According to Robert Murray of FanSided, the Angels had interest in center fielders Kevin Kiermaier and Harrison Bader before they signed with the Blue Jays and Mets, respectively. The news isn’t necessarily a surprise given the club’s reported interest in bolstering the club’s outfield mix with the likes of Michael A. Taylor and Adam Duvall. Taylor, in particular, fills a similar role to Bader and Kiermaier as a glove-first outfield option who offers a plus glove in center field and roughly league average offense.
That being said, both Bader and Kiermaier are elite defensive center fielders who have received at least semi-regular playing time throughout their careers. Given their status as regulars best suited for center field, the Angels’ interest in the duo is noteworthy even in spite of the fact that both players have already signed elsewhere, as it could indicate a willingness to move franchise face and future Hall of Famer Mike Trout out of center field. Trout, 32, has logged nearly 93% of his 12207 1/3 career innings on the outfield grass in center, and his glovework has continued to rate well even as he enters his 30s with +3 Outs Above Average in 82 games last year.
Despite his solid defense and lengthy track record at the position, rumors of the Angels moving Trout out of center field have been floated somewhat regularly in recent years, dating back to 2022 when former Angels skipper Joe Maddon told reporters that the club was considering playing Brandon Marsh as the club’s regular center fielder. Moving Trout to a corner or even DH isn’t without logic; after all, he’s seen his star fade somewhat in recent years due to a rash of injuries that left him to play just 237 games in the last three season, or less than half of the Angels’ contests in that time. While Trout appears as capable of handling the position as ever when on the field, it’s possible moving down the defensive spectrum could allow him to stay healthier and remain on the field for the Halos going forward.
More from around the American League…
- Longtime Tigers slugger J.D. Martinez is currently a free agent after a rebound season with the Dodgers where he crushed 33 home runs in just 113 games. Earlier in his career, Martinez spent three and a half seasons in Detroit and found great success with the club as he slashed .300/.361/.551 with 99 homers in 458 games during his tenure with the Tigers. With Detroit on the rise after finishing second in the AL Central last year, adding a power bat like Martinez to the club’s lineup could make some sense, and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand indicates that the club is “believed to have some interest” in a reunion with the veteran slugger. With that said, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press pumped the breaks on a rumored connection between Martinez and the Tigers today, saying the club has not expressed interest in the veteran’s services this offseason with Kerry Carpenter penciled in as the club’s everyday DH.
- The Yankees have hired Pat Roessler as their newest assistant hitting coach, according to a report from Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media. Roessler has previously served as hitting coach for both the Expos and the Mets, and his stay in Queens coincided with the club’s NL pennant-winning season back in 2015. Roessler’s most recent role was as assistant hitting coach for the Nationals, though the sides parted ways earlier this offseason as the Nats overhauled their coaching staff. Earlier this offseason, the Yankees added James Rowson as their hitting coach and tapped Brad Ausmus to replace new Mets manager Carlos Mendoza as the club’s bench coach.
I’ve been wanting to move our strong safety to a corner spot with regular DH duty for a couple of years.
He’s built like a truck and doesn’t exactly glide across the grass. Save the pounding and keep him healthy.
Still can’t believe all the plays he made out there in 2012. Legendary stuff.
Only to have his GG stolen by a mid Adam Jones season, too.
Trouty could just as easily have 2 more MVP’s and 2 or 3 GG’s. We don’t get to vote unfortunately.
Perry Minasian is back from vacation, reliable source from Moe‘s tavern. Angels are about to ink outfielder/designated hitter next week you heard it here first.
Get all your hot stove rumors from Homer Simpson
Mmmmmm Krispy Kreme D oh!
They have 10 DHs they do not need one! They need LH Power and a crap load of pitching!
…..then play him at first base.
He’s took quick and has too good of an arm.
Torii Hunter is Trout’s mentor. I think he’ll follow Torii’s path.
HHJJ, As right as you are, I think it is “possible” that Trout might want to play 1B eventually..? He might want to do it just to prove he can. I bet he would be a great 1B after a 1/2 season break-in period. Not too crazy of an idea right??
Says something about Moniak. If they sign a CF then he’s likely traded. They need offense and RF and DH are the only available spots right now for it. Run prevention seems likely a luxury when they need run production to off-set Ohtani’s loss.
I don’t know that such a move would necessarily be a statement about Moniak. The team lacks depth, and their two biggest names (Trout and Rendon) miss a lot of time with injuries. Plus, they don’t exactly have a DH, unless Drury is slated for that duty.
If they sign someone like Taylor, then it’s just about bolstering depth and defense. If they bring in two outfielders, then yeah, Moniak is probably gone. It would also mean that they have little intention of relying on Adell.
Moonlight, I just don’t see it. Moniak is a starter, with Ward and Trout. They need to make up for Ohtani’s production and Michael Taylor won’t do it. They need run production. The places to get that production right now are building upon Moniak and DH. Moniak has more value starting elsewhere with that low contract and years remaining. They need offense. Depth is fine, but secondary. And I agree, Adell doesn’t have a future here.
Trout and Rendon are the DHs. If not they won’t survive
If it says anything it says something about Adell and Ward. The Angels are trying to trade for pitching and most likely one or both will be included to a team that needs offense. The Angels are going to sign Adam Duvall to play right. That’s a big offensive upgrade. I can see Michael Taylor playing center and Trout moving to left. Moniak is the 4th outfielder, or he’s part of a trade for something bigger.
As you can see, it’s a shame no free agents want to play for the Angels we’re going to have to overpay to land free agents
Arte Moreno has no idea what he’s doing. You should’ve took the money and run last year. Now it’s us keeping company with the Oakland A’s.
Downing:
“Neto can’t hit and is made of glass.”
Huh? He’s had one season in the bigs.
“Schanuel is a punch and Judy hitter that should be in AAA.”
While I’m old enough to know Punch and Judy, I have no idea what “Punch and Judy hitter” means. How is he made of glass? Also, less than one season in the bigs.
Now I agree about Rendon and Rengifo. Everyone always talks about how Moreno is not afraid to spend big while ignoring how he spends big. Winning begins and ends with pitching yet he refuses to spend money on pitching. Overhaul pitching. That’s what we need.
Is your shoulder ok after reaching that far to not land a joke?
What do you mean?
The idea changing somebody’s position will mystically make them healthy doesn’t seem founded in reality to me.
Martras, the object is to SUSTAIN Trout’s health.
Are you saying Trout has been healthy recently?
Bottom line, the type of positional change you’re advocating will not help a player.
The reason to move players around the diamond is to protect from an existing acute injury getting worse. i.e. moving a player from CF to 1B because they recently had UCL replacement and it’s ill advised for them to be making high effort throws yet. Moving a player from CF to DH because their knee is injured, etc.
Moving an aging outfielder to 1B to lighten the load is pretty common.
Moving an aging outfielder to 1B is not to lighten the load. It’s because the outfielder has lost so much speed they can’t cover the position.
Either way, it would be a logical move to make. Especially in Trouts case. Less sprinting, less wear and tear on his body..
Losing 20 lbs is necessary for Trout to play another 3-5 yrs. His current brittleness was predictable a few years ago and the Angels apparently decided to shut their eyes.
I hear ya, old ranger. Although, I don’t think Trout could drop that kind of weight. And yes, Trout could call it a career at any moment. I predict 3 more years myself. I think less or more is possible, but I say 3 years. Maybe..
Soon we will read – “Angels in Agreement with Bellinger”
Followed shortly after by “Angels trade Moniak” or “Angels trade Adell” or both.
Wow, the Angels are even losers in the free agent market. This is the worst winter meetings I’ve ever seen. No Arte Moreno has run this team to the ground how embarrassing you need to sell before the value dropped tremendously.
I swear you have the best profile pic ever. Makes me wanna jump into the Simpsonverse and play baseball.
Fangraphs is projecting a drop off in production for J.D. Martinez. Not sure what to think of that. But if you’re a pitcher with a good cutter, I’d throw that to him more often than not. The past 4 years, he’s had negative runs above average on those pitches.
Gee, considering his age, did they really need to take his stats to that level to realize he won’t be what he once was?! Still, the Tigers need a RH power bat, and while Malloy has potential, someone that’s more of a sure thing would be nice.
I will continue to ignore any mention of Carpenter becoming a full time DH. His OF play was quite improved. If they are going to play Malloy, they will need the DH spot for him. Carpenter and Greene will both get time at DH, as will Canha.
Still, I would take JDM or Turner for DH in a minute!
They will need a lot of ABs for Greene at DH for a couple of months as he recovers from TJS. I wouldn’t risk stunting his development by adding a DH-only type.
I’m thinking Malloy will have a tough time breaking into the lineup until Greene is healed and can play OF full time, and maybe not even then this year until September. Maybe during the second half Malloy will get some DH ABs over Canha/Carpenter if the Tigers are not in it. Greene’s injury opens the door for Baddoo to stay and necessitated the Canha trade but it also seems to block Malloy’s bat in the short term. Being a terrible fielder t 3b and OF doesn’t help him.
Considering his age…even tho he surely just proved them wrong last year. Guy is a hitting machine. People like him age well, just not defensively. Nelson Cruz comes to mind. Despite being a DH, I have a hard time believing that slugging almost 600 with about a 900 OPS amounts to a WAR of less than 2. But Ozuna is at 3.3. okay. The fact that he was not more highly sought after last off-season baffled me.
@Rishi
It’s dependent upon the player’s Positional adjustment Runs.. I’m not sure what the number is in 2024 but Baseball Reference has this website that explains it a bit.
baseball-reference.com/about/war_explained_positio…
DH has a position adjusted Runs of negative 15.
Tigers manager loves flexibility & DH hasn’t been very flexible for years. I don’t see them signing a DH only type. Not happening!
I wouldn’t want a permanent DH unless the lineup was weak and needed the thump.
Or unless the rest of the hitters were young and didn’t need rest days.
Duh! The lineup is weak and needs some thump!
They’re not signing JD. The DH will be a rotation of Carpenter, and Greene with Canha rotating in once Greene is reacclimated. The OF will be Greene, Meadows and Canha. Baddoo may be part of a trade or the 4th OFer. If anything, they’ll sign an infielder, IMHO.
None of my posts had anything to do about the Tigers. I’m just talking about JD Martinez and the DH in general. So Duh yourself guy.
I would hope the Tigers don’t acquire anymore DHs. Most of their MiLB players coming up as well as their acquisitions paren’t good defenders or are playing out of their ideal position. I’m hoping Kerry Carpenter continues to improve his defense.
Those guys are not the Moreno way. He signs big name position players that sell tickets.
Bellinger is his type of signing.
So was Brandon Drury. I’m sure they lined up to buy tickets when that was announced.
He signs guys like Drury after the roster is full of guys like Rendon, Trout, and Ohtani that sell tickets.
He lost Ohtani. He needs another draw.
The draw is winning. And until they understand this we will continue to lose in the standings and at the gate.
Not for Arte. He signs guys that play every day that their name is the draw. He is willing to pay huge money for often over the hill position players like Wells, Hamilton, Upton. Pujols, Rendon, and others that have the name recognition to draw in fans, but will not spend on pitching.
Bellinger is much more his type of player than Taylor or anyone else mentioned by Murray.
Angels have always drawn well even when not winning.
The Angels have signed the likes of Brian Goodwin, Ben Revere, Dexter Fowler, and Juan Lagares for OF depth in just the last few years. These guys absolutely fit that mold.
On point candy man !! Also Hunter Renfro reminds me of Adam Duvall No mas!!
Duvall is much better than Renfro– it’s not close.
What!!! look up the stats buddy not a lot separates them! And I think Hunter renfro is a tad better!
Goodwin cost $2.5 million over 2 years. Fowler cost $1.75 million, Lagares cost $1.25 million. Add them all up and those depth pieces cost less than the Taylor, the cheapest and worst of the players Murray mentioned.
Revere cost $4 million and he was the starter in LF until he got hurt, not depth. He was still 25% cheaper than Taylor will be and less than half of what Kiermeier and Bader got.
They absolutely do not fit the mold of the players Murray talked about.
What are you even trying to argue here? You’re really moving the goalposts to a completely separate argument if you think the only way to compare players here is by salary alone. The Angels, like literally every team in baseball, routinely make low/mid tier depth signings and fringe starter signings or trades. Valbuena, Simmons, Renfroe, Drury, Urshela, Iglesias, etc etc etc. They may not be good at it, but their lineup is not completely structured around $200m “big name” players, either. It’s just silly to pretend “team might acquire mid tier player on short term deal” is out of character for any team. That’s the point. You don’t need to be so insufferably pedantic. Lmao Jesus you’re pressed.
Canday, he’s on the money with his comment. All those players you tried to bring into the conversation except Revere were cheap backup players. The ones in this article are all starters that are relatively expensive.
You are the person that tried to move the goalposts. He showed you you were wrong in multiple ways.
Candy Man you’re a common sense guy !! Well said!
You are trying to compare apples with oranges. All the guys you mentioned were backups. All the guys in this article are starters. Keep your eye on the ball.
The Angels have “had interest” in a lot of players this off-season. Either do it or get off the pot.
I wouldn’t say “rumors” of Trout’s move started w Maddon. If I recall correctly Trout got mad went to the front office and Maddon had to quickly backtrack. Scioscia once tried to replace him with Peter Bourjos but couldn’t hit. Shouldn’t they look for a new 3rd baseman already? Rendon’s only gonna get worse with his bum wheels. Just move him to DH already or 1st or the bench until he can show he’s healthy.
Moving Rendon to dh doesn’t matter he will only play 30 games, he doesn’t need anymore rest. But instead of outfield help agree we need urshela he can cover the diamond. Trade rengifo for something the only position he play alright is second. Also if trout gets hurt I’m sure adell is playing with moniak sliding to center. Even if adell might not make the team he will be the first up.
Rendon Isn’t the same player he was with Washington. He’s washed up even if he’s healthy he’d be lucky to have a 250. Batting average. Looking at the swing. He just doesn’t have a good path through the ball anymore.
Tigers need Greene to stay healthy for a full season, so they will need to stick him at DH regularly. Fine w/me, I want him in the batting order. He has to learn not to dive for every ball.
I thought Kerry Carpenter improved his defense and baserunning last year, in addition to his hitting. I would not have a problem at all with KC playing RF until we’re sure Riley’s healthy, then KC getting periodic reps there anyway.
Yeah, Greene is going to get a lots of reps at DH which Evan Petzold is forgetting. Between Greene, Carpenter, Tork, Malloy and possibly Bigby later in the season, we have DH very well covered. We won’t be getting JD and Petzold is correct about that.
Wyatt Langford will be great in left… oh wait… nevermind.
I could be wrong but I don’t see Langford as a productive player in 2024. He doesn’t even have 200 minor league PAs and needs a full year in the minors to properly develop. Guys who are rushed through the minors almost always come up as sub-par products, see Torkelson, S. Even if his bat is MLB ready, his glove is not projected to fair well at the highest level.
Pudge Rodriguez was in the majors at 19. Ken Griffey, Jr spent less than a year in the minors. Julio Rodriguez came up quickly. Every player is different. Wade Boggs was called up for his bat, but was bad with the glove. He continued to work on his Fielding, and won GGs.
Vlad Guerrero was horrid at 1B, but has become more than respectable while in the Majors. Hopefully, Texas will bring Langford up, when he’s ready, and not before.
Melchez…Texas still needs another starter so maybe the rumor about Skubal getting traded (whichbibdont think will hapoen) will come true and Langford will be part of the return, along with Foscue, Rocker and Leiter or White. Then you won’t need to dwell on it anymore 😉 He can play right alongside Clark in the OF for years to come 😉
You people aren’t ready for 2024 Kerry Carpenter
Agreed. Carp = JDM in 2023. One is on the way up, and the other is trying to hold on.
I watched J.D. Martinez all last year as a Dodger. He was down for a few weeks but the rest of the time he just mashed. He was a difference maker and an ideal DH. Since he WILL be moving, how about the RANGERS? They just lost Garver’s RH bat. JD would seem to be a good fit.
The Angels moved Trout out of center field for Bourjos. Dumb move.
Let Trout play CF. See what they have in Ward/Moniak/Adell, add to the mound. And once some of these infield/outfield questions have been answered in 2024, attack in 2025.
They are unlikely to compete in 2024 no matter what they do.
Hey man, we know what we have. Adell struck out 40% of the time at triple-A. Moniak is a nice player who should be our 4th outfielder. Ward has had exactly one good season and got beaned in the face. We don’t know how that will impact him? We keep losing and guys like you keep insisting we have special talent. We don’t. We need an upgrade everywhere. We don’t have a legit #1, #2, or #3 starter at the moment. We don’t have a legit closer. We have one outfielder we can count on and that’s Trout. We have a left handed first baseman with no power, who will have to platoon. We don’t have a third baseman– please don’t tell me Rendon can play a whole season– he can’t. And he has no power. These are all issues that need to be seriously addressed. And I’m not paying $200 a game to see this team win another 73 games. Not interested.
The Angels have more promising young talent than they’ve had in about 15 years. Just because they are young and not All-Stars doesn’t mean they need an upgrade everywhere. Few teams if any have a true #1, #2, and #3 at the same time. The legit closer is just about extinct. Even the best teams might have an ace and a bunch of #3’s and #4’s. They need a couple of solid veteran starters. Another solid reliever. And solid veteran bench depth. This team hit 231 HRs last season with Trout and Rendon missing much of the season. Even replacing half of Ohtani’s HRs, that’s still over 200 HRs. This team has only been a good rotation away from the playoffs for the last 6 years.
When you have to distort to make a point, maybe your point isn’t worth making.
Adell struck out 26% of the time at AAA. 87 Ks. 330 PAs.
Moniak had a 1 to 11 bb to k ratio last year with a 36 percent KRate.
I don’t know what we have. If you did, you would have to distort.
Trout and Rendon need to platoon DH primarily. If there’s anything good about Ohtani leaving, it’s that the DH opens to rotate player through.
Adding Turner would be a nice pickup. Backing up 3rd, 1st and DH fits nicely. Unfortunately, he’d be another RH bat. They need LH Power desperately.
Bellinger fits really well, but hell no to the 12-200+mil!!!
Joc could be another decent fall back.
Beyond them, the LH Power is thin at best.
Then of course they need pitching. All of it!
Their SP is a dumpster fire, and the Bullpen isn’t any better.
They need at least 2 front line SP’s, a legit closer and setup men (multiple)!
They have serious work to do if they want to even consider contending next season…
Does three-and-a half seasons, and none in seven years for JD Martinez and the Tigers, count as “longtime?”
I think the Angels should consider bringing Justin Turner home. He could DH and be backup when Rendon drops. His 900 OPS against LHP enables a platoon at first with Schanuel. Won’t cost the money like JD Martinez or Bellinger.
Turner wouldn’t be a bad get for the Angels. It saves some coin also for some pitching.
Justin Turner is perfect for this team. He can platoon at first with Schanuel, DH, and play 20-30 games at third. He drives in runs and is great in the clubhouse. One-year deal that won’t cost more than $13M. He’s a big bargain. Add Duvall to play right and for about $24M they a have a huge offensive upgrade.
He also played at Cal State Fullerton up 57 a few miles but that was then.
Only one playoff appearances for Mike Trout. And none with him and Shohei. What the f* Angels?
Also, what is their rotation like for the upcoming season?
It’s one of the saddest stats in baseball. The wasted career.
Yes save for having Baez they could have gotten J.D, but Kerry is alright. The wrinkle with Kerry is after his appearance on M.L.B central with Derosa, he lost his H.R. swing the last month. His contact was up, but his home runs were not. He fell way behind Tork that last month.
Making adjustments is the sign of a good hitter.
Tigers should bench Baez as an overpaid backup and go find a young shortstop. I wonder if they could make a deal to get Amador from the Rockies along with Bryant and ship Baez along with Flores (whose profile fits well in Coors field) AND more pitching. Bryant can play 3B, DH, OF. Bad contract swap could benefit both and they get their future shortstop in Amador and a fill in at 3B this year in Bryant, then a DH/OF after that. Bryant can still hit, unlike Javy.
Call me crazy or what you want, but potentially the leading American League home run hitter in 2024 could possibly be on the Angels current 40 man roster. Honestly, I would not be shocked to see Jo Adell lead the league in home runs in 2024. With Aaron Judge probably standing in his way. He has the power to accomplish it, but will he get the at-bats? I hope he Angels give him El the opportunity to win a full – time job in 2024. I’m dying to see how he looks in the spring. He’s 6’3″, 215 lbs of lean muscle. Last year I mistook him for Terrell Owen’s in a baseball uniform, this past season. He hit a ton of Home Runs last year and has nothing more to prove in the Minors, unless he really is a AAAA player. He has all 5 tools.
That is some strong strong crack. Jo Adell has a better chance of washing cars for tips than he does leading thr AL in HR.
Duvall
Justin Turner
Imanaga
Montgomery
Stroman
(or Ryu)
two relievers
The Tigers could run away with the Central but the Illiches are choosing to.be economical and squeeze another buck or two (or few measley tens of millions)
Civic minded……
Yeah……ok
The late Mr. Ilitch was a pretty impressive owner, at least from a distance. His willingness to spend was pretty impressive. He seemed to actually care about winning. That can’t be said about a surprising high number of owners who only view contention as a means to raise ticket prices.
Its a pith poor free agent market, plus like many teams, the Tigers won’t have a TV contract from Bally in ’25. They could use a bat, but unless Matt Chapman decides a one year pillow contract is all he needs for now, there just aren’t any expensive FAs that fit the needs.
It’s a great FA market.
The owners are not.
If they would not.be so afraid of losing guys to the waiver wire…prior Rule 5 guys, Kriedler, McK ect ect ect…..
They could remove some guys from the 25, keep some guys in minors….guys with options…whether they can play MLB level or not…..
Hire MLB FAs to trade, get some prospects, bring.up.the guys you kept down to finish off the season.
What Christopher Illich is doing is bullpaddies.
No effort to win. Just the bare minimum. They really could.have walked away with it.
The only bright light I see is the Dodgers. When we (the Tigers) win the WS, we will have defeated a mighty foe. It makes me happy they are so awesome.
Makes me sad, the Tigers FO and owners are not really fans of the team, so essentially, they don’t have the passion for winning the fans have or.the people.of Detroit, who need something.
For many decades they have talked the talk for Detroit in sports and business.
How is Detroit actually doing?
Yeah, I’m jealous I did not get paid correctly and yes, I am very angry about not being.paid for my hard work.
No one likes being cheated.
Anyone.in a similar situation would have displayed.and engaged a lot.more.anger.than I did.
What a bunch of hooey from Murray. If the Angels wanted a CF that doesn’t hit well but plays plus defense they already have him in Moniak and he costs the minimum, not the $5-10 million it would take to get any of those 4 mentioned. The Angels have a huge number of holes in the lineup, but CF is not one of them unless they are adding an All Star.
If you told me Arte was interested in Bellinger, I would have said that seems like an Arte kind of move. A big name player that people in LA would pay to come see.
JD Martinez I could see Arte going after. Another big star. Need a replacement for Ohtani.
Certainly not one dimensional players like Taylor, Duvall, or Bader when the team already has much cheaper versions of the same player already on the roster.
Not signing Martinez nor Bellinger. Who wants to spend his career with a train wreck led by the second coming of Marge Schott?
JD Martinez has played 13 seasons , 3 of which were spent in Detroit some 7 years ago. This hardly makes him a long time Tigers slugger. Perhaps you meant one-time Tigers slugger.
“Pumped the breaks”?
Who proofreads these posts? Oh yeah, nobody.
A third baseman that can hit, and a right handed DH with power, please….
I was hoping the twins could have signed Kiermeier or even Bader. Every year we need a solid backup centerfielder to back up Buxton for at least half the year. We need a backup outfielder and pitching pitching pitching. At least one solid starter and one or two BP pieces if we hope to win the central division again…
They really need to figure out the TV right deal fiasco, as that is what seemingly is holding up our entire offseason. Very frustrating!
More and more I’m convinced this team has no chance with Minasian.
I wish I heard half the noise about relief pitching as with outfielders who can’t hit.
Next year and the year after, the Tigers’ 40 will.be so.squashed with hopefuls who deserve a chance to prove themselves….
THIS YEAR, is unique…..
With some effort, they can make room for some FAs, keep some good players in the minors to start the season, play the FAs, burn them.out, trade them as a package for a top, top prospect or two = NO mediocre guys or hopefuls, sure things only, bring up the players from the minors, fresh, to finish off the season….
Can’t do.that next year with all those bodies….. it’s called investing in the team…..
DIE ARTIE DIE