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Angels Option Reid Detmers

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The Angels announced tonight that they have optioned struggling left-hander Reid Detmers to Triple-A Salt Lake following tonight’s loss to the Mariners. No corresponding move to replace Detmers on the active roster was announced.  [UPDATE: Right-hander Ben Joyce was called up from Triple-A today to take Detmers’ spot, the team announced.]

The move comes on the heels of a difficult start for Detmers against Seattle this evening, where he surrendered five runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three in 3 2/3 innings of work. Tonight’s blowup start is the eighth consecutive difficult start for Detmers, who entered tonight with a brutal 8.59 ERA across 36 2/3 innings of work in his last seven appearances. During that time, the lefty has struck out just 21.5% of batters faced, a significant step down from the 26.1% figure he posted during his 2023 campaign. Perhaps more disconcertingly, Detmers allowed a whopping nine home runs over those seven starts, lifting his home run/fly ball rate this year to a hefty 13.2%.

Given the lefty’s deep struggles over the course of nearly two months of work, it’s hardly a surprise that the Halos would option him to the minors in hopes he can right the ship. After all, the lefty is only in his age-24 season and has flashed the upside of a potential front-end starter at points in his career, including when he punched out a whopping 34.9% of batters faced in his first four starts this season while posting a 1.19 ERA and 1.54 FIP in 22 2/3 innings of work. That inconsistency has been a hallmark of Detmers’s performances since the Angels selected him tenth overall in the 2020 draft. Of the lefty’s 70 career starts in the majors, he’s posted a game score of 60 or higher in 23 of them while posting a game score below 40 in 20 of them. That frustrating combination of clunkers and gems has left Detmers with the career numbers of a slightly below-average major league pitcher (4.60 ERA, 93 ERA+, 4.13 FIP) for his career despite his obvious talent.

Detmers’ demotion could have implications on the lefty’s service time if he spends most of the remainder of the 2024 campaign in the minor leagues. The lefty entered the 2024 season with two years and 64 days worth of service time and has currently accrued 65 days worth of service time to this point in the season. Players accrue 172 days worth of service time across a full season in the majors, meaning Detmers will need to spend at least 43 more days on the major league roster or injured list this season in order to finish the year with three years of service time. If he spends less than 43 days in the big leagues throughout the rest of the 2024 season, the lefty’s first opportunity to reach free agency will be pushed back from after the 2027 campaign until after the 2028 campaign. Fortunately for Detmers, manager Ron Washington told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) after the game that his move to the minors isn’t expected to be a “permanent” one.

“The whole idea is we just want to get him in an environment where it’s not results that you’re going to be worrying about, and find your stuff,” Washington said, as relayed by Fletcher. “This is not something that’s going to be permanent… We just feel like he needs to be in an environment where he can refind who he is.”

While the lefty attempts to work his way back onto the big league roster in Anaheim, the Angels will need to find a fifth starter to complement their current rotation mix of Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Griffin Canning, and Jose Soriano. Right-hander Zach Plesac is the hurler with the most big league experience the Angels have available in the minors, but he’s not on the club’s 40-man roster and has struggled to a 6.52 ERA in eleven starts at the Triple-A level this year. That could leave the Angels to turn to lefty Kenny Rosenberg, who sports a 3.92 ERA and 4.16 FIP in 43 2/3 innings of work at the big league level since he made his debut in 2022 and sports a 3.86 ERA in eleven starts at Triple-A this season.

Another option, as noted by Fletcher, could be injured right-hander Chase Silseth. Silseth posted a 3.96 ERA in sixteen appearances swinging between the rotation and bullpen for the Angels last year but was shelved after just two starts this season due to a bout of elbow inflammation. Since then, however, he’s begun a rehab assignment that saw him throw three innings during his first rehab start yesterday. While Silseth will surely need more time rehabbing in the minors before he’s ready to start in the majors, Fletcher points out that the Angels could postpone their fifth starter decision for nearly two weeks thanks to upcoming days off on June 6 and June 10.

Nolan Schanuel Day-To-Day With Sore Thumb

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  • Speaking of lingering injuries, Nolan Schanuel was a late scratch from the Angels’ lineup yesterday due to left thumb soreness.  Manager Ron Washington told MLB.com and other media that Schanuel has been bothered by his thumb for an unspecified period of time, which could explain the first baseman’s underwhelming .224/.294/.328 slash line through 206 plate appearances.  It has still been less than a year since Schanuel was selected as the 11th overall pick in the 2023 draft, and his 2024 numbers have been a tough follow-up to his solid .275/.402/.330 mark over 132 PA last season, after the Angels fast-tracked him to the majors after just 97 minor league PA.

Seven Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities This Weekend

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As part of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the Players Association agreed to a few automatic opt-out dates for some veteran players on minor league contracts. Article XX(B) free agents — generally, players with over six years of MLB service who finished the preceding season on a big league roster — who sign minor league contracts more than ten days before Opening Day receive three uniform chances to retest free agency if they’re not promoted.

The first comes five days before the start of the season. For players who pass on that initial opt-out, they have additional windows to explore the open market on both May 1 and June 1 if they’ve yet to secure a spot on the 40-man roster. There were 31 players who initially had that option in Spring Training.

Eleven of them — Carlos Carrasco, Garrett Cooper, Chase Anderson, Dominic Leone, Eddie Rosario, Jesse Winker, Kevin Pillar, Jesse Chavez, Brad Keller, Curt Casali and José Ureña — are currently on MLB rosters. Joely Rodríguez, Tyler Duffey, Matt Barnes and Drew Pomeranz made it to the big leagues but were subsequently removed from the 40-man roster; Barnes and Pomeranz are free agents.

Bryan Shaw, Matt Duffy and Carl Edwards Jr. are on new minor league deals after opting out in Spring Training. Six others — Elvis Andrus, Eduardo Escobar, Mike Moustakas, C.J. Cron, Jake Odorizzi and Kolten Wong — are free agents after being released.

That left seven players with opt-out chances on May 1. While none of them took that immediately, David Peralta opted out of his deal with the Cubs on May 13. He inked a minor league contract with the Padres a few days later and was added to the MLB roster on May 22. Let’s check in on the six remaining players who can retest free agency tomorrow — plus one player whose deal contains a contractual opt-out provision.

Marisnick has had a tough time staying healthy in 2024. The glove-first outfielder has only played in 12 games with the Angels’ top affiliate in Salt Lake. He hasn’t hit in a limited sample, going 5-32 with 14 strikeouts and one walk. Marinsick was out of action between mid-April and the second week of May. He appeared in seven contests before going back on the injured list on May 25. He’s probably best served staying with the Halos, who are without Mike Trout and leaning on Mickey Moniak as their primary center fielder. Moniak is hitting .175/.214/.250 over 126 plate appearances.

Votto’s homecoming has been held up by a Spring Training ankle injury. The former MVP has yet to play in a minor league game. There’s no reason to expect the Toronto native will opt out. Neither Justin Turner nor Daniel Vogelbach is hitting well for the Jays, so there could be an opportunity for Votto once he’s healthy. Vogelbach, as a left-handed hitting DH, is the most direct competition. He has a .167/.273/.292 slash and has only started 13 of the team’s 55 games.

Choi, a lefty-hitting first baseman, was on the injured list for his prior opt-out chance. He’s healthy now, returning to Triple-A Syracuse on May 14. Choi hasn’t gotten into any kind of rhythm offensively, though. The 33-year-old had a .189/.319/.378 slash before hitting the IL. He owns a .171/.268/.286 mark in the 10 games since his return. Choi isn’t hitting well enough to merit a major league opportunity, though he could look for a different minor league contract with Pete Alonso, J.D. Martinez and Mark Vientos firmly above him on the first base/DH depth chart.

Greene pitched in six games for Triple-A Round Rock in April. He allowed 15 runs in eight innings and was placed on the injured list. The Express transferred the veteran righty to the full-season IL two weeks ago, ruling him out for the year.

Neither Fulmer nor Pérez has played this season. Fulmer will miss the entire year after undergoing elbow surgery last fall. His contract is a two-year deal; he almost certainly won’t opt out.

Pérez missed most of 2023 after undergoing a rotator cuff repair on his right shoulder. He played in seven games this spring but has spent the regular season on the minor league IL with an undisclosed injury. The Sox have gotten strong play from their catching tandem of Connor Wong and Reese McGuire. Perhaps Pérez feels there’s a better path to playing time if he signs a minor league deal with another team, but it seems likelier he’ll stick in the organization.

Kemp is not one of the aforementioned Article XX(b) players. He’s playing on a minor league deal that he signed in mid-April with the Twins. Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reported (on X) earliest this month that Kemp’s contract contains a June 1 opt-out date. The left-handed hitting second baseman/left fielder has struggled for Triple-A St. Paul, batting .193/.316/.325 with three homers across 98 plate appearances.

That’s mostly attributable to poor ball in play results. Kemp has shown his typically strong plate discipline, walking 13 times against 17 strikeouts. He has been plagued by a .206 average on balls in play. Kemp was briefly on the Orioles’ big league roster in April and has appeared in parts of nine MLB seasons overall. He hit .209/.303/.404 in 124 games with the A’s a season ago.

Angels Transfer Jose Cisnero To 60-Day IL

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The Angels announced they’ve transferred reliever José Cisnero from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list. They needed to open a roster spot for infielder Michael Stefanic, who is back from his own 60-day IL stint. The Halos reinstated him onto the 40-man and optioned him to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Cisnero has been on the IL since April 28 with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. His 60-day window backdates to the original placement. He’ll be eligible for reinstatement at the end of June. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, Cisnero experienced some lower back soreness when he tried to ramp up his throwing program in recent weeks. It isn’t known if he’ll be ready to return a month from now.

The Angels signed the 35-year-old righty to a $1.75MM free agent deal in February. He was one of six major league free agent signees as the Halos curiously prioritized a complete bullpen overhaul during the offseason. That hasn’t worked out, either in Cisnero’s case or in aggregate. Angel relievers entered play Wednesday ranked 26th with a 4.71 earned run average. Cisnero gave up 13 runs in his first 14 innings of the season, allowing four homers among 17 hits.

Stefanic has been out since suffering a quad strain in Spring Training. The 28-year-old hit .244/.331/.293 in 140 major league plate appearances over the previous two seasons. He’s in his final minor league option year and could soon push the struggling Kyren Paris for a spot on the bench.

MLBTR Podcast: Ángel Hernández Retires, Ronald Acuña Jr. Out For The Season And Roki Sasaki’s Potential Posting

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Could the next collective bargaining agreement have a feature to get relievers paid earlier? (43:15)
  • Would Taylor Ward of the Angels be a good fit for the Braves? (50:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Latest On Mike Trout

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  • Angels superstar Mike Trout spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) prior to today’s game against the Guardians earlier today and offered an optimistic update regarding his rehab from meniscus surgery earlier this month. While Trout didn’t provide a timetable for his return, he noted that he’s “feeling good” as he regains strength in his leg while resuming weight room activity, and added that he’s “pretty close” to beginning to run again. The star center fielder was off to another great start this year prior to the injury, slashing .220/.325/.541 despite a shockingly low .194 BABIP thanks in part to a whopping 10 homers in 29 games. Reporting at the time of his surgery suggested a four-to-six week recovery period was the best case scenario for Trout’s return, although the Angels have since indicated that they’re going to take Trout’s rehab slowly in order to minimize the odds of re-injury.

Rob Manfred Discusses Mizuhara, Fletcher Investigations; A’s Stadium Plans

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MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to reporters (including Evan Drellich of The Athletic) regarding the league’s ongoing investigations into allegations of illegal sports betting against Ippei Mizuhara and David Fletcher. Mizuhara had worked as Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter during his time with the Angels and joined him in heading to the Dodgers this offseason but was fired on Opening Day amid reports connecting Mizuhara to an illegal gambling operation in California, while Fletcher was connected to that same operation by reporting last week.

As noted by Drellich, MLB’s department of investigations has largely been deferential to federal authorities over the course of the investigations. Manfred suggested that this deferential approach was a necessary one, noting that federal authorities have “a lot more tools” at their disposal than the league does with which to conduct investigations in this situation. Drellich explains that while league investigations regarding legal gambling can be assisted by regulators and alerts received by the league’s central office, no such avenues are available in cases of illegal gambling.

“We have no way to know what an illegal bookmaker is doing,” Manfred said, as relayed by Drellich. “…by definition, in most cases we’re going to be chasing, usually a press report or a criminal investigation.”

Manfred went on to suggest that a more proactive approach to the investigations could risk “interfer[ing] in an unproductive way,” prompting the league’s decision to move slowly in its investigations of these cases while following reporting based on investigations from the news media and federal authorities. Reporting earlier this month suggests that Mizuhara is pleading guilty to charges of bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return in relation with his alleged theft of more than $16MM from Ohtani to fund his gambling habit.

Aside from his comments on the ongoing investigations, Manfred also discussed the impending relocation of the Athletics from Oakland to Las Vegas and their temporary move to Sacramento following the 2024 campaign while they await the construction of their new stadium in Nevada. Manfred notes that Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, which is the current home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, is set to undergo significant renovations in preparation for the A’s arrival next season. Per Manfred, an entirely new home clubhouse will be constructed for the A’s while the visiting clubhouse will be renovating, the field will have new artificial turf installed, and the stadiums cameras will be upgraded to accommodate big league broadcasts.

In addition to discussing the upgrades being made to the club’s temporary ballpark in Sacramento, Manfred noted that the timeline for construction on the club’s permanent ballpark in Las Vegas is a relatively tight one if the club is to begin playing there in 2028, as previously expected. According to Drellich, Manfred indicated that the A’s would need to break ground in Las Vegas in April 2025 if they’re to be ready for Opening Day 2028. That gives the club less than a year to gather private funding for the stadium project, of which they are reportedly seeking $500MM, and reach an agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority regarding a plan for the club to meet its $1.1 billion in commitments toward the construction of the stadium.

Angels Re-Sign Amir Garrett To Minor League Contract

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Amir Garrett is returning to the Angels on a minor league deal, tweets Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The veteran reliever will head back to Triple-A Salt Lake, the place where he opened the 2024 season.

Garrett first signed with the Halos after being released by the Giants in Spring Training. He threw 7 1/3 innings in Salt Lake, striking out 10 while issuing four walks. Opponents only managed three hits and two runs over those eight appearances. The Angels called Garrett to the big leagues at the end of April. He had a tougher go in six MLB outings, surrendering three runs on four hits and five walks through 5 1/3 frames. After Garrett gave up a tie-breaking home run to Alec Burleson in a loss to the Cardinals last week, the Angels designated him for assignment.

The 32-year-old cleared waivers and declined an outright assignment in favor of free agency. It didn’t take long for him to circle back on a new deal with the Angels. That’s not uncommon for veterans who go unclaimed on outright waivers. Reliever Jackson Stephens re-signed with the Braves this afternoon days after electing free agency, for example.

Garrett has high-octane stuff and has missed plenty of bats throughout his seven-plus seasons in the majors. Sky-high walk rates tend to be the tradeoff, though, as he has handed out free passes to more than 15% of opponents in each season since 2021. Garrett will again team with Adam Kolarek as experienced non-roster lefties in Triple-A. Matt Moore and José Suarez are the two southpaws currently in Ron Washington’s bullpen. Kenny Rosenberg has pitched in a swing capacity over the last couple seasons. He’s on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment to Salt Lake, where he has been working out of the rotation.

Amir Garrett Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: The Angels have announced that Garrett has elected free agency. He’ll return to the open market in search of a new contract elsewhere.

May 15: The Angels designated veteran reliever Amir Garrett for assignment before tonight’s game with the Cardinals. Righty Davis Daniel has been recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to take the vacated active roster spot. The move drops their 40-man roster count to 39.

Garrett pitched in six games for the Halos after they selected his contract in late April. The hard-throwing southpaw tallied 5 1/3 innings. He punched out 11 behind a huge 14.4% swinging strike rate but also walked five of the 24 hitters he faced. Garrett surrendered three runs on four hits, including a homer.

That’s par for the course for the 32-year-old. Garrett has posted higher than average strikeout and walk rates in every season since the Reds moved him to the bullpen in 2018. He was a setup arm for a couple seasons in Cincinnati before falling on harder times since 2021. Garrett combined for a 5.52 ERA over 123 appearances between 2021-22. While he had a solid 3.33 mark in 24 1/3 frames for the Royals last year, Kansas City released him around the All-Star Break because of his scattershot command.

Garrett struggled with Cleveland’s Triple-A team late last season and had a nightmarish Spring Training with the Giants. He had a good month for Salt Lake before being called up, working 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball with 10 strikeouts and four walks. Garrett started with three scoreless appearances for the Halos before surrendering runs in two of his last three outings. That includes last night’s loss to St. Louis, as he coughed up a two-run homer to Alec Burleson to break a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning.

The Angels will likely place Garrett on outright or release waivers within the next few days. He’d have the right to test free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Report: David Fletcher Placed Bets With Mizuhara’s Bookmaker

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Former Angels infielder David Fletcher placed bets with the illegal Southern California gambling ring operated by Mathew Bowyer, according to a report from ESPN’s Tisha Thompson. That’s the same bookmaker with whom Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara placed bets. According to ESPN, Fletcher did not place any bets on baseball.

Thompson writes that Fletcher placed bets on multiple other sports. MLB players are allowed to gamble on sports other than baseball, though they’re obviously not permitted to participate in an illegal operation. Thompson writes that MLB has not previously opened an investigation into Fletcher’s gambling activities but is now likely to do so.

According to ESPN, former minor league infielder Colby Schultz also participated in the gambling ring. Thompson writes that Schultz, whom the report describes as a “close friend” of Fletcher’s, did bet on baseball — including on Angel games while Fletcher was on the team. There is no indication that Fletcher did not perform to the best of his abilities while with the Angels.

Bowyer’s bookmaking ring was thrust into the national spotlight in March, when it was first reported that Mizuhara had wired significant sums of money to pay off debts. Ohtani stated that he was unaware of Mizuhara’s activities. A criminal investigation supported that claim, with investigators determining that Mizuhara had stolen upwards of $16MM from the two-time MVP. Mizuhara pled guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return last week. He is awaiting sentencing and is expected to serve multiple years in federal prison.

Fletcher played for the Angels between 2018-23, overlapping with Ohtani and Mizuhara for six years. The Halos traded him to the Braves in an offseason salary dump. Fletcher has appeared in five games for Atlanta this season. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster in April and is with their Triple-A team in Gwinnett.

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