The Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with former Rays catcher Curt Casali, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that Anaheim has also picked up former Brewers second baseman Colin Walsh on a minor league deal. Casali is a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, while Walsh is repped by the Ballengee Group. Both received invites to Major League Spring Training.
Casali, 29, has spent parts of the past four seasons with the Rays, showing decent pop but struggling to make contact, as evidenced by a .199/.285/.385 batting line and 19 homers in 466 trips to the plate. He’s thrown out a very strong 31 percent of would-be base thieves in that time and delivered average or better framing marks on a persistent basis, per Baseball Prospectus.
The right-handed-hitting Casali has managed just a .185/.268/.364 slash against right-handed pitching in his big league career but has authored a more palatable .230/.324/.434 line against lefties. He’ll head to camp with a chance to compete for a backup gig behind 2017 Gold Glove winner Martin Maldonado.
As for Walsh, he almost certainly won’t represent the Halos’ most significant second-base addition this offseason, but he’ll provide some depth with big league experience under his belt. The former Rule 5 pick logged 63 plate appearances with Milwaukee in 2016, though be posted an anemic .085/.317/.106 line in that time. The switch-hitting Walsh has a history of posting big OBP numbers in the minors and split the 2017 season between the Astros and D-backs organizations, batting a combined .256/.413/.435 with a dozen homers and a 94-to-101 BB/K ratio. He’s played all over the diamond, though Fletcher notes that GM Billy Eppler has said the Halos view Walsh as an option at second base and third base.
Knowing eppler Walsh is gonna be a valuable pick up! Jk, but still, eppler has made a lot of sneaky good value moves so we shall see
Walsh can take a walk but he can’t do much else with the bat.
I realize Walsh is U.S.-born, but his propensity to draw walks with little else to offer reminds me of the old scouts’ saying about free-swinging Caribbean players, “You can’t walk your way off the island.”
You forgot about Jarod hoying
*Jared
What Island is he from?
Wow, what happened to Carlos Perez? Not even considered for the back up spot.
He needs consistent at bats. He is not going to hit with Maldonado playing more than half of the games
Casali may just be one of the longshot Spring Training invitees that many teams sign to cover the considerably more intense ST catching needs (early ST bullpen sessions, split-squad games, etc.).
He hit really well in AAA. But he seems to be a AAAA player. Can’t perform in the bigs. Decent defender though
Back up somewhere else, terrible!
I see these all as depth moves.
As it has already been said, Walsh’s only real value comes in his defensive versatility and his plate discipline. He could make it to the majors if the Angels get in an injury jam, however i wouldn’t anticipate a ton.
Hoying has a very impressive speed power combination and has been in double figures in the minor leagues in both the home run and stolen base category every season since 2014. While he really hasn’t done much in the majors to this point and while I wouldn’t put money on it, I is perfectly conceivable to see him being a breakout candidate.
Casali is more of a third catcher, however the power is real. Over his career (around 450 PA’s) he’s hit 18 major league home runs. It’s not groundbreaking, however it would have tied for 8th among all catchers. Of course it’s only one statistic, and I’m not saying he should be a starter or even really be considered for the back-up role in LA, however it’s certainly something to consider.
Perez should get the job out of camp seeing as how he is out of options, but I would imagine he’s on a short leash seeing as how Juan Graterol is on the 40-man roster as well.
Of course they are depth moves, they have a horrendous system and he is handcuffed to make any real moves, not sure he can!
What do you mean, you are not sure he can make any real moves? The Angels have 50ish million to play with?
Eppler is why this non angle fan is quietly watching