The Angels have made five roster moves, including optioning outfielder Jo Adell and left-hander Jhonathan Diaz to Triple-A. Infielder Luis Rengifo returns from the paternity list, while the Halos also selected the contract of right-hander Davis Daniel. To create room for Daniel on the 40-man roster, Anaheim designated outfielder Dillon Thomas for assignment.
One of the game’s top prospects, Adell was first optioned to Triple-A in early May, and then called up again last week when Taylor Ward was placed on the 10-day IL. Adell posted a .902 OPS over 21 plate appearances during this latest stint, a positive showing considering how overmatched Adell has looked against MLB pitching since debuting back in 2020.
To that end, it is a little surprising to see Adell on the way back to the minors, yet it could simply be a case of roster construction. Ward has been recovering well from his hamstring strain and is aiming to return on Tuesday, while Mike Trout was back in the lineup today after missing three games with a sore groin. With less of a need in the outfield and with Shohei Ohtani monopolizing the DH spot, there isn’t a real everyday spot for Adell, and the Angels would prefer to see him get regular action in Triple-A rather than playing only sparingly in Los Angeles.
Thomas had his contract selected three days ago in another flurry of moves from the Angels, and the outfielder ended up appearing in one game during his cup of coffee on the active roster. The 29-year-old inked a minor league deal with Anaheim during the winter. Thomas has posted some big numbers at the Triple-A level for the Mariners’ and Angels’ affiliates in 2021-22, but that performance has only earned him five MLB games (the first five of his pro career). Primarily a corner outfielder with some experience in center, Thomas could possibly get the attention of another team in greater need of depth on the grass.
Today is Daniel’s 25th birthday, and he’ll receive an unforgettable gift in the form of his first call to the big leagues. A seventh-round pick for the Angels in the 2019 draft, Daniel has a 3.84 ERA over 161 2/3 innings in the minors, starting 31 of his 32 career games. This includes a 3.64 ERA over 47 Triple-A innings this season, though Daniel has a modest 19.3% strikeout rate.
Daniel could now be lined up for a start in the Angels’ six-man rotation, though it remains to be seen exactly how the Angels may reshuffle their pitching order with an off-day coming on Monday. An extra arm will be needed in some fashion, as the Halos have a doubleheader coming up on June 18.
Sure, blame it on the manager
Blame it on the owner instead. How about blaming it on pujols, rendon, hamilton,upton. getting money past their primes is all the owners fault.
It all started with getting draft picks falling to about round three after losing them from those picks. They had almost a 30 year relationship with their Low A franchise….and Cedar Rapids refused to renew because the team was so awful they killed ticket sales. Trout fell to them. But they had drafts where Don Roach was who they had to show…and relievers like Cam Bedrosian. Kill 2-3 drafts pff and you’re in trouble. You sign those 30+ players and have zip to show as a team from the development side.
I don’t want to make Trout seem like zero. But that was some luck. Seattle almost took him #2, and the Yankees were set to take him with the next pick. No one really knew what he was going to do.
Plus, they didn’t make the effort to do a quick rebuild after 2009. They lost a lot of key players in such a short time. When they signed Pujols and brought up Trout, and I watched how the 2012 season unfolded (6-14 start followed by the best record in the Majors after that and just missing the playoffs), it was obvious to me that’s when their window was opening back up. And a quick 2010-2011 rebuild would’ve possible given them the depth they needed, especially in their bullpen, to be a contender again. 2018 was another year where I saw that window opening again only to again see how ignoring the farm system can hurt a ballclub. But here we are. Or, do what the Dodgers did and skyrocket the payroll while rebuilding underneath. Either way, it just shows how important farm system is, even for the richest organizations.
Wait I’m confused by your take. Never get mad at the player for taking the money! That’s such a ridiculous comment. It’s on the organization and how it’s ran. Anaheim was willing to Albert and company.
Unless it was edited, that’s exactly what he said. Only ridiculous comment is yours.
“Blame it on the owner instead.”
“…getting money past their primes is all the owners fault.”
Forgot C.J.wilson
Surprised, Andrew Velazquez wasnt one of the DFAs.
He’s hit .175 BA with 3 homers in 160 ABs.
Hell of a defender, though!
He’s been one of the top defensive SS in baseball so far. Not sure if it’s sustainable, but that’s def why he’s not going anywhere
There are a number of glove first SS in the league and while he may be closer to the top, he’s never played anywhere close to a full season before and eventually the grind many very well get to him big time and his offense will continue to degrade, and so will his defense because of his lack of offensive contribution when the team needs it.
And he’s the only person on the team that can play short.
I’m glad they sent Adell down. In two or three weeks he loses a year and the he doesn’t hit free agency for five years. That makes him more valuable for those that want to
This also means Trout is likely playing tonight.
You guys werent kidding!
+7 Defensive runs saved in 2022 is insane.
Even the +0.4 UZR is respectable.
In 180.1 Innings at short for the Yanks: 0 DRS! -0.8 UZR:
He started 20 games at SS for the Yankees in 2021.
7 DRS is pretty good.. However, the tandem of Wade and Fletcher have 5 DRS in about 100 innings played compared 422 innings played at SS by Velazquez. If Velazquez was at least a 75 OPS hitter rather than an automatic out every time he is up, it may be worth keeping him.
Velazquez has a -7.4 RE24 meaning he cost the team 7.4 runs with his bat if he was an average hitter. Any runs saved with his glove have been lost because of his bat. For a team struggling to score runs, you really can’t hide his lack of ability of a plate.
I enjoyed Velasquez last year and have always been a Wade fan but neither of them are starters on good teams.
Absolutely and unfortunately true because they both seem to be really good team first guys but game after game played, their offensive deficiencies show up and right afterwards it affects their defense also…..neither has ever been a starter…..
Regardless of whose Manager, the Angels are kidding themselves if they think the kid is going to hold up all year long while Wade is somewhat used to being in and out of the lineup.
Statcast did not like him, and I didn’t know anything about him, But after watching him play short, he’s hard not to appreciate.
Aftger reading all this, blame it on the manager
Phillies are 9-0 since they fired Joe Girardi;
Who is a HOF manager; in his own right!
But my point is… Robbie Thompson proved; sometimes a manager: can make all the difference.
Braves are 9-0, they didn’t fire anyone
Put a sock in it
i gave you a +1 before you wrote: “put a sock in it”
The thumbs up, stays! Face my positivity.
Different teams but okay
Girardi is not a HoF manager.
There was a disconnect between Girardi and his players that has been made glaringly obvious by the 9 game winning streak since he was fired.
The Angels are 1-4 since firing Maddon so it stems to reason that Maddon was not the only problem on the Angels.
dang daniel
Congrats to Davis Daniel. I’ve interviewed him a couple of times. Very nice guy who has worked very hard to get here.
The Angels article today referred to Nevin as the interim manager. Are they looking right now or will Nevin ride out the season at the helm?
I think you. Can consider Nevin on the hot seat.
Good point. He needs to get some wins going. June is not an easy schedule for us. July is a little better.
He’s probably auditioning for the full time gig.
He was a Minasian hire. unlike Maddon. I think this is a 100ish games audition for a longer term contract.
Considering Perry Minasians’ Braves roots I believe Walt Weiss or Ron Washington are good possibilities to take over the Angels in 2023.
I think he’ll have a look at Nevin over the rest of the season. If they can form a good working relationship then perhaps he’ll keep him.
That remains a screwed up roster, which is the problem. Understand the LA mindset – LA sports teams have to sell entertainment. They need stars to get the fans involved. And stars take up a good portion of their teams payrolls. It appears that both Trout and Ohtani are running out of patience waiting for reinforcements to get them to participate in playoff games. Things may be to the point where the unthinkable happens……one or both are traded for multiple players that will produce more for the team at a lower cost.
Samuel – ” It appears that both Trout and Ohtani are running out of patience waiting for reinforcements to get them to participate in playoff games.
What appears to you that Trout and Ohtani are running out of patience? I haven’t seen anything they have done or said that remotely appears that way to me.
I’ve read that from numerous people.
I usually let those sorts of rumors go by, but not when they make sense.
Furthermore, I think those 2 are creating a problem for Angels management as they obviously want to win, and win now. While the Angels have some very good players, their roster just doesn’t fit together. You can’t build a perennial contender making short team moves. Next to those 2 and maybe a few others they have no real core.
Samuel – Can you provide a link to one of those articles? I’d like to read it.
Also, for you to say they are creating problems for management because they want to win now suggests that management doesn’t want to win now. We all know that’s not true.
prov356;
1. I can’t provide a link because those articles surfaced this past offseason. I read thousands of things and don’t keep links to them. It’s easy to figure out which have validity – and at least 80% don’t.
2. Of course management wants to win now, and THAT’S the problem. They made a dozen moves this past offseason, and all were an attempt to win in 2022. The Angels do this every year. Fill holes.
Teams don’t win filling holes unless they have a solid core. Other than Trout, who are their OF’s? Who are their middle infielders? Who fills out their starting rotation and bullpen? That stuff changes every year.
Make no mistake – I thought they’d finish behind the Astros and make the playoffs in 2022. But every year it seems to be something. The only time I saw them win was 2002 (I lived in LA for 25 years). That team had a core of players that were from their farm system or traded for and coached up for years. Stoneman and Scioscia worked to put that team together. Even then it took a young unknown Francisco Rodríguez to come up from the minors in September with a hard breaking ball that no one seemed able to hit, as he dominated out of the bullpen in the stretch run and post-season.
This Angels team has some very good players. Unfortunately, many have major holes in their game. It just doesn’t seem like there’s a structure in place yet. I think Minasian is trying to get one in – as Dombrowski is with the Phillies. But how long do Trout and Ohtani hold on when 20% of teams make the playoffs and they can’t get into one?
I want to be clear, I have a source that tells me things, but I have no inside information on this topic. I read Ray Montgomery is being groomed for the position. I have no idea if that’s accurate or not.
The Angels don’t have a second baseman or a 4th outfielder. They need Fletcher back because Rengifo is not a major league player. They need Ward back and they will need to promote Adell.
*Trout’s never going to waive the NTC so put that dream to bed
**Orange County is nothing like LA .
*** Trade Ohtani when? After they outbid 29 other teams on an ext? Next year?…..No not happening Sam let’s try and stay grounded here
This isn’t an La thing, this isn’t a trade coming thing , this is just simply Arte Moreno….no need for the cut and paste preamble here
I was surprised to see Adell sent down considering he’s been playing fairly well. I figured he be up until Ward returned.
I think it would have been the right move once Ward came off the IL.
But as I said earlier, if the Angels play this right, he’ll lose a year of service time.
That’s what I figured would happen. But Lagares is hitting better than Adell and that is the focus.
The most successful teams rotate the DH. Let Ohtani stand in the outfield 2x/week. He couldn’t be worse out there than Alvarez/Brantley in Houston.
bucs? lmao!
So what is the Angels playoff record the past 10 years? Lmao. Lame
You mean like Boston and Ortiz?
To be fair, Ortiz started 142 games at 1B over the course of his Red Sox career
Ok, everyone who actually uses their brain to think. So if you think, you realize Pujols added money to that deal
On paper—- the Angeles team looks good each season!!! Why can’t the big named players play as a winning “team” ???
I don’t know if this is in the cards at all, but I think it’s time to look into reducing the rotation back to 5. I looked at their rotation and what would be their 5 all have ERA’s under 4.00. Think where the Angels would be, pitching-wise, if they kept it at 5. They’ve all been healthy enough to where we wouldn’t be seeing Jose Suarez, Chase Silseth, or Jhonathon Diaz at all, if not in long relief. You get at least 2 more starts out of each arm, and you get more deeper starts, which rests the bullpen more. I could be wrong, but I think that’s the catalyst opening the door for growing pains that other teams wouldn’t be having if they had 5 starters with the numbers the Angels’ main 5 have right now. It could’ve also been one deterrent that kept the Garrit Coles and the Zach Wheelers from signing with the Angels. Starters lose 5-6 starts in a full season with a 6 man rotation.
The big 5 is back! Let’s go! Stay healthy my friends, that said, then screw long losing streaks. With a 100 to go, .600 ball again and playoffs is easily possible.