With a 62-64 record, the Angels are facing the possibility of a sixth consecutive losing season, which would match the 1971-77 Angels for the longest stretch of sub-.500 seasons in franchise history. Naturally, not having Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon healthy for almost the entire year is the biggest reason for the Angels’ woes in 2021, though the club has once again failed to receive consistent results from its pitching staff. Entering Monday’s play, Anaheim pitchers have combined for a 4.70 ERA, tied for the seventh-highest mark of any team in baseball.
Both the rotation and bullpen are pretty equally culpable for these struggles, yet in looking at the list of names on the roster, there are actually quite a few hurlers enjoying solid-to-great seasons. Shohei Ohtani and Raisel Iglesias have been excellent, while the likes of Patrick Sandoval, Alex Cobb, Mike Mayers, Jose Suarez, and Steve Cishek have all delivered quality numbers. Several pitchers have certainly delivered subpar performances to balance out the better arms, and yet it isn’t as if the Angels are bereft of pitching talent — shouldn’t they be better than this?
The real problem goes beyond just the bottom-line number of that 4.70 ERA. While it’s hard to argue against Los Angeles adding a significant pitching upgrade or two this winter, the team’s issue isn’t just with pitching, but with run prevention. The Angels’ pitching may not be very good, yet there’s no argument that the defense has been anything but bad in 2021.
The Halos rank 29th of 30 teams in UZR/150 (-7.3), and 27th in both Defensive Runs Saved (-29) and Outs Above Average (-6). The result is that Angels pitchers have a collective .302 BABIP, the fifth-highest mark of any team in baseball. Going beyond the team ERA category, Angels pitchers actually crack the top half of the league in SIERA, with a 4.14 mark that ranks 15th of 30 teams. Anaheim has one of the bigger gaps of any team between their pitching staff’s wOBA (.320) and xwOBA (.309), and the pitching corps is also doing a solid job of limiting hard contact.
Since finding good defense is generally cheaper than finding good pitching on the open market, perhaps the easiest way for the Angels to keep runs off the board in 2022 is to tighten up the glovework. There are some challenges on this front considering that the Halos seemingly have much of their 2022 position player mix already in place, and Ohtani has the designated hitter spot on lockdown. Looking at the settled positions in the infield, it’s safe to assume that the Angels will line up with Max Stassi getting at least half of the playing time at catcher, Jared Walsh at first base, David Fletcher at second base, and Rendon back and hopefully healthy at third base.
Of this group, only Stassi has been a clear defensive standout in 2021, and he has quietly been one of the game’s better-fielding catchers for a few years now, both in terms of his work behind the plate and pitch-framing. Since Kurt Suzuki’s defensive numbers have never been particularly impressive, the Halos could let Suzuki walk in free agency and add more of a defense-first backup behind Stassi, whose offensive breakout has likely earned him the majority of the catching duties next year.
Walsh is nothing special as a first baseman, but he is a better fit at first base than as an outfielder, and Walsh’s bat has definitely earned a spot in the lineup. Depending on which defensive metric you prefer, Fletcher has either been quite good (+4 DRS), average (0 Outs Above Average) or subpar (-5.3 UZR/150) over his 910 2/3 innings at the keystone this season. Considering Rendon has been a strong defender for much of his career, it is quite possible that his below-average numbers this year were due to his injuries, and he’ll return to normal in 2022.
This leaves shortstop as the glaring hole, which is ironic since the acquisition of Jose Iglesias last offseason was supposed to be the move that shored up the defense. Instead, Iglesias’ usually strong glovework dropped off considerably, as he has -17 DRS and a -8.9 UZR/150 over 935 2/3 innings at shortstop. OAA rates Iglesias as exactly average, yet even that represents a decline, and certainly less what the Angels expected when they obtained Iglesias from the Orioles.
Since the 2021-22 free agent class is loaded with star shortstops, the obvious move for the Angels would be to make another big-ticket position player signing and bring one of those headline names (i.e. Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Chris Taylor, Javier Baez) to Anaheim. However, with Trout and Rendon locked up to long-term deals, Justin Upton owed $28MM in 2022, and future funds required for a potential Ohtani extension, the Angels might not have the budget to add yet another big contract to the lineup.
Of the major names, Baez is perhaps the most intriguing as a potential fit. Baez struggled at the plate in 2020 and has been roughly a league-average hitter this year, providing a less-than-stellar platform as he enters free agency. It isn’t out the question that Baez accepts a one-year pillow contract in order to rebuild his value in 2022, so he can then re-enter a free agent market that isn’t so heavy in prominent shortstops. Baez and Angels manager Joe Maddon know each other well from their days with the Cubs, so Baez could see Anaheim as a nice spot to rediscover his hitting stroke. It is worth noting that both OAA and UZR/150 indicate a defensive decline for Baez from 2020 to 2021, though at the right price on a one-year contract, Baez could be a risk the Angels are willing to take.
If not a bigger name, L.A. could attempt to acquire another lower-cost, glove-first option as they did with Iglesias last winter. (Even a reunion with Iglesias himself might not be out of the question, though likely as a part-time option at most.) Signing a player like Jonathan Villar could add to the Angels’ overall bench versatility, as the team could then mix and match Fletcher and Villar at either middle infield position.
While Anaheim fans may balk at the idea of passing on all these major shortstops, the Angels could still benefit from the 2021-22 shortstop class in a more indirect manner. For instance, if a team that already has a quality shortstop decides to make a big splash by adding a new signing, the Angels could step in as a trade partner to acquire the former incumbent.
Turning to the outfield, the Angels will have Trout, Upton, and highly-touted youngsters Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh all in line for regular time, with Taylor Ward providing some additional depth. From a pure glovework perspective, the ideal everyday alignment would have Marsh up the middle in center field, with Trout moving to a corner outfield slot and only getting occasional action in center field (or maybe a bigger role in his normal center field job if Marsh isn’t quite ready for prime time).
According to both DRS and UZR/150, Trout has been a below-average fielder in four of the last five seasons. A shift to a corner role could theoretically help preserve Trout’s legs in the wake of the calf injury that has cost him much of the 2021 season, and since Marsh already looks like he can handle center field, a position change might be the wisest move to both upgrade the Angels’ defense and help keep Trout on the field. The easiest timeshare would be to sit the left-handed hitting Marsh against opposing southpaws, giving the Angels an Upton/Trout/Adell outfield alignment whenever the Angels face a lefty starter.
After some very shaky outings as a rookie in 2020, Adell has at least looked passable in the small sample size of his outfield work this year. Upton has been roughly a replacement-level player for the last three seasons and it has been years since he has been even a decent left fielder. Since his big salary will be hard to move in a deal (and Upton has no-trade protection), he still has a role to play if either Adell or Marsh can’t get on track at the plate against big league pitching.
A defense-first backup would make a lot of sense for the Angels, so the team could look to bring back a familiar face in Juan Lagares. Los Angeles looked to Dexter Fowler as another veteran regular for the outfield before a torn ACL ended his season in early April, and if Fowler’s recovery is coming along, the Angels could also give him another look on an inexpensive contract.
(To address the inevitable Ohtani question, Maddon is on record as saying that Ohtani could easily handle regular outfield work if he devoted himself to the position. As much as we’ve learned to not count Ohtani out for anything, it doesn’t seem likely that the Angels would increase Ohtani’s workload and injury risk by making him anything more than a late-game fill-in outfielder.)
How do you improve a defense with mostly the same players? Installing a new shortstop, a new part-time/backup catcher, getting Rendon and Trout back, and then changing the alignment of the outfield might be all it takes to turn the Angels’ defense from lousy into at least average. With even decent team defense, there is a very strong chance that the Halos would likely not only have a winning record, but possibly still a chance at a playoff spot.
Between a lack of consistent pitching and the injury concerns that seem to befall the Halos rotation almost every season, the club should be taking a much broader approach to the problem of how to keep opposing lineups in check. In fairness to GM Perry Minasian, it seems like he tried to do just this by landing Iglesias, but more is needed in the wake of what is looking like another non-playoff year. The Angels haven’t signed a free agent starter to a multi-year contract in almost nine years (since Joe Blanton in December 2012), so if the team plans to continue shopping for only second- or third-tier starters, Anaheim will need a much better defensive effort to compensate.
If Jonathan Villar is the answer, I don’t wanna know the question.
Tbh he is quietly having a decent season 1,5 war
Villar has looked great at 3b for the Mets and solid at SS. He was a very big reason they were in first place as long as they were.
The Angels need to hire Theo Epstein.
“The Angels need more than new pitchers to improve their pitching staff”. Who else would improve their pitching staff? Always dumb titles to these articles
Better fielding, apparently
YankeesBleacherCreature: “The Angels need to hire Theo Epstein.”
1) No established big name GM would ever come work for Arte Moreno.
2) If if one did, Arte would still force stupid moves based on marketing instead of actually winning.
Would be hilarious to see the Angels spend big on another position player like Seager.
P.S. Cishek has a 1.49 WHIP
Yeah I laughed when I read that Cishek has delivered “quality numbers”. GTFO with that BS.
Some people don’t look at things like IR-S. He lets a lot of inherited runners score. The Angels’ starting pitchers would have better stats if they built a good bullpen. Minasian failed big on that part of his job. We need more stats to look at relievers. We need a new ERA stat that takes away runs another pitcher let score. Put those runs on the pitcher who blew it.
In Minasian’s defense he gutted last year’s bullpen, all of his acquisitions were on expiring contracts and he helped build those strong Braves’ bullpens. He came in with a lot of challenges. Give him a little time.
It wouldn’t be surprising if some teams already have such a stat.
In thinking you could do a bases allowed type of stat weighted by the likelihood of a runner scoring. So if a starter leaves with a runner on a first, he’s basically charged with a 1/4 run. If the reliever allows that runner to score, the reliever gets charged with 3/4 run. If the runner makes it to second but is stranded, reliever is charged with a 1/4 run.
Setzer thanks I thought the Angels had gotten another pitcher with the same last name. Every time I see Cisuck pitch it is a parade around the bases for the other team.
Agreed. Some of Cishek’s numbers are misleading, but I would not want him back.
Mayers has been so-so, but I see the Angels keeping him around because he is signed and so-so in the Angels bullpen is pretty good. Warren has been great so far. If he continues the rest of the year, I see him getting another slot. Jose Marte look great and had some impressive stuff in his debut, but gets hurt. I’m hoping to see more of him this year.
This article is light. If you take Bundy ans Q out (which Perry did) our starters are pretty good. The pen seems to be improving with Slegers finally working as a beer vendor.
That said our defense has been atrocious beyond belief.
The Angels overpaying for guys like Carlos Rodón and Trevor Story seems like match made in heaven
Exactly! That’s who I want Rodon
I forgot about Thor. I could definitely see the Angels signing him too
I don’t see the Angels spending long term on a shortstop. The Angels have invested heavily into the position over the past few years. The spent a 2nd round draft pick on in high school SS in 2018 (Jeremiah Jackson) and 2019 (Kyren Paris). They also spent $2 signing bonuses on International signing bonuses in 2019 (Arol Vera, #9 international) and 2020 (Denzer Guzman, #29 international). Also, another $1.1M on Adrian Placencia (2019, #28 nternational rank).
It wouldn’t make sense to invest so many resources into so many players in hopes of having a cost controlled player at a prime position only to block them all by signing a long term big ticket free agent. The Angels SS prospects are all a couple years away. The only way I see the Angels signing one of these FA SS is if they convince one of these FA SS take a 1 to 2 year deal. The only one I see possibly taking a 1 or 2 year deal is Semien.
can the team develop youngsters, though? drafting and getting mlb results are far from each other in the angels.
Arte doesn’t seem to believe in wasting money on scouting or player development.
@Vizionaire Trout is the best player in the game and he came up through the Angels system. Three time MVP and should have more. Ohtani was definitely a unique situation, but I think it is fair to say the Angels have done pretty well with him. His first MVP this year. That is 4 MVPs that they developed, not bad.
They also have solid everyday players in Walsh and Fletcher that came up through the Angels system. Adell and Walsh are some of the top prospects in baseball. If you don’t see a vast improvement in Adell at both the plate and in the field than you just don’t watch the games.
trout is more of a super talent than a creation of training.
@Vizionaire Wrong again. Trout wasn’t a no doubt #1 talent like a Ken Griffey Jr. He wasn’t even drafted in the top 20.
The only reason is scout were skeptical of a HS kid from NJ. No HS kid from NJ has turned out to be a star except Trout. Every team liked him, just a huge risk for their first draft pick.
MrAngelFan who cares what they have done at SS with high school players. All. you have to do is look at Jo Adell to see what happens when a kid gets overhyped and doesn’t live up to the potential. Jo Adell has been a total tank so far. The Angels should have traded this guy last year for much needed pitching help.
Always exciting reading the hot takes of experts who really don’t follow a team except through SportsCenter highlights.
If you didn’t realize Adell in 2021 is a very different player from the one who was promoted from AA to the starting lineup last year because there was no MiLB season, then it would explain the staggering ignorance of your comment.
You can go stand in the corner with the Dodgers Twitter account holder which posted “dodged a bullet” referring to Ohtani when he had a slow Spring Training his first year. It’s not a sin to not follow a team or understand it’s players and depth, but that means it is best to be quiet and learn, rather than broadcast how much you don’t know.
Honest question, how exactly has Adell improved so greatly at the plate?
(2020 – 2021)
5.3 – 5.3 …BB%
41.7 – 28.0 …K%
105 – 100 …ISO
36.2 – 30.2 …HardHit%
37.7 – 30.7 …Flyball%
18.8 – 14.3 …Linedrive%
43.5 – 53.1 …Groundball%
1.15 – 1.63 …GB/FB
11.5 – 6.3 …HR/FB
7.7 – 25.0 …IFFB
29.4 – 18.0 …Oppo
33.3 – 30.6 …Center
37.7 – 51.0 …Pulled
Yes, he is striking out less. But it is still well above average, and truthfully seems it has as much to do with pitchers throwing him more strikes and things he can make contact with to get an easy out.
Otherwise, where has he improved? Almost eery single stat is worse to much worse than it was. He is making weaker contact and seems unable to spray the ball any longer, while he’s become an infield popup machine when not grounding it to the infield
For being such a “vast improvement” it sure is hard to find actual evidence of it, and I would hardly call it “staggering ignorance” to be able to recognize he has declined in the important aspects you would hope he would have at least kept up where he was.
@darkstar Adell is not setting the world on fire, but you have to remember we are talking about a guy who had one of the worst seasons ever. However,you should look at stats that actually matter. more like Batting average, OBP, OPS+, WRC.+,, etc. Once you understand these stats matter more than his pull rate than you can see he has made improvements over last year. We are still talking about a small sample size, let the kid play and see where he ends up at the end of the year. Maybe he can get his ground ball rate or IFFB rate down to your satisfaction. . He is still just 22 years old. A lot of prospects are just finishing college and not at ready for these level yet. Obviously, Adell hasn’t shown he is quite ready yet. If the Angels were in the playoff hunt,, he wouldn’t be playing. It is not time to give up on him yet.
If you compare the stats at the minor league level, the improvement is more drastic. I didn’t look at the stats you care about, but he is much better in the stats that I care about.
I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make sense
BA – result of a BABip increase (.271 v .258 in 20)
OBP – result of BABip (BB% is literally identical)
OPS+ – result of increse in BA, which is result of BABip
wRC+ – result of increase in BA, which is result of BABip
A difference in BABip is often just luck, while an inability to spray the ball with problems hitting it on the ground is how you end up with stat destroying shifts
Look, last year he was garbage. But even when he was garbage, he still had the ability to be a threat on hanging curves, challenge 4Seams and mistakes
This year, pitchers are throwing him very differently, and you can see that in the stats above coupled with his heat maps and pitch breakdowns. He’s a dead red hitter, but his low sectors were his second best in 2020. This season the bottom of the zone is his absolute coldest, while he’s crept up a little on high-middle. It is not hard to figure out what is going on when you remember that pull issue, grounder issue and IFFB issue.
The results?
90.6 to 85.4 drop on his excit velocity and corresponding drop in power, an inability to use the whole field, and an extreme grounder rate.
And by the way, this is where each of those would rank him if he qualified
85.3 EV – 2nd worst in MLB
53.1 GB% – 9th worst in MLB
51% Pull – 6th worst in MLB
25% IFFB – Worst in MLB
That’s why I question how anyone can even begin to look at his lines this year and see anything remotely resembling improvement. Yes, his BABip is more normal than it was last season, as should be expected, but that isn’t improvement – that’s him being less unlucky. Meanwhile the things he declined at show big red flags for even a possibility of longterm success
DodgerJr – Imagine you are a fantastic garbage collector at 18 (probably not too hard for you) and by 22 people are calling you a “total tank”. Would you think that’s fair?
@darkstar I think we see why you are not a scout. Barry Bond’s put up some of the best lines the game has ever seen, but Darkstar’s scouting report suggest he is one of the worst in baseball because he is incapable of beating the shirt because of high pull rate.
Batting average has nothing to do with BABIP. It is simple stat hits divided by at bats. BABIP is a lame stat. It is batting average of balls in play. It removes home runs and strike outs from the equation. If a player has 10 ABs and 9 strike outs and 1 hit, he has a BABIP of 1.000, and a batting average of 0.100. Huge difference. This is why batting average is an actual stat I care about and BABIP is something you care about.
I think Thor is going to have to settle for a short term contract especially if the Mets slap a QO on him. I’m sure teams will be watching him closely if he returns next month. He should sign a pillow contract to re-establish his long term value.
I’m not sure if Baez is a good fit long term but he could be okay for one season with an option for a second year.
Definitely feel the same way you do about both of these players.
As a Mets fan I’d hate to lose Thor. Even though he’s been injured so much the past few years I still have belief in his talent. And I’ll always respect him starting off that World Series game back in 2015 by buzzing the Royals’ leadoff hitter. lol
I’m hoping that the Mets don’t re-sign Baez! I know he’s besties with Lindor but I don’t like all of his antics and showboating.
Maybe reuniting with Maddon would be the best for him.
“Naturally, not having Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon healthy for almost the entire year is the biggest reason for the Angels’ woes in 2021” <— wrong. Bad pitching is the biggest reason they are below .500. With decent pitching they would be much better than they are right now. They would be over .500 by several games with good pitching.
Angels having woes with Mike Trout in their lineup for 10+ years.
Ha seong Kim makes sense if you can find a match with the padres
Angels would be the ones sending prospects in that trade. Not the Padres. Ha Seong Kim for Justin Upton, Sam Bachman, Alexander Ramirez and $9m.
He already traded for Upton, in his prime.
I agree that the Angels need to improve their defense, but there’s no question that they need to sign at least two frontline SPs like Scherzer and #3 like Stroman. We can’t keep signing mediocre SPs and expect to contend
They need to draft better. You don’t win by out spending every club in baseball and signing the best available free agent talent. That’s actually how you continue to lose like they’ve been doing. Acquiring most of your starting rotation through the draft is how you sustain success.
Yup and we’re learning that the hard way even though that’s a fundamental baseball strategy… I love Ohtani/Sandoval/Detmers/Rodriguez so there’s that at least ♂️
Which is why they signed nothing but draft pitchers this last draft.
The Angels haven’t been spending money on pitching for years. That’s what they need to do. Definitely sign Scherzer. Having a real ace could help the young pitchers.
If you think Scherzer is leaving the Dodgers for a crap team like the Angels you are on the Steve Howe coke train.
00!00
He left the regularly-in-the-playoffs Detroit team for the Nationals. Money talks more than standings, and he already has a ring.
They just drafted 20 pitchers in this year’s draft what more do you want them to do?
Totally agree they need to draft better. But they can’t just sit and wait until these draft picks are ready while Trout wastes his prime years and Ohtani becomes a FA. So, they need to sign a frontline starter or two
Unfortunately, Joe Blanton, not CJ Wilson, was the last multi-year starter signed over the 2012 offseason. He was terrible, didn’t pitch the second year of his contract, and was released.
Baez and his over-blown expectations of a life-time contract with his swing for the fences mentality and attitude are the last thing the Angels need at SS or any other position for that matter.
Angeles’s defense has been much better since Pulos left. He cldn’t catch difficult throws. And I disagree w/ the appraisals of both Fletcher and Ward.
Ward wasn’t really appraised at all. Do you mean Walsh? If so I totally agree with you. Walsh and Fletcher are good fielders.
Right, I mean Walsh. Thanks
Pujols was only a part-time player, so losing him didn’t make the defense that much better.
I guess it’s Alberts fault that the pitching still sucks right?
I really like these analytics articles you guys do from time to time. It helps break up the constant flow of injuries
I’m laughing, but it’s a laugh of anger and frustration.
The defense will fix itself. Suzuki and Iglesias are both going to be gone next year, and Upton will not receive playing time over Marsh and Adell. Those 3 are the main ones holding this team back defensively, and none of them will play big roles on the 2022 teams.
The issue is Upton will get PT over them. Sunk cost
I guess Adell is less bad, but he’s still not a good fielder, so fixing itself might be a lil optimistic.
I’m curious to see the numbers on Adell’s defense, because watching him daily out there he looks much much better and has made a few highlight plays
The samples for him are small, so keep that in mind, but he has been better than last year, but still not good
2020: DRS -4 | UZR/150 -16.7
2021: DRS 1 | UZR/150 -.3
He’s much better than Eloy Jimenez lol. Eloy is going to get hit in the head one of these days by a fly ball.
What does that have to do with Adell or the Angels?
From costing your team 16.7 runs in 150 games to about average. That is actually a pretty huge improvement i haven’t looked it up myself, but I could tell by watching that he is much better.
I haven’t looked and I don’t care because it’s such a small sample size, but UZR? That’s a horrible stat.
A positive DRS in such a small sample size is pretty darn good. But it’s irrelevant because it’s such a small sample size.
Rendon contract replaces the Pujols contract, basically.
Yeah, Arte loves to throw money away. He’s been a master at it for the past decade.
People always talk about the “money coming off the books” each year, but always ignore that Moreno factors that into the contracts he signs
Rendon, Upton, Ohtani and Fletcher will receive a combined 16.5 million raise for 2022, which already takes up more than half the money saved by Pujols leaving
@Darkside, Bundy, Quintana and Heaney 25 million. Heaney is finally gone. 6 years to late but finally gone. Both Iglesias are FA after this season, that’s another 9 million. Out of those 4 players you mentioned, only Fletcher number goes up on the salary counted against the team. Do to the fact that MLB goes by AAV, not actual players salary by each year. With Fletcher the only one starting a new long term deal next season.
I wonder if the Angels would entertain the idea of attaching a prospect to Upton in the hopes of a team covering some, if not most, of his salary. They did this with Zack Cozart and Wil Wilson, but Cozart had $12 million left and I doubt they’d give away a better prospect to get more than that covered.
Upton has a no-trade clause; he’s not going anywhere – until/unless they release him.
Please post this a dozen more times until fans get it: Upton signed his deal to be close to family in Phoenix area. He has no interest in waiving a NTC to play in Philadelphia, Atlanta or St Louis. His final year is $28M so there is no financial incentive to offer him, and no vesting clause to boost the deal. He’s an Angel until the end of the 2022 season, and I expect he will call it a day then.
Honestly, it’s getting annoying that no one seems to match Tomoyuki Sugano with the Angels. They should have given him an offer last off-season.
He is incredibly talented and a good value.
He ended up taking 40mil 4 years with an opt out every year. We could have had a solid #1 or #2 starter for less than a standard QO.
“Sugano owns a stellar 2.34 ERA over 1,362 innings with the Giants, and he has won two MVPs and a pair of Pitcher of the Year awards in Japan. He’ll make around $8MM with the Giants in 2021”
You know who else made 8$mm? Jose Quintana.
Its ridiculous everyone is boarding the Ohtani train and still not giving Japanese players the credit they deserve.
mlbtraderumors.com/2021/01/tomoyuki-sugano-to-rema…
Maybe Sugano is doing great with the Giants because they have a good pitching coach. A pitching coach the Giants stole from the Angels. Arte Moreno lets everyone poach his good coaches. This team needs a real pitching coach for sure. Arte should tell Andrew Bailey to come back and he’ll double his pay.
Stole? Are you 5?
Sugano plays for the Yomiuri Giants, not SF.
Yep… pitching coach should solve all the problems. Maybe they should hire the guy SD let go
@troutfishing
Its amazing how after that Ruth kid, no one is giving overweight players the credit they deserve.
Ohtani having a good year does not make every Japanese player either good or bad. Unrelated.
@stymeedone
It’s alright that you aren’t able to read deeper into my comment without a more detailed explanation. Hopefully this can help, because your comparison is quite bad… leaving me to think you simply don’t understand what I mean.
There is another baseball league called the NPB in Japan. They have some great players over there but a lot of people don’t acknowledge their talent because the NPB is often (and wrongly) looked at as an international AAA.
Usually when an awesome player comes over from Japan, they face criticism that their stats are being exported from an inferior league so their value is already facing an uphill battle when negotiating a contract. Not to mention a variety of hurdles involving bidding.
If the player doesn’t pan out, it creates even more chaos for the next potential star because they are immediately compared with the occasional bust instead of being seen as a potential addition to the long list of great talent that found success in the MLB.
Let’s look at some of those names (in no order, just riffing off the top of my head):
Ichiro Suzuki
Hisashi Iwakuma
Hideki Matsui
Yu Darvish
Masahiro Tanaka
Shohei Ohtani
Hideo Nomo
Hiroki Kuroda
Kenta Maeda
Koji Uehara
If you don’t recognize any of those names, look up their stats and how badass they were.. Most of them were faced with significant skepticism before they signed.
The posting/bidding process + skepticism = bad contract for the player.
Some managed to pull off semi decent contracts (Tanaka did quite well), other got absolutely hosed and severely underpayed when compared to other MLB players of similar skill.
Japanese baseball is often and wrongly seen as inferior when in reality it is just different.. Clearly the talent is there if they won the WBC twice, are Olympic Champions (A lot of their best players also didn’t play on the national team).
Is MLB the best level? By far. It has most of the best players from around the world.
But that doesn’t mean the NPB is nothing more than AAA level.
Obviously not every high level player in the NPB will find equal success in the MLB. Usually pitchers have a significantly higher chance for a smooth transition. Why?
Because;
The pitcher to batter dynamic doesn’t change much.
Goal: The batter makes poor contact or strikes out. Very much in line with the style of Japanese pitchers who generally have a variety of tools.
Japanese batters on the other hand play quite differently in the NPB than the MLB. NPB has a lot more small ball and tactics. There is a lot of bat on ball contact but not always out of the park stuff (which is why Japanese pitchers often have a large arsenal) They score runs together and strategize differently.
Then suddenly a dude gets thrown in the ring (MLB) with power pitchers and this idea they should always be after extra base hits or home runs in order to be relevant.
My comment about Ohtani is out of frustration because of how many people take notice, then turn right around and look at the next Japanese potential star with heavy criticism or simply not at all.
Sugano was one of the top, if not the top free agent pitcher last season and he couldn’t land a respectable contract. Hardly anyone noticed.
Ohtani was always this good. This season isn’t much of a surprise. Hopefully his success will lend to more respect for other NPB players that want to be posted.
Be like the Padres. Fire the pitching coach. Someone has to take the fall.
In this case the pitching coach should go. Matt Wise has no background as a pitching coach. He didn’t seem to help anyone during the season. He only got the job because he was the bullpen coach and Mickey Callaway got into his mess. The Angels need to find a good pitching coach.
Angels need to stop handing out (or taking) enormous contracts to players for what they did with other teams and have somewhat of an injury history. Rendon honestly didn’t make much sense – not denying he’s a good player but they needed pitching. Overpay Cole and outbid the Yanks if you have too. Ohtani makes it two deep. A reboot right now may not be a bad idea.
You can’t force someone to sign with you..
Story looked like he couldn’t throw anymore when the Rox were in Anaheim. Baez is bad. Semien might be the best get for Angels
Did I miss something about Walsh? He’s looked above avg all season. 3B, SS, and OF have been bad or suspect all season. Suzuki has had difficulties. Pitching was bad 1st 3rd of the season, hitting has been bad since the break, and defense and injuries have been am issue all season. Next year SP: Ohtani, Sandoval, Cobb, Barria/Suarez/Detmers show promise. Add a FA and maybe Detmers and Canning show their potential, and you turn a guy into long relief. RP: Iglesias, Warren, Mayers will solidify the backend and Cishek can help fill out the BP. Add maybe a FA and some of the draftees fill spots. Arte has shown not to spend and has rumored to be meddlesome. If Perry can fill out the roster properly, just maybe they can fight the for division. But its not gonna be easy, since Houston will be strong, Oakland is Oakland, and Seattle is retooled (nice job Jerry).
The main thing the Mariners did was build a good bullpen. The Angels need to do that for sure. If you have a bad bullpen you’re going to have a lot of ugly losses like the Angels have had all season. Then the manager needs to pay attention more. Maddon is a horrible pitcher manager. He either leaves the starting pitcher in too long so they can get runners on base or he yanks them too soon. Then he brings a bad reliever in to make sure those runners on base all score.
Yes extremely different from his days with rays. Always seemed to make the right/left move.
If the pitchers pitch better, then there will be less runs to prevent from.
It is a little stretch to think that it will change the game for the Angels by signing a defensive shortstop since the Angels DID have a defensive wiz before in the form of Simba.
The FA class of pitchers this coming off-season isn’t particularly impressive but the Angels will have to find a way to add top of the rotation kind of arms to position themselves for the playoff run, not signing yet another position player.
Scherzer will most likely be a free agent. He’d help the Angels a lot. But Arte doesn’t believe in spending money on pitchers.
Having him doesn’t help when he’s on the IL. Simmons hasn’t played a full season since 2018
Lots to unpack here. I will just hit a couple of low lights:
– the defense was very poor early, but has been much better since Albert left, Rendon went down and the Angels stopped using IF in the OF.
– Cishek has been better of late, but he has been bad overall. And although there was no mention of this, inherited runners have scored at an alarming rate against the Angels BP.
– Baez could not be a worse fit for the Angels – they do not need a RH hitting SS nor do they need another swing and miss guy.
I love MLBTR and the writers do a phenomenal job. I’m also a fan of advanced statistical analysis. But I think the author of this article would benefit from actually watching the Angels play to supplement the 30k foot statistical overview.
This is legit a good comment. No bs
Yeah J-Up changed his season when leading off, got hurt then back to sucking. That helped keep the offense afloat, but this whole season has been duct taped together, add Wise as the pitching coach
Pujols was never a bad first baseman.
he had his reduced range but in that range he was pretty good.
Pujol’s had no range and was anchored to 1B because he could not get back to the bag on a IF grounder. His lack of mobility influenced how the rest of the IF could shift. With Walsh, he is frequently left alone on the right side positioned near the second basemans spot allowing the remaining IF the freedom to shift as needed.
People like you are annoying. Ohtani picked the team he wanted. The Angels aren’t far from contending. They need to hire a real pitching coach though. And sign a few great relievers to fix their bullpen. You don’t fix your bullpen by trading for a good closer and then going cheap on everyone else. You need a good 7th inning pitcher and a setup man.
Aren’t that far from contending????? You need to go take a urine test right now. The Angels can’t beat any team in the AL with a winning record. They have no pitching other than Ohtani and their bullpen is a total disaster. They are nowhere near close to contending. But keep believing that same garbage the Angels keep telling everyone every single year.
They’re a 500 team with a horrendous defense and two of their 3 best hitters have been hurt most of the year
They really *shouldn’t* be too far out from contending
when are the dodger ever going to get parking lots of their own?
Good point. At least Arte can develop the land around his stadium. Dodgers still have to deal with McCourt—and no matter how negative one’s opinion of Moreno may be, McCourt remains one of the 5 worst owners in the last 100 years of MLB.
I don’t like words like contending because they’re vague so I never really know what that equates to as far record goes. Depending on what you mean by that I’m not sure I agree. They’re 11.5 out in their division and 9 back in the WC with 4 teams between them and Bos. Their xw-l also has their record even worse than it actually is this season. Trout and Rendon are great when healthy, but I’m not sure even they can make up that kind of difference. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see some regression from Stassi and/or Ohtani next year.
Good point on Angels Can’t beat good teams.
So true.
Can’t hide from that.
Just watch them play Oakland, Angels seem to just go thru the motions and let the A’s crush them every way possible.
They are nowhere close to contending.
Is this the best take you can do while trolling? I can’t take you serious enough for you to be obnoxious.
This article was a pretty spot on assessment of the Angels. The defense has been terrible and with an average one it instantly helps the pitching. However they do need veteran pitchers who aren’t in their 30’s or end of their careers. The best idea I’d say is sign a few no. 2 or 3 starters, trade some of the young outfielders to get some additional cost controlled pitching, put Fletch at short and get a new 2nd baseman. And for once hope we have a healthy season where our players don’t get hurt every month. I feel like conditioning and over using players need to be looked at because it’s been a plague for the team for the last 5 or so years. Something has to be going on behind the scenes…all I really know is this off season is super important and next season better be turning the page or they will continue to lose fans to the Blue team up the 5 freeway.
This season everyone has been having major injury problems. Maybe not the Giants but most teams. It’s all because of last season being so short and then they went back to a regular season. Manfred failed on that issue. Teams should have been ready for this. They should have allowed teams to have a 35 man roster. Maybe even the whole 40 man roster. Or maybe have the players get in better shape over the winter. I doubt anyone did much to do that. They went from 60 games to 162 games.
“Sign a couple no. 2 or 3 starters” Said every team every year.
Haven’t the Angels starters thrown the most innings of any staff since the all star break? That’s got to count as a plus..
I’d like to see Seager or Simien take over short, add a front line SP and a couple of decent bullpen pieces and boom, you’re right there in the mix. I’m not sold on Marsh or Adell, although I do like Marsh’s defense. Hopefully, a few of these pitchers that drafted will pan out. That being said, I’m totally over Canning. Resign Cobb and Iglesias. FA, Ohtani, Cobb, Sandoval, Rodriguez and maybe Detmers. Decent rotation. There’s still hope.
giving 2 year deal to iglesias is a much better decision in my books.
Iglesias is such a hard decision. Seems like him and sho are good buddies, but his defense is weird. Makes amazing plays yet routine ones he is lack luster.
That is the right view of Iglesias at SS: He makes a highlight reel play with a ridiculous flip from the glove or throwing from deep in the hole, then he will butcher a play any rookie would make.
I don’t pretend to have seen all his errors, but the ones I recall were otherwise unremarkable plays. On the other hand, there have been eye-popping plays, and he and Fletcher seem to be on same frequency.
When I said resign Cobb and Iglesias, I was referring to Raisel Iglesias.
He could be cost friendly, but his defense is vastly lower than his avg. Look at Simmons. He looked like a decent option but his offense tanked, and now he’s waiver material. Iglesias could be a 1yr+1 deal.
simba is the best in the world. but we kicked him out. spending 2x$10 mil is better than signing someone for6x$35 mil. especially for the angels!
You’re talking about adding like 60m/yr there?
Seager is probably getting 20-25
Front line SP is 20-25
Decent BP 5-8 x2
I don’t see much in Adell or Marsh. With a franchise that does such a poor job evaluating big league talent, one can only assume they’re equally as proficient at misjudging prospects.
Maybe their issue is developing prospects into ML players?
1971-1977 would be seven years…unless it’s a typo.
The Angels, managed by Arte Moreno, are like the kid that refuses to eat his vegetables. In this case, the vegetables are pitchers. I took my foot off the gas this year and haven’t followed as closely because I’ve become disgusted with Manfred and baseball. But I was surprised to read the Angels’ defense is bad.
The coach doesn’t seem to be able to get the best out of his players, especially pitchers. Haven’t watched a game this year, I wonder if the game has passed Maddon by. In any case, Arte Moreno keeps making the most important decisions for the team…who is manager, who is GM, who is the next expensive free agent. Moreno is a master meddler, all of his baseball decisions are terrible, and until there’s a change of ownership the Angels are going to keep reliving the same nightmare.
Moreno NEVER LEARNS.
you have a good point. maddon was just another propaganda stuff.
Don’t expect any sort of greatness from Rendon ever again. It could maybe possibly happen, but don’t count on it. 32 years old next season, defense is no longer good, no longer has any speed (was never fast to begin with but had decent speed). Horrible contract that was signed out of desperation when they didn’t get who they really wanted (Cole).
mr. god?
?
what are tonight’s lotto numbers?
Great analysis Mark, thanks! You are right, José Iglesias performance has not been as expected but doubt Mr. Moreno will spend big on a replacement. Mr. Minasian will look for a cheap, second tier SS to fill that position if they decide to part ways with Iglesias. My worry is that Joe Maddon is so deep into analytics and all the other “new” baseball ways that he forgot to play good all fashioned baseball, he can tell us all that BS about going back to 1985 baseball but what the Angels show on the field is not 1985. I want to see the type of baseball that made this game so great to watch in 2002 and 2009. I would instead target a solid pitching staff and a decent bullpen, the rest will do with what we have.
I’ll share this with Angels’ fans: bad defensive ratings are directly tied to poor pitching.
Last year, Mets pitching was horrible and so were defensive metrics. This year, with pretty much the same defenders and third stringers, the defensive numbers ranked near the top 5 all season long as the pitching staff also ranked in the top 5.
Bad pitching creates more hard hit balls, balls in play, runners on base, balls away from defensive positioning, more balls hit into gaps and missed catcher targets. Pitching behind in the count or having to consistently rely on your weakest pitchers to get a lot of outs will kill your defense.
LAA needs to quit signing guys like Quintana and Slegers. Those two would be the worst pitchers on every single roster, including their AAA Salt Lake team. Why they still hold down roster spots is seriously confusing.
Arte needs to invest in their minor league system, but he hasn’t. He’s more interested in $$ than championships.
I don’;t count Slegers as a signing.
Quintanna, Claudio, Guerra
They need to stop signing pitchers who haven’t pitched well in years.
According to fangraphs, which I believe is accurate, here are the Angels who have shown to be good defensive players.
Stassi.
Here are the players with a positive defensive rating.
Marsh, Rendon, Trout, Adelll
Here are the players who are not positive or negative
Fletcher. A quick note, because of the way he throws the ball, I believe it. If he was a pitcher, he’d release the ball behind the rubber.. He loses a couple of feet on every ball he throws.
That levees short and first.
I don’t think Walsh is bad, and they need a shortstop.
If the Angels get healthy and find a shortstop, going forward, I don’t think defense is a problem.
FanGraphs covered the defense way back in May and it helped me to understand why they pounded their way to a 6-2 start against good teams and then found themselves 19-27. Quintana and Bundy were big reasons for that. Angels 43-37 since then because they’ve already cleaned up their defense in that stretch, and have let go of some of the center an culprits on their pitching staff to make way for their young arms that are finally major league ready. I’m not sure they need to go out and get a big starter now. They have the most promising young arms in their rotation than I’ve seen in over 10 years. They should go all out on the bullpen, starting with extending Raisel Iglesias. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to re-sign Jose Iglesias either. His bad defense early in the season I think was an anomaly. You can also attribute Rendon missing so much time to the defensive problems. I think Cobb has earned himself an extension. Ohtani is the clear ace. One has to wonder Looks to me like the Angels are
… one has to wonder if Ohtani forcing a 6 man rotation is a deterrent for top starters. But it looks to me like the Angels are finally in a position to just supplement, and they should focus on bullpen and bench depth.
I pretty much agree. The Angels need a shortstop. They don’t have to go big.
If they have to use the hope and pray strategy, I’d rather they do that with the starting rotation.
Get one good starter and make sure they add a 7th, 8th, and 9th inning pitcher with a history of success. Then let someone earn a promotion when one of those three guys fail. Don’t hope and pray you have a back of the bullpen, which is what they do every year.
The Angels problem is that they needed a rebuild. But with a once-an-era player like Trout, it is almost impossible to tank. The smart thing would’ve been to trade Trout and torch the place. But, if you traded Trout, I’m pretty sure the villagers would’ve torched to joint anyway.
Past that, the only thing I can think of is to stop signing older guys. Despite what their agents tell you, these guys get old, and quickly.
And it feels like Adell & Marsh are being force-fed. Adell might’ve improved slightly, but his AAAW K/W was still 99/22 (4.5), so his MLB K/W is 5.25, which is probably what should’ve been expected. He’s got some talent, but it feels like the Angels refuse to wait on it. Send him down to AA if that’s what it takes.
those two youngsters are up because of injuries.
That’s the worst excuse I can think of. They are giving away service time, and hurting their development, because they cannot find two more outfielders? They have combined for 1 HR in 191 ABs, with a 74/17 K/W.
They just have to find two warm bodies.
One could argue that Mike Trout is their biggest problem. The Mariners had Griffey for over 10 years before they finally traded him for a haul that helped them win 116 games in 2001. They only had 2 playoff appearances with Griffey there. Big reason for that was they couldn’t get any good pitching behind Randy Johnson. But they’re also one of those franchises that relies on homegrown talent, which they plenty of on the position player end. Angels are in the same boat right now. With Adell and Marsh coming up, and Jordyn Adam’s right behind them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a big trade involving one of them this offseason. But if it were Trout, they’d get that haul that would probably thrust them back to where they were 10+ years ago.
I get roasted every time I say this, but they should’ve traded Trout at some point. Given how much Preller pays out in his trades, the Angels might’ve landed the entire SD farm.
IRT Adell, Marsh, and Adams, I’m not sure if any of them are players. But the Angels feel like the type of team that will try to convince themselves that these three are the next wave.
As it is, Adell and Marsh are just flailing away, and hopelessly burning up service time. I have no rooting interest either way, but over Marsh’s last 28 days, Marsh has 42 Ks in 88 ABs, with 1 HR, and Adell has a 23/4 K/W with 1 HR in 79 ABs.
I’d love to hear what their GM thinks they are accomplishing here.
The angels have one major move and it’s sherzer on a 2-60. Anything else messes their timeline. I hope Perry gets it done.
I have COMPLETE CONFIDENCE in Arte to sign a SS to a MASSIVE 7-10 year contract and punt on Starting pitching.
What does Moreno care about? Increasing his net worth. And that has gone up astronomically. The fact that the team is now a joke is unfortunate to him, but an acceptable price to pay. It’s working great for him so there is no reason to sell. There is no light at the end of this tunnel.
The team has certainly underperformed, but is far from a joke. They’ve been basically a .500 team all season with their two biggest payroll stars out. Ohtani’s breakout alone makes the team must watch TV.
dirkg: “The team has certainly underperformed, but is far from a joke”
– Last season with a winning record (.525) 2015
– Last season with a playoff appearance 2014
– Last playoff game won 2009
A big market team in the baseball epicenter of the world with a famously loyal fanbase……Moreno using that as his cash cow instead of feeling any responsibility to give the fans a winner. Sorry, IMHO the Angels have become a joke of a team.
The article should be titled. Arte needs to go.
Everyone seems to forget the fact that March and Adell are both 500-600 OPS players hitting in the low 200″s and 1hr between them. How can you possibly justify starting 2 players that have AAA or bench reserves written all over them? THey’re only 23 and 22 still and they need more time in the minors. I don’t want to have another losing season so we can give these guys AB’s that they don’t deserve. Maybe things will change by the end of the season, but as of now they haven’t proved anything at the plate.
I mean if I had to chose a shortstop out of that class for the Halos to help on defense and offense it would probably be Correa. For as much as I dislike the Astros and Correa’s responses during the whole scandal, I think he would be the best fit. He knows the league, seems to have a good relationship with trout, and there’s no questioning what he can do on both sides of the ball.
if there are still reading or posting, when was the last time the angels produced an ace, #2, #3? or an all star outfielder other than trout? or infielders? when was the last time the team produced a closer? or setup man? or even a regular bullpen pitcher that were good 2 years in a row? or an all star catcher? this team just cannot develop players!
Did you forget Walsh and Ohtani made the All-Star game this year. There’s your Ace and IF.
Just a heads up, the Angels will be starting 5 home grown players next year out of 8 positions. That’s more than most teams.
ohtani is not a home grown talent. walsh fell off the table. was he an all star? yes. is he an all star talent? no!
An All-Star is an All-Star. Walsh did hit the IL right after the break, and he is/will heat up again. I guess in your opinion half the players that made the All-Star aren’t All-Stars, because Walsh had as good, if not better numbers than half of them there.
during july and august, he hasn’t even been average. angels cannot develop talent. and that’s a fact!
The topic on this article is not a worry going forward for me. It all comes down to injuries to 2 starting plus defender’s going down of the 4 most important D positions. Then using IF’s to play OF. When healthy, there are a lot of plus defender’s on this team. Once again, no worries.
The Angels will not shell out big money for Thor or any other big name starter, they will nickle and dime the pitching staff like they’ve been doing for years. The Angels best years were when they had developed most of they’re own pitching. Until they can do that again they are not going to legitimately contend
Rsox – exactly who do you think they should have signed? Go back and actually look at the FA SP market in the past ten years. All but 3 or 4 are huge overpays and massive failures. Pitching has to come from within or through trades. FA SP almost never work out.
The player that Perry need to get this of season to fill the SS is Adalberto Mondesi. Kansas City have Bobby Witt Jr. as his top prospect and also is a SS. Mondesi will be a nice top of the order bat for the Angels with good glove, bat and speed and this year injuries waste his season and KC is losing his hopes on him due to injuries. I hope Perry can do it.
I anticipate that the Angels will have a largely home grown, cost controlled pitching staff next year.
Internal SP options include Ohtani, Sandoval, Suarez, Detmers, Rodriguez, Canning and Barria. The RP will be equally young but are to be determined.
Totally agree on the home grown pitching next year. Unlike years past where they needed multiple SP’s. I think they’ll try and sign just 1 higher end SP, and 2 higher end Pen pieces and away they go. As long as they get that, I’d call it an successful off season, even if they went thrifty on a D SS and back up C.
Tonight’s game is a great example of how bad our BP. Winning 13-1 and they allow the Os to score 7…the Os…pitiful.
Yes and no, nothings new here. The BP is terrible every time when they come in early. There not deep enough to consistently do that. But I don’t think any team is. I’d say,”please no more Bundy”.
Why was Bundy removed in the 2nd? I wasn’t watching yet. I can’t believe Quintana is back in the rotation.
I just saw he walked three.
Good question, IDK on Bundy. I guess they were using him more as an opener, and first sign of struggling, they were going to pull him. Not a bad decision if you’re going to start him anymore.
The Angels are auditioning relievers for next year and last night was a perfect example of that with Guerra and Wantz who responsible for those 7 runs. Guerra is pretty good with a big upside so Maddon is giving him an extended look and learning how many innings he is effective for.
If you look at it in that light it makes a lot of sense. The season is over and they are auditioning young relievers for next year.
Makes sense.
The defense was poor because we were playing infielders in the outfield as previously mentioned. With Trout and Rendon back next year we should be fine. We have a very deep and strong lineup (when healthy) that is geared towards offense. If we get league average defense from them which we will, we will do well as long as we have good pitching.
So we don’t shouldn’t spend money on a high priced marquee shortstop. Getting a good defensive but light or average hitting shortstop for little money is the way to go. Our offense is good enough (Fletcher Ohtani Trout Rendon Walsh Stassi and maybe even Upton if he’s batting lead off is a really great lineup).
So spend the money on an ace and improving the bullpen. As long as we stay pretty healthy we will be very strong.
We have been decimated by injuries the last 5-6 years which is the biggest reason for the Angels mediocrity. If we make the above few moves in the offseason and the key players are able to stay healthy, watch out!
I love Trout but with all his injuries, and his weight gain, I wonder if he’s taking steroids. Trading Trout would require a smart GM, which I don’t think we have. Otherwise you have Jack Eichel just sitting there month after month. What a terrible organization Moreno has built.