I'm pinch-hitting for Tim Dierkes one more time on this week's mailbag. In this edition, we'll look at (very) hypothetical trade possibilities surrounding the Angels' Jose Soriano and the Twins' Joe Ryan, some young Nationals, the recent wave of extensions, and some questions on the outlooks for the Rays and Cardinals. Let's begin!
Casey asks...
OK, you're the Angels (sorry). When do you trade Jose Soriano...to whom...and what would be a likely return??
I'll delve into some hypotheticals involving Soriano's trade value and potential suitors shortly, but first and foremost, I'd caution against the idea of the Angels trading him.
That may sound counterintuitive. After all, the Halos obviously aren't expected to contend this season. They're out to a 3-3 start on the year, but the team's bullpen is comprised of rebound candidates, its position player group is littered with strikeout-prone veterans whose best years are behind them, and the rotation has all of two established big league starters: Yusei Kikuchi and Soriano.
FanGraphs projects the Angels to go 71-85 over the rest of the season. Baseball Prospectus/PECOTA is far more bearish, projecting a 66-96 season even after a decent first week of play. Very few expect this team to compete. (Apparently that's OK for owner Arte Moreno, who recently claimed that winning isn't among the top five priorities for Angels fans. Got it, Arte.)
Beyond that grim outlook, the Angels' farm is one of the game's worst. Anaheim's system briefly trended upward several years ago, but that was short-lived. Frequent development misses and prioritization of players who are close to MLB-ready in the draft -- often in place of higher-ceiling talents who are further from the majors -- have left the team without much of a farm. That leads to repeated dice rolls on former top prospects; the current roster includes names like Oswald Peraza, Yoan Moncada, Alek Manoah, Grayson Rodriguez and Vaughn Grissom.
On the surface, all of that would seem to indicate a rebuild is nigh. The Angels haven't reached the playoffs since 2014. They haven't had a winning season since 2015. This is a team in dire need of a rebuild.
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Arte doesn’t do rebuilds. That would require trading name players that he thinks fans come to the ballpark see.
The Angels, now 3-4 after today’s 16 strike out loss, will never get above .500 with this owner. He has projected his apathy towards winning onto the fans assuming there would be no push back regarding his comment. Winning begins and ends with pitching and we don’t have it past Soriano. Detmers has proven he is not a starter yet here he is in the rotation…again. Moreno has shown that he will not allow his GM Du Jour to build a winning team because Moreno doesn’t care about winning. So Soriano’s value in a trade is really irrelevant because our GM will not be allowed to make a baseball-first decision on who to get in return.
Agree, if Moreno wouldn’t trade Ohtani as the best baseball decision over a business decision and doesn’t sign SP to long-term deals, what is the value of Angels baseball besides a fun/safe fan experience and franchise value? Time for Arte to go.
Time for MLB to force an Angel’s sale, “in the best interests of the league”?
On what basis? Why do you think another owner would do better, and not just squeeze the juice out of the team to pay for the note on it?
In that case —— It’s Also Time for a Cardinals sale … “for the Best interest in ‘Cardinals Nation’ and the league”.
After selling out and their rebuild —— The DeWitt’s don’t have the money to hang with the more fluent Owners who can pay the high prices of Quality Free Agent Star Players!!!
Really good explanation on Soriano. Thank you
Blind faith here. I like the team. Could have been 3-1 in Houston. Forget about Chicago. They are better than last year. I like the future for the angels, even with farte. Denzer Guzman, klassen, rada, davalillo, Jack k, Ryan Johnson, Ben Joyce, raudibrodriguez. The 4.3 angels are still fun to watch. It has only taken me the last several years, to admit that the angels are mediocre. I am opto mystic, for this year, as I think detmers will come through, as well Jack k, and Johnson. Those first two games in Houston, the team looked truly awesom. Then, then, then,
The main reason to think they have a chance to compete this year, is because of a healthy trout. If, if, if . Maybe, maybe, maybe
For the record: f u farte
Soriano isn’t getting traded.
Arte Moreno broke the Angels.
My Solution: Threaten to kick the Angels out of MLB unless they prioritize winning or sell the team
Like the Rockies the Angels issue has always been just not enough good pitching.If I were GM,esp. in Colorado,I would draft almost exclusively high upside arms and just bring in position players via Free agency.Hitters “want” to play in Coors,but they also want to win.
Get pitching….add good free agents.Could be the best strategy for the Angels as well as they always seem to sign average to below average pitchers.
When was the last TOR starter the Angels signed?
I would draft almost exclusively high upside arms
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They tried that in 2021 and used their entire draft on pitchers. They accumulated 1.4 bWAR between them.
I’m not an expert on Coors Field, so correct me if I’m wrong.
I believe the Rockies need ground ball pitchers and strikeout pitchers. And I also don’t know about their pitching development.
You are correct. Unless the pitcher can get a preponderance of ground balls, they’re toast at Coors.