1:16PM: Walsh has been placed on the 60-day IL, the Angels announced. This officially ends the first baseman’s 2022 season.
10:06AM: The Angels announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game with the Rays, including the news that Jared Walsh has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to thoracic outlet syndrome. Infielder Phil Gosselin was also designated for assignment. Filling the two roster spots are catcher Matt Thaiss (called up from Triple-A), and first baseman Mike Ford, whose contract was selected from Triple-A.
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a condition much more commonly seen in pitchers, making Walsh something of an outlier as a position player. While Walsh drew some attention as a two-way player early in his career and during his time in the Angels farm system, he has only 26 2/3 professional innings pitched, and none since 2019. Most pitchers who undergo surgery to correct TOS aren’t the same performance-wise after returning to the mound, but it remains to see if Walsh will indeed need surgery, or how such a procedure could impact his future production given that he isn’t pitching.
Even if Walsh opts for treatment without going under the knife, it would seem like the remainder of his 2022 season could be in jeopardy. With the Angels out of contention, they would seemingly not have any reason to rush Walsh back into action.
Walsh hit .280/.338/.531 over 693 PA with the Angels in 2020-21, earning a seventh-place finish in 2020’s Rookie of the Year balloting and a slot on the 2021 AL All-Star team. However, 2022 has been much more of a struggle, as the 29-year-old has contributed only 15 home runs and a .215/.269/.374 slash line. Despite some decent defense at first base, this poor offensive production has resulted in an overall sub-replacement level performance for Walsh, who has -0.5 fWAR and -0.6 bWAR.
Even in 2020-21, Walsh has below-average walk and strikeout rates, but those numbers have sunk further downward in 2022 — Walsh’s 30.4% strikeout rate puts him in only the sixth percentile of batters. He is also hitting with far less power, with an Isolated Power metric of only .158 (down from .354 in 2020 and .232 in 2021). This decline has robbed the Angels of a key bat in their lineup, as Los Angeles has gotten very little from any players besides Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Taylor Ward, and the emerging Luis Rengifo.
Gosselin had enough MLB service time that he can reject an outright assignment to Triple-A, assuming that he clears waivers and the Angels don’t release him. The Angels claimed Gosselin off waivers from the Braves in mid-July, and the veteran utilityman ended up playing 22 games with Anaheim, mostly as a third baseman. Unfortunately, Gosselin provided very little offense, with only a .269 OPS over 51 plate appearances.
Gosselin has only sporadically delivered at the plate over his 10 Major League seasons, with a career .254/.305/.349 slash line over 1199 PA. The 33-year-old has suited up for seven different big league teams, and this is his second stint with the Angels, after playing 104 games with the Halos in 2021.
Ford is in today’s starting lineup as the cleanup hitter, putting Ford on pace to see action for a fourth different Major League team this season. The first baseman has appeared in 22 games combined with the Giants, Mariners, and Braves, with San Francisco and Seattle ping-ponging him back and forth between their rosters a few times earlier in the season and Atlanta releasing Ford earlier this month. He signed a new minor league contract with Los Angeles in mid-August, and might now in line for some consistent playing time if Walsh does miss most or all of the remainder of the season.
In 2019, Ford burst onto the scene with 12 home runs and a .909 OPS over 163 PA as a rookie with the Yankees. Since that initial breakout, however, he has scuffled to a .138/.267/.253 slash line in 206 PA since the start of the 2020 season, and the Yankees dealt him to the Rays in June 2021. Ford also ended up heading to the Nationals on a waiver claim later in the 2021 season, making it quite a whirlwind of organizational change for the Princeton product in just 14 months’ time.
This the Braves AAA team?
This week keeps getting better and better for the Angels! Walsh has been terrible all season. Now designate Velazquez and stassi and we have improved dramatically this week!
Didn’t Stassi just get locked up with a multi-year deal last season? Lol
Don’t remind me 🙁
This season
You want to DFA Velazquez despite his 324/.359/.459/.818 slash line, 134 wRC+ and 0.4 fWAR in the month of August, and his 6 Outs Above Average at shortstop?
Yes he’s terrible. He cannot hit to save his life. Jose Rojas pinch hits for him.
You must not watch the Angels play. Half of his hits are infield singles or bunts.
So DFA the guy who leads all shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved this year when your starters have the third-highest ground ball rate in the AL, and ditch him despite his batting .324 with an .811 OPS and 134 wRC+ in August and having the same fWAR for the month as Carlos Correa and Amed Rosario.
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=ss&stats=bat&#…
What’s more, he’s raking over the last 14 days:
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&…
Seems an odd time to make that decision, so I’m doubtful that you’re going to get your wish. But it is the Angels, so maybe.
Look, I get that you’re salty that you made a bad Ford joke. It happens, not everybody has top quality all the time. But supporting Velazquez? He is an excellent defender, but he cannot hit. I really do not care what he has done over the past 14 days, when his career and previous several months speak to the contrary. Phil Nevin does not let him bat in critical situations. If he is a number 9 batter in a lineup of 1-8 that can hit, then that’s a different story. Defense is not the Angels problem, and the whole Velazquez situation only highlights how stupid it was for Minasian not to get a shortstop last offseason.
If you want to talk baseball, fine. If you want to talk crap, I’m not interested. Make up your mind.
No, you’re trolling by supporting Velazquez, as is your wont. Bye now.
Bye.
Yeah..and does the idiot Nevin even realize that Jose or whoever pinch hits ,never does anything either.. At least it is great D..may as well have the defense,cause nobody else hits
Yeah, when the person who is pinch hitting for you is a terrible hitter, you know you are an even more terrible hitter. Velazquez offensively is worth less than 6 defensive runs saved. He is negative value.
Andrew Velazquez, 2022:
1.5 bWAR
0.4 fWAR
That’s a positive contribution. Defense counts in the game of baseball, You’re right about that, reayzrsharp.
Of course Velazquez is not going to continue to hit like this, but why DFA a player in late August when he is actually hitting well at the moment and you’ve got nobody better to replace him?
To give someone else a chance to prove themself? The fact he’s still here worries me that he will be here again next year.
Geez, watch the Angels play. Yes, he can play a good defense, but how many at bats can you sacrifice? Are we making decisions based on three weeks worth of play these days? How has all that contributed to the Angels in the big picture? (even with those positive August stats, his ops+ is a whopping 49)
They just penciled in a guy with a 50 OPS+ to bat cleanup, Sideline.
Who is the someone else? Looking at the Angels middle infielders at AAA, you’ve got Michael Stefanic, whose career so far suggests he’s the second coming of Jose Rojas, Kean Wong, who I think we’ve already seen enough of, and Jake Palomaki, who has played less than a season at AAA.
That’s with a .524 BABIP. Normalize that to his career .282, and that .818 OPS looks more like .334.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, Joe.
Massive L for the Fink Ployed fandom
Is it the whole Roger Waters thing, FletcherFan?
Yes? No?
If your career indicates that the small sample size is legit, then it is legit. In his last 260 ABs, he has a 94/9 K/W. That’s about as bad as I’ve ever seen. He does have a glove, but there are other gloves out there who aren’t automatic outs.
And Roger Waters has become tedious. I once waited all night for Pink Floyd tickets and was glad I did. Then I saw him at Yankee Stadium maybe 5 years ago, and it was a waste of time and money. His arguments with Gilmore really turned me off after a while. There was enough room there to give everyone credit.
He played for the Yankees and was a flash in the pan. I’m aware of his struggles at the plate. But it would seem odd to DFA a superior defender at the most important infield position besides pitcher and catcher at a time when he’s actually hitting, lucky or not, instead of, at the very least, keeping him with the club in case of injury or as a late-inning defensive replacement. I’m guessing the pitching staff would prefer to have him fielding behind them unless his replacement provides enough run support to compensate for lesser defense. Reasonable people can disagree.
Plus, you’re talking about a player with a total of only 439 at-bats in the majors over five seasons. It’s not inconceivable that he’s taken a step forward offensively, is it?
Another terrible joke leads to a DISASTROUS L for Fink Ployed!!! Will his pain ever stop????
What joke are you talking about, FletcherFan — and why won’t you answer the question about Roger Waters?
In any case, your reaction is a tad overwrought, don’t you think?
I didn’t answer because I have no idea what you’re talking about and neither does anybody else. I live in the walls of your home rip out your drywall come on rip it out tear down your walls I see you right now
Here’s the thing, Joe. I didn’t choose this screen name to promote Pink Floyd or to indicate fanhood. It was a random word play, nothing more.
I saw Pink Floyd in concert once back in the day. Then, I was a fan, no question. I’d been following them since their debut album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” when Syd Barrett was the guitarist/vocalist. The last Pink Floyd album I bought was “Wish You Were Here.” I haven’t listened to them in years, except for a YouTube video of the original band with Barrett performing “Astronomy Domine” live.
I read an article in The Forward about Waters and his controversies earlier this year, the first I’d heard about it. If he’s a bigot, he’s a jerk. Full stop. There are differing opinions, as the article says:
forward.com/culture/511945/roger-waters-this-is-no…
If people want to bag on the band because of his politics, that’s up to them. It’s no skin off my ass. I don’t care. Eric Clapton has turned into an anti-vaxxer idiot, but “Crossroads” on the “Wheels of Fire” live album is still one of the greatest live rock guitar performances of all time. And Jonathan Richman was wrong: plenty of people called Picasso an @hole, but he was still a deeply influential artist. Lots of artists have been creeps in their private lives. That tension has always been there: can you separate the art from the artist?
This FletcherFan guy is freaking out inside his own bubble, so maybe he’s all worked-up about Waters, or maybe he just doesn’t like their music, or maybe he’s a cultural sponge who hates whom the folks in his Twitter feed tell him he should hate if he wants to be hip. Whatever. Again, not my thing, his thing. I don’t care. My screen name means nothing. It’s not a cause.
You used that same schtick about being in the walls with another poster, FletcherFan. I don’t know if you’re reprising it because you got “likes” with it before or because you’re just another tiresome troll with a limited repertoire. In either case, do your thing. Whatever fills your needs. I’m not interested in your games. You’re the only person in this thread who’s said nothing about baseball. That’s telling enough.
Have a pleasant afternoon.
It’s not inconceivable that he’s taken a step forward offensively, is it?
==============================
Under the olde “anything is possible” metric, sure. But he was a career .525 OPS hitter who is now at .527 for the year. It’s possible to change my mind. But I have never seen a guys succeed with a 100/13 K/W. And August’s 15/2 is roughly more of the same. If his August stats were based on say, a 14/7 K/W, then I could see suggesting that he was improving is zone control.
But there is nothing that I can see that suggests he anything more than what we’ve seen for the rest of career.
Joe, I couldn’t have cared less when the Yankees dumped him. But, concerning the faint possibility that he’s found something at age 28, I’ll just point out that before the Yankees brought him up he hit .273 with an .813 OPS in Scranton, and some scouts must’ve liked something about him for five different teams to give him a look in the majors.
But, once again, to hopefully be clear: I’m not saying he’s a good player: I’m saying the Angels don’t seem to have any viable backup shortstop and he’s hitting right now, so it seem unlikely that they’d DFA him now. He’s got a positive fWAR and bWAR, so his defense and baserunning (13 SB) are helping more than the weak bat is hurting.
But, you know what? We’ll see, won’t we?
The Angels are a bit like last year’s Yankees in that the offense is terrible and the pitching is the only thing keeping them from oblivion. I’m guessing their front office nerds figure that the shortstop with the most DRS is worth having behind their pitching staff. Obviously he’s not there to bat cleanup . . . but then, there’s Mike Ford. My condolences to Angels fans. For their sake, I hope Moreno sells.
Fink Ployed pulling out of the discussion??? A GARGANTUAN L for the Finkster and his crew. However, the FletcherFandom has enjoyed the most MONUMENTAL W for Ol’ Finky remembering a post I made like 4 weeks ago!!! Pleasant doesn’t even begin to describe my afternoon!!! 😀
It isn’t really the politics. To varying degrees:
1-I don’t like it when people have a particular skill, and feel that that skill somehow makes their opinion more viable than the rest of the world. It doesn’t. Past the music, he is just another nobody.
2-I have a continuing dislike for the mega-wealthy telling the world how to live.
3-And lastly, and most importantly, he didn’t have to destroy Pink Floyd. He was the star, but it felt like he had a complete disregard for everyone else’s contributions.
That’s wonderful for you. I’m glad I could help, although your sense of time deceives you; it wasn’t anything like four weeks ago. It was recent. But don’t worry about that. Enjoy your feeling of accomplishment.
Still, it comes down to whether you can separate the art from the artist, regardless of what facets of his personality turn you off. It might be easier with visual artists like Picasso, as opposed to, say, a comedian.
You get caught up in stats of small sample sizes don’t you?
Is this entire season a small sample?
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=ss&stats=fld&#…
Who’s going to replace Velazquez if they need a backup shortstop?
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=ss&stats=bat&#…
I wouldn’t want him on my team, but who do the Angels have?
I’m not saying get rid of him but you gave a three week sample size for his value.
I gave that sample to point out that he’s hitting now, so it would seem unlikely that he’d be DFA’d now, particularly in lieu of a viable replacement. Sure, sometimes teams cut loose a player when he’s doing better than usual; but in those cases they usually have someone to replace him. Last year, the Yankees were starting Velazquez at short at the end of the season when they were battling for a Wild Card berth because Gleyber Torres was a terrible fielder at short and it took them that long to admit it.
If he is not the longterm answer, he should not be getting these at bats. To answer your question of who should be, I have no idea. But literally anyone else who has not had a fair shot at the MLB level should. Same reason for Sierra getting at bats. Let’s see what he can do. The thing with Velazquez, we know what he can do. So obviously he is still playing because the team sees him as their longterm SS which makes me disappointed. He should have been traded for at the deadline (but I assume nobody wanted him).
I think your concern is unwarranted. I doubt that Velazquez is going to be the long-term shortstop.
The only way that would happen would be if he kept hitting like he has been lately and kept it up through the end of the season. As I said to Joe, it’s possible. But I don’t think it’s likely. In fact, I think it’s unlikely. He had a small window last year when he was a bit of a sparkplug for the Yankees, but eventually he sank to his level. He’s what he is: a low-but-positive WAR stopgap player on a team that seems to be without a viable replacement.
To say it again: I think he’s there now because they don’t have a viable backup shortstop and his defense is helping the pitching, and the pitching is the only thing keeping your Angels from sliding into the A’s territory of futility. If Moreno sells the team, do you think the new owners wouldn’t get a better shortstop for next year?
I have no idea what new ownership wants, but I think Minasian has proven that he believes Velazquez is his SS. Let me make my concern more clear. The Angels are being sold, but when will the sale actually happen? March? The Angels will likely not be big players in free agency with the ownership situation up in the air. Unless they trade for a SS, I do not see an end to Velazquez in sight.
Maybe. But in a sense, aren’t you sort of borrowing trouble, as the saying goes? Boston didn’t sign Story until March 20, and there’ll be a pretty rich selection of free agent shortstops next offseason. Meanwhile, you don’t know who’s going to buy the team or what kind of owners they’ll be, so why worry so much about something that might not even happen? If the new owners are smart, they’re going to want to put a better product on the field to make a good first impression with the fans.
I just thought of an even better example: the Yankees didn’t sign Matt Carpenter until the last week of May this year.
P.S.
Look at what Cohen did with the Mets.
I feel like you can’t really compare this past year because it was a new CBA year. So that delayed a lot of signings for mid-tier players. But you’re right, it’s all hypothetical anxiety.
I know the feeling. I was afraid the Yankees would stick with Hicks.
And they did. : (
All seriousness aside, I’m glad we could end up just talking baseball. Mo betta for me.
Gotta run. Have a good night. Maybe have a nice taco. Always a winner.
Arte choosing to sell the team is great news, but it comes at a rather unfortunate time of the year. This would have been better near the beginning of the season. I feel like this will just delay the Angels for another year, unless they decide to implode the team before the sale to minimize longterm contracts. Either way, it will not give new ownership time to create the team they want for another couple years.
That’s true, and it sucks for you. But the Yankees have been trying since 2009. At least a change is gonna come.
Have a good one.
Last Ford with thos many miles on it in a year,Is an Crown Victoria Taxi can in Las Vegas
Tell him to go get his mandatory Tommy John Surgery while he’s out.
The Angels are just random names with Trout and Ohtani.
Outliers are unusual by definition.
You mean you’ve never heard of usual outliers?
Walsh had to have set an MLB record for most called third strikes looking.
Ford is getting to be like a used car that keeps popping up in different used-car lots all over town.
I feel like the Ford car joke has potential but this comment was not it, unfortunately.
Critics, generally speaking, are society’s most useless appendages.
Oh, I’m sorry, do you want me to laugh and congratulate you on your 2/10 funny? I know you can do better. I’m pushing you to be your best.
No, you’re trolling, as is your wont. Bye now.
F.O R.D. Found on Roster Dead
If you haven’t been following the Angels traveling circus this season, all you need to know is the following statement about a player who is on his 4th team – this season – and was just called up from AAA:
“Ford is in today’s starting lineup as the cleanup hitter…”
Aaaaand you’re pretty much caught up. Que the circus music…
Benny Hill comes to mind for these guys
Que the circus music…
===============================
That’s not circus music. It’s a dirge.
Imagine being a regular on the Angels,and they get a guy that’s been on 7 teams in 13 months, and being told he is your new cleanup hitter. You’d have to be thinking “why wasn’t I given a shot at cleanup?”.
For this season, Ford has a lower BA and OPS than Velazquez, and his OPS+ is one point higher.
That’s it. Adell might suck, but if I were him, I’d be a little annoyed that they gave the primo batting position away to an outsider, and someone that is mostly a minor leaguer for his career.
The Angels have very poorly managed Jo Adell. We knew the Angels would manage him poorly, and that’s why most of us wanted him traded when he still had value. He is slightly better than Brandon Wood and worse than Dallas McPherson in terms of busts. Hopefully the Ohtani trade will reload the system.
Updated power rankings
1. Mets
2. Astors
3. Dodgers
4. Braves
5. Cardinals
L power rankings
Astors? Didn’t know they owned a baseball tean!
Dodgers
Astros
Mets
Braves
Yankees
Feel free to call dodger fan bias
I think you guys are underestimating just how good the Phillies have been recently. They’re 20-9 in the last month, which gives them the same record as the Braves and Mets, and two fewer wins than LAD. They’re pitchers have the third best fWAR among all teams (1st best NL fWAR) and have the seventh most runs scored in the same time.
That may be true, I would’ve ranked them sixth to be fair tho.
Dodgers
Astros
Mets
Braves
Yankees
Phillies
Rays
Blue Jays
Mariners
Cardinals
Padres
Guardians
Orioles
Brewers
That is a pretty accurate ranking.
Oof, I don’t know if I’d put them over the Yankees right now. Yankees have been ice cold recently and trending in the wrong direction. Phillies are trending upward.
Now just praying for the brewers to pull ahead of the Padres
Would be wild to see the Padres miss the playoffs after all of this. Since 2020, they’ve given up so many prospects and young players, essentially depleting the farm system outside of Luis Campusano.
These are Fangraphs’ current projected standings for the full season:
Dodgers
Astros
Mets
Braves
Yankees
Cardinals
Phillies
Blue Jays
Rays
Padres
Its pretty bad when the Angles have to make this journeyman their cleanup hitter.
He was great before this season…
Ford was 2-4 today.
Jeremy Reed deserves some blame here, Walsh’s swing has a monster loop during-load up that directly coincides with his big regression. I genuinely don’t what this guys does as I haven’t seen a single angel make a swing tweak in what’s got to be the worst hitting season in franchise history
Ford is in rare company as a player playing for at least 4 teams in a single season.
Ford joins a list of
Oliver Drake
Jose Bautista
Dan Miceli
Dave Martinez
Dave Kingman
Mike Kilkenny
Wes Covington
Ted Gray
Paul Lehner
Willis Hudlin
Frank Huelsman
As for Walsh, it will be interesting as a position player to see how he recovers. Recovery from the surgery is typically 12 weeks so he may be ready for Spring Training if he needs the surgery as long as he doesn’t put it off for too long.
Has something changed with TOS surgery? D-backs Merrill Kelly had it a year or two ago and is doing a great job. I feel like there is another recent example, as well. Advancements in how the procedure is performed?
My limited understanding is that there are two types of TOS, with one being more problematic than the other.
Woof, Ford couldn’t even make it with the horrific 2022 Nationals. Good luck with all that!
Arte and his frat bros in the FO have screwed up this Angel Franchise so bad. They’re lucky this team is in the #2 market or else no one would want to buy it. And they’re rewarded by getting 10X’s what they paid for it.
Baseball teams make money, doesn’t matter what market they’re in. He won’t have a problem finding a buyer. Us Angels fans will rejoice, as well. Well, some of us have already been partying it up like its 1999.
I’ve mentioned this before, but the As sold off everything that wasn’t nailed down, while the Angels are at $207M. And while the As restocked their farm, they are still only 6.5 behind the Angels. The writers complain nonstop when teams rebuild, but imo, it is the teams like the Angels and Rockies that are the problem.
Imagine being a season ticket holder and being told that Mike Ford was going to be your cleanup hitter. There are probably plenty of real baseball fans out there who have no idea off who he is.
Can’t argue this. Arte has always been about big names and making money, not winning. I don’t know what the other owners did to make their m/billions before buying a team, but Arte started off owning freeway billboards. I think that says a lot right there.
The fact the Angels barely called up Matt thais proves how poorly ran the team has been. They can’t even fill out a 40 man roster and players like thaiss who they’d drafted and developed sit in AAA. They did the same to ward and renigfo last year. Meanwhile Adell is runnin circles in the outfield and needs to develop in AAA. Detmers called up water to early, then throws a no hitter, gets sent down, strikeout 16 in 1 one start. Called back up lol
Problem is that Thaiss sucks too
BMI = 28.5
Anything over 25 increases chances of injury with no increase in performance. Too many baseball players are “overweight” by BMI standards and that’s one of the biggest reasons there are so many injuries. It’s been studied and shown, but baseball stays in the dark ages.
And, since this is an Angels article, I can’t let it slide away without asking what they are doing with Adell. As I’ve been saying for three years, he can not hit ML pitching right now. His current months results are one HR with a 28/3 K/W.
He keeps getting worse and worse and worse. And management keeps insisting that he doesn’t need any more AAA experience. And while it is possible that no amount of AAA experience will make him a major league player, they need to face the facts that he cannot hit ML pitching right now, and keeping him up is counterproductive.
If he is going to be on the Major League team, he needs to be getting regular at bats. He needs to be starting every game, and he needs to not be pinch hit for with Kurt Suzuki late in the game. This season is lost, why are we replacing our prospects midgame who we want to see what they have to offer with major leaguers about to retire? Phil Nevin and Perry Minasian are not on the same page, and Maddon and Minasian were not on the same page either.
He’s not a prospect anymore. He’s had opportunities in three seasons.