Angels manager Joe Maddon signed a three-year, $12MM contract when hired over the 2019-20 offseason. Headed into year three, the longtime big league skipper is in a lame duck situation. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports, however, that the contract also contains a $4MM option for next season that would vest if the Angels reach the World Series.
That may not wind up being an especially meaningful provision. After all, if the Angels win the American League pennant, it’d stand to reason owner Arte Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian would want to keep Maddon around on a long-term deal anyhow. Nevertheless, Heyman writes that the team “deferred discussion” on a possible contract extension over this past offseason. The Angels finished below .500 in each of Maddon’s first two seasons at the helm, but they’ve gotten off to an excellent 14-7 start in 2022. The 68-year-old Maddon is amidst his 17th consecutive season as an MLB manager; he has overseen eight playoff teams, including a 2008 AL pennant winner in Tampa Bay and the Cubs’ 2016 World Series team.
In other news out of Anaheim:
- The Angels activated David Fletcher from the injured list prior to this evening’s win over the White Sox. He returned to the starting lineup, getting the nod at shortstop and hitting a pair of doubles. Fletcher went on the IL on April 12 with a left hip strain and spent a little less than three weeks on the shelf. The 27-year-old was the Angels’ primary second baseman last season, but all five of his starts this year have come at shortstop. Matt Duffy and Tyler Wade have been the top options at the keystone, and both players have gotten off to nice starts. Andrew Velazquez, who saw the bulk of the shortstop time while Fletcher was out, has struggled. The Halos optioned Jack Mayfield to Triple-A Salt Lake to create active roster space for Fletcher, seemingly leaving Duffy and Wade as the second base tandem with Velazquez as utility depth.
- Taylor Ward has been one of the league’s most surprising performers in the early going. After opening the season on the injured list due to a groin strain, the 28-year-old returned to action on April 16. Ward has tallied 58 plate appearances in the two weeks since then and has gotten off to a blistering .404/.517/.830 start. He’s connected on five home runs and has a massive 19% walk rate, and the Halos have responded by pushing him to the top of the lineup. Ward discussed his hot start with Sam Blum of the Athletic this week, pointing to a more deliberate and selective approach in the batter’s box for his excellent results. Obviously, Ward isn’t going to continue to produce at this otherworldly level, but he quietly had an above-average .250/.332/.438 showing in 65 games last season. Even before his early-season tear, Maddon had declared Ward his primary right fielder. Each of Ward, Mike Trout and Brandon Marsh have hit the ground running, and the Angels have gotten by far the best outfield production of any team in MLB through the season’s first month.
To all the Taylor Ward doubters, I’m still here if yall want to chat. Can’t say he will perform like this all year, but dude can play. Also, Mayfield sent down over Velasquez. Lol. I guess it was a choice of options being left.
Also said Bundy can still pitch and at 3rd of cost of Syn. Don’t think he will hold up at this pace but it would of been a good keep.
This reminds me of what Buzzie Bavasi said in refusing to pay Nolan Ryan a mil a season: ” that Ryan could easily be replaced by a couple of 8-7 pitchers.” Syndergaard is an elite talent and the Angels better pay the man this time around.
Pump the brakes on paying Syndergaard. I love him but he’s pitched more than 155 innings only twice in the big leagues, and he’s now in his eighth season. It’s way too early to tell whether he’s back to full form or not, or whether he can stay healthy for any meaningful stretch of time.
Pump the brakes on paying Syndergaard. I love him but he’s pitched more than 155 innings only twice in the big leagues, and he’s now in his eighth
He’s also not going to keep a 200 babip and 0 Hr/FB %. His Ks are down quite a bit, but it’s good to see his BBs haven’t ballooned.
I’m glad to have Syn, but you can’t compare him to Ryan let alone Bundy.
I think you have it backwards. You can’t compare Bundt to Thor.
All the money is going to Ohtani!
You should have stopped with the first comment while you were ahead. You can’t compare Bundy to Syndergaard without having your sanity questioned.
@Carl Didn’t you compare Alex Cobb to Syndergaard this off season? I don’t think that is any better. You said that the Syndergaard replacing Cobb is basically a wash and that this rotation isn’t any better than it was last year. It is only April, but those comments aren’t holding water right now.
Pump the breaks on Syndergaard. Why? Because he’s not Syndergaard. His velocity is way down and right now no one knows who he is.
He has no history throwing at this velocity. It’s possible he may be able to pitch at reduce velocity, but right now, he’s not Thor. He’s just some guy that has had a nice three starts.
As far as Bundy, pump the breaks there as well. He’s throwing in the 80s and also has no history throwing at that velocity.
I am not concerned about velocity. Iglesias, Tepera, Loup, Lorenzen, Thor, and many others are a few mph down in velocity. Part of the reason is a short spring and pitchers are still building arm strength. I know it is only April, but I don’t think all these guys are bad because they lost velocity.
Also, Syndergaard is coming off injury. Ohtani velocity was a few mph below normal last year coming off the same injury. . He was still fairly effective pitching at around 95mph like Thor is this year. Even with Ohtani’s return in velocity, he has already lost as many games this year as he did all of last year, which should tell you it isn’t so much about velocity as it is about location.
You may not be concerned about velocity but when everything is down 3 to 5 MPH, that means he’s a completely different pitcher with no track record at all.
At that velocity, No one knows who this guy is. He has no history of success or failure.
It doesn’t mean he can’t pitch at the velocity and it doesn’t mean he can. As far as the velocity coming back, velocity is typically the first thing to come back, not the last.
In spite of the fake news report last Spring that Ohtani was in the high 80s, he wasn’t. His velocity was the first thing to come back.
Halo while you’re pumping the brakes. You were giving the Angels Crap for putting Ward in RF asking what are the Angels doing??? Your thoughts?
Ohtani’s fastball averaged 95.6 mph last year. This year his back up to 97.1 mph which is about where is was pre-TJ.
We can only go by what we see. Even with the velocity being down, he has been impressive. He went toe to toe with Verlander and won. The Angels don;t have a lot of recent success against the Astros. He also shut down the Dodgers in the Freeway Series. I know it doesn’t count, but in a lot of ways it does. Both teams want to win and he shut that lineup down. That is two positive early returns against two of the better lineups in all of baseball.
Winslow, I absolutely was. Ward is 28. Was a playable 4th outfielder at 27, and unplayable in prior years. Who in their right mind would platoon their best two player prospects in a decade for this guy?
Virtually everyone I read, watched and listened to felt the same way.
I still think Adell and Marsh are better, but you can’t argue with the results.
I agree Winslow, on top of it, I can’t believe how blind most are, Ward has looked solid in RF on D. BIG WHOOP! About a couple not so perfect routes. The guys been crashing into wall and making plays, and let’s not talk hitting, just absolutely killing it.
Let me look up April last year compared to this year.
April 2018. 97.92. April, 2021, 96.95. April 2022 his four seamer was 97.4
Thor, April 2019. 98.03. April 2022. 95.3o.
Don’t let data get in the way of your theory.
Let me know the next time Ward doesn’t take a banana route to the ball. Is it a big deal? Not yet. But his missed cutoff man did cost the Angels a game. Raving about his defense is comical.
You do realize he misplayed both those wall balls.. right?
Nice to have met Mr. Perfect Halo11. You wouldn’t be happy unless we cloned Trout twice, and had him in all 3 OF spots. Haha! Ward is kill’in it, most of us appreciate having him in RF, but I guess u can never be wrong so, keep thinking Adell is better right now for RF.. haha
Huh? He has looked shaky in the outfield and has defensively cost the Angels a game. It doesn’t mean he won’t get better. But is what it is.
He’s also been one of the best hitters on the planet and is second on the team in WAR.
Man you people are nuts.
Halo11, why are u making things up to bring the man down? It was Marsh who contributed to the loss with a bad throw, not Ward. Ty
Name one thing I have written that is not accurate. You think he’s looked good in right field? Seriously? I was holding my breath before the ice cream cone catch yesterday. He doesn’t look good out there. ITS EARLY. In a month he may look great. I never said he was a bad outfielder. It’s far too early to write that.
The Angels are on a six game winning streak. I doubt they are not on a six game streak if Adell is in RF and not Ward.
Your sanity is in question to think not. Thor was scratch because he didn’t feel well. Bundy puked on the mound in front of a Yankee stadium crowd. I wouldn’t mind having both. Go Angels!
Can we just take a deep breath and see who is who? Bundy has been great. Thor has been great. Ward has been Babe Ruth. Mike Trout is Mike Trout. It’s nice some things don’t change.
This is week three of 26. Data should change opinions. No one who uses data to form opinions will have the same opinion today, then the opinion they will have 24 weeks from now.
Halo- Very true. Adell needs to take it down a notch. He’s trying to do too much in every AB. And the same on Defense
I never compared Cobb to Syndergaard– that was someone else. If Thor is healthy and throwing to his top capabilities he is an elite pitcher. Cobb is a good journeyman with an injury history. I thought and think the Angels were right not to resign him. he can’t pitch an entire season.
Once a again to maybe refresh your memory, it was Marsh who made the one bad throw in the OF that could of changed 1 game, maybe. Ward has done nothing wrong in RF to cost them any wins. Your only complaint about Ward is the plays he’s made. And out is an out.
Incidentally, Fangraphs fielding data currently has Ward providing juuuuust a smidge below average defense in RF. I’d just call his defense unremarkable. Which is fine, for the moment.
What??? LOL What??
Didn’t you use data from 2018 as proof that Taylor Ward wasn’t any good? As proof that only a complete idiot would actually believe this guy had potential and should start??? Wasn’t it the lifetime OPS+ of 89 that you kept pointing too?
So even though this kid came back up in 2021 and hit .275 with an 830 OPS over his last 50 games in 2021….that DATA wasn’t important to you! What mattered to you was how bad he was in 2018!!
By the way….If 13 really strong games is enough to increase your career OPS+ 18 points…then it doesn’t matter!
What? If 13 really strong games is enough to increase your career OPS+ 18 points (and BA 15 points, OBP 20 points, SLG 40 points, OPS by 60 points)…it means
=you’ve played a small number of games in your career so far.
-in most of those games your performance wasn’t very good.
Also, your framing of Ward’s 2021 is misleading. Ward played in 65 games in 2021. Through 59, he was hitting .228/.312/.399, good for a .711 OPS. Basically: a little worse than his 2020, but better than his ’18 and ’19
He hit .533./588./933 1.522 over his final 6 games (4 in late July, and two at the end of September in Texas) bumping up his season totals significantly.
So ultimately, that data is important as it illustrates that Ward spent the majority of his 2021 season being not very good, still.
You’re looking at the first 59!! I’m looking at last 50! The last 50 games he played at the majors…these are his numbers. Thats not at all misleading!! The guy got off to slow start and this is what he did once he got things going! There is nothing misleading about that!
Ignoring his last 6 games because they were good….Now thats misleading!!
My point was that those numbers told us more about his bat then what he did in 2018. You disagree??
We do splits like that all the time! You can point out that Adell this year started what 0 – 12?? And since then, he was hitting close to 300 the last time I checked!! You always here about people getting off to slow start and then he gets going. Especially when they getting their first PA a month or two into season. But if you want to keep believing Ward isnt a good hitter…LOL have fun with that!
Ward did have a bad throw. I dont remember if it cost us the game or not but it was a bad play on his part. I think in the next game or two the same play came up and made the throw correctly on a line. Ward is better this year… a little…but he does have a lot of work to do on his D.
So does Adell.
Halo11fan.
I love my fellow Angels fans, but you talk with such certainty. This is not a little league baseball website, go to ESPN for that.
Admit you made a mistake about Adell and Ward. Almost everyone is baseball prior to this season was touting Ward over Adell. For many reasons Put your tail between your legs and apologize.
We all make mistakes, it takes a better man to admit fault.
I would go back and reference your comments, but I have a job, don’t need another!
GO ANGELS
Well Bundy got lit up today like he did all last year. To be fair, Bundy has had 3 good starts and one bad start all against quality opposition. Since the Angels have had extremely bad pitching in recent years, they weren’t in a position to take a chance on a pitcher coming off a bad year. The Angels saw Noah workout and went that direction. I think Noah and Ohtani at the top of rotation is more formidable compared to Ohtani/Bundy. I would much rather have Noah over Bundy. So far, so good with Noah. We can compare notes at the end of the year.
Even if Perry liked the chances of Bundy bouncing back this year…the risk vs reward for him would have been through the roof. First think of the freak out that would have taken place after the year he just had for us. And then if Bundy failed to bounce back…I mean…that would have been game over for Perry! lol
I have some confidence with this GM when it comes to pitching. He’s had some pretty solid hits so far in the players he brought it. And the improvement in the minors has been crazy! The number of pitching prospects from 2021 draft who doing well is really encouraging.
@Reacher999 I agree. It is really encouraging seeing the Bees, Trash Pandas, Dust Devils, and 66ers at least near 500 or better. They have been bottom feeders for over 10 years. The Bees have a solid rotation on paper, Daniel Davisl, Rosenberg, Jhonathan Diaz, Janson Junk. Presumably, Canning will be there if/when he gets back. Future is definitely looking brighter than it has in quite some time. I think he has put the Angels in the best position to win. The rotation and bullpen are both vastly improved. I don’t blame Maddon like some people. This has been his only year he has been given the tools to work with and a honest chance to win. An eighth of the way through the season, so far so good.
Take a look at the panda’s pitching. In AA You’ll find 6 for 7 pitchers from the Angels 2021 draft. So these guys are starting their first full season of professional baseball….in AA!! Thats weird!! That ‘s just not what normally happens. They have rounds 2, 4, 5, 11. I think the latest round was 17. I think Sam our number 1 pick is on the IL. But I’m sure he will start in AA too.
The only other pitchers I can find from this Draft that are starting in AA is Jack Lieter the #2 overall pic and top collage arm from round 1. And one other guy…from Oakland I think also round 1. And thats it. Every other pitcher from the 2021 draft is starting in A+ or lower.
You normally see the top 2 or 3 arms from the previous draft start in AA the next year. But thats usually it. I cant find any other teams that drafted pitchers in 5th or 11th round starting the first full season in AA. I’m sure there is one or two more…maybe. And there will be plenty of them there by the end of this year…but they usually dont start there unless they are super high end prospects!
But I dont know what to make of it. LOL its just weird! But most of them are doing really well! And few of them are putting crazy numbers!
@Reacher Easy to explain. If you draft 3 or 4 pitchers, you can find a home for them in your A affiliates. When you draft 20 pitchers, you are going to need to divvy them up between your A, high A, and AA. What is surprising is that the Trash Pandas are doing quite well despite all the newly draftees.
Just a surplus of pitchers? Thats all? Okay. I’ll buy that. The nice thing is that they seemed to have correctly decided where they should be. You have late round pics doing well in double A. And earlier rounds having a hard time of it in A+. So again I have a decent amount of trust in this gm when it comes to pitching. He seems to have a good idea of what he’s doing.
I think a lot of credit for ward goes to Billy Eppler for moving him off catcher to open his bat potential. He gave a list of others that worked for (Josh Donaldson was one). He thought with the move he become a great hitter. He was a good defensive C at the time i my opinion. I know some in here have questioned that but I have seen no evidence that he was not. Mike Scioscia thought he compared his D and pitching staff handling to Mathis who he liked.
The book on Ward was that he was a very good defensive catcher with a ++ arm who may or may not hit and walk enough to make it to the majors. So i have no idea. The same people who said he was a strong receiver also said his bat sucked!
I don’t mind giving credit to Epp for seeing potential in his bat and moving him. But after that he and the Angels twisted this kid’s head into a pretzel for the next 3 years.
Predict Jo Adell’s future now
Frequent party in the Jo Adell for (insert better player from another team) chat questions for the next 2 years before he settles in as a slightly below average MLer.
Jo needs to learn how to play defense. His routes make me cringe. I think many believe he’s a MLB hitter (with still some work), but he’s not a MLB defender (yet). The “yet” is a big question mark.
Dirk, have you bee watching Ward in right field? Len me know the next time he takes a nice root to a ball, or doesn’t ‘time’ a catch. He appears to be a terrible outfielder who has already cost the Angels a game missing a cutoff man.
That said, it doesn’t mean he can’t get better.
Yeah I wouldn’t call Ward a defensive wizard by any stretch, but his superior bat is why he’s currently in the lineup. I think it’s fair to say comparing Jo and Taylor’s defensive skill sets is like seeing which cat can bark the loudest, but at this point, the overall package that Jo provides yields him 4th OF status. I guess it’s a good problem to have considering just a few years back the Halos we’re desperate and putting Jered Walsh in RF. Oye.
Ward knows the strike zone. Adell does not. You don’t need an impressive batted ball profile if you can square up the ball and know the strike zone.
If Ward can get on base, this line up is much better and longer with him leading off.
I love Adell, but I don’t see him ever being a high OBP guy. I never thought Ward would be the missing piece, but he might be.
I see Halo11 likes to make things up to prove a point. It was Marshes bad throw that contributed to a loss, now Wards. I’ll defend Marsh thou, it happens, every once in a while a throw goes a little high, he knows better thou. (Marsh) that is
I’m making thing up? You’re a nut.
Adell will be around a lot longer than the Indians, and have a better future than the Indians that have been playing the outfield in recent memory.
The indians were around for ~100 yrs…
They are gone now, and Adell will have a better career than any Indian outfielder who has made their debut in the last decade.
Of course so will Ward and Marsh. It’s a very low bar.
Everyone should have been a Taylor Ward doubter, that said, Maddon appears to have gotten this right.
I am still a Taylor Ward doubter and still have him in four of my five fantasy leagues. There is nothing in his batted ball profile that says this is legit. He will slowdown, but this team is better with another bat than not. Ride this guy as long as possible.
I’m loving seeing the Central Valley guy do well. He’ll cool off, but he’s improved each year until this one. He’s a solid MLB player now.
One on a massive hot streak.
Great article today on fangraphs about Ward. People should read it.
Nice to see that they finally got it right with Ward. The sad thing is look how good he had to be in order to even make the team out of spring training.
The guy should have been up and given a real opportunity to play every day by around the middle of 2019. If we had done that we probably could have started to see this version of him by the start 2020.
Stop making sense.
A couple of weeks ago a poster here said the Angels had a terrible outfield. I know its still april but they are young, athletic and talented. Barring major injury the Angels seem to have the proper balance of talent, team chemistry and old and young players. They should be fun to watch this season.
Any OF that includes Trout is not terrible. Add in two promising prospects and now Taylor Ward, and you have a good OF.
That aside, .404/.517/.830 is not Taylor Ward’s true talent level!
Why let some random persons comment from a couple weeks ago live in your head? Its probably not as fun watching when your hoping for a little success and an article about the angels just to have a weak I told ya so.
@DT, good advice, especially as there is always someone with a wrong, even crazy, opinion.
I don’t recall any Angel fan saying the Angels have a terrible outfield.
I said this was the most talented Angel outfield ever, I got a lot of pushback, but not one Angel fan said they were terrible. A couple of trolls tossed some insults, but no one said they were terrible.
Ward was a first round pick and I’ve noticed over the years that first round picks get longer leashes. I’m glad they stuck with him. I saw glimpses of his potential throughout his stints. Changing positions from catcher and injuries slowed down his timeline. He’s one of those young players I just hoped would make it, although I was never quite sure. Developing patience is a big step for him. Now, what do they do with Jo Adell? And then if Marsh and Ward are still OF staples next year and the after, what do they do with Jordyn Adams?
Organizational Depth is a good thing.
@ryanw-2 Ward stats has been getting better each year, but I don’t think anyone saw him being another Trout. We will see how long he can keep it up for. Teams will make adjustments and we will see how he handles it.
As for me, I would keep the Marsh/Adell platoon going for a while. Marsh has put up impressive numbers against righties this years, but still hasn’t figured out lefties. Adell has been a bit lost in LF, but he was still one of the best raw power talents in all of baseball. We have seen flashes of what he is capable of. I think a platoon situation is exactly what is needed. There will be opportunities to have both in the lineup when Trout or Ward need a day off.
Adams is off to a nice start, but he is only 22 years old playing in high A. He is still a few years away from being an Angel. No need to do anything with him right now.. Let him keep getting ABs and keep him progressing through the minors.
The outfield is exactly right! Adel and Marsh should both get plenty of playing time though. If it starts to get to lop sided because of all the right-handed pitching…I hope they even it out.
I think its a great situation for both of them!
Marsh May be top 25 outfielder right now. He looks like a complete player! But Adell is just dripping with upside! LOL He looks electric when he is going good! Cant wait to see just how good they both get!
Ward came up as catcher and has improved when he plays and when healthy. He’s showed promise but wow he’s made a huge impact.
Jordyn Adams is at least three years away– if he even pans out. Injuries will happen. Someone will go down with a hamstring or groin strain. They will find ways to get everyone playing time, but Marsh is ahead of Adell.
Strongly agree with everything you said . I think he always had a good sense of the strike zone at least when he was catching. He improved his contact at some point and last he improved his launch angle. At least that is the way I remembered. One of the more surprising things when he stopped catching was the change in his running game.
His swing path is much much shorter now too.
Stay healthy…that is all.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone say the Angels have a “top outfield” during Mikey Trout’s time let’s goooo
Really? The Angels have had one of the better OFs a few times simply because of Mike Trout. Dude produced 2 good players worth of value for a while there.
From 2012-2013 the Angels had the best OF by about 6 fWAR (32.4 to the Breweres 26); 20.3 of that coming from Mike Trout. In that time frame, Trout would have ranked 9th behind Tex and in front of SF. Looking into Mike Trout stats from the times when he was healthy is always fun. I’m not an Angels fan, but I do love Trout.
Welp, everything seems to be falling into place…albeit against bad teams like Cleveland and the White Sox. We have a decent schedule for May until we play the Rays and then the Jays and Yanks towards the end. Those series will be more challenging.
This was posted a couple of days ago in a MLBTR Chat
5:03
Which team, between the NYYs, Jays, M’s, or Angels, is the least likely to sustain their pace? Most likely?
Anthony Franco
5:03
Angels probably. They’re just not as deep as those other teams
I didn’t think the analysis was wrong, just bad.
That’s like saying the Angels “A” team is better, but their 6th starter, 5th outfielder, utility infielder, and 5th man out of the pen are not as strong.
Again, not wrong analysis, just bad analysis.
I also remember someone calling him out for having the worst takes on the site.
This was posted a couple of days ago on MLBTR Chat:
5:03
Which team, between the NYYs, Jays, M’s, or Angels, is the least likely to sustain their pace? Most likely?
Anthony Franco
5:03
Angels probably. They’re just not as deep as those other teams
Is it incorrect?
Go ahead and make Maddon a deal. Nobody else wants to come manage with this owner.
Extend Maddon. He’s been devoted to the organization for a long time – twenty plus before he left for Tampa. He could’ve had other managing jobs after 2019, but he chose the Angels. Not his fault that the pitching staff was crap the previous two seasons.