The Angels made a significant transaction today, calling up top prospect Zach Neto, their first round pick from the 2022 draft. In the corresponding move, the Angels optioned David Fletcher, sending the six-year veteran to Triple-A. To make room on the 40-man roster, Chris Rodriguez has been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Neto will make his debut less than a year after the Angels took him 13th overall in the draft. The 22-year-old has absolutely torn up minor league pitching in that time, slashing .444/.559/.815 with three home runs in 34 plate appearances at Double-A to start this year, after slashing .320/.389/.492 over 136 plate appearances at the level last year.
All told, it took Neto just 44 minor league games to do enough for the Angels to call him up, and he’s now expected to take over as their everyday shortstop, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Neto as the Angels’ top prospect, and had him 59th overall in the sport. Law describes Neto as a “definite shortstop who projects to be a plus defender”, and combined with his bat expects him to be a “strong regular”.
The other side of this transaction is the demotion of Fletcher. The 28-year-old signed a five-year, $26MM extension just prior to the 2021 season, but Fletcher’s numbers have since deteriorated. After hitting .298/.356/.395 over 883 plate appearances between 2019-20, Fletcher has managed only a .258/.292/.323 slash line with four home runs over 909 PA, good for a wRC+ of just 69.
Fletcher’s a quality defender at second and third, posting a combined 31 Outs Above Average at the two positions throughout his career, while he’s more of a solid defender (two career OAA) at shortstop. He’s also sporadically played in the outfield.
Fletcher’s owed $6MM in 2023, and then a further $12.5MM over the next two seasons plus $3MM in buyouts on a pair of club options for 2026-27. It’s not an overly burdensome amount of money, but it’s a lot to be paying a minor league infielder. It’s possible the Angels see if Fletcher can rediscover his bat at Triple-A and then look to recall him to serve as a utilityman on the big league club going forward.
Of course, Neto has never played above Double-A so if he struggles after a stint in the big leagues the team could opt to give him a bit more time at Triple-A to develop and turn back to Fletcher. For now though, Neto will be the Angels’ starting shortstop, and if his hitting in the minor leagues can translate to the Show he could have that position for many years to come.
Neat!
Oh
Pain…
reported.
Apparently reporting him worked.
Down goes Donny. Solid work MLB community
Reported? Big yikes how pathetic
You don’t think that was degrading to homosexuals and transvestites. I’m far from woke, but that was offensive.
I didn’t say that I’m offended, I’m saying that is offensive.
My god, it’s amazing that you don’t think so. But actually, I’m glad you don’t think so, the world has gone crazy. If it’s a choice between oblivious vs woke, I’ll take obvious.
But clearly that crossed the line.
Funny about the word “idiot.” Twitter doesn’t like it at all. They freak out when you use it. They seem to treat it like an actual swear word. Strange, especially when you consider how many idiots there are on social media who deserve to be called one. Ah well…
I think that kind of verse is called doggerel. It’s not sup0posed to be taken seriously.
#Halo11Fan – That wasn’t offensive in the slightest. Although it’s not my fight anyway, so there’s not much reason for me to care.
#cuedog1 – Wtf are you talking about? I’m not sure why you’re saying my name, but clearly, between the two of us, the only one offended here is you. Being offended doesn’t require melting down and calling people names, just fyi. Congrats on your wokeness you mentioned that you’re apparently so proud of, I guess. This is a baseball forum though, not politricks. I’m not emotionally sucked into mainstream politics like most people, (for example people who try to bring them into every conversation), so trying to talk to me about that doesn’t go far in general, much less on a sports forum.
Just to clarify a couple things, the options you gave were oblivious vs woke, but you choose neither and went with obvious, which ironically is not that.
Second thing, are you offended because of what he said or because of the implication being that Angel fans have a significant number of people living alternative lifestyles and you don’t appreciate being lumped in with them?
Thirdly, if you are offended at being lumped in with a group of transexuals and homosexual fans, would that not make you homophobic and a bigot?
So I guess I’m wondering if you were oblivious to this or you were simply asleep when you wrote your response because you most certainly were not woke in any of it’s forms to which I can say that is obvious.
By the way, to keep this post about baseball, the Angels suck and will miss the playoffs, the Mariners will win the division, and Shohei Ohtani will sign in the Northwest this fall like he should have 6 years ago.
Using trans and queer in a derogatory manner seemed offensive to me. If a MLB player wrote that limerick on twitter, there would be hell to pay.
But I wasn’t offended.
Whoever said that must be such a vile person that I already have them muted.
Apparently a whole lot of people including the moderators think that Donny was offensive because he is gone. It takes a lot to get you bounced here and he succeeded in that dubious achievement.
I don’t see how they were being used in a derogatory manner at all. They really weren’t. I suppose it could be perceived that way, if someone tries hard enough. Can we just focus on baseball please?
If you already have them muted and can’t even see what they said, then how can you judge it as “so vile”? How exactly was it “vile”?
Similar when one tries to air a grievance against the Idaho Department of Transportation in a public forum, Festivus or no. Don’t be labelling the hard working women and men of IDOT IDIOTS here good sir. Move on they say
Most people who engage in virtue signaling don’t actually care about anyone other than themselves and they’re just trying to make themselves look good.
They should bring up Cabbage too. Angel’s first base production has been horrible. At least bring Cabbage take the ABs vs righties instead of Lamb, at least until Walsh gets back.
Neto has been hitting at Double A, but no guarantee he will do that as an Angel. He can play shortstop at least and that arm will play at this level.
I’m surprised the Angels are playing Lamb. He hasn’t played very well anywhere including for my team, the White Sox. Same with Zak Collins, another bust who also played for the Sox. I like this idea of bringing up Neto. He could be like Jordan Walker, who everyone doubted would play as well in the majors as he did in the minors. Neto seems to be a complete player.
Angels might want to be careful bringing up guys too early, they don’t exactly have the best track record.
However, now is a new time, new.scouts, and a new brilliant man running the show in PM.
I have all the faith in the world in PM, but I’m really hoping he isn’t rushing these guys just to make a splash. Hopefully, it is because Neto is actually ready, and because there isn’t anything more for him to gain at the minor league level..
He was playing at 2A level should have sent him to AAA before bringing him up.
AngelBum: AA is typically the proving ground for prospects. That’s where the learning curve is steeper & the separation of talent happens. These days AAA still has its benefits but more times than not
it’s like the waiting area for players or service time manipulation area for the teams.
Lamb had an excellent Spring and the Angels must have thought Walsh would be back by now. The Lamb experiment gets worse every day because he’s not an experienced 1B and he’s not earning his starts at the plate.
Same with Drury, though he figures to hit better in the coming weeks.
Keep Lamb and Cabbage and trade with Cleveland to also get Xzavion Curry.
Is Neto ranked ahead of Cabbage?
More evidence a successful Spring training really doesn’t mean much.
An unsuccessful spring training can mean a great deal.
I can’t wait until Seattle plays the Angels again, Jake will just be one of many Lamb’s for the slaughter! I will say that Neto is far too unproven in the minors and is not ready to make the jump to the big leagues. Jordan Walker may be the same age, but he also has 992 minor league plate appearances, plus three spring trainings worth of plate appearances compared to what 201 plate appearances in the minors and one spring training? That’s a vast difference. That’s 10 months of actual live baseball against professional players worth of experience that metal bats and college ball don’t prepare players for normally. It’s why H.S. players take around 4 years to reach the majors and college kids 3 years despite being older.
Another worthless troll strikes. A weasel like you would never show up after Seattle lost the series.
I can’t reply to Halo11 Fan, below his post, so I will say that the first road trips and homestands of the season are never fairly representative of true talent or ability. The Phillies are 6-10 while the Astros are 7-9, meanwhile the Rays are 14-2, who in their right mind believes any of that is sustainable. It’s worth noting that the Mariners talent is much greater than the Angels overall….
The rotation is Castillo = Ohtani, Kirby > Sandoval, Gilbert > Detmers, Ray > Canning, and Gonzales/Flexen > Anderson.
The bullpen is Munoz > Estevez, Brash > Herget, Sewald = Moore, Speier = Quijada, Topa > Davidson, Gott > Wantz, Murfee > Loup, and D. Castillo > Barria
The lineup is Julio = Trout, Ohtani > France, Hernandez = Renfroe, Suarez > Rendon, Kelenic = Ward, Raleigh > O’Hoppe, Pollock > Walsh, Wong = Drury, Crawford > Neto. I know people might try and check the Julio vs Trout comparison, but realize that Julio will probably steal 20-30 more bags than Trout, come close to matching his hitting line, play better defense, and stay healthier. In the end, they probably both end up around 7-8 WAR considering Julio was a .900 OPS for most of last season despite injuries and bad calls.
The fact the Angels had to call-up Neto shows how little they have to trade, while the Mariners have a field full of past Top 100 prospects and still have more now than the Angels with Cole Young being added to Harry Ford and Bryce Miller.
It’ll probably take until the All-Star break, but it looks like the Mariners will be adding Felnin Celesten to the MLB Top 100 prospect list based on Ethan Salas already making the list, the Mariners should also add Emerson Hancock, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Bryan Woo as spots come available.
By the offseason it might include Prelander Berroa, Jonatan Clase, Michael Arroyo, and Lazaro Montes. It truly is not crazy to believe the Mariners could have almost ten Top 100 prospects by years end and that says nothing of the guys who are yet to be tested in the minors (Walter Ford and Ashton Izzi) or the three picks they have in the Top 30 of the amateur draft.
Considering the ability to add to the roster from the minors or through trade, the Mariners are looking like a 95 win team and the Angels will be lucky to get to .500. But Halo11, enjoy the open series and know your team peaked in the first week of the season.
Like you said, too small of a sample size to take just 2023 into account so here is a full season of play from 2022: Lets compare.
Castillo 3.17 ERA/118 ERA+
Ohtani 2.33 ERA/174 ERA+
Decidedly not equal
Kirby 3.39 ERA/110 ERA+
Sandoval 2.91 ERA/139 ERA+
Decidedly NOT Kirby. not even close
Gilbert 3.20 ERA/117 ERA+
Anderson 2.57 ERA/161 ERA+
You got it so wrong you think Detmers is the Angels #3. Again, not close.
Ray 3.71 ERA/101 ERA+
Detmers 3.77 ERA/107 ERA+
You seeing a theme here? How does it feel to be so wrong all the time?
Gonzalez 4.13 ERA/90 ERA+
Suarez 3.96 ERA/102 ERA+
OMG, one that is at least close. Suarez was still better.
0 for 5.
Canning has only started 1 game at this time, so including him is another one you got wrong.
With you batting a clean 0.000 on pitchers, lets move on to hitters
CF
Jrod .284/.345/.509/.853 with a 146 OPS+
Trout .283/.369/.630/.999 with a 176 OPS+
Decidedly NOT equal. Not even close
France is NOT the Mariners DH. That would be Cooper Hummel and Tommy La Stella. Another swing and miss on your part.
DH
Ohtani – .273/.356/.519/.875 with a 144 OPS+
Mariner’s DH – Well, they have combined to hit .107/.190/.250/.440 this season.
LMFAO 0 for 8
RF
Hernandez .267/.316/.491/.807 with a 127 OPS+
Renfroe .255/.315/.492/.807 with a 126 OPS+
Finally on that you got right. Not looking that way with this seasons stats, but I we can give you this one.
1 for 9. That is a slick .111 batting average for you so far there. GREAT job.
LF
Kelenic .141/.221/.313/.534 with a 54 OPS+
Ward .281/.360/.473/.833 with a 134 OPS+
OUCH! That one has got to hurt.
1 for 10.
Walsh has not played a single game, so another whiff for you
1B
France .274/.338/.436/.774 with a 124 OPS+
Lamb .216/.315/.392/.707 with a 98 OPS+
Sadly, Walsh is out and Lamb is getting more of the playing time at first. A solid win for you. Ouch for the Angels
2 for 11.
2B
Wong .251/.339/.430/.770 with a 118 OPS+
Sadly for you he is not doing well this year hitting a .114 with a -2 OPS+
Rengifo .264/.294/.429/.724 with a 102 OPS+
If Wong was playing well, I would give this to you, but he is literally the worst 2B in baseball so far this season. .
SS
Crawford .243/.339/.336/.675 with a 99 OPS+
Urshela .285/.338/.429/.767 with a 120 OPS+
Neto – We just don’t know
A toss up for now. If Urshela
3B
We will give you Rendon vs Suarez since Rendon can’t stay healthy
4th OF?
Pollock .125/.214/.375/.589 with a 64 OPS+ so far. OUCH!!!!!!!
Angels – Not sure since there has only been one start without Trout, Ward, Renfroe.
But hey, keep on being you boo.
Angel defense and situational hitting have been horrendous. There needed something to be done with SS. Time is of the essence. There is no messing around to see what sticks.
nukeg;
Agreed.
The talent is there to win the division. But too many of their players look like they’re playing for their individual statistics and not doing the little things that successful teams do to win – situational hitting, throwing to the right bases, clean baserunning, making double plays when they need to be made, etc. Unfortunately this lazy way of playing baseball has occurred through most of Angels history – through multiple managers, GM’s, and now owners. What’s perplexing is that Southern California is a hotbed of young baseball players being raised in the area. Scouts abound throughout LA, Orange and San Diego counties as the sport is played 12 months a year. One would think the local teams would be playing the game correctly.
Kudos to the Angels FO and owner for being willing to eat a bad contract if necessary.
Angels eat contracts all the time.
I know anytime Acuña has slacked off, or been lazy with his fundamentals little 5’7″ Ozzy Albies has been there to challenge him, question his drive and desire, and he makes it known he won’t tolerate that kind of laziness in their clubhouse…
Trout has always come off as more of a leader by example rather than a verbal leader. Idk, he doesn’t really seem like the Albies type or the Molina type that’s going to hold everyone accountable and isn’t afraid of confrontation.
Clubhouse chemistry is the one key element that you cannot buy, you have to be mindful of the type of guys you’re bringing in to your clubhouse, and they all have to have fun together, get along, and hang out outside of baseball, but they also still have to hold eachother accountable and be able to get in eachother’s faces from time to time..A family type of atmosphere is always the goal, and you’ll fight harder knowing each teammate has your back and you have theirs.
With over 6 full months of games, that type of environment is crucial to short and especially long-term success..Intrinsic motivation sometimes just isn’t enough for alot of people.
I canot say for sure, because I’m not in their dugout or their clubhouse, but the Angels have always seemed to kind of lack those types of leaders…
The problem is they keep making bad contracts that they later have to eat, good thing Arte decided to keep the team and they got rid of that horrible GM Dipoto who kept messing up their roster and player development!
That’s the problem with bringing in Pujols because he was the defacto leader, but he was a leader by presence, so Trout never learned how to lead with substance. The problem with the Angels is Rendon is a punk, Trout and Ohtani are great athletes, but they are lead by example players, not mental, emotional, and spiritual leaders in the clubhouse. If Trout was hitting like Rendon, would you name Trout your team captain? Naming Trout team captain would be about talent not leadership.
The Mariners by comparison have J.P. Crawford, who couldn’t fall out of a kayak in the ocean and hit water, but he’s definitely their emotional leader (sadly), Julio is their heartbeat, Suarez brings the fun, Kelenic the intensity, and their whole rotation has the similar demeanor of being blue collar players that just like to go about their business. The team is a woven fabric of emotions and personalities with guys who step up at different times. Dipoto was right to consider the clubhouse.
Winning matters to Ohtani, but being able to walk into the clubhouse and just play is the selling point he would look forward to the most in Seattle. Aside from the Yankees (wrong coast) and Padres, there is no other team who has a star on the level of Ohtani. Betts and Freeman are a step below, Tatis, Machado, Bogaerts, and Soto are a great core, but he said he didn’t want to play with other Japanese stars, so Darvish could be a problem.
Nobody knows where Ohtani will sign, but based on resources, desire, and fit the Mariners are far ahead of the Angels. Unless the Angels win the division or make the playoffs as a Wild Card team and get to the ALCS, I’m betting Ohtani walks. The Samurai hat thing seems like pandering and would irritate me. I also think it’s telling that Shohei’s NB commercial is filmed without his uniform and MLB commercials only show Trout with Ohtani never making an appearance.
Wow! Shocker.
Red Sox should call up Mayer now. Make them debut against each other
Not at this point. He’s 2 for 24 in high A ball with 9(!!!) Ks. Lots of work ahead for the kid if he wants to make it to the show.
(Arguably, those stats would still be better than anyone on the MLB roster, but that’s a discussion for another day)
I didn’t think a 6 yr vet could be optioned without his consent?
Fangraphs Roster Resource says Fletcher has three years of options left.
It’s not years, it’s service time. He’s under 5 years.
Before 3 years of service time, a player cannot refuse an optional assignment.
Between 3-5 years, a player can refuse an optional assignment and become a free agent, but they will forfeit the remainder of the contract.
After 5 years of service time, the player can refuse an optional assignment and become a free agent and keep the entirety of his future money on his contract.
Fletcher is at 4 years 111 days so far. 60 more days and he will hit 5 years. He will not be promoted again this year.
This is why players that sign these long term extensions could be hurting themselves in the long run. Teams are not going to allow underperforming players to accumulate service time and get money for free. So they will keep them in the minors and players will feel the pinch on their pensions. The Red Sox did something like that with Rusney Castillo a few years back.
He’ll be back as soon as they do the smart thing and trade Rengifo.
What value does Rengifo currently have that another team would want him?
It’s amazing. Six months ago no one agreed with me on Rengifo, no everyone is.
why not just get paid..guaranteed money..no way he is refusing..maybe ask for a trade.
If all he is worried about is money, then that is probably what he will do. But I believe that most baseball players are more concerned with reaching the highest level of the sport and not content to get paid while riding minor league buses.
Challenge trade: Fletcher for David Bote and Rowan Wick of the Cubs. Both are making less money than Fletcher but managed to get themselves outrighted off the 40-man roster and are toiling in AAA.
The Cubs don’t want Fletcher who is an over-rated backup
Good luck to Neto and Halos
The Cubs like overrated backups. Although they tend to start them at corner infield positions.
If he didn’t sign the extension he’d still get demoted and have a lot less money. No one’s paying 12M for those stats so Fletcher made the right move.
Max pension is $90k a year. Fletcher should be able to earn much more than that in interest on the millions he’ll earn from this contract.
Paul DeJong 2.0
With none of the power
our poor boy Fletcher, dude was a fantasy stud just two years ago
Should find a sucker to take Rengifo. Yes he has more pop. But that’s the only thing he has over Fletcher. He cost the Angels 2 of there last 4 games with his poor defense
Detmer already contributing. if Neto can play solid D and get in base then whoever is picking the first draft picks needs a bonus.
As far as I can tell, outside of Taylor Ward, the Angels haven’t hit on a draft pick since Trout/Trumbo over a decade ago. That’s their real problem, it’s Trout/Otani, SEVERAL AAAA players and a GAZILLION DOLLARS in overrated, overhyped free agents like Rendon, Josh Hamilton, Upton and Puhjols.
Dietmers is solid and Marsh got us O’Hoppe so farm is getting better!
O’Hoppe is not exactly proven yet. Plus, the farm rankings were actually higher when Adell and Marsh were there. Which just shows farm rankings are really nothing more than a guessing game anyway.
hiflew;
O’Hoppe is going to be a star. He reminds me so much of Adley Rutschman behind the plate, although he’s not quite as good (Rutschman is following Johnny Bench and Buster Posey in being
a generational catcher).
That Marsh – O’Hoppe trade is one of the best win-win trades of the last 10-15 years.
I wish I had a dollar for every time someone was “going to be a star” in MLB history. I would be in the same tax bracket as most players, I know that.
hiflew;
I understand…..
But I suggest you watch some Angels games and not just read the box scores and watch their highlights.
They better hope that’s true because Thaiss’s inexperience as a Catcher at any level was on full display today. Might need to cut Lamb, let Thaiss play 1B and bring in an experienced backup, at least until Stassi comes back
There are not that many players who fit that category. At most, at most, you’d have a couple thousand dollars.
Why would I do that? I am not an Angels fan. I don’t care about them in any way whatsoever. That is why I bought MLB.TV instead of relying on MLB Network or TBS or ESPN.
or AppleTV? Your latest and favorite place to watch games.
The Rutschman comp was hilarious…
Rutschman is average speed O’Hoppe is a plus runner for a catcher
Adley is 45 lbs heavier and is a good pitch framer, Logan is literally the worst. The Orioles catcher is a switch hitter, while the Angels catcher hits only right handed. Rutschman has excellent K and BB rates, doesn’t chase much and doesn’t swing and miss much. The reverse is true of O’Hoppe. The only thing they have in common is their position, height, and current homerun total.
If you want a Rutschman comp, Raleigh is a poor man’s Adley, but with tons more power. O’Hoppe should be serviceable, but he’s probably more of a Shea Langeliers type with power, foot speed, zero framing skills, and a lot of hype to live up to.
Joyce is going to be a solid closer for the Angels. Dietmers ,Walsh are draft pics.
Joyce and Adell both have the same problem. Neither will become a major league asset until they can command the strike zone.
Who knows if either will ever happen
O’Hoppe has proven enough and it was a good trade for both teams, although I think he is more valuable than Marsh. But O’Hoppe was blocked by JTR, so the Phillies did fine as they needed a good defensive outfielder.
and marsh is hitting the ball to all fields.
Marsh will continue to get better as will O’Hoppe. We also got Moniak. It was a good trade.
i would love it if all 3 players get better – no hate
I don’t think sending down a struggling Fletcher is odd – what is odd is promoting his replacement from AA.
Neto is hitting .444 at AA. Let’s see what he can do.
Well, great players don’t spend much time in the minors.
The flaws are starting to show. Last night was horrendous. Fletch can’t hit the side of a barn. Rengifo isn’t much better. I like them both but we have to win these early games.
Next they will be calling Francis’s Exorcist to help purge all these angelic demons.
This was the problem with Rengifo and with David Fletcher’s contact. Rengifo can’t play defense and has only had one good month and people think he’s good.
For his glove alone, Fletcher should have been playing everyday.
Rengifo needs to be traded.
We seem to collect players who have a “break out” season and then we hang on to them way longer than we should hoping for a repeat…Cam Bedrosian, Shoemaker, Santiago, Cozart, et al.. This season is so crucial we can’t waste time in these early games with guys who aren’t performing and respond with “well, that’s baseball…it’s still early”. I’m glad to see them move dead weight so soon but I agree, Rengifo needs to be gone next in a trade. Maybe try to sneak Thaiss into the package.
Prov, what you are writing is true, but Rengifo didn’t have a breakout season, he had a breakout month.
He was Rengifo for all the other months. Drury may have been a small mistake, but not doing more about the bullpen and depending on Rengifo were the big mistakes.
Yes, I’ve been a broken record on this for months, and if I saw it, why didn’t the Angels front office?
Right, Rengifo had more of a break out moment than a season.
Fletcher is hitting less than Squid, who is a better defender. I really loved watching Fletch until the defense finally took away his slaps to shallow right. On top of that, he never walks. Hopefully he can get his mojo back otherwise his MLB career might be done.
Fletcher should have never been benched for Rengifo. I honestly can’t tell you how well Fletch would be hitting right now, but I think I can tell you Nevin is clueless.
It’s easy to hire a good manager. Make a call to Tampa Bay’s bench coach. If you don’t know what you are doing, hire from people who do.
So what makes you think these guys you talk about want to come and manage a losing team?
Well AngelBum, the last Tampa Bay bench coach is now the manager of the Kansas City Royal.. so is there that.
What have you got?
The problem is Fletcher should be playing 2B. Defensively this team did not have an actual SS on the opening day roster and probably should have carried Velazquez instead of trying make SS’s out of Fletcher/Rengifo/Urshela
i have been saying that for several seasons. he has a good range for second but not for ss.
Another extension failure, at least so far. Not saying they’re a bad idea, but the more that are given out to players with limited track records, then the more misses we’ll see.
I was the only one who thought the Fletcher contract might not be a good idea and I was hammered as a non-Angel fan.
I kept bringing up how Eckstein was non-tendered and they mocked me for comparing the two.
However, if this organization didn’t have so much misplaced trust for Rengifo, and played Fletcher more, it would have never come to this. At least Fletcher can play defense.
This moves Urshela to first, which from everything I’ve seen from others, this is a good thing.
Lamb eventually has to go when Walsh returns… Surprised Lamb remained over Fletch for now. Perhaps for another LH bat off the bench.
Eckstein was a career 280 hitter.
Eckstein was a career 280 hitter
Angel And yet Eck was non-tendered. Which was my point about the Rengifo contract.
Is “I” your favorite word?
Can’t spell Fregosi without it..
Your takes are horrid, and you are almost always wrong, therefore you have to have takes like that.
It’s not like you can intelligently articulate an opposing point of view, so you have to go to that kind of crap rebuttal.
Unlike the real James Louis Fregosi, your a dime a dozen.
A rare Fregosi sighting. How about that…
frog has been a homer for a long time. and wrong so many times.
Jim Fregosi was my boyhood idol.
It’s depressing such a creep is using such a great Angels name
Although $26 million is nothing to Arte, after wasting all that money on Hamilton, Matthews, and all the other bad deals.
Arte is going all in because he knows this is his last year with Ohtani unless they win it all or out pay the market.
Promoting a position player with under 1 year since he was drafted is the definition of “win now move”. I like it for the Angels because they will probably never have a better shot at winning if Shohei leaves.
I agree with your statement to an extent. Angels are in a win now mode, yes. But, saying Arte is making this decision is yet to be seen since this article did not mention Arte wanting this move. I could see Perry making this decision solely based on performance and since he is the GM. Fletcher is not hitting and Neto is hitting. You give the bat to the player who has the hot hands.
I bet both are in favor of this move but Arte sits in the room and has final say on all roster decisions. That’s how the Angels do things.
Okay, now I see what you’re saying. Yes I do agree.
Yes, they will.
The über millions they save will go a long way towards actually building a well-rounded ballclub, vice dumping all their assets into one player.
@farhan fan
This is his last year with Obtain unless he out pays the market. Winning it all this year won’t make a difference. It might even make it easier for him to leave, having accomplished his goal.
Good point. I don’t think Ohtani gives a ratsass what the Angels do, as far as his FA goes. He wants to win, sure. But he’s going to play the market. And why shouldn’t he? Ca-CHING!
Ohtani came to the US a year ahead of a $100++ million payday. He has already shown that he doesn’t give a ratsass about the money. He was already making more money in endorsements every year in Japan than he has made cumulatively in the US before this season. He is STILL making that money in endorsements. He wants respect, the ability to workout and pitch his own way, and to win.
You can always tell someone with no knowledge of either the culture or the player when they try to say its about the money for Ohtani.
Stymeedone; Well, this might be the most upsetting post I’ve read as a die hard Angels fan since being on here.
You can tell he’s a shortstop because of the way he is!
Fletch F. Fletch. He’s a shepherd.
I thought he played for the Lakers.
Fletcher on notice. This is why extending players with a low offensive ceiling is questionable.
So Neto, who just turned 22, has his MLB debut today starting at shortstop at Fenway Park with Trout in CF behind him, Rendon at 3rd next to him, and Ohtani in the lineup at DH. That’s got to be exciting.
Post-Washington Rendon shouldn’t be in that same sentence.
Fletcher has lived up to my expectations of him when they signed him. I sincerely hope Neto can do better with the bat. At the very least he will provide solid defense. That kid has got to be out of his mind excited to be making his first MLB start in Fenway.
Rodriguez had such great stuff that its sad to learn that he will not be back anytime soon.
when he was drafted way earlier than his value indicated, most scouts considered him as future 2b.
Who? Neto? Everyone expects him to be a solid defensive SS and able to play the position at the major league level. Read what Law and the guys at MLB had to say about him.
As far as being a 1st rounder –
“Neto first jumped on the radar as a sophomore at Campbell University in 2021, hitting over .400 and earning Big South Conference Player of the Year honors. He won the award again in 2022 thanks to a 1.283 OPS, after showing it worked with a wood bat against tougher competition in the Cape Cod League the summer prior. Belief in that bat, especially at his position, is a big reason why his name was popping up regularly in first-round conversations before he was eventually taken No. 13 overall by the Angels.”
baseball america. consensus was that he would end up 2b. if he works out at ss great!
EVERYONE else was that he would be a SS long term. Plus, in reading BA I can’t find a single article that says that he would end up a 2B. .
Another stretch of bringing up a guy too soon out of sheer desperation aby Minasian and co. or to try to distract that Rendon and any first basemen are a disaster. They say they’re all in this year for the playoffs and they’ve got a catcher and shortstop that are better suited for a rebuilding team. O’Hoppe is promising but he’s still only thrown out only 1 baserunner his entire MLb career.
SkipJutz;
How, many weeks have you been following MLB?
Did you major in Entitlement in school?
Ever accomplish anything in your life?
Guys like you are driving me and others off of here – which I’m sure you and others will be happy to know. .
perry’s aunt, bug off!
What bugs me is guys can have a better career if they have more time to mature in the minors instead of being thrown into a position to fail. It’s not quite as sleazy as 70s minor league basketball, but Minasian isn’t scared so much to use the young guys as he is to shatter a young guys confidence and set him back a few years for his own personal gain.
I think the write up is a bit misleading. This move doesn’t happen if Rengifo hadn’t played so poorly out of the chute. It’s his failure to perform that’s created this opportunity for Neto and I hope Neto grabs it and doesnt let go. Fletcher is still a better late inning defensive option then Rengifo so looking big picture,Fletch is going to go find his swing and Rengifo is likely on the move in the future.
Ummmm, no. Fletcher has had 4 poor hitting and injury plagued seasons out of the last 5, he had a career 87 OPS+ coming into 2023, and this season he has been flat out horrible. This happened 100% because Fletcher is just not good enough.
For 2 years in a row the Angels can brag that their supreme scouting and development has enabled their first round picks to be the “first” to make it to the majors. Chase Silseth last year class of ’21. That or they’re all about hype than working on defense and baserunning.
Fletcher is accentually player X. This was always known to be the plan when they drafted him. Fletcher just happens to be player X to send out. He was MLB ready when drafted. In todays baseball, catchers excluded, if you are drafted out of college in the high first round, you are max one full season in the minors if your actually any good.
I’m stunned to read the bad press on Fletcher and Rengifo. I like ’em both. They’re both better than utility grade. Angels management disappoints when it curbs contributing players because they don’t measure up to Mike Trout and Shohei Otani.
Why is Rengifo better than Utility grade? He’s has one good month. That’s it. Other than that, he’s bee pretty bad.
He was good last year, too
Rengifo was good in July. He had a 268 OBP the last 2 months of the year and as late as June 22 had a 214 average with and 267 OBP.
Why people thought he could hit base on one fluke month baffles me.
For his glove alone, Fletcher should have been starting.
87 career OPS+ is not starter quality play. Fletcher is not good to be a starter. I hope that Rengifo turns it around. He has improved tremendously last season, but his career OPS+ is worse than Fletcher. Neither is a starter and neither should have been on this years team. Minassian made a huge mistake by not signing a solid shortstop..
Neto is young and inexperienced so he’s going to have his ups and downs. Long term, he has more upside than other Angels SS options. Short term, he’s better defensively than Urshela and Rengifo and better offensively than Fletcher and Velasquez.
In a perfect world, Neto accumulates more ABs at AA and/or AAA before his arrival. Unfortunately, the Angels are still mid-stream upgrading their minor league teams and 40-man roster necessitating short term roster decisions.
A very odd move that makes me feel there is more to the story…
Clearly, Nevin isn’t a fan of Fletcher otherwise he’d be playing him a lot more. Rengifo and Drury haven’t exactly been hitting the cover off the ball yet they have been getting every opportunity to play regularly and find their groove as Fletch just sits on the bench and is sparingly used as a late-inning defensive replacement. I’m sure Fletch wasn’t the happiest in the clubhouse and with good reason.
Wouldn’t be surprised if his playing days as an Angel are over with and gets traded, as he appears to be the odd-man out in the Angels’ middle-infield log jam.
Leave fletcher at second. he had even hit better if left alone.
For those that thought Adell was mishandled by coming up too soon, speak now or forever hold your peace. It’s disingenuous to cry foul six weeks from now when a young, inexperienced Neto inevitably goes through a slump.
I tend to be conservative when it comes to handling (young) prospects. I thought Adell was rushed through the minors too quickly, but I also felt that O’Hoppe wouldn’t be ready and he’s been proving me wrong so far.
I feel bringing up Neto now isn’t the best move since Fletcher couldn’t get much playing time, how will they find regular playing time for Neto? And Neto needs to be playing regularly right now…
Different story with Adell. Adell was expected to be a savior and was rushed.
Adell was hurt in 2019 and missed most of the season, 2020 had no minor leagues. Played well in 2021, not great, but a high KRate. Took a big step back last year.
All Neto has to do is catch the ball. Hitting is a bonus.
Halo, in three years, 2017-2019, Adell played rookie ball, A, A+, AA and AAA. In that time, he played 224 games and accumulated over 1000 PAs. Neto has played seven games at A+ and 34 at AA in less than one year since he was drafted. In that time, he has 201 minor league PAs. Both players were high first round picks.
Is it your position that Adell was rushed because he had high expectations attached to him and Neto has not been rushed?
one difference. minasian drafted neto.
Adell was a high school player. Neto is a college player. Neto also was older.
I get your point, but all Neto has to do is catch the ball.
Just to add, Adell was 20 years old at AAA, had 131 AAA PAs. And his first game after he turned 21 was is the major leagues. Neto is 22.
I’m fine with Fletcher playing every day. I’m not fine with Rengifo playing every day.
I think this move was about shoring up the defense. Rengifo is off to a very shaky start from a defensive standpoint. Someone said it previously but Neto should be able to stabilize the defense and anything more is a bonus. The team has enough bats to win but it can’t afford to extend the pitchers and provide the other team 2nd, 3rd chances or easy runs for that matter. The move is logical in my opinion and as far as Adell is concerned he was rushed and it was evident on both sides of the ball.. He had no business being on the MLB team with is defense being as shaky as it was. Getting runs is tough enough but catching up from a deficit causes by outs given away is just disheartening.
The 131 AAA PAs by Adell are 131 more than Neto has at AAA. It’s also nearly as many PAs as Neto has in his entire pro career. Adell had 5X as many minor league PAs as Neto before debuting with the Angels.
Neto turned 22 during Spring Training.
This time last year, Neto was playing for Campbell University. I don’t feel like Cambell University is known for recruiting and developing MLB players.
Again, I get your point. I just think the situation is different. No one expecting Neto to be a star. And Neto was older and played a lot more than Adell.
And anything that takes Rengifo off the field is a good thing.
I’m gonna cry foul in six weeks when Neto goes into a slump.
Fletcher is perfect for the White Sox but makes too much money, I read a funny line the other day, which team is worse developing players, Bears or White Sox
Uh- no. More like the Cubs- pair him w Slappy Madrigal and all the other irritating Augie Ojeda types. Sox are set w Elvis, while waiting to see if Lenyn Sosa or Romy develop- w Colson the longer term option
Angels coughing up a 4-0 lead.
Thoughts?
Fletcher should say “Suck it, putzes. Pay me my money. Trade me if you want. But make sure my checks are cashable, you cretins.”
If he refuses the assignment, he gets paid nothing. Considering the fact that he has a 69 OPS+ since the beginning of 2021, he has not earned a dime of his contract.
He either goes to AAA and figures it out while getting paid major league money or he elects free agency and gets paid nothing by the Angels.
Either way, he will not be a major league player and the Angels are a better team when he is not on the 26 man roster.
Fletcher can field a baseball. That immediately makes him better than Rengifo.
Here is how its played out.
2022-2023
Rengifo 140 games 98 OPS+
Fletcher 69 games 68 OPS+
One of these two has stayed healthy and has at least a chance of hitting the ball at a league average level. The other one is in the minors now.
Who cares? Fletcher has been hurt. And besides, Fletcher can play defense, Rengifo can’t. If Rengifo didn’t look like he’s playing on quicksand, and didn’t have hands of stone, I wouldn’t care.
Apparently Minassian cares. Guess what? Only his opinion matters in decisions like this.
Rengifo is a league average defender. Apparently that is enough for Minassian since there is at least a chance that he will hit the ball. There is no chance that Fletcher will hit the ball.
The fact that Minasian cares, and the fact the organization has so much faith in this guy is even more evidence they have to be replaced.
And no. He’s not average. Every fan who watches the Angels knows this. Outs above average he was by far the worst defensive player on the Angels last year.
And guess what, this year he’s the worst as well. He’s prevented -2 runs.
Last year he was -10 outs. BY FAR the worst defensive player on the Angels.
Uh oh. Rendon is hurt again.
Urshela with 5 RBI.
Brian Cashman is a d-bag.
It used to be the fastest way to the majors was to become a catcher. Now the fastest way to the majors is getting drafted by Minasian. He’ll call you up to the Show just to try to justify his job.
Angels with two straight catcher’s interference to blow another lead. Can’t make this stuff up.
BALL FOURRRRR!
Wow. Like a turd in a punchbowl. Talk about wasting a lead. And a career day by Urshela. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.
Then again maybe not.
I know Angel fans don’t want to hear this, I’m amazed how the Dodgers are good every year, Dustin May was a 3rd round pick, Ryan Pepiot a 5th rounder, Tony Gosselin a 10th rounder, they develop players better than anyone
“they develop players better than anyone”
Mr. Bob Nutting would like a word with you.
True all. I wish the Yanks were half as successful with player development.
Will David Fletcher be traded?
Not with that contract.
Angels would need to take on the majority of that contract to find a suitor.
It’s amazing that Jake Lamb continues to accrue mlb service time. He’s provided little to no value sine his Dbacks days.
Even when Jake Lamb had two good years 2016-17. I did not care for his lack of “hustle”. I don’t know how else to describe it.
Enjoying this Angels banter. Since Rendon fled DC and headed west, my interest in the Angels has increased. I must admit that, for a team with so much big talent, their position issues are certainly muddled. Rendon’s disappointments have been shocking, and the merry-go-round at 1B, 2B, SS and even LF (where Rengifo played recently) are perplexing. So as of yesterday, Urshela is at first and Drury at second, only a day after Urshela was at SS and Drury at 1B. I guess it’s all just a big experiment, with the new kid handed the SS job (now 0-8 his first two games). Also kind of amazed at the hate Fletcher is getting here. Also saw Rendon make two throwing errors in a game the other day. Is he not yet healthy or what?. The guy was a defensive and offensive rock in 2019 and the years before that. But of course, none of that matters if your pitching remains mediocre. The Angels are a mystery. It’s fun to try to figure it out.
David Fletcher for Javier Baez.