybe moving Cron into a part-time role.
Cron has himself been dealing with a bad back, both within the last week and in the form of a trip to the injured list earlier this season that cost hm about six weeks of action. The 33-year-old has hit .260/.304/.476 with 11 homers in 224 PA, and Cron’s 93 wRC+ puts him on pace for his first below-average offensive season since 2017 (his final year with the Angels).
However, Cron has been hitting much better over the last month, with a .319/.347/.565 slash line in his first 72 PA since his IL stint. His three seasons at Coors Field led to some pretty drastic home/road splits, and the Angels will have to hope that he can both hit outside of the thin air and remain healthy enough to play first base, since Ohtani’s presence removes the safety net of the DH spot.
MLB Pipeline and Baseball America had something of a split opinion on Madden’s potential, as while Pipeline ranked the right-hander as the eighth-best prospect in the Angels’ farm system, BA rated him only 21st. Madden was a fourth-round pick for the Halos in 2022 and was getting his first taste of pro ball this season, with a 5.46 ERA over 64 1/3 innings for the Angels’ A-ball affiliate. His 12.9% walk rate underlines the issues that Baseball America’s scouting report had with his control and command, yet Madden’s big fastball can hit 98mph and his slider also looks like an above-average pitch. A Tommy John surgery limited Madden’s experience late in high school and in junior college, but Pipeline in particular likes his upside once the 21-year-old gets more experience on the mound.
Albright fell just inside the Angels’ top 30 rankings from Pipeline (28th) and Baseball America (29th), and the 20-year-old southpaw has posted a 3.62 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate, and 6.0% walk rate over 79 2/3 innings with A-level Island Empire. A 12th-round pick for Los Angeles in 2021, Albright’s numbers have improved after a mechanical change, so some interesting upside exists if he continues to thrive after altering the arm action on his delivery. Pipeline puts a 50-grade on all four of Albright’s pitches, but while he doesn’t have a signature plus pitch, he can throw everything in his arsenal for strikes.
In short, the Rockies have now brought two new young arms into the organization, as Colorado continues its ever-lasting search for pitchers who can thrive at Coors Field. The 2023 season in particular has only underlined that need, as the Rox have been crushed by rotation injuries ever since Spring Training, leaving the team struggling just to find another healthy pitchers to eat innings. While the Rockies were seen as longshots to contend anyway, the team’s 41-64 record has put them at the bottom of the National League standings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
They are trying, I’ll give them that but I’m not sure it will work.
Same could be said for our Pads, Simm! LFGSD
We could have used those two.
If anyone has a chance to get back in it it’s definite the Padres with that huge positive run differential
The Padres and Mets will go over .500. The Reds, Marlins and Diamondbacks will follow in the Pirates footsteps and fall below .500. It is inevitable.
@wampum
What year do you think that will happen?
The Padres and Mets will go over .500 in 2023. The Reds, Marlins and Diamondbacks will follow in the Pirates footsteps and fall under .500 in 2023. It is inevitable.
The Mets are going to be giving far too many starts to Carrasco and the likes of David Peterson. Their bullpen’s a disaster and they may even trade both Ottavino and Raley. 8/9ths of their lineup is underperforming. No one cares, there. I’ll bet serious coin they don’t go over .500.
Funny thing, before the season I had a slew of Padres fans all over me and one that wanted to go all in on a bet because I still saw my Dodgers as the division winner despite losing the Turners and Gavin. I still saw 100 wins…..I didn’t foresee the slew of pitching injuries since then that probably make them a 90 win team…..but still better than the Padres.
Getting to my current note, Padres and Mets have more than enough talent to climb back over .500 and contend for a playoff spot.
The league will adjust to the Reds rookies and not all will be able to make their own adjustments, Diamondbacks and Marlins do not have enough talent yet.
I strongly disagree with you on your prognostication that the Reds will fall back. It they get Greene back, they win the central. If the Reds pick up another good starter, they will be in strong position to get into the NL Championship series as long as they don’t have to face the Braves. If the Reds get that starter, Atlanta will be the only team to stand in their way.
I think Reds and maybe D-backs have a ton of young talent. Got to watch the Reds in a 3 game series recently and I think the impactfully young players are going to have the Reds very competetive for awhile. Probably same for D-backs but I like the Reds young group better at this point.
The Padres are a puzzle wrapped in a mystery surrounded by an enigma named Juan Soto. They’re in 4th place in their division, and there are 4 other teams ahead of them for the last WC. They are 8 games under their X W-L. Meaning they score runs but lose games. They seem to lack killer instinct. But if they catch fire and mow everybody down, it should be fun to watch.
Like Rockies weakening their lineup tonight as the Padres are arriving for 3 games that could determine the course of their playoffs.
If padres sweep Colorado just take a look at that matchups for the weekend with LA. No Gonsonlin or Urias.
A 9 game win streak could drastically change the course or the playoff picture and not just the wildcard.
Oh yes, I realize they have to keep winning as that is a given to the scenario.
Two game set with the Rockies but point stands
Good catch there. They can just win the first one of the series following Dodgers to erase my error.
And appreciate the tact utilized in the correction!
I just double checked. It is 3 games in Colorado with off day on Thursday. Probably a typical situation where Monday might be off day for travel to create confusion though.
Not so sure they’re weakening their lineup …. The kids who have been riding the bench can hit a little.
I don’t profess to be up on all of Rockies depth but just going by the fact that Angels traded for Cron and Grichuk as opposed to youngsters make me think the lineup should be weaker. That and the fact that Rockies had those youngsters on bench favoring Grichuk and Cron.
Maybe long term bet is on the youngsters but tomorrow thru Wednesday is all I’m looking at.
Haha you are right, calendar splitting months so I missed it.
Such as Nolan Jones who I believe leads the team in OPS
Pearsky
I had never heard of Jones but a quick scan of all of the other relative stats listed on my app other than ops show Grichuk better. I don’t guess it really matters but if you pick out 1 stat for you preference I guess you can always win based on which stat you decide is most important on any given day.
The Jones kid doesn’t look bad though in 49 games. Some might come back with the old faithful “small sample size” argument though.
I’m sure we will see him for 3 games as opposed to Grichuk is all we can count on and the whatever happens happens.
Jones was a decent prospect with Cleveland I believe a 2nd round pick. And this year has 9 homers in a little over 150 AB’s. His avg/obp also solid. All I’m saying is they should be playing him and other young players more, and now should get that chance with the trades.
I’d say you’ll get your wish. Thanks for the info on him. I’ll pay attention to him tomorrow night.
The Rockies need so much help in the pitching department I wouldn’t be surprised to see both new pitchers getting called upto face the Padres this week.
Just Kidding!
Jones is a highly touted prospect who tore up the Pacific Coast League. He came from the Guardians organization. He it a 470 foot home run early last season at Angels Stadium. I just happened to be there that night.
Grichuk is better across the board with the bat.
Really trying. Both these bats are hitting away from Coors. Randal Grichuk is crushing lhp. 2 impact players to go with impact starter and reliever.
Elehuris Montero has entered the chat.
I’ve never seen a GM and owner refuse to quit in the face of all the bad luck with injuries! No other team that lost Trout, Drury, Rendon, Ward, Adell, and many others refuse to give up! Enough of the bashing of Manasian and Arte Moreno! This is the kind of effort fans hope their teams would make to get to the playoffs!
Braves didn’t give up when Acuna went down trading for all those outfielders. Most their fans counted them out at the time. I didn’t count LA out. Definitely won’t now. They made more than enough moves to make playoffs. 2 months is random but they got a good shot.
So right. And it’s huge that Moreno has passed the luxury tax for only his 2nd time as owner. Oh yeah!
Moreno should have been doing this for the past 20 years of ownership. He’s only doing it now to try to keep Ohtani. If Ohtani signs elsewhere this winter, Moreno will go back to his old ways of ignoring pitching and overpaying for former big bats who are a shell of what they used to be…Or he’ll complete the sale of the team because his cash cow Ohtani is gone.
Ohtani should be expected to be gone this winter. He saw how Arte operated for several years and id consider this to be too little, too late in his book.
There’s still a relatively weaker farm system, top heavy with big contracts, pitching issues, and aging players locked in for a bunch of years.
I, for one, don’t see this as a ‘new page’ situation under the current regime and more as a last, best, chance situation.
Time will tell.
Moreno still hasn’t allowed any GM since 2015 to sign a pitcher to a deal longer than 3 years. I highly doubt he will do it for anyone not named Ohtani.
True, but they’ve got nothing on the Rockies, who are down 4 of their opening day 5 starters, plus two depth starters, their best three veteran hitters (Bryant, Rodgers, and Blackmon) and various of their better relievers, all long-term. And they lost 3 (!) of their best minor league pitchers to tommy john in one day last week.
It’s called D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-I-O-N
Don’t listen to the national media, this is a good team. And they’re about to make “deadline acquisitions” of Trout, Drury and O’Hoppe, and with this trade replaced Rendon with a productive Moustakas. And more moves could come.
Maybe it’s just me, but very too-little-too-late vibe.
And vice versa
Anytime Andrew Valasquez and Trey Cabbage are your regular starters, your team is really bad. Should have picked up Tim Anderson. They need a shortstop that can hit. Neto is Rendon part 2. Both are made of glass. At what point does someone start questioning the strength & conditioning and training staff? Lets see, they have no legitimate catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop or center fielder… This team is not going to the playoffs.
By the time Trout, Neto, Drury, Rendon and O’Hoppe get off the injured list, it will be far too late to salvage the season. That’s assume they all get on the field for any appreciable time together, which is highly unlikely as well.
Alright, so I agree with the first sentence. The second and third sentence make no sense. Tim Anderson has been statistically the worst hitter in baseball this year. Hasn’t hit a dinger in over a year. Neto is not Rendon part 2, he just gets hit by a pitch every third at bat and that takes a toll. They have a legit catcher, first baseman, and third baseman. I don’t love the idea of Cabbage, Velazquez (*), and Rengifo starting on an everyday basis, or even Kevin Padlo being on the 40-man. I think this team will make the playoffs with their stars coming back and recent acquisitions. We are 4 back of a WC. We can win.
Grichuk paying dividends in his first game. Homerun off of Morton. Go Angels!!!
Getting the band back together!??
We’re on a mission from God.
“I’m for wasting sportswriters time, so let’s see if we can hang around and give ’em all a nice big $hitburger to eat”
Lou Brown
…and Perry Minassian, probably.
Trading away pitching to get more hitters? Typical Angels move lol
Might as well. Pitching doesn’t matter if you can’t score.
Two pitchers in low a….. when you go 1/25 with risp and 17 of your opening day roster are on the IL, things change a bit
Watching Angels very closely last two weeks. Especially this weekend when they had a chance to get really into the race. Too many non professional ABs. Especially when chips are down. Gotta give ‘em credit.
Adding if not great players or stars , replacing the Aaa at bats with professional mlb players. Can make a big difference.
This. When your depth for your depth gets hurt, the next layer of resort are your AAAA players. This helps them thread water for a little bit longer with proven major leaguers, which should help with how they looked this weekend at the plate.
The thing about these types of players is they can get hot at a moment’s notice and carry a team. Of course, the downside is they can get cold and look like Hunter Renfroe the last few months, but even Renfroe came through today! So you never know
What he said ^^^
They’re single A pitchers.
Angels took 20 pitchers in the 2021 farm draft. Most will never see the light of day. Plenty to trade from.
Both Former Angels back at it
Yes was going to,say that.
lolz
Angels can try but do they honestly have a Chaco against rangers?
They just lost a series and still picked up a game… They’re definitely not out of it yet. They’re closer than the Phil’s were last year at this time and have a much better record than Atlanta didn’t two years ago at this time. No matter what happens this will be one interesting offseason for them as they have Ohtani set for free agency and no farm system to deal with. They do at least have some hood young players like O’hoppe, Neto and Detmers. Kind of a fascinating train wreck to watch. Perry is giving it his all: Escobar, moustakas, Gio, Lopez, Grichuk and Cron. What a patch jobs he’s attempting with the injuries.
Rangers and Astros. They made the moves they needed to have a real chance.
Rangers just got swept and the injury bug is biting. Been playing above their heads all season.
over their heads? hahahaha EXWL is 67-39 and they’re 7-14 in one-run games. if anything underachieving
The Heim loss is distressing.
Angels wants to show Ohtani they can win
Little late
Most people don’t like change. Ohtani probably wants to believe the Angels van win. If they make playoffs it might take a lot more $ to convince him to leave. Art really really wants to keep him. I like their chances. If they don’t make playoffs not nearly as confident.
Agree 100% but don’t see them making the playoffs. Then what? Some big free agent signings to provide some more hope for the guy?
I guess I don’t quite get the Angels. Two incredible talents in Ohtani and Trout but can’t seem to surround them with a strong supporting cast or a couple big time pitchers
Yeah, the guy that moved from JP to the US must hate change.
2 players aren’t enough. They make awful moves. This year was best for them and why they have winning record.
We’ll see, bud. Bookmarking this comment and we’ll see what happens in 5 months.
They are winning… four games over .500 🙂
I believe Ohtani leaves regardless of them making playoffs or not. Now if they win the World Series (not) Ohtani might listen but I doubt that very much. IMHO I think he already knows where he’s playing next year ( just like Judge knew he was going back to the Yankees all along.) Money won’t be the only factor with him is my guess. Be fun to watch it all play out. My Giants were 5 for 35 with runners in scoring position in the 3 games against Boston and still won the series. Not bragging at all. They need another hitter via trade. They have Estrada and Haniger returning soon, so we’ll see. Didn’t mean to hijack this thread. Dorry.
Sorry
Maybe. But it’s concerning that they haven’t discussed a new contract yet. A decision already having bene made might speak to Minasian’s motivation and this exception for Arte to exceed the luxury tax.
How do you know that?
Moreno told the media 2 weeks before Opening Day he had yet to talk with Ohtani and 2 weeks ago Ohtani confirmed there have not been any talks. If you wanted to re-sign Ohtani, wouldn’t you at least have a conversation well before the season since you have exclusive negotiating rights? Why would you wait until after the season with all the other teams? It’s looking clear the decision bas already been made.
The Rockies…did something?
At least, they aren’t the Mets.
Welcome to the trade deadline Colorado Rockies! Glad you can join us.
And it won’t work either all of the AL East teams will finish ahead of the Angels. It is what it is
Kinda like how the Mets went to the World Series in 2021. Oh wait, that was the Braves who were two games under .500 on this date and 5 games back in the division. Point is, they’re trying and it’s good to see for baseball. None of these prospects they’ve traded seem to be irreplaceable types but of course time will tell that as well. A month ago the Red Sox were in last place, 15 games back and 2 games under .500. A lot can happen in a month, especially when injured players start returning.
Crazy
Once Ohtani hits the IL everything they hoped for will also go on the shelf. The same goes to the Yankees. Just replace him with you know who.
Angels got back the guy they drafted right before Trout to fill in for Trout lmao
¡Si, Los Angels tienen un Chaco para Las Rangeras, tu sabes!
Turned nothing into something… hmm
I wonder how they seemingly overpaid for a rental starter and reliever and now got this.
Are you suggesting the Colorado brain trust is somehow less shrewd than the White Sox FO??
4 games back, 3 teams to jump, biggest rental trade chip in the history of baseball, perfect time to buy
4 games 3 teams is nothing.
Let’s pretend you need 90 wins to get in to the last wild card spot. Here would need to be the records down the stretch
Tampa 26 – 28
Astros 31 – 25
Jays 31 – 25
Red Sox 34 – 23
Yankees 35 -24
Angels 35 -22
So banking on complete collapses of the Astros and jays, and then outplaying the Red Sox and Yankees, while playing +.600 ball. Ya doesn’t seem like nothing
So far none of those teams has done anything other than Toronto. Are they all going to had a lefty crusher, enough depth to replace any injury with a above average player, a starter as good as Gio and a late inning arm? All going to be playing each other a lot. Someones got to lose. LA has good as shot as any.
I admire your optimism
There are three wild cards now.
Just what my projections tell me. They actually tell me they won’t make the playoffs. But enough margin of error that they have a realistic chance. I don’t care who makes it so nothing optimistic about it.
Every single season at least one team does it. You are trying to say the Angels can’t THIS season, but its done all the time.
Do you believe in miracles??!?!!?
Not true. Especially when the teams ahead of you play each other. One team has to lose which is good but it means the other won. Lot tougher than it looks like just looking the standings over
Angels and Rangers trying to trade for EVERYBODY lol.
Rangers may need another bat after what I watched the padres pitchers do to them this weekend. Injuries are killing that lineup
At least the rangers will make the playoffs
No guarantee there. Odds are good though.
And whatever is left from EVERYBODY the Dodgers are there to pick them up.
Only negative WAR players. They are leaving all the good players for other teams to pick up.
I wanted the Phils to get Grichuk as I felt he’d be a nice fit. Angels are all in.
I dunno , but something’s missing with your team, Von, at least in terms of what I saw this weekend here in Pittsburgh. On one hand, a number of errors, flubs, mental mistakes and add to that a manager who takes a pitcher out of a game after no hitting the Pirates through 5 and after just 72 pitches. I mean, he had them eating out of his hand
I’m glad the Pirates kids took two out of three (they wasted a nice start by Keller on Friday night) but given all this and some ugly at bats from the Phillies in this sample size weekend, I don’t know if guys like Grichuk are going to be much of a remedy
Two words: Trea Turner. With a lineup like that, the Phils should not be so precariously perched, but I guess the pitching just isn’t good enough. Miami jumped ahead of them again.
The Phillies are not as bad as this Pittsburgh series. Yesterday was the worst game the Phillies played of the 2023 season. No offense to Pittsburgh, but this should have been a sweep for the Phils. They blew it twice. The Phillies big stars have struggled all year. Trea Turner, JT Realmuto and Nicky C have become automatic outs. At least one of those 3 will get hot again, but right now they’re tough to watch. Yesterday was a weird mix of sloppy defense, terrible base running, and 0 clutch hitting. Sometimes, you just have an awful day.
On paper, they have a good lineup and that kid who pitched yesterday was downright impressive. Still scratching my head as to why they took him out after 72 pitches
You’re right, of course. They should make some hay over these next few series. Maybe they overlooked the Pirates
And Turner is just a mystery to me. Here in Pittsburgh, we wonder why Reynolds is having such a mediocre season and sometimes looks lost in some at bats. But Turner is step down from there.
Can’t blame Philly for not beating that offer.
Anthony Rendon done with his latest hangnail?
Bleeding on the bone is not a hangnail. Pathetic take.
Bleeding on the bone?
Will he be back on the marrow?
Regarding Rendon it’s more like he’s bleeding from over exertion while playing with himself.
Cron heading back to Anaheim, nice.
reunion ×2!
I don’t think this does anything for the Angels. Cron is damaged.
Grichuk is the better add IMO. Solid bat. Solid defense.
The Ward injury probably had more than a bit to do with this too. But at least they’re trying to get some serviceable major leaguers
They will fill holes. Someone needs to replace Taylor Ward in the OF and they haven’t had a real 1B all season since Jared Walsh hasn’t been the same. While neither are superstars it’s ridiculous to say these players won’t do “anything”. Even Moustakas has been helping out filling in for Rendon at 3B and has emerged as a nice clubhouse leader.
Grichuk has already hit a homerun for the Angels. Forgot about Taylor Ward’s injury too
1000 ops vs lhp will do something
I change my mind. Looks like a solid trade. I love IT!!!
If you get the time you can go to the Reds trade for Moll and my trade grade and tell them how amazing I am.
Like having the two former halos back in the fold.
Not happy about seeing Albright go. But not crying too much over it either.
Walking Ohtani is now par for the course. Horrid lineup and he gets the Bonds treatment.
Cron behind him and soon trout for the run make a big difference.
Bonds got walked even when he had good hitters around him. And numerous more intentional unintentional walks. Bonds got maybe 2 good pitches a game to hit and he still crushed it. Ohtani has been intentionally walked less than 10 times this year. Got a feeling after seeing Chapman chew his manager out for not issuing an ibb we’ll see Ohtani treated that way for remainder of the season. It sucks because the fans are the ones not getting to see Ohtani hit. It should be interesting.
They are going to be so bad in a few years.
As opposed to being so great in previous years!
They are going to be A’s level bad with Mike Trout.
A’s don’t have a Zach Neto or Reid Detmers, good sir
Hmm must be Giants fan? still hurt over the 2002 Angels taking down Barry Bonds and the Giants.
No they won’t. No team that can buy talent will ever be that bad.
Did you see who they have given up? Today they traded MLBPipeline’s no. 8 and 28 ranked prospects. Small price to pay to go for it.
Why? Even if ohtani leaves they will have a solid group of young players and over 60 mil coming off the books
Great to see TEX, TOR, LAA going big. Wonder if the mid tier OF names remaining fetch more return than they should
Might as well trade for Verlander too and really go all in.
LA just got a lot more handsome bitchez!
Otay.
I hope and believe Verlander is a Met through next year. He is pitching very well again and he’s a winner. Mets need winners. Unlike the Padres, I think the Mets may have dug too big a hole to contend until next year. Padres have an outside chance this year. Been hearing a lot of groaning about Bob Melvin from Padre fans. Is he doing that bad a job this year? Always seemed like a pretty good manager before this year. Maybe Padre fans are frustrated with him? Wondering what some of you Padre fans think. I thought he would be the perfect manager for that team/roster. What say some of you guys?
Bomel is a quality manager. Friars need a big bat at DH and a strong bench. You get thru 1-5 in the Padres lineup and the party is over. Starting pitching is A+, relievers have been an issue Hader has been solid. AJ has got to pull a rabbit out of his hat. Good build at top of the market $$$ but he still has work to do
Pulling for the Angels…
Me too!!!
It’s like the 2012 66ers all over again!
Jays fan here.
Kudos to the angels management.
Mistakes have been made over the years but adding guys like drury renfroe moose cron grichuk at the cost to acquire is exceptional asset management. Roster construction vs cost management has got to be positive.
Alex anthopoulos once ran the jays with a record 3 year salary budget commitment and was ran out of town for spending noah sydergaard matt boyd and 20 prospects named who for two deep playoff runs.
“Poor asset management” was the culprit.
Real reason: corporate ownership cut off AA’s knees.
For example: Jays signed a 30 year old Russell martin to a team record contract and then management wouldnt authorize an extra 1.5 million for an above avg back up catcher to insulate their investment.
At the time, That was the difference between a minimum salary backup catcher and a league average backup catcher.
“Dont worry martin does yoga” was literally the local medias spin (still laughing!)
AA spent the budget and challenged management to round out the investment.
Jays had a record salary and a juggernaut team but lacked a left handed 4 outfielder, a loogy and an appropriate backup catcher.
Jays had a 150 million dollar salary and cheaped out on the 3-5 milllion extra they needed to round out the edges.
Moral of the story: theres no such thing as 90% – 95% or even 99% all in.
The closer you get to 100% all in without fully committing the bigger the backlash longterm.
Angels management 100% has a winning spirit spirit and im 100% rooting for them atm.
Grew up in Northern Ontario and moved to California in the 80s w my folks.
Angels supplanted the Jays for me as favs in the mid 90s, but Jays are near and dear forever.
Very well stated.
And if it isn’t the Halos, it’s let’s go Jays.
Cheers!
That is exactly why the Mariner fans hate ownership
Holy crap
Way to go Rockies. Keep acquiring below average prospects you will not develop into anything. So done with this team man. After the God awful Arenado trade I quit this team. I have no issue with trading players if the team isn’t performing …it’s the inability to land any decent players in those trades that gets me. I can’t think of one trade or impactful move they’ve made in 10 years where I felt it benefited the team. This team has been wrecked by God awful ownership and lack of baseball knowledge by the people they need it from the most. I miss the days when I could support this organization because they at least put in effort and were clear what their vision was. Didn’t always work but at least they were entertaining. Now they just make moves for the sake of making moves with no direction in mind….ie Kris Bryant. Way to go idiots!
Bye Felicia
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. We don’t need or want fans like you.
Top 30 prospects aren’t “below average” and they did even better on the Johnson trade. We’ll see where they are in a couple of years, but this Rockies fan is happy to see the moves after years of letting FAs walk for nothing.
Good deal for the Rockies it seems. Eric Longenhagen’s (Fangraphs m) assessment of Madden is quite positive. Sure hope this works out for the Angels. Good luck to both teams.
I think it’s great the Angels have been active. Some solid pickups. Just like most I’m not sure if it’ll matter but really can’t say they aren’t trying to be a factor. And being a Giants fan I have been concerned for the last month or so on Padres starting to get it together. They have many teams to pass but you never know. They are playing better. They have 3 of the most selfish players in the league and all 3 are bad clubhouse dudes. If they overcome and win despite that on top of how far back they were I’ll give them props. And I really like Snell for them. Hope he doesn’t get traded.
You have no idea they are bad club house dudes. Zero credibility reports say that. Quit reaching, they have been literally the most unlucky team in the league.
Padres the Most unlucky team? Lol
Angels: Hold my beer…
Wrong by your opinion. Any clubhouse with Soto, Tatis and Machado has clubhouse issues. My opinion. All 3 are me first and could care less about hustling and trying to be a leader in a playoff race or clubhouse. Talentwise all 3 are through the roof. Not so much in the baseball smarts department. Once again it’s just my opinion so don’t get all shook up.If they had more gamers like Kim, Cronenworth, Snell Darvish and more who play the game right, the Giants and D-backs would be looking up in the standings at the Pads.
Machado and Soto have spotless clubhouse reputations. Like, they’re beloved. What are you talking about?
Machado? Really. He must not have been who I saw get into a couple dugout dustups just with the Padres. When you have me first players they aren’t respected by the rest of the team and that indirectly cause problems. Once again my opinion. Soto riles some of his team mates with all the cocky antics while he’s in the batter’s box and I don’t think we even need to mention Tatis as a me first player because that would be laughable.
Lmao. I spent 2 hours at a restaurant in Coronado earlier today watching 8 Padres players and several spouses, including 2 of the 3 you named, having a great time.
The problem for the Padres has not been clubhouse problems, these guys the parties together in the clubhouse after losses after all, its been lack of depth and guys like Nola, Cruz, Carpenter and Cronenworth contributing nothing to their offense and relievers giving up games.
I’m an East Coast guy and Padres are not my team, but I have eyes and can see what has been happening.
You never even asked which 3 players I was talking about, which tells me you knew who who they were and deep down have probably thought the same thing. Clubhouse chemistry is a huge part of winning teams. Always has and always will
You NAMED them so you can’t say that he never asked which 3 players. Chemistry is not an issue for the Padres this season.
Everything you have said about Padres players above and below my comment is entirely incorrect. Machado is revered in the Padres clubhouse. Hustle is not a problem and hasn’t been in 8 or 9 years. Tatis Jr has been the epitome of a good and unselfish player this season. What your comments say to me is that you are still living several seasons in the past.
Poor roster construction, lack of depth at 1B, DH, and in CF has been a problem for the Padres. As others have noted, the Padres got ZERO production from Nola after he was beaned. Cruz was bad and CArpenter even worse. Cronenworth has continued to struggle with the bat. And beyond that they have little depth. A bullpen that has been both injured and prone to middle relievers blowing games has been a huge problem. Suarez was expected to be the main setup man and heir apparent to Hader but has missed the entire season until recently. That will help tremendously.
The Padres also had an issue early in the season with star players thinking they needed to carry the team instead of pass the torch. That has been solved.
When it comes to chemistry the very best Yankees teams had fist fights in the clubhouse and some of the players like Jackson were complete a holes. They still won together. The Dodger teams of the late 80s were known to have serious clubhouse issues and found a way to win together. The 1984 Detroit Tigers were another team that was known to have several players that hated each other. They found a way to win. Chemistry is important. Its not an insurmountable problem when the players are playing toward a common goal. That is the manager’s job.
I literally despise stars not hustling to first base. (Unless there is an injury problem) Manny is the king of no hustle. That kind of attitude carries over to a clubhouse. I watched it with Bonds for years. Best player I have ever watched but a complete pr–k in the clubhouse. I saw WS wins in 2010 2012 and 2014. Those were teams with less talent but great clubhouse and carmradrie wins games.
Unlucky. That is laughable although it is a little unlucky playing in a division where 4th place won’t work. So yeah that’s unlucky. Sheesh
A plus plus + for Colorado. What a seller’s market. LHP is a project. Not the most exciting arm but further development and enough command he can be back end starter. I wouldn’t pencil him into future rotations. Long ways to go. RHP is even more of a project but way more upside arm. Both these kids were over slot million dollar arms. Can’t get enough arms.
D for LA. 2 above average bats. 1 elite vs lhp. No doubt useful. But they paid for them. D can still be a win. No one should know these arms better than them. Both could end up relievers. Easily. Just a nice chunk of prospect capital and upside today. Could easily give it a C fair paying the price. Just for 2 rental bats wants me to go D.
The number of teams looking to buy are 2-1 vs teams looking to sell. It’s easy math.
It seems to only be a couple teams looking to buy. the Angels, Rockies and Rangers. Seems like all the rest are happy to stay the course and see what happens with just a minimal addition or so.
Everyone forgets about the poor Braves Jays Brewers Cleveland Marlins.
Bold Prediction. Ready? More teams will be added MLB talent next 2 days. Remember you heard it here first!
If you don’t know then you don’t know.
YourDreamGM- you are fired.
Hope the retreads work out for the angels.
Not sure about the reasoning for getting Cron. His bad back is limiting him to DH these days, and the Angels have that spot covered.
He’s a solid 1B. Rox have been trying out young guys there.
Cron is solid at 1B if he can play there. They said on one of the weekend broadcasts that he is being limited to DH right now because the motions of playing in the field were aggravating his back.
Presumably the Angels are gambling that the back is going to be better soon.
Their started 1B is Trey Cabbage.
Jays made borscht out of him
I suppose that beets slaw.
Cron playing first base tonight and Cabbage back to AAA.
I like this move
Two solid acquisitions
Took a nap and woke up in 2009…
Don’t worry Angel fans , you’re giving it your best shot , make it or not , ohtani will appreciate it. He also appreciates angels were the only team that promised him he can pitch and hit. No one else was willing to promise.
Very comfortable with the setup he has.
Arte will pay him and he’ll be back.
Wants to win as an Angel.
Just like judge was never leaving the crankees.
I’ve always liked Cron. Scioscia refused to give him meaningful playing time for some reason.
Why Mike Scioscia didn’t play Cron?
((((( Albert Pujols )))))
Why they are throwing prospects to acquire all these players now while they only have two months of Ohtani left seems kind of silly to me. They should have been making smart moves in the previous off-seasons and not signing Julio, Matt Harvey, and Trevor Cahill to one year “hope it sticks” contracts or signing Pitchers who have had one good season. For their sake I hope if works and they can bring back Ohtani. I’m not sure how deadening an already weak farm system to acquire rentals will convince Shohei that this team is committed to winning baseball and have the means to even do so. Hope it works for you angels fans.
Because they finally realized they have to compete to keep Ohtani.
By all means I hope it works out, I’m not an Angels fan per say, but I have always been a fan of the organization and if the royals didn’t exist (and what a sad existence it is 🙁 ) the Angels would probably be my favorite American league team.
Billionaire wants to keep Ohtani. He isn’t concerned about prospects.
Then may as well deal a few more of their “top” prospects for Flaherty.
Prospects this far down in a poor minor league system is like trading a bag of balls for MLB players. This trade make since. Does not hurt their system as they likely have players in the last draft to replace these Scrubs.
Because coming out of camp, they had depth at most positions. That is what Minasian did in the offseason. No superstar signings, just trades and little FA signings that gave that team some depth.
They have been devastated by injuries. Not just to big guys. Stassi has not played at all. Walsh never overcame his Long COVID symptoms of migraines and vertigo. Urshela was lost for the year. Trout. Rendon. Drury. O’hoppe, Neto. Now Ward. They have 9 pitchers on the IL that won’t return in 2023. You get the point
They did sign and trade for people to fill needs in the previous offseason and injuries made what they are doing now necessary to have any shot at competing for a playoff spot.
A team as snakebit as that — and trying so desperately to plug the holes — will find me cheering hard for them in the final months. That infield situation would have been downright laughable if it weren’t so pathetic, and the loss of O’Hoppe was a cruel blow. Which begs the question: Why not bring up the great Daniel Murphy from Triple A to complete this cluster f*** of unforeseen events and 11th hour manipulations. He’s hitting .284!
I would love to see Daniel Murphy back on a MLB diamond!
Every suit with a microphone and/ or a typewriter ( I pad whatever lol) says he’s gone , trade him , going to LAD Yanks blah blah … don’t believe it. All clickbait. No one knows but Sho.
Believe what you never hear.
He’s resigning
Book it
Only a sith deals in absolutes.
Gonna be a lot of Angels in the Topps Traded Series this year (RIP)
The real winner here is Michael Toglia. Hopefully he can show off his bat with every day at bats.
He needs to scruff up a bit though. He needs some facial hair or let his hair grow or something. He is too clean cut for the Rockies. Looks more like a Yankee.
I am disappointed in the return., but we need arms. So I guess I will just have to get used to cheering for a couple new bats. Most Rockies fans are probably celebrating, but I really liked Cron. He was arguably the best Rockies 1B since Helton retired. Morneau was good and Reynolds had moments, but Cron was just fun to root for. I liked Grichuk too, but not as much. I think his battle with his vision last year just turned me off of him.
Oh well, a turning point for the Rox roster. Perhaps more to come.
Cron zone and Yankee-killer Grichuk. Angels needed a 1B and Grichuk can at least provide some power while Trout is out. At least they’re making a playoff run with Ohtani.
A manager can’t win you the pennant but he sure can contribute to bad decisions losing games. I like the Angels & moves they’re making (these 2 prospects are not a big hit to a mediocre prospect pool) but I just don’t think Nevin is a manager who can get the best from his players. Despite Ohtani, strong sub work from Moniak & the boost of getting Giolito & López they’ve still struggling to put a win streak together.
Not so sure about Nevin and decision making either. But never really thought managers make a big difference either way. Sparky when asked what makes him a great manager “ I give the ball to Tom “
Nevin is a sub-par manager. When you have this talent and are barely treading water you have to look at the coaching staff. Same with St. Louis. Nevin never managed before getting the job if I remember correct. Nevin replaced his SP tonight after just 63 pitches and only giving up 1 run over 5 IP. Neving will be the weakest link making it to the playoffs. They need experience at manager not a crusty clown.
Jones will probably become their starting first baseman. They still have Montero and Toglia. P
More likely Jones plays corner OF every day with Grichuk gone, at least while Bryant is on the IL. Toglia and Montero can share 1B, as they’ve been doing the past week or two with Cron’s latest back flareup.
Yeah. Putting Jones at first base completely negates his cannon of an arm. Dude was clocked at 102 mph from the OF to the plate. Montero/Toglia will for sure split 1B duties until one of them steps up to FT duty or another prospect climbs the ranks.
Another desperate move; Angels FO are raiding an already desolate farm to fuel an delusional owner’s playoff dream. If Ohtani wise, he’ll realize that this core will all be gone next year and he should get out of dodge with the first chance he gets. He won’t make the same mistake twice wasting his prime years with this sorry excuse for a team.
What “core” are you talking about that wasn’t already with the Angels at the start of the season and will be there again next Spring Training?
Too little….too late.
What?! They’re 4 games out! Picking up good players in July for marginal prospects is a good strategy. Join the fun and root for our team to win!
How did that turn out?
And Grichuk goes back to where it all began, back to the fans that know him as “the guy drafted ahead of Mike Trout”
Wait. Does this mean the Yankees signing Carlos Rodon doesn’t make them World Series champs? I thought all the big sports guys thought that signing one injury prone starter immediately made them World Series contenders.
Oh the Angels were also serious contenders before the season. They have Mike Trout. They have that Shohei Ohtani fella, and some third baseman names Rendon. World Series contenders I say. Four or five players is all you need. The Mets are also serious contenders.
Angels are not trying, they are putting on a show to convince Ohtani they are serious. Smoke and mirrors.
Rengifo will play 2nd Escobar isn’t hitting much at all right now and his defense is so so.
Unless Moreno addresses pitching in a meaningful way tomorrow, these other moves are all just white noise.
Angels and Rangers both going for it. At least their players and fans can take solace in that.
Halos are blowing the chance to obtain good, young talent for Ohtani. Their farm system desperately needs that talent. While they’re at it, why not trade Trout? I’d like to see both these guys in the playoffs. Their magical 2002 season is over a decade old now. When is Arte going to sell the team?
I know it’s fun for some MLBTR readers to crush Rengifo, but I believe his OPS is .900+ the last 30+ games. I would provide his slash line, but I have spotty coverage right now and can’t access the numbers.
Rengifo’s OPS is .910 over his last 30 days, and it’s 1.096 in the last 7 days.