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Griffin Canning

Angels Option Griffin Canning, Designate Scott Schebler

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The Angels announced they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Andrew Wantz. Somewhat surprisingly, starter Griffin Canning was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move. Outfielder Scott Schebler has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

Canning is headed to the minors for the first time since his contract was selected back in April 2019. He’s been a rotation mainstay over the past few seasons, starting 41 of his 43 MLB appearances. He offered league average production from 2019-20 but has struggled this season. Over 62 2/3 innings, Canning has worked to a 5.60 ERA/4.62 SIERA with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk rates (22.4% and 10.1%, respectively).

Of course, there’s no indication Canning’s absence is expected to be particularly lengthy. He got the ball in last night’s start against the Orioles. The Angels, who have a six-man rotation, have an off day after their next five games. With the All-Star Break the following week, the Angels could simply skip Canning’s spot in the rotation during their final turn before the Break. Los Angeles has another off day after five games coming out of the Break, so they needn’t turn to a sixth starter again until July 27.

Optioning Canning could allow the Angels to give him a brief mental reset while also keeping tabs on his innings total. This year, he’s already exceeded the 56 1/3 frames he worked during last year’s shortened campaign, and the righty’s 2019 season was cut short at 90 1/3 innings by elbow inflammation that persisted into 2020. The organization surely wants to be cautious not to overwork a player they expect to be a key starter over the next few seasons.

There doesn’t seem to be a huge benefit for the Angels from a service time perspective by optioning Canning. The 25-year-old won’t accrue major league service while he’s on optional assignment, of course, but he’s already long exceeded his second full year of service this season. Unless they’re planning on leaving him in Triple-A for the rest of this season and much of the first half of 2022- an extremely improbable outcome- Canning’s path to free agency after 2025 will be unaffected.

A lengthy optional assignment could jeopardize his ability to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player after this year. That’d likely require the Angels to keep him down for over a month, though, and he doesn’t have the gaudy counting stats (wins and strikeouts) that suggest he’d be particularly likely to break the bank in arbitration regardless. In all likelihood, the optional assignment was more motivated by a desire to open an additional roster spot and keep Canning’s innings in check than it was an extended effort to skirt his potential Super Two eligibility, especially with the 40-41 Angels still on the periphery of the playoff race.

Wantz will take Canning’s place on the pitching staff for now. A seventh-round pick in 2018 out of UNC-Greensboro, he’s earned his first big league opportunity with a strong season at Salt Lake. Through 25 2/3 innings in an offense-friendly environment, Wantz has worked to a 2.10 ERA with better than average strikeout and walk numbers (25.0% and 6.0%, respectively). The 25-year-old has never appeared on an Angels farm system ranking at FanGraphs or Baseball America. He’s clearly elevated his stock in 2021, though, and would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if not added to the 40-man roster before then.

It’s the second time this season the Angels have designated Schebler, who cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment last time around. The 30-year-old hasn’t produced in limited big league time this year but he’s hit a solid .281/.355/.523 over 172 plate appearances with Salt Lake. The Angels will have a week to trade Schebler or again place him on waivers.

Gold Glove Nominees Announced

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The 2020 Rawlings Glove Glove Award finalists have been released, with the Cubs netting the most nominations with seven. The Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Brewers, Rays, and Red Sox were shut out.

The awards for defensive prowess will be handed out based on defensive metrics alone this year, since managers and coaches weren’t able to see players outside their regional bubble. Moving to a metrics-based system, even for a year, certainly make for interesting television, especially since these awards can make an impact on arbitration cases. Considering the uncertainty of a 60-game season, awards could carry greater weight than usual in those proceedings, thought that’s just speculation. Without further ado, here are this year’s nominees:

AL Pitcher

NL Pitcher

AL Catcher

NL Catcher

AL First Base

NL First Base

AL Second Base

NL Second Base

AL Third Base

NL Third Base

AL Shortstop

NL Shortstop

AL Left Field

NL Left Field

AL Centerfield

NL Centerfield

AL Right Field

NL Right Field

Nicky Lopez of the Royals was originally left off the list, but he is in fact a nominee at second base, one of four nominations at the keystone in the American League. It’s the only position with four nominations.

There are a few other interesting things of note. Perennial candidates like Andrelton Simmons and Matt Chapman did not make the list this year due to shortened seasons, nor did last season’s Outs Above Average leader Victor Robles. Both Gurriel brothers earned nominations this year, with the younger Lourdes (LF) joining perennial candidate Yuli (1B).

There are also a couple of largely part-time players that made the cut, like Hoerner of the Cubs and Mendick for the White Sox. Neither was the everyday second baseman, but they did reach the inning minimum of 265 total defensive innings. They qualified at second because that’s where they played the most innings. Mendick, for example, registered just 226 innings at second, but with 27 innings at third and 15 at shortstop, he ended the year with 268 total defensive innings played.

Catchers required a minimum of 29 games, which is how we got a pair of White Sox catchers making the top-3. Pitchers had to throw a minimum of 50 innings.

The winners will be selected using the SABR Defensive Index and announced on November 3rd, per sabr.org.

Health Notes: Knebel, Canning, Lowrie

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Mets infielder Jed Lowrie is said to be a “full go” for Mets workouts, manager Luis Rojas told reporters including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He’ll participate in a sim game at Citi Field today. Lowrie has been absent with a variety of nebulous injuries to his left side, seemingly stemming from an initial knee injury. Those injuries limited the 36-year-old to just nine games last year, his first with the Mets. He entered this year’s first iteration of Spring Training in a brace, apparently dealing with some lingering effects from last year’s health issues. It’s encouraging to hear that Lowrie seems to be in better shape now, but it remains to be seen just how often Rojas will deploy him in a somewhat crowded infield mix. This year marks the final year in the two-year, $20MM contract Lowrie inked prior to last year. And between last year’s injury-plagued season and a shortened campaign in 2020, it’s looking like the Mets’ two-year investment in Lowrie is going largely by the wayside.

Other injury-related notes from around baseball…

  • Brewers right-hander Corey Knebel is looking good in Brewers camp as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, per a report from Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Knebel missed all of last year after undergoing the procedure in the spring, but he’s ramped up to throwing live batting practice in the Brewers’ return to action. As McCalvy says, manager Craig Counsell and pitching coach Chris Hook still want to be careful with Knebel, who’s a little more than a year removed from surgery. That said, it seems like Knebel should figure into Milwaukee’s bullpen mix this year, augmenting a unit that already looks formidable with Josh Hader at the helm. The tandem of Hader and Knebel, who was an All-Star in 2017, could form the backbone of one of baseball’s deadliest bullpens.
  • After an elbow-related scare this spring, Angels righty Griffin Canning says he’s feeling “10 times better” than he did a few months ago, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. That’s encouraging news for Angels fans who might have been panicking when ongoing elbow issues became a topic of focus during Spring Training. Luckily, those elbow troubles weren’t due to a tear in the UCL, so Canning was able to avoid an invasive procedure. A PRP injection seems to have worked wonders for Canning, and the hope is that he’ll maintain good health down the road. All told, it seems like Canning should be able to contribute in some capacity to the Angels’ shortened season—great news after an impressive rookie season.

Ohtani Likely To Pitch Once Per Week; Angels Expect To Use Six-Man Rotation

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JUNE 30: Ohtani is “healthy” and ready to take on both pitching and hitting duties when camp re-opens, per GM Billy Eppler (via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, on Twitter).

JUNE 25: Angels manager Joe Maddon gave some good news on right-hander/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani yesterday, telling reporters that the two-way star will be utilized similarly to how he would in a normal 162-game season (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger). That will line Ohtani up to pitch once per week as part of what Maddon expects to be a six-man Angels rotation.

The delayed start to the season looks to have given Ohtani ample time to fully recover from both his 2018 Tommy John procedure and last September’s left knee surgery. The Halos can now deploy him as their primary DH on days when he doesn’t pitch — and enjoy the benefit of a bat that has produced a career .286/.352/.531 slash — and consider him the highest-upside pitcher in their rotation.

We haven’t seen Ohtani on a big league mound since Sept. 2, 2018, but in that rookie year he worked to a 3.31 ERA with averages of 11 strikeouts, 3.8 walks and 1.05 home runs allowed per nine innings pitched. He’s still only totaled 51 2/3 frames as a pitcher in the Majors, but there’s plenty of reason to be bullish on the 25-year-old’s future in the rotation.

Maddon also said he’s “very” hopeful that fellow right-handers Griffin Canning and Felix Pena will be ready for the new Opening Day (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya). Canning has been progressing through a throwing program after receiving an ominous elbow diagnosis back in Spring Training (“chronic changes” to the UCL and acute joint irritation). He was cleared of any tearing in his problematic ligament, though, and has had no setbacks since receiving an injection.

Pena, meanwhile, tore his ACL while covering first base last August. He underwent surgery that came with a recovery timetable of up to nine months, and it seems he’s progressed through that rehabilitation process without much issue. While he was questionable for the original opener, the 30-year-old swingman should be a solid multi-inning piece for the Angels now that he’s healthy and could even start some games. He’s made 24 starts in the past two seasons and pitched seven hitless innings of relief against the Mariners in last year’s memorable and emotional combined no-hitter.

Ohtani and Canning will be joined southpaw Andrew Heaney and newcomers Julio Teheran and Dylan Bundy in a revamped Halos rotation. Pena could be in the mix for the sixth spot to which Maddon alluded, although there will likely be several names in that competition. Matt Andriese, Patrick Sandoval, Jaime Barria, Jose Suarez, Dillon Peters and old friend/non-roster invitee JC Ramirez could all be considered. And regardless of who is tabbed to round out the unit come July 23-24, the Angels’ overwhelming rash of injuries in recent years serves as a reminder that depth is key and a rotation outlook can change in a hurry as health troubles arise.

Angels Notes: Ohtani, Canning, Ballpark

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Angels right-handers Shohei Ohtani and Griffin Canning have been steadily progressing in their rehab from elbow injuries: 2018 Tommy John surgery for Ohtani and “chronic changes” to the UCL as well as acute joint irritation for Canning. Updates on both players throughout MLB’s shutdown have been generally positive, and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic continues that trend, tweeting that both righties have thrown a trio of live batting practice sessions at this point. Each has built up his arm to a workload of roughly 55 pitches. They’ll remain at that level for the time being, although if the 30 owners and the Players Association can come to an agreement on a deal to resume play in 2020, it stands to reason that each would further build up over the course of a rebooted “spring” training session in mid-to-late June. Spring Training 2.0 will reportedly be about three weeks in length. The Angels figure to be cautious with both right-handers, so it seems unlikely they’ll come out of the gate firing 100-plus pitches with regularity anyhow.

A bit more on the Halos…

  • The Angels are allowing workouts at Angel Stadium and at Tempe Diablo Stadium, their Arizona-based Spring Training facility, Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reports. Players are permitted to work out in group of four, although they’re limited two players, plus an instructor, per area (e.g. batting cage, weight room). David Fletcher, Tommy La Stella, Albert Pujols, Ohtani and Canning are among the names who’ve been working out at Angel Stadium to date. GM Billy Eppler explains to DiGiovanna that the team is providing staggered 90-minute blocks for workouts with 30 minutes between them to allow sanitizing and cleaning of the equipment.
  • Angels owner Arte Moreno has asked the city of Anaheim for an additional 30 days to sufficiently detail his plans for the development project at the site surrounding Angel Stadium, per the L.A. Times’ Bill Shaikin. A plan was expected to be delivered by May 30, but the process has been slowed as consulting firms that play key roles have transitioned to work-from-home settings and virtual correspondence amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreno still has until Sept. 30 to make a final decision on the development plan. Back in December, Moreno and the city of Anaheim reached an agreement that would keep the Halos in Anaheim for another 30 years — a deal that included the $325MM purchase of the land surrounding Angel Stadium.

Griffin Canning Resumes Bullpen Sessions

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Angels righty Griffin Canning has taken another step forward in his recovery from this spring’s right elbow troubles. He posted video of himself pitching off a bullpen mound at Angel Stadium on Instagram earlier today (hat tip: Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, on Twitter).

The 23-year-old Canning underwent an MRI early in Spring Training after experiencing discomfort and was diagnosed with “chronic changes”  to the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and “acute irritation” in the joint. Ominous as the “UCL” portion of that diagnosis was, further testing revealed that there was no tear. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection, went through a period of rest and was cleared to begin throwing early last month.

A return to mound work not only shows that Canning is still setback-free but also lends increased optimism that he can be ready for game action when or shortly after the league resumes play. There are no set dates for a resumption of play just yet, but the league is reported to be prepping a proposal for the Players Association and expects to present that plan in the next few days.

Canning made his big league debut in 2019, tossing 90 1/3 innings over 18 appearances (17 starts) while compiling a 4.58 ERA with averages of 9.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9. A second-round pick in 2017 and top 100 prospect heading into the 2019 season, he’s viewed as a critical piece of the team’s rotation moving forward. He’s controlled all the way through the 2025 season, joining Shohei Ohtani as a potential building block in a rotation that is otherwise comprised of hurlers who are set to reach free agency this coming winter (Julio Teheran) or after 2021 (Andrew Heaney, Dylan Bundy).

Angels GM Billy Eppler Discusses Wheeler, Simmons, Ohtani, Canning

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Angels general manager Billy Eppler took part in an online Q&A session with fans on Friday, addressing many topics about his team.  Here are some of the highlights, with Eppler’s answers compiled by Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register…

  • The Angels were linked to Zack Wheeler’s market over the winter, and Eppler filled in some details about the team’s interest, saying “we pursued Wheeler pretty aggressively.”  That pursuit included a cross-country trip in November for Eppler, manager Joe Maddon, and team president John Carpino to meet with Wheeler in person.  Despite this courtship, Wheeler ended up signing with the Phillies, though the Halos may have faced an uphill battle to sign the right-hander for geographical reasons, as Wheeler wanted to stay on the East Coast and in closer proximity to his wife’s family in New Jersey.  Other suitors such as the Twins and White Sox also seemingly fell short of Wheeler’s services for the same reason, as Chicago’s offer was reportedly worth more than the $118MM Wheeler received from Philadelphia.
  • Fletcher reported in February that the Angels had yet to begin extension talks with Andrelton Simmons, and Eppler confirmed that the club hadn’t held any negotiations with Simmons and his agents prior to the league shutdown.  As per the GM, there had only been “internal discussions” within the front office at the start of Spring Training about a possible new deal for the defensive wizard.  Simmons is set to become a free agent in the 2020-21 offseason, and the shortstop would still be eligible for the open market even if the COVID-19 pandemic wipes out the entire 2020 season.  Of course, the league-wide transactions freeze also covers extension negotiations, so the Angels and other teams can’t talk contracts with any players during the shutdown.
  • Shohei Ohtani threw two bullpen sessions this week, Eppler revealed, including a 15-pitch session on Friday that consisted of only fastballs.  Ohtani continues to progress in his recovery from Tommy John surgery and should be ready to pitch when and if the season does get underway.  The two-way star was originally slated to return to the mound in mid-May, though since games surely won’t resume by that point, Ohtani likely won’t end up missing any time in the Los Angeles rotation.
  • Eppler also provided an update on Griffin Canning, saying that the young righty should start throwing off a mound within 7-10 days.  “His throwing program is back to 120 to 150 feet this week, at about 70 to 80 percent intensity,” Eppler said.  Canning was sidelined early in Spring Training due to elbow problems, including what the club described at the time as “chronic changes to the UCL and acute joint irritation.”  While there was much speculation that Canning would need Tommy John surgery, Canning instead received a platelet-rich plasma injection, as Eppler said that “surgery wasn’t recommended in Griffin’s case…ultimately the different physicians we had him see didn’t recommend it.”  The prospect of the season being canceled doesn’t have any bearing on whether Canning would eventually undergo a Tommy John procedure, as Eppler said “we would not proactively subject him to that surgery unless there was new evidence or a new injury that took place.”

Griffin Canning Cleared To Begin Throwing Program

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Angels right-hander Griffin Canning has been cleared to begin a throwing program, general manager Billy Eppler announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). Barring setbacks, he could be ready to throw off a mound at month’s end.

Canning, 23, was shut down early in camp after an MRI revealed “chronic changes” to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in addition to “acute irritation” in the joint. However, while the initial diagnosis was ominous, Canning was eventually cleared of any tearing to his ligament and received a recommendation for a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the issue. That step came after getting a second opinion from non-Angels personnel, and the injection was administered just under a month ago.

Angels fans have been witness to a calamitous array of injuries on the pitching staff in recent years, and many are holding their breath with regard to Canning — hoping for the best but fearing a major surgery is in the offing. For the time being, that doesn’t appear to be in the cards, and the indefinite suspension of play will give the talented young Canning some additional time to work back to health.

A second-round pick by the Angels in 2017, Canning entered the 2019 campaign ranked among baseball’s 100 best prospects and made his Major League debut on April 30 after breezing through three starts in Triple-A to open the season (one run with a 17-to-2 K/BB ratio in 16 innings). He’d stick in the big leagues for the long haul, tallying 90 1/3 innings over 18 appearances (17 starts) while compiling a 4.58 ERA with averages of 9.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9. It may not have been the dominant debut for which many fans had hoped, but Canning held his own in the most hitter-friendly season in recent history, and his 13.8 percent swinging-strike rate and 32 percent opponents’ chase rate are both encouraging signs moving forward.

The Angels, of course, never added the top-of-the-rotation arm they coveted in the 2019-20 offseason, which makes a step forward from a healthy Canning all the more crucial to the club if they can get it. He and Shohei Ohtani could now have time to work themselves into mound form before a theoretical new Opening Day, which would allow the Halos to pencil that duo in alongside Andrew Heaney and newcomers Julio Teheran and Dylan Bundy in the 2020 rotation.

Latest on Shohei Ohtani, Griffin Canning

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Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani has progressed in his rehab to throwing off of flat ground, Angels GM Billy Eppler tells reporters, including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic (Twitter link). This seems to be in line with the timeline laid out last month, where he was expected to be able to rejoin the rotation by mid-May. Ardaya says that Ohtani could try throwing off a mound again in a couple weeks, which would be early April. And given that mid-May is the earliest the season could start, it’s seeming likely that Ohtani could be ready to go by Opening Day, regardless of when it is.

Griffin Canning, on the other hand, seems to be behind his rotation mate in terms of his rehab timeline. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports on Twitter that Eppler says Canning is still about a week away from throwing. Canning’s timeline after that is less clear. Unlike Ohtani, who is following a fairly well-understood rehab process to come back from Tommy John surgery, Canning is seemingly trying to avoid an extended absence. His initial diagnosis last month did involve “chronic changes” to his ulnar collateral ligament, but no tearing. Shortly after that, he received “biological injections” to treat his elbow. (Fletcher’s tweet refers to PRP, or a platelet-rich plasma injection.) Whether this path back to health will be effective remains to be seen, but next week’s throwing sessions will be the first step in ascertaining as much.

As recently laid out by Connor Byrne of MLBTR, the delayed start to the season could actually be a boon to the Angels precisely because it reduces the amount of time that the team would need to hobble along with a weakened rotation. It’s now possible that the rotation could consist of Ohtani and Canning, along with Andrew Heaney, Julio Teheran and Dylan Bundy. This would potentially bump Patrick Sandoval, Matt Andriese, Jaime Barria and Dillon Peters into the bullpen or depth positions in the minors.

Griffin Canning To Receive “Biological Injections”

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Angels righty Griffin Canning will receive “biological injections” to treat his ailing elbow, the team announced and MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger was among those to cover on Twitter. The team says he’ll be “reassessed in three to four weeks.”

This news still leaves some mystery as to the underlying condition and to Canning’s outlook. But it confirms that he’ll be sidelined for a lengthy stretch, as had already become clear of late.

Clearly there’s still hope of avoiding an invasive procedure. But the Halos will assuredly need to bring Canning along cautiously even if these injections prove effective. It’ll be hard for the team to presume much of anything about his availability in 2020.

Canning had a strong debut showing in 2019 but ended the season earlier with elbow woes. Unfortunately, they followed him into camp.

While the Halos did add two notable arms to their rotation, trading for Dylan Bundy and signing Julio Teheran, the rotation remains an area of weakness on paper. The Angels do have some options on hand, but they’ll need a few hurlers to establish or reestablish themselves as quality big league starters. For what it’s worth, they’ve shown well collectively to this point in camp, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register notes on Twitter.

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