The Angels announced a series of roster moves today, selecting infielders David Fletcher and Jared Walsh. To open active roster spots for those two, the club optioned outfielder Jordyn Adams and infielder Kyren Paris. To open spots on the 40-man roster, they transferred infielder/outfielder Luis Rengifo to the 60-day injured list and designated right-hander Gerardo Reyes for assignment.
Both Walsh and Fletcher looked like potential building blocks for the club not too long ago, but both of fallen off considerably in recent years. Walsh hit 38 home runs in 176 games over 2020 and 2021, slashing .280/.338/.531 for a wRC+ of 130. Unfortunately, significant health issues have prevented a significant obstacle to him since then. He underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last year and has been dealing with headaches and insomnia this year, hitting just .202/.265/.353 over the past two seasons. He was outrighted in August and has a batting line of .217/.360/.375 in Triple-A this year.
Despite those struggles, he’ll get a chance to play out the string over the final weeks of the season with the Halos out of contention. He’s making a salary of $2.65MM this year and would be eligible for arbitration again this winter, though the Angels may not tender him a contract unless they have reason to expect he can get back to the form he showed in 2020-2021.
Fletcher hit .319/.376/.425 in the shortened 2020 season, wRC+ of 121, which was enough for the Angels to give him a contract extension going into the following year. In April of 2021, he and the club agreed to a five-year deal with a $26MM guarantee, though his production fell off immediately. He’s hit just .258/.292/.325 since the start of 2021 for a wRC+ of 69.
Twice this year, the club has passed Fletcher through waivers and outrighted him to Triple-A Salt Lake. Since he has over three years of major league service time, he could have rejected either of those assignments and elected free agency. However, since he’s still shy of five years of service, doing so would mean forfeiting what’s left of his contract, which runs through 2025. Naturally, he decided to accept in both instances.
He will still be shy of that five-year mark at season’s end, meaning the Halos could outright him again this winter and keep him around as depth without him taking up a roster spot. In the minors this year, he has a batting line of .330/.382/.428 that looks good at first glance but is par in the Pacific Coast League, translating to a wRC+ of 100. He’s generally considered a strong defender, so he could be valuable even with average offense at the big league level, though he’s been well beneath that in recent years.
Reyes signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and had his contract selected in June. He has an earned run average of 7.45 in his eight major league appearances and 6.25 in his 33 Triple-A appearances. He’ll be out of options next year, giving him less roster flexibility going forward.
As for Rengifo, it was reported last week that he won’t be able to return this year due to a bicep tendon rupture, making today’s transfer an inevitable formality.
It’s possible there are luxury tax implications to these moves, as it was reported earlier this month that the club remained narrowly above the lowest threshold of the competitive balance tax. Since then, they have tried to further cut their CBT number by putting catcher Max Stassi on the restricted list and putting outfielder Randal Grichuk on waivers a second time. Fletcher and Walsh each already had their salaries for this year locked in, so bringing them back up doesn’t add any payroll. But Adams and Paris will no longer be receiving major league pay after being optioned, which will trim a small amount of spending from the club’s ledger.
Getting under the CBT line could have implications for the club since the compensatory draft pick they would receive in the event Shohei Ohtani signs elsewhere after rejecting a qualifying offer would be significantly better. There are also compounding penalties for paying the tax in consecutive years, meaning that ducking under now would lessen their penalties if they were to go over again next year.
Whether the club pays the tax or not won’t be officially known until later in the year. Roster Resource estimates the Angels’ tax number at $229MM whereas Cot’s Baseball Contracts pegs it at $237MM. The lowest threshold of the CBT is $233MM this year.
Looks like Angels got their answer for if Adams and Paris are part of their future.
They already know the answers for Ohtani and Trout.
Nevin should be next.
I have no idea about how Adams and Paris will turn out but I hope the Angels aren’t making decisions on 15 games in the majors. The kids were only getting a cup of coffee anyway.
Did Grichuk go unclaimed the second time?
Yes Grichuck went unclaimed
Haven’t these two failed enough already? Walsh will probably get a headache on the way to the game.
Way to make fun of somebody’s health problems.
To answer your question….No.
Fletch has always been a valuable Utility player who can play a great secondbase, and Walsh was an All Star.
Both should get a chance to show they are healthy.
I still don’t understand the Fletcher DFA while keeping Rengifo. Fletcher should be our starting 2b.
Fletcher is guaranteed too much money. No one will claim him.
With DH opening up, that makes room for Rendon and Rengifo and Fletcher. Fletcher can play 2nd and third as a utility player. Rendon should be pencilled in as the primary third baseman, and substantial time at DH. Rengifo can DH, play positions as plan C, which will come up a lot. Drury at 2nd.
That’s a workable situation. Our starting 9 is not going to be anything above workable.
BUILD A BULLPEN.!!!!! That’s really our best chance.
I like it.
Thanks Prov.
Can’t count on Rendon.
No one is. Thus the word pencil.
Catch 22 about Rendon. When he’s been on the field the last three years, the Angels are 14 games over 500. I bet no other Angel player is close to that. If he’s able to play, he has to play, therefore, you can’t replace him. But you also can’t count on him, so you have to have options…which I laid out.
Fletcher is less than half the hitter that Rengifo is. He can’t run as fast, he certainly doesn’t have the power that Rengifo has, and now Rengifo was hitting about 40 points higher than Fletcher. Fletcher is an OK fielder nothing special. What is he going to try and do replace Neto, or Drury at second. Perhaps Mustaskas at third??? There is no place for him.
Fletcher is a DESERVING gold glove finalist at two positions. Rengifo has the worst crossover step for a middle infielder I’ve ever seen. And Fletcher is a better base runner.
Just looking at outs above average the last four years. Rengifo ranks last among the Angels at three positions
Between Fletcher and Rengifo, I have no idea what hitter will show up. Neither are consistent. But Rengifo has a much higher upside. But we’ve also seen that downside.
ABs at DH sounds right to me.
I think Fletcher is more consistent than Rengifo in general. Rengifo seems to come alive in September, but he always starts slowly at the plate. If given the opportunity, I think Fletch could be a Brett Butler-like leadoff hitter.
You have a bullpen. His name is Loup.
@Birdieman2. You’re a class act. How about this…….even after going through all his medical issues Walsh is still better than you ever were or ever will be. He may be a has been but you are a never was. And oh, by the way, this year alone he’ll make more than you will over the course of your lifetime.
I’ve made more in my lifetime than Walsh made this year and if you are young, you better hope you make more over your lifetime than Walsh has made this year.
And Walsh is better at his job than I am at mine. Well honestly, it’s close. But my competition was so much less.
What happened to Walsh? Dude looked like a star a couple of years ago..
Not a conspiracy theorist, but he’s referenced that after he got covid he developed insomnia and migraines. The narrative has been he got surgery to fix it, but he’s clearly still completely messed up. It’s said because he is such a good dude.
What do the communists have against Walsh? Was Covid one big plot to derail Walsh’s career? tune in to my YouTube later for what I’ve discovered!
He has thoracic outlet syndrome, the same thing strasburg, zunino have. It’s not Covid.
No, he explicitly talks about COVID in interviews as well
He might’ve got Covid at this point who hasn’t. Google thoracic outlet syndrome. This was reported. One of the things that can cause it is repeated arm movements, he was a two way player, so it makes sense.
My condolences to Angels fans on the 2023 season. This year and impending Ohtani free agency is getting hard to watch.
Thanks 🙁
I’ve gotten over it. Opening up the DH spot and going back to a 5 man rotation will be a plus. How much better will it be for a Trout and Rendon or get ABs at DH?
And Ohtani is awesome, but he does dictate his play.
He’ll be missed, but there are some advantages.
Fletcher’s only shot at getting back to the majors was Rengifo getting hurt.
Surprised at Walsh.
Not sure this is much of a factor anymore BUT these moves actually save the Angels money since both guys coming up already we’re getting their money in full.
After August collapse I haven’t paid much attention.. but yeah these moves don’t even register any emotion for me. *shrug* At this point I just want to see what happens in the off-season.
Two of the greats.
I recently got a David Fletcher bobble head at an Inland Empire 66ers game.
Anybody interested in acquiring it?
How much?
Free. No way I’d charge money for it.
The CBT games are ridiculous. I’d guess that some teams use it as an excuse in bargaining with players when they are at the actual edge, but I think in the longterm, it might actually add to overall payroll. The draft pick penalties are counterproductive. The more you shut a team (with money) out of the draft, the more likely it is that, 3-4 years down the road, they need to fill a spot and have to bid higher for. Higher prices for one layer reset values for similar players. If the penalties are so important, make the tax rate higher–more money flows to lower revenue teams. Yes, I know Steve Cohen can spend, but so what? If he wants to pay $30M per year in salary and penalties for a $15M per year contract…it’s not the end of the world.
Walsh needs to get AB’s every day down the stretch to determine once and for all if he has a future.
He’s hit 4 HR’s in the last week so maybe, just maybe, things are turning for him.
Spring training and September in a non playoff race should never be taken too seriously.
The team can sell optimism, but other than that, success doesn’t have a lot of value.
Why shouldn’t the games be taken seriously? Many of the games remain to be played are going to be against teams jockeying for playoff position meaning the pitching they’ll see won’t be minor league call ups.
Because for young players, and players coming back from injury, they are not very predictive of the future.
That is also the prevailing thought in baseball.
Fletcher lost his dad, and was called back up after hitting the bereavement list, he was first sent down after 15 at bats so it kinda unfair to say he fell from Grace. The year before he was injured.
Haha different person, but I’m a angels fan. Wondering why they never really gave him a chance. I got the answer when they released 6 players to save money.
Why not call them up? They are on the payroll. I hope Walsh figures things out. He is a good guy. That being said, I would hate to see him take playing time away from Schanuel. Flecth can prove his worth by playing 2nd. SS, 3rd, and OF in the last 15 games (haa)
Walsh can play outfield, and fletcher utility?
Walsh can DH as well.
Going to be interesting to see how Nevin juggles getting them into the lineup.
Not on the 40 man roster
Angelbum – Care to elaborate?
Fletcher hits a homerun. Fine barely definitely should’ve kept him on the roster over Velazquez, soto, stefanic and etc.