Angels fans may have entered the offseason with visions of big free-agent deals for the likes of Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto and DJ LeMahieu dancing in their heads, but new general manager Perry Minasian made far more modest moves in an effort to improve the roster.
Major League Signings
- Jose Quintana, LHP: One year, $8MM
- Kurt Suzuki, C: One year, $1.5MM
- Alex Claudio, LHP: One year, $1.125MM
- Total spend: $10.625MM
Trades And Claims
- Acquired RHP Raisel Iglesias and cash from the Reds for RHP Noe Ramirez and INF Leo Rivas
- Acquired SS Jose Iglesias from the Orioles for RHPs Garrett Stallings and Jean Pinto
- Acquired RHP Alex Cobb and cash from the Orioles for INF Jahmai Jones
- Acquired OF Dexter Fowler and cash from the Cardinals for a player to be named later
- Acquired RHP Aaron Slegers from the Rays for a player to be named later or cash considerations
- Acquired INF Jack Mayfield from the Braves for cash
- Claimed INF Robel Garcia from the Mets (later lost on waivers to the Astros)
Notable Minor League Signings
- Scott Schebler, Jon Jay, Jesse Chavez, Phil Gosselin, Juan Lagares, Junior Guerra, Juan Graterol, Jake Faria, Kean Wong, Jake Reed
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Andrelton Simmons, Julio Teheran, Cam Bedrosian, Hansel Robles, Hoby Milner, Justin Anderson, Matt Andriese, Keynan Middleton, Jacob Barnes
The Angels’ rotation has been a weakness in recent years, including in 2020, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see the team court some of the top available starters during the offseason. Bauer, a Southern California native, was atop the free-agent market, though he wanted to play for a perennial contender. The Angels, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, don’t fit that description. Plus, there was friction between Bauer and pitching coach Mickey Callaway when the two were in Cleveland, which made it even less likely he would sign with the Angels (Callaway’s future with the club is now in doubt as a result of multiple allegations of sexual harassment that have come to light in recent weeks). In the end, Bauer did sign in Los Angeles, but he went to the Dodgers, thereby leaving the Angels without an elite ace yet again.
Before Bauer headed to the Dodgers, the Angels showed interest in the likes of Jake Odorizzi and J.A. Happ in free agency, and they were among potential suitors for Blake Snell on the trade market. They didn’t bring in anyone from that group, though, instead signing ex-White Sox and Cubs left-hander Jose Quintana to a one-year, $8MM deal and acquiring righty Alex Cobb from the Orioles. Those two, Dylan Bundy (who excelled in 2020), Andrew Heaney, Griffin Canning and Shohei Ohtani are projected to make up a six-man rotation at the beginning of the season.
Quintana and Cobb, who have each pitched under manager Joe Maddon in the past, come with quality track records. However, no one is going to confuse either one with a top-end starter. Quintana hasn’t posted an ERA below 4.00 since 2016, and injuries held him to just 10 innings and one start last year. Cobb has also battled injuries and mediocrity since a Rays heyday that lasted from 2013-14. The Angels are only paying $5MM of his $15MM salary (the Orioles are taking on the rest), but it’s still somewhat of a head-scratcher that they gave up Jahmai Jones, a decent prospect, for Cobb instead of dipping into free agency and signing a similarly priced hurler without surrendering young talent.
While the Cobb trade may look questionable, it’s hard to argue with the Angels’ decision to send reliever Noe Ramirez and infield prospect Leo Rivas to the Reds for Raisel Iglesias. Although the Angels will only get one guaranteed year out of Iglesias, he’s a clear bullpen upgrade over Ramirez, and he makes a reasonable salary ($9.125MM). Iglesias figures to close for the Angels, who – despite reported interest in Brad Hand and Joakim Soria – didn’t make any other major bullpen additions. Alex Claudio and Junior Guerra (minor league deal) came aboard alongside Iglesias, though, and any of those three could emerge as trade deadline chips if the club’s not in contention around the trade deadline.
Not content to stop at one Iglesias over the winter, the Angels also landed shortstop Jose Iglesias in a trade with the Orioles. That’s probably not the middle infielder Angels fans were hoping for when the offseason commenced. Because David Fletcher is capable of playing both second and short, the Angels could have addressed either position and used him at the other spot. LeMahieu and Kolten Wong were among the free agents at second, while Didi Gregorius, Marcus Semien and Francisco Lindor (whom the Angels would have had to reel in via trade) could have replaced the departed Andrelton Simmons at short. Most of those players would have been more exciting pickups than Iglesias on paper, though it’s worth noting the slick-fielding 31-year-old comes at a cheap rate ($3.5MM) and enjoyed a career year at the plate in 2020. Furthermore, next winter is slated to feature a star-studded class of free-agent shortstops (Lindor, Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story and Javier Baez lead the pack), so the Angels may just be biding their time with Iglesias as they wait for any of those players to hit the market.
As expected, along with trying to bolster their middle infield, the Angels made an effort to get better behind the plate and in the corner outfield. The No. 1 catcher available, Realmuto, looked like a fit on paper, but the Angels didn’t seriously pursue him before he re-signed with the Phillies. They did, however, go after James McCann and Yadier Molina in free agency and show interest in trades for Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox and Willson Contreras of the Cubs. But they came up empty in all of those cases, instead bringing in the well-traveled Kurt Suzuki on a one-year, $1.25MM deal. Suzuki’s not an ideal option behind the plate, though he is a good hitter relative to his position. He’ll give the Angels a useful fallback option if Max Stassi struggles in his return from the hip surgery he underwent last autumn.
Center fielder Mike Trout, the best player in the world, leads the Angels in the grass, but they’ve lately struggled to find productive complements in the corners. Justin Upton was part of the solution for a little while, but he’s now coming off back-to-back subpar years. He’s still slated to start in left, though, owing in part to a bloated salary. Meanwhile, much-hyped prospect Jo Adell had a horrid debut in the majors last season, after which Maddon said, “He needs more time in the minor leagues, no question.” Adell is just 21 and was robbed of a Triple-A season in 2020 because of COVID-19, so it’s far too soon to discount him as a potential answer for the Angels in the future. Regardless, they’re not going to gift him a starting role right now.
In light of Adell’s difficult year, the Halos spent a portion of the offseason looking into veteran free agents such as Brett Gardner and Kyle Schwarber, but their biggest outfield transaction came when they grabbed Dexter Fowler in a trade with the Cardinals. Fowler, like Upton, has disappointed since signing a lucrative contract a few years back, but the Halos took little risk in dealing for the 34-year-old switch-hitter. After all, the Cardinals are paying $12.75MM of the remaining $14.5MM on Fowler’s contract, and the Angels only had to give up a player to be named later for him. If Fowler’s able to offer a third straight year of league-average numbers at the plate, he’ll provide a sizable upgrade in right for a minimal cost.
Even though the Angels didn’t have an especially fascinating offseason, it does appear Minasian has put the long-struggling franchise in better position to succeed this year. It helps that they’re in a division where there is no dominant team, as the Astros, Athletics, Mariners and Rangers also come with their fair share of questions.
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Angels and Mets went quantity over quality. That always makes sense to me in general but just seems like such a failure when reviewing the offseason ?!
Mets got Lindor. Looks like pretty good quality to me.
But the angels already have the big guys around. They need to figure out a way to get league average pitching and get more production from the outfield outside of Trout. I like what they’ve done and hope it’ll be enough to get trout back to the playoffs
I would say Adell well benefit from a full season and improve quite a bit this year. As far as Upton his better days are likely behind him.
I to would like to see Trout in the playoffs, not sure if they have the pitching to keep them in contention id they re still hanging around in Sept. Hopefully trade deadlines they can grab an arm or 2.
Got lindor for a season….
Angels starting rotation is the definition of solid but unimpressive. Hopefully Ohtani can stay healthy and give them 100-150 innings/20-25 starts and Bundy’s 2020 season wasn’t just a fluke. Heaney, Quintana and Canning are also solid rotation arms, but there’s nothing that stands out.
Though I’m shocked they didn’t sign/acquire more relievers. Raisel Iglesias is a really good get, especially considering what they gave up. But this year’s relief class was super deep. Even if they didn’t want to pay big money to one of the higher end options, getting one or two of Mark Melancon, Alex Colome, Blake Treinen, Archie Bradley, Jake McGee or Joakim Soria could have really solidifed the backend with Raisel. They could still go out and sign Shane Greene though and the Pirates would absolutley be willing to trade Richard Rodriguez for the right price, but still.
100-150 innings for Ohtani is hilarious. That dude doesn’t have 30 innings in him never mind 100 or 150. He’s breaking down in his second start. At some point the Angels need to put an end to the sideshow nonsense that has been his MLB career and just make him a full time position player/DH.
They’re going to give him another shot. I never said that he’ll likely pitch 100-150 innings, it’s quite a big if, but they’re not about to completley give up on his pitching ability.
mlb1225 stop back peddling. You made the 100-150 comment, own it.
Tell Mystery that the Angels owe Ohtani the right to prove he can pitch in the league and show he is ready to take on the workload. That’s why they brought him to Anaheim.
He said “Hopefully Ohtani can be healthy and he reaches 100-150 innings.” Anyone with half a brain can understand that does not mean he thinks Ohtani will reach 100-150 innings. You understand what someone means when they start a sentence with “hopefully” right?
Yes. He means hopefully. And then back peddled when the going got tough. It’s a pattern.
I think 100 innings is hopeful. Unlikely, but possible. Hopefully fits.
150? Huge difference between 150 and 100.
Hopefully=/=likely. I hope he can reach 100-150 inning just like I hope the Pirates can be good in the near future.
I don’t think he’ll reach 150 innings, but somewhere between 100-150. I think it’s more realistic that he reaches like 120 in 22 starts, but that all fits in what I said; 100-150 innings, 20-25 starts.
Ok negative Nancy come back to me when he is healthy all signs point to him being stronger and healthier than ever
Can you rephrase your answer please?
The Angels missed a huge opportunity to have the most sabermetric-savvy pitcher, who could not only help pitching but also giving tips to the rest of the staff. Surely it was a long shot moneywise, but the simple fact that they have yet to fire Callaway in face of these reports tells us that Moreno wouldn’t fire him to get Bauer in the first place.
Mickey will be fired once the full MLB investigation is complete. We live in the most litigious state in a very litigious society. To my understanding, firing Mickey prior to the investigation’s conclusion would leave Arte on the hook for money and/or a lawsuit.
But I agree he wouldn’t have been fired just to make Trevor happy.
Diring coaches just to get 1 player is a dangerous game that IMO should never be on the table.
And idk why people keep talking about why Callaway hasn’t been fired yet, it’s been pretty clear that the investigation has to be completed first.
they cant fire Mickey callaway until MLB finishes their investigation, callaway is protected until then.
Callaway’s behavior in Cleveland was apparently no secret. That makes it obvious why Bauer was never going to sign with the Angels so long as Shutterbug Mickey was on board. People like to knock Bauer’s “weirdness but he deserves a heckuva lot of credit for this.
Cey Hey
Before giving Bauer credit for being so virtuous and gallant you should read up on how he stalked and bullied a 21 yr old college girl over a full weekend just a few years ago.
stalked? That’s quite the slanderous assertion you are making.
When you tag someone 30+ times in a 3 day period and bully them that is stalking in my book. Go read up on it. Google-bauer stalks girl on twitter.
Bauer’s own actions tend to indicate it was all about baseball. Let’s not act like Bauer is known for chivalry.
I am familiar with the story and I don’t care what “your book” says, that’s not what stalking is.
Stop it Marko. She started the fight. Cool it with the outrage. His Twitter work has nothing to do with Callaway’s off field conduct.
Weare
It’s not outrage and it has nothing directly to do with Calloway – I was pointing out that saying that Bauer should get credit for shunning the Angels because he has such high moral integrity is wrong. Once again reading comprehension.
1984
Stalking is. A pattern of unwanted behavior that involves monitoring, harassing, repeatedly contacting or following another person.
When you repeatedly tag someone 30+ times with insults you, monitor their tweets and harass them when they block you, and dig a year into someone’s tweets to find she drank a few months before her 21st birthday . All this fits the definition of stalking.
She actually contacted the Indians with a complaint .
Yes they can. They can fire him now just like any other coach. They just have to pay out rest of contract.
Why would they fire him now and have to pay the rest of his contract? If the investigation results in finding the evidence factual then the Angels can fire him for cause and not have to pay him anything.
Angels are very fortunate to not have signed Bauer, at any cost…. Way over-paid at the high AAV he was able to obtain from Dodgers. Bauer is not going to help the staff of any MLB team, simply in it for himself.
The Angels haven’t fired Callaway for one reason. He’s saying he did nothing. Everything he did was consensual. Talk about a coward. If the Angels fire him they could be stuck having to deal with a lawsuit. IF that happens they should let the Indians and Mets pay for it. He worked for them and they knew what he was doing. Neither team did a thing. Major League Baseball better create a database to keep teams up on things like this. They should know all about them before they hire them.
as an angels fan i consider first trades for 2 iglesias. afterward, nothing but f all together. they had a chance to build a great team not spending that much and they, instead, gave away favors to players who once played for madden in the rays or cubs.
Yeah.
As an outsider, the Angels got their off-season off to a really good start. But then…kind of underwhelming (personally I don’t have an “F” on those moves. But…more like a D.) I give a C- for overall grade.
I’m really surprised by how little they did with their pen
& @Halo11 – you were right months ago about the Claudio signing. I was wrong. Just owning it.
I’ve been wrong lots of times. On that I wasn’t.
Rivera has to make this team. I hope we don’t end up trading either of those two guys for Rivera.
Usually spring training produces competition for the last couple of spots in the pen. If Rivera, Mayer, Buttrey, Pena, Barria and Inglesias are locks… why sign Claudio and make him a lock? It didn’t make sense. What’s the point of Guerra. He’s almost a lock.
I have been following this team for well over 50 years, I can’t remember such a locked bullpen. It would be fine if everyone wasn’t mediocre at best.
i’ll give the halos a c they made some moves to improve there pitching but also not enough. i will give them benefit of doubt it wasn’t like there were a lot of great options out there. bauer was not the answer tbh i think there about 2 good sp and a few depth guys away from being a good team. laa was not getting that this year unless they wanted to hit there farm. what i think laa needs to do is look at there coaching on the farm (just like the cubs) and figure out why they can’t really develop any pitching, also figure out why you can’t keep a sp healthy .
The Angels blew a great opportunity to elevate themselves into contention. In an off season that saw the Astros get worse and the A’s lose significant talent, the Angels worked around the edges.
Bauer was unrealistic in every form. But Tanaka or Odorizzi would’ve added a nice, reliable arm. The Big Maple has upside to dream on. We got none.
I was fine with Quintana as the B side pitching addition. We needed a mid rotation piece. But he became the A side when Cobb was brought on board, which is weak.
I love both Iglesias deals. Angels led the league in blown saves last year and desperately needed infield help. Minasian has also assembled a cast of mediocre bullpen arms with options or on minors deals.
I don’t blame new GM Perry Minasian for being cautious on the trade front. Especially following a year with no minor league games, he deserves the opportunity to let his staff evaluate the talent on hand.
Had to give the year a C. The floor is higher than last year. I don’t expect any starter to go out and embarrass themselves, I think we blow fewer games (percentage wise) in the late innings.
But really, we’re still just praying for Ohtani to finally be an ace all year.
Heaven, I do blame Perry for the bullpen, other than that we are in complete agreement.
I did say “mediocre” ha ha.
Well then we in complete agreement. Iglesias is good, and the rest of the pen is less than mediocre. That makes the pen mediocre.
Matt vasgersian is the best signing this offseason
Wow, I didn’t know this until you posted. Just looked it up and confirmed. I’ll miss Victor, but man getting Matty V is a huge get. Can’t wait to hear games.
I just noticed that they traded for both Raisel AND Jose Iglesias!
We got all the Iglesiai
Fitting, Angels – church, right?
They need to have Julio Iglesias sing the national anthem.
With callaway still on board that could be risky, what if he messes up and starts singing to all the girls I loved before.
This season hinges upon Ohtani. If he stays healthy and lives up to his potential the Angels have their ace. If the Angels are in contention at the trade deadline it’s a safe bet they will try to trade for another top starter or top reliever (or both) for the playoff run.
All in all I think the Angels had a sneaky good offseason. They improved in most areas. The starting pitching is improved–drastically if Ohtani stays healthy. The bullpen is improved. SS, C, and RF are improved. 1B is improved assuming Walsh takes most of the playing time over Pujols. The team is deeper, and the floor has been raised in all areas.
A lot of things need to break their way this year for the Angels to contend for a playoff spot but the Angels have just as good a chance to take the AL West. with the guys they have now, as anyone else in the division.
Yes, if Ohtani can stay healthy and even just give them above average starts, then the Cobbs and Q signings look better. Ohtani is a huge variable for them to win.
I’d argue that Ohtani is the most important variable to the success/failure of this season and that is frankly scary…
Good post.
I think the Angels have added enough pieces to compete in a weakened division and I’m OK with not overpaying Bauer to some degree, but we missed out on some potential trades IMO.
Starting pitching decisions aside, I wish we would have spent real money to resolve the Catcher position for the next 4 years versus another 1 year stop gap. One more top tier bullpen piece would’ve been nice as well.
Totally concur that if we’re in contention leading up to the break, they BETTER be the most aggressive team in the league in regard to chasing upper echelon pitching….
I think the halos were better off improving their current staff by packaging from current core of starters – Cobb, &Heaney, and spot starters for better front line pitching. They have too many 4’s and 5’s. Then I would have gone after Odorizzi. Sounds good in theory i get it, but if you can’t find them in FA, you have to make trades. Halos were aggressive last year with Bundy, which was great, but lightning again, this time with Cobb? I’d rather NOT make that gamble which includes Trout’s reputation and future. 1 more reliable bullpen guy would have also brought more optimism.
Who are the cowards running this site who shut comments off on anything with controversy? This is America, we are free to say what we wish. Make everyone put their real name down as their username if you please but stop with the censorship.
The angels are the epitome of average. They cant develop starting pitching or position players. One homegrown pitcher in the entire starting rotation? Every notable hitter acquired through free agency or trade save for trout? Arte moreno is an atrocious owner. I feel bad for angels fans watching mickey trout mantle waste his career
What starting pitchers have the Astros developed since Larry Dierker, Don Wilson, and J.R. Richard? Name five really good ones.
@Cey Hey –
Completely uncalled for & can we please not do this? I swear. Some of you fellas seem dead set on getting the comments shut down.
Man.
We can’t even discuss discussing anything controversial.
How is it uncalled for? It’s clear where that person is coming from. A bigot expiring is not a bad thing.
You know it’s inflammatory & the only thing you are doing is starting – yet another in a very long list of them – an argument.
Screw it.
I’m out.
You fellas have a great night.
Keuchel, Oswalt, Reynolds, Kile, McCullers
Not bad, though McCullers is a stretch at this point.
Dallas keuchel-Cy Young Winner. Lance mccullers. Jr. 26 straight curve balls to beat the yankees. Roy oswalt. Back to back 20 game winner. Helped ressurect gerrit cole. Charlie morton. Our current rotation of framber valdez, jose urquidy, etc pitched us to our 4th straight alcs. Mike Hampton. Darryl kile. We are not the dodgers but we are pretty good at developing pitchers. Billy wagner should be in the hall of fame. Brad lidge was filthy. Jose lima won 20 games. I could go on and on
yeah, the word “developed” could have multiple meanings. If you include guys that were originally somewhere but didn’t become good until they got to Houston, the list gets better.
Awesome answer! Better than I could have done… impressed!
If your example is McCullers I think the point has been made that the Astros dont develop starting pitching.
The Astros develop starting pitching?
Since you want to go back to the 90’s
Chuck Finley
Jim Abbot
Jerod Washburn
John Lackey
Jered Weaver
All drafted and developed in the Angels organization. All were All Stars at least once
Again, you have to believe the Angels saw something is Alex Cobb, just as they did with Dylan Bundy. Otherwise trading Jones and taking on money is inexplicable. The early results bare that out though. Over the winter, he went to Driveline and rediscovered some things in his delivery that he lost over time that he had with TB, particularly a hip rotation and release point. The velocity has climbed up a couple ticks and his splitter looks better than it ever has.
As for Quintana, injuries haven’t limited him. He’s been remarkably healthy, he had one fluke accident that kept him off the mound just year. Nothing wrong with his elbow or shoulder.
The real acquisition here is Shohei Ohtani. He’s an ace, and he’s finally healthy and firing 100 mph bullets already. And the knee is 100% again, which means they’re getting an elite DH infused into their lineup. That along with the development of Jared Walsh make this a successful winter for the Angels.
And wouldn’t you know it, they finally have a glut of prospects ready to impact the roster in 2022. Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, Chris Rodriguez, Reid Detmers. And one more to put in your pocket for later, Luis Rengifo. He’s still going to be a good starting infielder in the big leagues. Very good.
I bet Seattle will win the division before the Angels. I would love to see a poll question on who wins first?
What would the poll prove?
Another cockeyed Ohtani optimist……”elite DH”….100 MPH bullets…..the more you make this guy sound like the best player and savior on the Angels, the more you denigrate Mike Trout who is the best player in not just the AL but probably the NL also.
Yeh, lets see another 50 innings and .280 and 60ish RBI’s and just give him the Cy Young and Silver Slugger and get it over with already!
It’s not denigrating Trout, t’s saying someone else is the key since it’s been proven that Trout can’t lift the team into the post-season all by himself. Ohtani is not only a rare two-way talent but the most talented pitcher on the Angels IF HE CAN STAY HEALTHY. If he can’t, then there’s a good chance that Trout will once again watch the post-season on TV.
The Angels are clearly rebuilding, while trying to win and not go above the luxury tax. This is very difficult for a GM(see Eppler). It’s an almost impossible task.
Usually a new GM will come in and deal all the prospects acquired by the previous GM.
I am extremely disappointed with the Cobb deal(no offense) but I’m glad Perry has time ti look over his prospects.
angels still have $18 mil+. they could have added a setup man. that’s all i ask for.
@jrrussell- Listen, I hear ya loud & clear pal but it’s their theatre & if they say you can’t yell fire, you can’t yell fire. How bout this, we’ll start our own site & call it, oh I don’t know something clever like, Riddler’s Rumors, I’ll write the articles & you can, hmmm, well we’ll figure out something for you do later. You in?
I just do not see how the Angels can get higher then a D. Not only are their LA competition ( the Dodgers) World Champions, but just like in 2019, they cannot land the best pitcher on the market ( and a Southern California guy), the Astros and A’s are better then they are, and thus will waste another year of Mike Trout, but the Mariners have excellent young talent and they just might win before the Angels. If not for the Reds trade, they would deserve an F.
Bauer wasn’t going to sign with a team that employed Callaway. Now we know why.
I am no Bauer fan ( he is to quote Clint Eastwood “A legend in his own mind.”) but I would have done what is necessary to get him ( especially when they need a number one pitcher) and if it meant getting rid of Callaway then so be it.
As a Dodger fan, I was stunned but now “get it.” I think he’ll have the best year of the big five free agents and then opt out of the last two years in pursuit of a longer deal at a higher AAV. I’ll do m,y best to ignore the other Bauer stuff, hard as that will be.
Let’s be honest the Dodgers have the best pitching rotation since the Braves of the 90’s. Does it mean they are invincible? No but good luck to anyone beating them. I could see them being an underdog in maybe a dozen games ( at most).
After the truncated 2020 season, there are so many questions around pitching. These guys are being asked to ramp back up after tossing career lows in innings. Fingers crossed but I fear the worst. Teams will need more options than ever before. Bauer is an expensive option but I see where Friedman was coming from. I’m enthused with how good Jimmy Nelson has looked. Not bad should they need an eighth starter. In effect, the Dodgers have added Bauer, Price, and Nelson to a 2020 rotation that returns intact. Every team has injuries. The key is being able to plug the hole when they happen. They are the team best-suited to do that.
Bauer might be the number 3 starter for the Dodgers, and he would be number one on any team in the AL East except Cole. That is how good the Dodgers starters are.
The team needs another name change,
The Los Angeles Trash Diggers of Anaheim.
The only team that has a more fake name then the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is of course the LA Lakers ( please tell me a lake in LA that is not located at Rivera Country Club)?
You forgot the Utah jazz.
That is a good one as well, I might mention the Calgary Flames ( Calgary, Alberta is not exactly a hot spot).
It’s a little-known fact that Charlie Parker and Louis Armstrong were Mormons. Parker and Armstrong themselves didn’t even know.
NY_Yankee – It’s because the Lakers brought the name with them from Minnesota where there are lakes everywhere.
I know that but they should have changed their name when they moved.
Los Angeles Dodgers is actually bad, but they get a pass because people don’t know what “trolley dodger” meant in early 20th century Brooklyn lore.
For the most part, fans probably don’t know why their favorite team has the nickname they do. Every baseball fan should check out this fascinating story on how the Yankees became the Yankees.
theoleballgame.com/how-did-the-ny-yankees-get-thei…
At least the Lakers started in a state with a ton of lakes
Few teams change names when they move towns
Well their AA affiliate is called the Trash Pandas. So that’s pretty close
Year after year, the Angels rotation is embarrassing—certainly not one of a contender. Until they develop arms and bring on a few reliable FA starters this team will continue to be meh. A disrace to bury a player of Trout’s ability.
I will say the Angels are the most snake bit organization going back to Donnie Moore and Lyman Bostock, but there is one thing that makes me detest them. Halo’s Heaven. They have without question the worst blog in professional sports. Only Cardiac Hill ( Pitt Panthers) is worse.
M’s are going to have a better season than the Angels imo. Better prospects coming up, and better pitching as well. The Angels didn’t address the one thing they needed to this off-season, and that was pitching. They haven’t been able to compete in the past without pitching, so why is now any different?
“The Angels didn’t address the one thing they needed to this off-season, and that was pitching”
Pitching might be the biggest weakness. But several other positions are shaky as well. This team is a mess.
The M’s will have 1 starter with an ERA under 4. No Bullpen. And maybe two hitters who will hit over .220.
They did add pitching, just not enough elite pitching
So which team in this division has elite starting pitching. Which team do you think will have the best starting pitcher? I’ll take the field.
Free Trout.
I highly doubt it. Trout will charge.
New capable GM, but same meddling owner who only cares about marketing. Another off season of head-scratching moves. Moreno will get richer….the Halos will watch the playoffs on TV again.
It wasn’t going to happen in one off-season. Pujols’ and Upton’s contracts and Callaway’s presence were obstacles they couldn’t get around.
Who said anything about wanting the team to turn around in one off season? But a little movement in the right direction and some signals that the team was going to start emphasizing winning over Moreno’s net worth would have been nice.
We lost at least as much talent as we’ve gained and that doesn’t bode well for a .440 team.
The Pujols arguement is b.s. They got back his entire contract money three or four times in extra TV money up front. Then hamstrung the team with Moreno’s self imposed rigid budgets. Pujols should have been put out to pasture at least four years ago….but he still has marketing value….so there he is limping his way into another DP for the Halos.
How did the Dodgers kick start their turn around after the McCourts? They brought in big $$$ FA’s and got rid of any of them that didn’t pan out. Then they stopped trading all their young talent and used the FA’s to hold the fort while the youngsters developed. Unfortunately, Moreno doesn’t think winning is a high priority….and he’s made a fortune with his marketing focus….so, unlike the McCourts, he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon.
Callaway? C’mon. One coach leaving won’t make or break a team’s season. He wasn’t with the team very long to begin with.
ALL teams have diversity. ALL teams have FA busts. ALL teams have injuries. It’s just all excuses. For a big market team in the baseball epicenter of the world to not have a playoff win in over a decade is a joke.
The Pujols and Upton contracts mean the Angels have committed $116 million in 2021 payroll dollars to four players (the other two being Trout and Rendon). That hamstrings a team like the Angels who are several players away from being a contender., which makes the Pujols argument valid. He and Upton are not starting players on a good team, left alone high-paid players. They stink.
The pitcher the Angels needed was Trevor Bauer, who had indicated he would not sign with a team that employed Callaway. Now we know why. Do you think Bauer didn’t know about D.P. Mick’s escapades in Cleveland?
You say there’s no excuse for the Angels not having a playoff win in more than a decade when there clearly is. The roster is never good enough due to poor front-office decision-making. For 2021, that includes paying a ridiculous amount of money to two bad players and being unable to sign the best pitcher on the market due to the identity of the pitching coach. Again, Bauer signed with their market competitor because the Angels had no shot at making it happen for that one reason, They could have offered Bauer a half-billion dollars and he still wasn’t going to reunite with Callaway.
You say you want to see positive movement. For the 2021 season, what moves would those be aside from committing to young players like Adell and Marsh and hoping their most-talented pitcher Ohtani can stay injury-free? What other moves were they supposed to make given the circumstances?
I still disagree on Pujols. Moreno made his money three or four times over before Pujols put on the uniform. Once it was clear he was done (four or five years ago), an owner who cared about winning would eat the contract and move on. How can a Dodgers fan like yourself not get that?
I don’t think Bauer turns this mess of a team around. I don’t think Bauer and Kershaw would turn this mess of a team around. And the fact that he ruled out the Angels because of Callaway….does not mean at all that he would have gone to the Angels otherwise.
Every team has bad breaks. That isn’t an excuse for a big market team to fail for over a decade. You’re also forgetting about the good breaks….like a player drafted 25th who turned out to be the best player on Earth….who was cost controlled while putting up GOAT numbers…who also stayed with the team despite being low balled salarywise early on and having extension talks slow played even after he expressed a clear preference on remaining an Angel. He remains an Angel in spite of the ownership, not because of it.
I’ll turn your question around on you. What moves make you think this .440 team has improved in any way this off season?
Because 60 games is “Exactly” who you are. It defines all players careers to.. Hahahha
I make it simple for yah. If you think last seasons small sample size .440 % is who they are, then they didn’t do enough. If you think there better than that, like myself, then they have as good of a chance in the A.L. west as any.
SwingtheFNbat: “I make it simple for yah. If you think last seasons small sample size .440 % is who they are, then they didn’t do enough.”
Ok, I’ll try and make it simple for you. If 2020 is too small a sample, then let’s look at the last full season (2019)…….they were a .444 team. No playoffs since 2014. No playoff win since 2009.
I’ll make it even more simpler for you then. The 2019 team isn’t even close to the same team this year.
So uour conclusion is that this is better than a 440 team even though that has been their record over the last two seaons?
Yes, you got it. Only 60 games, but 2 off-seasons to improve the team. Those 60 games were were a small practice sample size to get it right. The Bull-Pen! Were good now.
I live in SoCal… how do I get to watch the Angels??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
While none of the moves were flashy the Angels are a better team than they were last year. Last year Bundy, Heaney, Canning had a 3.99 ERA. All other starters had like a 9 ERA. so even if Cobb, Quintana, Ohtani and the young guys combine from a 5ERA that will be a big improvement.
Also the Angels had 14 Blown Saves last year and Iglesias has 16 blown saves in his career.
Short-season stats, though. How will those guys hold up over 162 games? Who has a track record of recent success?
Also, a lead is needed in order to have a save opportunity. Iglesias won’t be the only Angels pitchers getting save opportunities, since a “blown hold” counts as a blow save. Most blown saves come before the ninth inning.
Cey Hey, you say “how do those guys hold up over 162 games”? I believe Better than the 60 games. They were on a record pace for blown saves. You would think that would average out some over 162, even as bad as they were going.
Like I said before, the Angels were a better team than the 60 game .440 win %. There is/was to much talent on that team, and it started to show in September.
Cey hey. You are wrong. A blown hold does not count as a blown save. It counts as you guessed it? A blown hold. To accrue a save in mlb rules it is to assume a lead in the 9th inning with a 3 run lead or less and win. You can also get a save if you finish the final 3 innings as a reliever and win
Sadly, the way you describe it is as it should be IMO not how it is. A blown lead is a blown save because MLB doesn’t want to be in the business of guessing whether or not the pitcher would have finished the game had he preserved the lead. Unit once had a seven inning save, so…
@Astros actually the Angels had 16 blown saves last year. Which led the majors in blown saves. If they had half that number, the Angels would have been in the playoffs. Not the Astros.
The Angels had a tepid offseason; nothing flashy, but at least they patched some holes. Thing is, the AL West doesn’t have a clear juggernaut at this point.
The ‘Stros lost a lot between Springer signing with Toronto and Verlander almost surely being out all year. And some of their other key pieces are aging — Brantley is entering his age-34 season, Yuli turns 37 in June, and Greinke’s 37 — not to say those guys can’t produce, but they’re not entirely absent of question marks at this point.
Then there’s the A’s, who lost arguably the AL’s best closer in Hendriks, Soria, who was solid in the pen. and Semien, Grossman, and La Stella. While they addressed some holes, they look less potent on paper heading into ’21.
As for Texas and Seattle, it’s a bit tough to see them being factors this year. Although maybe the M’s take another step forward — stranger things have happened.
I’d say this year offers the best path to the postseason for the Angels in recent memory.
Agreed. The AL West has become a weak division. They can hit and need a young SP to step up. If Ohtani steps up that’s even better. Angels are a factor in the West by virtue of a weakened A’s and Angels. That bodes well for Seattle also.
Besides not getting an ace, I like what they did this offseason. If they can stay healthy they will make the playoffs. Also gives them a lot of flexibility next offseason.
So uour conclusion is that this is better than a 440 team even though that has been their record over the last two seaons?
As an Angels fan, I am not counting on Ohtani to give the team much from the pitching mound. Anything he does give, in a positive matter as a pitcher, is a bonus in my book. As for Bauer, last off-season he wouldn’t have gotten 25 million. Because the FA pitching market was weak, the Angels were supposed to overpay him? When they clearly had other needs. The Angels filled needs, without over paying anyone. They didn’t create gaping holes, by trading for starting pitching. Now I wish they had done more, to deepen the Bullpen. I still feel they should sign Green. If Chris Rodriguez back issues are finally fixed. He could be called up by July. The AL West doesn’t have a clear cut favorite. The A’s lost key players. The Astros lost key players. The Rangers are going to be worse. The Mariners will be better, but can you trust Jerry Dipsnot Dippoto to make the right moves? The Angels still have payroll flexibility. The A’s and Astros don’t. If Adams, Jackson, Sotto, Yan and a couple other prospects continue to get better, that could help add pieces at the trade deadline.
“NOTHING HERE TO SEE”
That sums up the Angels current and past off-seasons.