The Angels announced a series of roster moves today, recalling right-hander Davis Daniel from Triple-A Salt Lake and selecting the contract of infielder Cole Tucker. In corresponding moves, they optioned right-hander Zac Kristofak to Salt Lake and designated outfielder Aaron Hicks for assignment.
Hicks, 34, was a pretty low risk pick-up for the Angels, at least from a financial perspective. His contract is still being paid by the Yankees, since they released him last year. The Angels added him to their roster but would only have to pay Hicks the prorated league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Yankees are paying.
There was a decent chance of them seeing a positive return on that investment, since Hicks seemed to bounce back with the Orioles last year. The O’s picked him up after the Yanks let him go, then Hicks went on to hit .275/.381/.425 in his time with Baltimore. That production translated to a wRC+ of 129 and Hicks also stole six bases in six tries.
But he’s looked far worse since donning an Angels uniform. Through 18 games this year, he’s produced an ugly line of .140/.222/.193 while striking out in 36.5% of his 63 plate appearances. His 9.5% walk rate is a bit above league average but below his career rate and even last year’s clip.
As Hicks has struggled, other outfielders have been in decent form. Both Mike Trout and Taylor Ward have been healthy and productive so far this season, while Jo Adell seems to finally be enjoying his long-awaited breakout.
Adell, 25, was selected 10th overall in 2017 and was a top 100 prospect on his way up the minor league ladder, but he struggled badly with strikeouts in his attempts to establish himself in the big leagues. He got sporadic playing time in the majors from 2020 to 2023 but was punched out in 35.4% of his plate appearances while hitting .214/.259/.366. This year, however, he’s hit .327/.382/.592 so far for a wRC+ of 174. Some regression is certainly forthcoming since he won’t be able to maintain a .382 batting average on balls in play, but he’s only striking out at a 23.6% clip so far this year.
The Angels are seemingly going to ride the hot hand and go with Adell next to Ward and Trout. Mickey Moniak is hitting a dismal .143/.200/.214 on the year but his .189 BABIP will surely come up over time. He’s striking out 30% of the time but that’s actually an improvement over last year’s 35% rate, when he rode a .389 BABIP to a line of .280/.307/.495. Since he’s younger than Hicks and comes with three additional years of cheap control, in addition to being out of options, he will hang onto the fourth outfielder job while Hicks is bumped off the roster.
By getting rid of Hicks, the Angels will add to their infield by selecting Tucker. Anthony Rendon and Michael Stefanic are on the injured list while Brandon Drury and Miguel Sanó have each missed a few games due to minor injuries in the past week. Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto and Luis Rengifo have been the club’s three healthy infielders getting regular playing time, while Ehire Adrianza has picked up some playing time with Drury and Sanó banged up.
Coming into the season, the 27-year-old Tucker was in a similar position as Adell, a former first-round pick who hadn’t lived up to the hype. Selected 24th overall by the Pirates in 2014, Tucker has a batting line of just .216/.266/.318 in 479 major league plate appearances, scattered over the past five seasons.
He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners back in January but was granted his release back in March. He tells reporters today, including Sam Blum of The Athletic and Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, that the Mariners offered him a coaching position after he was reassigned to minor league camp. But he wasn’t ready to quit playing yet and secured a minor league deal with the Angels.
He reported to the club’s Triple-A squad in Salt Lake and has been in great form of late. He’s made 42 plate appearances over 10 games, drawing eight walks and striking out nine times for rates of 19% and 21.4%, respectively. His .313/.439/.469 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 132, even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
That’s a fairly small sample size relative to Tucker’s larger career struggles. In addition to his aforementioned major league work, he hit a tepid .243/.350/.363 in the minors over the 2021 to 2023 period. Regardless of his offensive abilities, Tucker can provide the Angels with some cover all over the diamond. He has played all four infield positions in his career and spent some time in the outfield as well. As mentioned, the club has various moving parts with the infield injuries, so Tucker can bounce around as needed.
He is out of options and will have to stick on the active roster or else be removed from the 40-man entirely if he gets squeezed from the club’s plans down the road. But if he manages to have a long-awaited breakout like Adell, he can be controlled for many seasons beyond this season since he has just over two years of major league service time.
The Angels will have a week to trade Hicks or pass him through waivers. He has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining the remainder of his contract, which runs through 2025. Any club willing to give him a roster spot would be in the same spot as the Angels just were, only having to pay the prorated league minimum with the Yanks on the hook for the rest.
a few teams might have a little interest in him, but his career seems like it’s coming to an end soon.
I guess he only does good with the orioles or the twins…
He was pretty good for the Yankees from 2017-2020
Yankees and Orioles, and really mostly the Yankees. Wasn’t particularly good with the Twins. The Yankees pretty much stole him from Minnesota by trading John Ryan Murphy for Hicks. Wherefore art thou, JRM?
He put up 122, 127, 103 and 122 OPS+’s over four straight seasons, and one year was second in the AL in CF bWAR for the Yankees behind some guy named Trout. The gap between the two was huge. Point is he was productive for the Yankees when he played, but too injury prone.
Not sure what he has left, but some team(s) will give him a shot since he’ll only cost league minimum. Poor Hicks, though, what does he have? Oh, that’s right. He’s still being paid $10MM this year by the Yankees!
“Wherefore art thou, JRM?”
Just so’s ya know, JRM is a coach with the Phillies-affiliated Clearwater Threshers of the FSL. He’s still only 32, so…?
He was terrible with the Twins
Hicks should start learning basic Korean at this point. His former teammate Joey Gallo might be there to welcome him when he gets off that long overseas flight.
Its kind of a shame, because he was looking pretty solid during spring training, but I guess that’s why its spring training, and not real baseball.
Cole Tucker of -2.1 career WAR. Sad!
One of many failed first round picks of the Pirates.
Iirc, many had Tucker as more of a third round pick in 2014. Neal Huntington loved projectable and athletic players, even if it meant taking a high-risk guy.
His only upside is that he hasn’t had -that- much playing time, and maybe the seasoning he’s had in the minors makes him ready… oh wait, I’m trying to say this with a straight face.. I’m not even sure I buy this..
Lol!
This whole article is kind of sad.
This organization is rudderless. Hicks should have been a 4th outfielder defensive replacement. His defense is elite. They started the season with him as a starter– mistake #1. Moniak should have been traded in the off season while his value was high and Adell should have been the starter to see if he could do it– mistake #2. Moniak hasn’t been allowed to play three games in a row– how is that reasonable or productive? Rotating three players through right field and now you release a guy who was also released last year? How is his lack of production a surprise?
You say this now? Talk about second guessing.
Excuse me? I said this all off season. I said trade Moniak– a lefthanded power hitting CF whom the Angels acknowledged had a lot of suitors. Adell was out of options, so he either played or had to be cut loose and that wasn’t going to happen. I advocated us needing THREE starters. I said trade Sandoval because he’s a head case and either trade Canning or make him the long man out of the pen. Both are in their 6th seasons and are what they are– not your idealized version based on potential. The entire rotation consists of 4s and 5s and that includes Detmers until he proves otherwise. Either break it down and rebuild properly or go get the players you need to compete. You’re the one that advocates for all our great players and has a problem with every free agent. Our players aren’t great. Sano was out of baseball for two years. We’ve had three right fielders, multiple guys at third, first, second. How many years in a row do we need to lose? We’re on pace for 58 wins after only 73 the last two years. They did the impossible and got nothing for Ohtani. And when you didn’t think the Anges could top that incompetence they did by explaining we don’t need a DH or a starting pitching add. We lost our ace and best hitter and they did not replace him in either spot.
You wanted to lock up the DH spot with JDM and give Adell away for nothing. And keep Hicks.
You really think that was smart?
I said trade Moniak– a lefthanded power hitting CF whom the Angels acknowledged had a lot of suitors.
==============================
Moniak never had that type of market no matter what the Angels said, and probably not even remotely close. Think about this logically.
He was traded straight-up for 2 months of a semi-expensive Syndergaard. That’s the most one could expect, which is close to a -0- return.
But it’s actually worse than that. He just finished a season with a 113/9 K/W, and a 46/2 since August. With the usual disclaimer of “there’s always a chance”, he cannot hit, and no one was going to trade anything for him.
@halo11fan I do remember you advocating rengifo playing over signing urshela. Urshela is on the dl so I will give you that, but sounds like you figured out rengifo is a bum. They should’ve never signed hicks and kept Soto he’s fine off the bench. Definitely has more upside than tucker, and adrainza. Probably could’ve signed Lorenzen and released saurez a long time ago.
I agree with your observations. Too many problems up and down the lineup, and this team isn’t going to finish remotely close to making the playoffs this year or in the next 3 seasons. Seattle looks good right now and has a great core of young talent on their roster.
I think the strategy in playing Hicks was to see if he could play well enough that a playoff contender may want to pick him up. Jo Adell was a huge question mark, so it’s great to see that he seems to have finally figured things out.
At this point I would be looking to see what pieces could get flipped for a playoff contender. One move I wish they would have made during the offseason/spring training was to sign Trevor Bauer with the idea that he would be flipped before the deadline.
Just my two cents, but this team isn’t worth watching right now.
Talk about second guessing.
==================
A lot of this was obvious. You have a team struggling to not finish 30th, and they are starting a 34 year old Hicks over a 25 year old former top-10 prospect? That’s just insane.
And I’m not sure how weak their farm is, but a 31 Sano at DH is not inspiring either.
Nothing is inspiring… except maybe their outfield….providing they play Adell
I bet you could trade Adell now for a RP.
Worst franchise in baseball.
I admit to not seeing him this year but his arm wasn’t the same after TJ surgery. I don’t think I would call his D elite.
A basic 40% K rate with average defensive outfielder, is why Moniak is not getting playing time. Now Moniak is a better defender than Adell. Adell is better in every other aspect. You are right, Moniak should of been traded for a controllable reliever
I doubt Moniak had any value. His K/W last year had to be one of the worst in history.
Why do you think Moniak, an out of options player with a 40%K rate can get you a controllable reliever? The best he could have gotten you is another fringe out of option player.
I think keeping Moniak is the correct move, but only if you are going to play him.
The Hicks signing never made sense to me.
There is no way you could have gotten anything for Moniak.
Elite defense? You haven’t watched him recently. Dude doesn’t pass the eye test, and that’s further confirmed with negative dWAR both last season and this one.
Someone actually looks at dWAR? Not your best defensive stat.
Whoever you are looking out, look at statcast.
Serious question- it’s a running joke that Hicks cares more about golf than baseball- what’s left on his Yankees extension is guaranteed, he seems like he’s broken down/burned out too much to be a productive major league player for baseball…. what about golf?
Does anybody know if Hicks is a good enough golfer to go even semi-pro, if not pro, and compete in high stakes tournaments with real prize money and sponsorships at stake?
Could he feasibly switch sports in that regard?
His wife plays pro golf, so I’d imagine the connections are there if he wants to pursue it.
Imagine being so bad that you get replaced by Cole Tucker.
well, the main reason is because Cole is an infielder and the Angels need an infielder.
Guess you missed Cole Hudgens first game as an Angel. He outplayed your favorite player ever Blaze Alexander.
They only activated Tucker to get Vanessa Hudgens at Angels’ games.
Smaller scale Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce move
Say hello to new White Sox CF Aaron Hicks.
*KIA Tigers
Angel fans have chosen to designated Arturo Moreno for assignment.
From the Rendon injury, young kids struggling, to Hicks being let go, anyone with more than 2 brain cells saw this coming. #selltheHalos
Young kids struggling? the Baby Angels are the ones keeping them somewhat competitive
I’m def rooting for the young Halos, but as of this writing, Schanuel is at .228 and Neto at .213. Yes there’s more than batting avg, esp Netos defense, but there’s a reason the minors leagues exist. They both need more experience.
And this isn’t even mentioning the young arm struggles on the mound.
These kids are rushed to MLB not because they’re ready, it’s because the organization is desperate.
Four outfielders is enough.
I was always optimistic that Adell had a chance to be good. Less optimistic with Moniak, however I strongly believed both players should be regulars for the first half of the year just to see what the Angels have.
With Hicks gone, maybe now that can become a reality.
About time!!!!”
Agreed.
I think the consensus among fans was this year is about playing the kids. Some thought Moniak would emerge, others Adell. But nobody wanted Hicks taking up playing time.
I’m really liking Adell right now. Moniak looks lost.
Moniak is insanely streaky. You don’t see too many players who go from world beater to below replacement level and back in a matter of weeks over the course of a season. Inconsistency is his calling card.
I don’t know anyone other than me thought Adell might emerge.
I don’t know anyone other than me who liked Adell’s chances more than Moniak’s.
Halo I posted on Twitter that my bold prediction for the Angels, was that Adell would be a 30 30 player this season. Moniak should only play to give someone the day off. Or as a late inning defensive replacement
I’m guilty! I’ve been saying trade Adell for a few years. My reasoning was that he wasn’t ready to help the team now so trade him for MLB ready pitching. He seems to have figure things out. Let’s see if he sustains it.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he went 30/30.
As far as Moniak, there are plenty of DH ABs available.
You could have traded him a few years ago, but once his value dropped, there was no point in trading him. The proverbial sell low situation.
Adell was playing great the month before he got injured last season. Many Angels fans know and expect him to be good behind the plate but lousy on defense. Nice plays against the Phillies though.
It’s always weird how a there are players that seem to bat very high like cleanup and then get released the next day
The proverbial rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic….
We will always have his Yankeeography
What do expect from someone who thinks Pete Rose is innocent and someone with a preposterous handle.
Just ignore that guy. Don’t even reply to his posts
I put him on mute. He’s obviously a troll.
Losing your job to Cole Tucker is about as low as you can go.
Luckily for BAL he gave an eff for 4 months last year. Now he’s back to normal.
Overpay
Hicks has no place on this team.
If we are playing the kids to see who might constitute a core for the future, he has no spot.
If we are playing to win, he has no spot.
Baltimore FO love affair with McKenna has got to stop. Heck, if you insist on not bringing up a young gun like Stowers as a 4th OF then at least jettison McKenna and bring back Hicks. Aaron was huge for the Birds in that role last year.
Nice to see the MFY’s payroll go back up a little 🙂
Kinda weird if they knew Trout was getting an injury checked out
Lost opportunity for GM pep talk:
Minasian: We got a problem, Aaron?
Hicks: No, it’s okay. I know your routine. It’s patter, it’s for effect. But it’s for them, all right? That ain’t for me.
Minasian : Oh, you’re special?
Hicks : You’re paying me nine million bucks a year, man, so yeah, maybe I am, a little bit.
Minasian: No, man, I ain’t paying nine. Yankees are paying your salary. That’s what the New York Yankees think of you. They’re paying you nine million dollars to play against them.
Billy Beane’s chat with David Justice.
LOLI just watched it for probably the 10th time the other night on Netflix.
“it’s incredibly hard” to take this seriously
“It’s Hudson Sir, he’s Hicks, how do I get out of this chicken chit outfit?” Aliens 1983
Big shocker Hicks didn’t work out. When will Sano go? Low risk means low reward, not high. Year after year of rehab projects. I feel bad for Washington. Whitey Herzog and Billy Martin managed the mid 70s Rangers. And the Angels are that bad. I can’t believe I’m hearing about “breakout year” for Adell. For what getting picked off, misjudging catchable flyballs, boneheaded base running where he doesn’t see where the ball is at? Then extend him. And Moniak is who he is. There’s no more big upside. Same w Rengifo.
Sano has played a good third base and hits the ball hard. I think might be a good pair with Rendon and Schanuel.
He’s been decent but still only 1 HR and strikeouts a lot. .3 WAR. Whenever Minasian picks up these types of 1yr guys if they’re doing good for a while they usually have a big dropoff eventually.
Or get injured. And Sano already has a gimpy knee.
The Angels need someone who fills that utility 3rd/1st position. I prefer him to an Urshella type.
Pretty bad when you get DFA’d for Cole Tucker
Who?
I could be wrong but I think his ERA is lower than Blake Snell’s this year.. I say since the Yankees are paying him anyway scoop him up send him to Tampa and see if he can learn to throw a decent cutter.
Moniak is the worst 1/1 draft pick
Not all that close to the worst.
Not a fan of Moniak, but there are a bunch of 1/1 that never made it to the show…
Brien Taylor
Brady Aiken
Mark Appel
are a few that come to mind.
It’s entirely possible that Neto and Schanuel could benefit from some AAA ABs.
Schanuel yes,but what Neto provides defensively is fine.
“But he’s looked far worse since donning an Angels uniform.”
This would seem to an issue that only the greatest of recent players(Trout, Ohtani) can overcome. For the mere mortals that play MLB at a reasonable to replacement level, the threads of doom are just too powerful a force to be reckoned with…..
Brian Cashman, one World Series ring in 24 years. Paid $80 million for Hicks.
Javier Baez for…. Neto or O’Hoppe. This is a terrible team. Keeping Baez.
If it doesn’t work out Tucker still gets to go home to Vanessa Hudgens.
Unless she dumps him for being a nobody like Kim K did to that benchwarmer.
Why would any man do that to himself?