Angels Outright John Lamb, Sherman Johnson
The Angels announced today that they have outrighted lefty John Lamb and infielder Sherman Johnson. Both players were assigned to Triple-A after clearing waivers.
Lamb, 28, landed in the Halos organization after injuries (and a 2017 suspension for a drug of abuse) wiped out much of his former promise. He threw well for the club’s top affiliate, working to a 3.44 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 49 2/3 innings across 13 starts, but was bombed in his ten MLB frames.
As for Johnson, who is also 28 years of age, he received a brief major league promotion after spending the past four years in the upper minors. Over 979 career plate appearances at Triple-A, he carries a .241/.345/.367 slash with 15 home runs as well as 128 walks against 198 strikeouts.
Angels Hire Doug White As Pitching Coach
The Angels have hired Doug White as their new pitching coach, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll replace Charles Nagy in that role, who held the position for three seasons under the previous managerial regime.
It’s not surprising to hear that new Halos skipper Brad Ausmus will be adding at least a few new staff members. He recently landed the job after Mike Scioscia left following a long run in the dugout.
White just wrapped up his first season as the Astros bullpen coach after five seasons in other jobs in the Houston organization. He also spent a handful of campaigns working through the Cardinals system as a pitching guru, in addition to prior experience. Interestingly, MLB.com’s profile of White lists him as a Zhealth specialist, which is a movement training system that aims to retrain your nervous system through specific range of motion exercises that enhance your mobility.
For the Astros, this is the second member they’ve had filched from A.J. Hinch’s staff in as many days, following yesterday’s news that Astros’ assistant hitting coach Jeff Albert has returned to St. Louis to become the Cardinals’ hitting coach.
Angels Claim Kevan Smith, Designate Joe Hudson
The Angels announced Friday that they’ve claimed catcher Kevan Smith off waivers from the White Sox and cleared a spot on the 40-man roster by designating fellow backstop Joe Hudson for assignment.
Smith, 30, has spent parts of the past three seasons with the White Sox, totaling 146 games and 497 plate appearances with a .281/.318/.376 batting line, seven homers and 23 doubles in that time. He’s struggled enormously when it comes to controlling the running game, though, posting an anemic 14 percent caught-stealing rate. From a pitch-framing standpoint, Baseball Prospectus has given Smith rougly average marks between the Majors and minors over the past few seasons while rating his blocking skills to be below average.
Smith is out of minor league options, meaning he can’t be sent to the minors next year unless he first clears waivers — assuming he even sticks on the 40-man roster all winter, which is far from a given.
As for Hudson, the 27-year-old hit well with the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates for the Angels this season, albeit in minuscule sample sizes. Hudson notched a .970 OPS in seven games with the Double-A club before moving up to Triple-A and hitting .311/.380/.478 in 101 PAs. He’s also drawn solid framing marks over the past couple of seasons in the minors and has a career 43 percent caught-stealing rate.
Hudson went 2-for-12 in a late-season cameo with the Angels — a brief stint that marked his MLB debut. Generally speaking, however, he’s struggled with the bat in the upper levels of the minor leagues, hitting just .196/.297/.289 in parts of three Double-A seasons.
Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Angels
MLBTR is publishing Offseason Outlooks for all 30 teams. Click here to read the other entries in this series.
The Angels will focus on pitching this winter, as they look to get back into contention under the leadership of new manager Brad Ausmus.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Justin Upton, LF: $90MM through 2022
- Albert Pujols, 1B/DH: $87MM through 2021
- Mike Trout, CF: $66.5MM through 2020
- Andrelton Simmons, SS: $28MM through 2020
- Zack Cozart, IF: $25.333MM through 2020
- Kole Calhoun, RF: $11.5MM through 2019 (includes $1MM buyout of $14MM club option for 2020)
Arbitration Eligible Players (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Matt Shoemaker – $4.3MM
- Tyler Skaggs – $3.6MM
- Blake Parker – $3.1MM
- Andrew Heaney – $2.8MM
- JC Ramirez – $1.9MM
- Jose Alvarez – $1.7MM
- Cam Bedrosian – $1.7MM
- Nick Tropeano – $1.6MM
- Hansel Robles – $1.4MM
- Odrisamer Despaigne – $1.3MM
- Jefry Marte – $1.1MM
- Non-tender candidates: Despaigne, Marte, Ramirez
Free Agents
[Los Angeles Angels Depth Chart | Los Angeles Angels Payroll Information]
Mike Scioscia’s 19-year run as the Angels’ manager officially ended after the team’s last game, leaving the team with an immediate bit of business to handle. Speculation initially focused on Ausmus and Triple-A manager Eric Chavez, though the Halos reportedly considered up to 10 names for the job, including such popular managerial candidates as Brandon Hyde, Joe Espada, Rocco Baldelli, and Omar Vizquel.
In the end, the team stayed in-house by hiring Ausmus, giving the 49-year-old his second crack at running a Major League team. Ausmus posted a 314-332 record over four years as the Tigers’ manager from 2014-17, winning the AL Central in his first year in Detroit but ending his tenure on the sour note of a 64-98 season that prompted the Tigers to enter into a rebuild. Ausmus received some mixed reviews during his first managerial stint, though it didn’t stop him from being considered for several other openings — he interviewed with the Reds this month and with the Red Sox last season, and also received interest from the Mets and Phillies for their managerial vacancies in 2017.
Ironically, Ausmus now finds himself in a similar situation to the one he faced upon his initial hire with the Tigers. He’ll again be taking over a team with several veteran stars on large contracts, and an expectation to win immediately. The catch is, Ausmus inherited a perennial contender in Detroit, whereas the Halos have just one postseason appearance in the last nine years and haven’t even cracked the .500 mark since 2015.
This being said, Los Angeles is facing quite a bit of urgency to get back into contention in a very tough AL West. Only two seasons remain on Mike Trout‘s contract, and while the club is expected to discuss an extension with the superstar outfielder, one would think Trout would need to be firmly convinced that the Angels are on an upward trajectory before he even considers another deal with the team. Trout has repeatedly spoken of his desire to win, after all, and he has only three postseason games (and zero wins) to show for his time in L.A. despite posting numbers that have already generated “best player ever” buzz.
A Trout extension would be by far the biggest achievement for the Angels this offseason, though looking at things from Trout’s perspective, it would probably be more logical for him to see how the 2019 season plays out before deciding about his long-term future. He’d have more of a chance to evaluate Ausmus, see how the team’s forthcoming offseason moves play out, and perhaps simply to see if the Angels already have a roster that is capable of winning if it can just stay healthy. Of course, it’s also possible that Trout will simply prefer to test the open market and at least explore a move back to his native east coast after the 2020 season.
Another potential factor in Trout’s decision, and also a matter of much broader import to the franchise, is the rather surprising recent news about the Angels opting out of their lease at Angel Stadium. We know the Halos still be in Anaheim in 2019, though it remains to be seen if the opt-out could lead to stadium renovations, an entirely new ballpark, or perhaps even a move to a new city, whether it be elsewhere in the greater Los Angeles area or maybe beyond. This situation will certainly bear watching in the coming months, and could potentially end up being one of the offseason’s bigger subplots.
Turning back to the roster, Trout is coming off yet another superlative season, hitting .312/.460/.628 with 39 homers over 608 PA and contributing 9.8 fWAR to the Angels’ cumulative 24.4 fWAR for position players. Of the club’s returning players, Andrelton Simmons (5.5 fWAR), Justin Upton (3.1 fWAR), Shohei Ohtani (2.8 fWAR only as a DH), and rookie David Fletcher (1.9 fWAR) combined with Trout for 23.1 fWAR, giving you some idea of how top-heavy the production was within the Angels’ lineup. The team didn’t receive much from the catcher position (Martin Maldonado was traded to the Astros in July), and Kole Calhoun, Zack Cozart, and Albert Pujols were all replacement-level or worse in 2018.
There likely won’t be much change to the position player core, as the outfield will again comprise of Upton, Trout, and Calhoun, with the Halos hoping that Calhoun can build on a much-improved second half. Simmons will again be the infield’s cornerstone at shortstop, while Fletcher and Cozart will handle second and third base, though it isn’t yet clear who will handle either position. Fletcher’s emergence was a nice positive, and it gives the team flexibility in deciding the best spot for Cozart over the last two years of his contract. Cozart’s first year in Anaheim came to premature end in June due to shoulder surgery, and the veteran infielder is hoping for better health to rebound from this lost season.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this month, Ohtani almost certainly won’t pitch for the Angels in 2019, though he will still be able to contribute at a designated hitter for the bulk of the season. Depending on his rehab, Ohtani may not necessarily be ready for Opening Day, and the team might choose to not play Ohtani every day when he does return from the DL for the sake of his long-term conditioning. At this point, the plans have yet to take shape.
Even if Ohtani doesn’t receive many more than the 367 plate appearances he received in 2018, however, he still projects to be a huge part of the L.A. lineup. Among players with at least 350 PA last season, Ohtani’s 152 wRC+ ranked eighth in all of baseball. That was despite some rather drastic splits (1.043 OPS against right-handed pitching, .654 OPS against left-handed pitching) and, of course, the wholly unique factor that Ohtani spent half his time as a pitcher.
The Angels are likely to give Albert Pujols some DH time when facing a left-handed starter, as the veteran slugger can’t be an everyday option at first base given his history of injuries (including knee and elbow procedures this season). After his second consecutive negative-fWAR season, there’s little evidence to suggest that Pujols should still get any sort of regular action, and a case could be made that the Angels would be better off eating Pujols’ remaining $87MM in salary rather than continue to use a roster spot on such a limited player.
Until we get hints that the Angels are considering a release, however, Pujols will continue to be penciled in for a timeshare at first base and DH. Owner Arte Moreno recently stated that the club’s offseason to-do list includes “a left-handed bat with some power to play first base,” though such a player would be used “just to fill in.” Free agents like Lucas Duda, Matt Adams, Adam Lind, Pedro Alvarez, or Logan Morrison could fit this description if Los Angeles truly is looking for just part-time help. On the trade front, a slightly more versatile first baseman like Eric Thames could help at first and also provide corner outfield depth. In a recent outline of Justin Smoak‘s trade market, I cited the Angels as a longshot choice due to Pujols’ presence, though the switch-hitter is an affordable short-term option ($8MM in 2019) who has crushed righty pitching over the last two seasons. Adding a player limited to first base, of course, would make for quite an awkward roster arrangement. Optimally, the lefty bat would come from a player who can also line up elsewhere in the infield. A player such as Asdrubal Cabrera could theoretically make some sense, though it’s unclear how much the club can spend on this need.
If the infield mix could use a boost, it’s equally true that the club will be interested in finding a complimentary piece to put alongside Calhoun. That role fell flat in 2018, as Young struggled with injuries and wasn’t effective. Presumably, the club will pick up a different right-handed-hitting outfielder for the season to come. Among free agents, players such as Cameron Maybin, Carlos Gomez, and Matt Szczur could receive consideration. There’ll surely also be plenty of possibilities on the trade market.
Looking elsewhere at the bench, the Angels will be open for business in looking for additional depth, likely in the form of veterans on minor league contracts. After all, there are some other worthwhile internal names to consider. Jose Miguel Fernandez, Michael Hermosillo, Taylor Ward, and Luis Rengifo are some of the young in-house options, and MLB.com’s Maria Guardado recently opined that the latter two players could potentially challenge Fletcher for a starting gig. Top prospects Jo Adell and Jahmai Jones both reached Double-A in 2018 and could factor into the big league roster later in the season.
The catcher position looks like the Angels’ clearest opportunity for an offensive upgrade. Jose Briceno and Francisco Arcia handled the bulk of the work after Maldonado was traded, and the likeliest course of action would be that the two rookies compete in Spring Training for the backup job or potentially a platoon role, depending on who Los Angeles brings into the mix. There are quite a few known veteran options available in free agency (Kurt Suzuki, Jonathan Lucroy, Brian McCann, Matt Wieters, or Maldonado himself) who could fit into a timeshare if the Angels still intend to see what they have in Bricano or Arcia.
The team is no stranger to a big free agent splash, however, so Yasmani Grandal and Wilson Ramos figure to land on the Halos’ radar screen. Of the two, Grandal is younger, a better pitch framer, and has a less troublesome injury history, though he is also going to require a bigger contract (and could cost a draft pick, if the Dodgers extend a qualifying offer and Grandal rejects it). The Angels will probably at least check in with the Marlins about J.T. Realmuto, though L.A. will be hesitant to part with the prospects necessary to land the All-Star catcher.
An improving farm system does give the Halos some notable trade chips to work with, though creating a sustainable future will require discipline. A high-profile trade, then, may not be terribly likely. It’s fair to wonder, though, whether the Angels have the budget space for at least one big new salary. The team’s Opening Day payrolls have topped the $166MM mark in each of the last two seasons, and Moreno has shown a clear willingness to spend in his time owning the team, with the caveat that the team has always remained under the luxury tax threshold. The Angels have roughly $146MM on the books for 2019, factoring in the $4.3MM saved in the form of the likely non-tender candidates. Adding one major salary would likely mean increasing the spending line. With a current CBT threshold of $206MM, perhaps that’s a real possibility.
The bulk of the team’s spending this winter, however, is very likely to be directed towards pitching. Eppler has said that the Angels will be looking at both starters and relievers as they look to augment a unit that has been crushed by injuries in recent seasons. In 2018 alone, the Halos saw Ohtani, Garrett Richards, Keynan Middleton, Blake Wood, John Lamb, and J.C. Ramirez all undergo Tommy John surgeries, while Nick Tropeano battled shoulder problems all year and Jake Jewell was sidelined after fracturing his right fibula.
Andrew Heaney‘s first full season back from a past Tommy John surgery saw the southpaw toss 180 innings, which was one bright spot for the rotation. Heaney and Tyler Skaggs are the two pitchers who already have a claim to starting jobs, while the group of Jaime Barria, Matt Shoemaker, and Felix Pena will compete for at least one of the remaining spots in the starting five. Tropeano, Parker Bridwell, and Alex Meyer will be in the mix at least as depth options, and prospects Griffin Canning and Jose Suarez aren’t too far away. Ramirez could also factor in as late-season depth if he isn’t non-tendered, and while Richards isn’t expected to pitch in 2019, the Angels could try to re-sign him on a relatively cheap two-year deal with the bulk of the money coming when he’s healthy in 2020.
There is plenty of room here for a proper ace, an innings-eating workhorse, or both as the Angels do their offseason shopping. Expect L.A. to be active in trade talks for any available arms, while Patrick Corbin and Dallas Keuchel are the two top names currently leading the free agent pitching market. Gio Gonzalez and J.A. Happ are more durable, less-expensive options, with Happ delivering better recent results for the Yankees and Blue Jays.
The most earth-shaking move, particularly within the Los Angeles baseball scene, would be if the Angels could convince Clayton Kershaw to leave Chavez Ravine for Anaheim. Kershaw can opt out of the remaining two years on his Dodgers contract after the season, and would instantly become the biggest target in the pitching market if he did enter free agency. It still isn’t clear if Kershaw will exercise his opt-out clause, though it be logical for him to at least explore his options, even if he does ultimately want to remain with the Dodgers.
The Angels will certainly be in touch with Kershaw if he does test the market, though they surely won’t be a favorite to land him. They could also consider another Dodgers starter in Hyun-Jin Ryu, though Ryu comes with another checkered injury history. The Dodgers have not shied away from loading up on pitchers with questionable health histories, so that could be a strategy the Halos attempt to emulate. There are several other hurlers on the market who’d come with quite some risk. Most intriguing, perhaps, is Yusei Kikuchi, a top Japanese hurler who hails from the same high school as Ohtani.
The Halos bullpen posted middle-of-the-pack numbers last season, though they will boast a host of young arms even with Middleton sidelined. Blake Parker or Ty Buttrey are the top internal choices for the closer’s job, and there are lot of experienced ninth-inning names available in free agency ranging from rebound candidates (i.e. Kelvin Herrera, Greg Holland) to the top of the market (i.e. Craig Kimbrel, David Robertson, Jeurys Familia). With all of the injuries and durability issues within the Angels’ pitching staff, there’s also room for the club to explore using some of their recovering arms as swingmen or extended long relievers, perhaps with an “opener” in the first inning to take a page from the Rays’ book.
Even a moderate amount of pitching stability could’ve helped the Angels at least vie for a postseason berth in each of the last two seasons, as the team is coming off consecutive 80-82 records. With better health and another solid arm or two, it isn’t a stretch to imagine the Angels getting back into contention, considering that world-class building blocks like Trout, Simmons, Upton, and (even as only a hitter) Ohtani are already in place.
Angels Hire Brad Ausmus As Manager
12:29pm: Ausmus received a three-year contract, according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com.
12:02pm: The Angels announced that they’ve named Brad Ausmus their new manager. Ausmus spent the 2018 season working as a special assistant to Angels general manager Billy Eppler.
“Over the past few weeks, our baseball operations personnel sat down with numerous highly-qualified and impressive candidates for our managerial role. We are thankful to all of them for their time and effort throughout the process,” Eppler stated. “Ultimately, Brad’s balance of connectivity, communication and leadership skills as well as his understanding of evolving strategies and probabilistic approach to decision making led us to him. We believe his knowledge, drive and growth-mindset will allow him to integrate seamlessly with our players and staff and will be pivotal in advancing our culture and moving us toward our goals as an organization.”
The 49-year-old Ausmus – a former major league catcher – is taking over for another ex-MLB backstop, Mike Scioscia. Now an Angels icon, Scioscia took the helm in 2000 and finally ended his reign when he stepped down less than a month ago.
In the wake of Scioscia’s exit, the Angels reportedly interviewed 10 managerial candidates; at one point in the process, it appeared the job would go to their Triple-A skipper, Eric Chavez. In the end, though, the Angels opted for someone with major league managerial experience in Ausmus, who oversaw Detroit’s dugout from 2014-17. The Tigers went 314-332 with one playoff berth and two seasons of at least 86 wins during that period.
In shifting from the Angels’ front office to their dugout, Ausmus will hope to turn around a disappointing situation in Anaheim. Even though the Angels have the game’s best player, center fielder Mike Trout, they’ve finished under .500 three years in a row and haven’t gone to the playoffs since 2014. The club hasn’t even won a postseason game since Trout’s remarkable career began in 2011. A rash of injuries helped undermine the Angels’ efforts in 2018, of course, though it still would’ve been a tall task for a healthy LA team to make the postseason in the AL West – a division which included two playoff teams (the Astros and the Athletics) and the 89-win Mariners.
At 80-82, the Angels ultimately finished 23 games behind the Astros and 17 back of the A’s, giving them plenty of ground to make up during the offseason. With Trout, Andrelton Simmons, Shohei Ohtani and Justin Upton leading their offense, it seems the Angels will mostly focus on improving their pitching staff over the winter. The starting staff is in desperate need of help, especially considering Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery on Oct. 1 and probably won’t pitch next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Angels’ Managerial Search
We’re tracking all of the managerial hiring situations around the league with team-specific posts, and it’s time to introduce one for the Angels. Mike Scioscia just wrapped up a 19-year tenure with the organization that included a whopping ten-year, $50MM contract — a managerial pact that’s still without compare.
As of late last week, the Halos were wrapping up their first round of chats with potential candidates, as Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group reported. At least ten candidates were slated for an early look, with the remainder of the process — and the identities of most names under consideration — largely unknown.
There still aren’t a ton of names available, but we learned more about the club’s approach from MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). Beyond reviewing resumes and speaking with candidates, the Angels front office is said to be “administering [a] 2-hour written test to managerial candidates” that poses “questions spanning analytical, interpersonal and game-management aspects of the job.” Needless to say, that’s an interesting process.
Here’s the latest on individual candidates:
Latest Update – 10/20
- The Angels have interviewed Rays major league field coordinator Rocco Baldelli, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports and Fletcher confirms. Baldelli’s among 10 candidates who interviewed during the first round of the process, per Fletcher, though he reports there are only six confirmed names (Baldelli, Vizquel, Chavez, Ausmus, Espada and Hyde). While it’s unknown which candidates have stood out to the Angels thus far, Fletcher writes that they could name their next manager by Monday.
Earlier Update — 10/18
- Longtime big league infielder Omar Vizquel interviewed for the position but is no longer in consideration to be hired, per Venezuelan journalist Efrain Zavece on his podcast (Twitter link; hat tip to MLB.com’s Maria Guardado). The 51-year-old Vizquel previously served as the Tigers’ first base coach (under fellow Halos managerial candidate Brad Ausmus) and has spent the past two seasons managing in the White Sox’ minor league ranks.
Previous updates below…
Angels Opt Out Of Ballpark Lease
4:25pm: Shaikin adds that the Angels will be in their current stadium through next season but must discuss its future beyond that with the city of Anaheim, which has issued a statement on the decision:
“We look forward to many great years of Angels baseball in Anaheim. We don’t believe there is a better place for the team than in the heart of Orange County’s most exciting city. … As fun as baseball is in Anaheim, this is a reminder that this is still a business. And we understand that the Angels need to preserve all options available. We welcome talking with the team about the future of baseball in Anaheim.”
3:01pm: The Angels announced today that they have opted out of their lease for Angel Stadium, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. It remains somewhat unclear precisely when and how the decision will go into effect, and the Halos’ long-term stadium plans remain uncertain.
Indications in early 2017 were that the Angels would remain in the park for the foreseeable future, with owner Arte Moreno noting the club would be able to opt out instead in 2028 or 2038. As he put it at the time, explaining that it would seemingly not be feasible to leave the lease in the near-term:
“It’s going to take some time to get ourselves prepared to see what direction we’re going to go. We have options with the lease, whether we exercise them or not. We really have options all the way through ’38. We have flexibility.”
Instead, it seems now that the long-term location of the franchise is fully on the negotiating table. Beyond that, the decision seemingly poses questions regarding the team’s immediate plans, though perhaps a new, shorter-term lease will be possible.
As Shaikin notes, the decision takes place against the backdrop of a pending mayoral and city council election in Anaheim. A team spokesperson says the ballclub will “sit down with the new mayor and city council” after the election, while noting the team’s intention to “look at all our options.”
Poll: Which Is The Most Intriguing Managerial Job?
Six teams are currently on the hunt for new managers, leading to a flurry of rumors and reports about experienced skippers, and coaches/broadcasters/former players all linked to these jobs. If you’re being offered your first shot at managing a big league team, obviously, you perhaps can’t be afford to be too picky — the same could be said of veteran ex-managers who don’t know if they’ll ever get another chance at running a dugout.
So technically, the question of “which job would you prefer to take?” might not apply to many candidates, but it’s just fine for a hypothetical poll here on MLB Trade Rumors. All of these six openings have their pros and cons, and it really comes down to individual preference about what makes one job more attractive than another. Would you prefer to manage a team that has shown a willingness to spend? One with a proven organizational track record of success (and stability)? A rebuilding club with a bunch of promising minor leaguers on the way?
Here are the six teams currently conducting a manager search…
Orioles: Nowhere to go but up after 115 losses, right? Baltimore’s new manager will be entering an organization in a state of flux after a disastrous campaign, as the O’s are also looking for a new GM to replace Dan Duquette, as well as the Angelos brothers fully taking over the team’s operations from their father. With the rebuild just underway, however, a new skipper wouldn’t be expected to win for at least a few years, creating a low-pressure teaching environment to help bring along the Orioles’ younger talents (some of whom were acquired in the team’s deadline fire sale). There’s plenty of opportunity here for a manager to enter at day one and put their stamp on a new era of Orioles baseball.
Blue Jays: Another AL East team that is technically “starting” a rebuild, though the front office has unofficially been reloading the farm system over the last few years. Some of those young names made their debuts in 2018, though the biggest stars of Toronto’s highly-touted minor league ranks (including Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) are still to come in 2019 or 2020. Since GM Ross Atkins is targeting 2021 for the Jays’ return to contention, a new manager has two years of building and development ahead before expectations rise. With payrolls topping the $160MM mark in each of the last two seasons, a new manager can be confident that ownership and the front office will eventually spend to add talent.
Reds: Similar to the situation with the Jays, Cincinnati’s new skipper will step into a situation where some of the heavy lifting has already been done in terms of rebuilding. The Reds have built an interesting core of position players (Eugenio Suarez, Scooter Gennett, Jose Peraza, Jesse Winker, and franchise cornerstone Joey Votto) that should only improve once top prospect Nick Senzel cracks the big league roster. The problem, of course, is a dearth of starting pitching, though the club is prepared to spend this winter to address that and other needs.
Rangers: Here’s another team in sore need of pitching help, which GM Jon Daniels has said “is a priority” for the coming offseason. The Rangers are in an interesting, and perhaps unwelcome, spot compared to the other teams on this list, in that they’re not really clearly rebuilding or planning to contend in 2019. This is what happens when a team almost entirely en masse, as neither the established players (Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor), the youngsters (Ronald Guzman, Willie Calhoun) or the former star prospects in between the two camps (Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara) particularly distinguished themselves last year. That said, a new voice in the dugout could help in unleashing the talent that this group clearly possesses, plus there’s organizational stability in the form of Daniels, who is the game’s second-longest tenured general manager.
Angels: What manager wouldn’t relish the opportunity to lead the game’s best player in Mike Trout, or the game’s most fascinating player in Shohei Ohtani? Combine those two with Justin Upton, Andrelton Simmons, Andrew Heaney, Tyler Skaggs and a host of young relievers, and there’s a lot to like about the Angels’ roster. Beyond the star names, however, the Halos are still trying to fully get through a stunning onslaught of pitching injuries that have thinned the pitching depth (including sidelining Ohtani from the mound in 2019 due to Tommy John surgery). The new Angels skipper will be expected to turn things around quickly, especially with Trout only under contract for two more seasons. There are some big shoes to fill in the wake of Mike Scioscia’s departure, and it’s fair to wonder how much rope owner Arte Moreno will give to a manager who didn’t have a World Series title on his resume or the organizational influence that Scioscia held in the club.
Twins: If the team continues its yo-yo performance of the last four seasons under Paul Molitor, then it should be due for another winning season in 2019 — do we have a bizarro Giants/#OddYear scenario here? In all seriousness, Minnesota might actually be in the best position of any of these six teams to contend next season, given the weakness of the AL Central. The better odds might be on a bit of a step backwards as baseball operations heads Derek Falvey and Thad Levine figure out which of their young talents are actual building blocks and which might be trade chips. A manager who can get Byron Buxton or Miguel Sano back on track, however, could make a quick impact.
(poll link for app users)
Which Managerial Job Looks Most Interesting?
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Angels 44% (6,871)
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Blue Jays 20% (3,049)
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Reds 12% (1,873)
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Twins 12% (1,819)
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Orioles 8% (1,215)
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Rangers 5% (800)
Total votes: 15,627
AL West Links: Cole, Angels, Rangers, Showalter, Washington, Mariners
The Astros‘ acquisition of Gerrit Cole last offseason has been a clear win for the team, as The Athletic’s Rustin Dodd (subscription required) writes in an analysis of how well Cole has both performed on the mound and fit into the team’s clubhouse culture. In Houston, Cole said, “you’re not asked to conform to a system. You’re asked to use the system to make yourself better. So, from an analytic standpoint, from a scouting report standpoint, from teammates and instructors, there’s just a high level of quality here that’s ahead of quite a bit of other teams….They’re really forward thinking.” Cole’s biggest start in an Astros uniform comes tomorrow in Game 2 of the ALDS, and a victory would give the Astros a huge 2-0 advantage in the best-of-five series.
Some more from around the AL West…
- The Angels aren’t likely to name their new manager before the World Series, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group opines, as the team is planning a wide-ranging search that includes many candidates from outside the organization. The Halos won’t be making any public statements about potential candidates, though various reports have suggested the club is interested in names including Eric Chavez, Josh Paul, Brad Ausmus, and Joe Espada.
- The Rangers are also looking for a new manager, and MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan takes a broad look at several potential names that could surface as candidates. Sullivan’s list includes internal choices (bench coach and interim manager Don Wakamatsu, third base coach Tony Beasley, first base coach Steve Buechele, Triple-A manager Jason Wood, and farm director Jayce Tingler), as well as several coaches with other teams as well as veteran ex-managers. White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing received an interview the last time the Rangers were looking for a new manager, Sullivan notes, and could potentially be considered again. Two names that won’t be part of the search are former Rangers managers Ron Washington and Buck Showalter.
- A clubhouse skirmish reportedly involving Jean Segura and Dee Gordon was the most overt sign of how the Mariners‘ chemistry seemed to falter alongside the team’s middling record down the stretch, as Seattle faded out of contention. One of the team’s offseason priorities, TJ Cotterill of the Tacoma News Tribune writes, will be to address whether or not changes need to be made to improve the team’s internal focus and culture. “I don’t know what comes first — the cart or the horse, winning and clubhouse chemistry, or losing and clubhouse strife,” GM Jerry Dipoto said, noting that some frustration and tension amongst teammates is natural when a team isn’t performing well.
- In other AL West news from earlier today on MLBTR Trade Rumors, we passed on several Athletics-related notes.
Managerial Notes: Snitker, Espada, Blue Jays, Orioles
The Braves were considering parting ways with Brian Snitker at the end of the 2017 season, and the manager revealed to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman that he considered quitting out of frustration with then-Braves GM John Coppolella and president of baseball operations John Hart. Snitker reached the point of contacting a clubhouse attendant back in Atlanta to say “Pack my things, I’m not coming back” after Coppolella criticized one of Snitker’s decisions during the Braves’ third-to-last game of the season, an otherwise meaningless matchup against the Marlins. Snitker stuck around long enough, however, to see his situation unexpectedly change, due to Coppolella’s shocking resignation in the wake of a league investigation into international signing violations. With Coppolella and, eventually, Hart both leaving the organization, Snitker formed a good relationship with new Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos and the rest is history, with the Braves winning the NL East. Bowman’s piece is well worth a full read, as it details Snitker’s unlikely path to his first Major League managerial job after spending four decades in the Braves organization as a player, coach, and minor league skipper.
Here’s more on some of the open managerial situations around baseball…
- The Angels have interest in Astros bench coach Joe Espada as a managerial candidate, ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera reports. The 43-year-old Espada previously worked as a third base coach for the Marlins and Yankees before taking his current position in Houston last winter, and Espada has also been a coach for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and a manager in the Puerto Rican winter league. Espada has ties to Angels GM Billy Eppler, as both worked together with the Yankees in 2014-15, plus Espada briefly played in the Rockies’ minor league system in 2001 when Eppler was a scout in the Colorado organization.
- The Blue Jays are considering Giants VP of player development David Bell and MLB Network analyst Dave Valle as part of their managerial search, as per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links). As Rosenthal notes, Bell is also a candidate for the Reds’ manager position, and has been mentioned as a potential successor to Bruce Bochy in San Francisco. Before becoming the Giants’ farm director, Bell worked for the Cardinals as a bench coach and assistant hitting coach, the Cubs as a third base coach, and as a manager for the Reds’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. Valle would be something of an outside-the-box choice, as his only pro managing or coaching experience was one season managing Seattle’s A-ball affiliate in 2014. Since wrapping up his 13-year playing career in 1996, Valle has been a TV and radio broadcaster for the Mariners, as well as a broadcaster for MLB Network since 2009.
- In another tweet, Rosenthal also listed Eric Wedge, John McDonald, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Stubby Clapp as likely candidates for the Blue Jays job. The four names have often been mentioned in connection with the Jays’ search in recent weeks, plus bench coach DeMarlo Hale and Double-A manager John Schneider are also known to be under consideration.
- The Orioles officially announced yesterday that Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette wouldn’t be returning to the club in 2019, though the fact that the team waited until after the season to announce the changes “makes absolutely no sense” to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link). Both Showalter and Duquette were in the last year of their contracts and there was a clear sense that changes would be made in the wake of Baltimore’s disastrous 115-loss season, so in Olney’s view, “valuable time [was] squandered” by the Orioles. Rather than begin their search for a new manager and GM over the last several weeks or months, the O’s will now be competing for candidates with other teams looking to fill managerial or front office vacancies.