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Angels Release Jose Iglesias

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The Angels announced they’ve released shortstop José Iglesias. The move clears active and 40-man roster space for right-hander Janson Junk, whose previously-reported promotion to the majors has now been made official.

It’s a somewhat surprising move, as Iglesias has served as Los Angeles’ regular shortstop for the majority of the season. Acquired from the Orioles over the winter, the 31-year-old has started 111 of the Angels 134 games to this point. But he’s proven unable to sustain last year’s small sample offensive output, as Iglesias is hitting .259/.295/.375 with eight home runs across 447 plate appearances (85 wRC+). That’s a bit below his career .276/.316/.380 mark and well off last year’s .373/.400/.556 pace.

As evidenced by his career production, Iglesias has never been a particularly fearsome hitter. He’s instead long been regarded as one of the game’s top defensive infielders, which has led to regular opportunities as an everyday shortstop with the Tigers, Reds, Orioles and Angels in recent seasons. As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently examined, though, Iglesias’ defensive metrics have tumbled this season — a problem that has plagued much of the club.

Defensive Runs Saved has pegged Iglesias as 21 runs below average at shortstop this season, the league’s worst mark for a player at any position. Ultimate Zone Rating and Statcast’s Outs Above Average aren’t quite so bearish, but both systems also peg Iglesias as below average with the glove. Single-season defensive metrics can be variable, and Iglesias is being compared to his peers at shortstop — who tend to be among the game’s best overall infielders. So there remains some hope of him turning things around somewhat, but his unanimously poor ratings this year also likely suggest that his days as one of the sport’s most valuable defenders could be behind him.

Whether Iglesias can right the ship defensively will be determined elsewhere, as he’s apparently not in the future plans for the Angels. At 66-68, Los Angeles is almost certainly going to miss the playoffs this season. Iglesias was due to reach free agency this winter, and the Angels were evidently prepared to move on and look for other options at the position.

For the season’s final few weeks, it seems they’ll give a look to utilityman Jack Mayfield, who has flashed some power potential in recent weeks and has ample long-term team control. Mayfield is hitting just .216 with a .262 on-base percentage overall and is soon to turn 31 years old, though, so it’d be a surprise if Los Angeles is content to roll into 2022 with him pencilled in as the regular shortstop. More likely, they’ll turn to free agency or trade this winter with Mayfield reassuming a depth role moving forward.

Iglesias is playing out this season on a $3.5MM contract. Around $600K of that salary is still owed through the end of the year. Unless another club claims Iglesias off release waivers, the Angels will remain on the hook for the rest of that sum. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, Iglesias would be free to sign with any team for the prorated portion of the league minimum, which would be subtracted from the Angels’ tab. Because he is being cut loose after September 1, Iglesias wouldn’t be eligible for a new team’s postseason roster if he were to latch on somewhere for the stretch run.

Angels Select Janson Junk

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The Angels will select the contract of right-hander Janson Junk today, as first reported by Matt Kardos of Pinstriped Prospects (Twitter link).

Junk, 25, was acquired earlier this summer from the Yankees in the deadline deal that sent left-hander Andrew Heaney to New York. A 22nd-rounder out of Seattle University back in 2017, Junk has elevated his prospect status in 2021 with a strong showing in Double-A, where he’s pitched to a combined 2.81 ERA with a 25.9 percent strikeout rate, a 7.2 percent walk rate and a 43.3 percent ground-ball rate in 93 innings out of the rotation.

FanGraphs’ Kevin Goldstein noted at the time of the trade that Junk features a fastball he can work up into the mid-90s and a newly implemented slider that gives him a solid breaking ball to pair with his primary pitch. Junk currently ranks as the No. 22 prospect in the Angels’ system over at MLB.com, where their scouting report praises the spin rate on his fastball that tops out at 97 mph and also credits him with an average curveball in addition to that new-and-improved slider.

Junk needed to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft anyhow, so it’s not a major surprise to see the Angels add him to the roster for a big league look a bit sooner than that. Coincidentally, his call-up comes on a day when the Angels are scheduled to face off against his former Double-A teammate, Glenn Otto. New York traded Otto to the Rangers as part of the Joey Gallo/Joely Rodriguez trade.

It’s not yet clear whether Junk will pitch out of the rotation or join the Halos’ bullpen for the time being, but he adds another option to a growing stable of young arms who could get auditions in the rotation before too long. Young lefty Patrick Sandoval has likely already seized a spot next season with a strong showing, and the Angels have also taken looks at 2020 top pick Reid Detmers and another promising prospect, right-hander Chris Rodriguez. Pitching help still figures to be a priority for general manager Perry Minasian and his staff this offseason, especially with Heaney now traded, Jose Quintana going to the Giants on waivers and Alex Cobb set to reach free agency at season’s end.

Angels Select Oliver Ortega

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The Angels announced they’ve selected the contract of reliever Oliver Ortega. Infielder Luis Rengifo has also been recalled to take the two additional active roster spots as part of September expansion. To create space for Ortega on the 40-man roster, Los Angeles transferred lefty Patrick Sandoval from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Ortega is in line to make his big league debut. The 24-year-old has split this season between Double-A Rocket City and Triple-A Salt Lake, working to a 5.48 ERA over 42 2/3 innings. That has come with far more impressive peripherals, though, as Ortega has punched out a huge 31.6% of batters faced against a fine 9.3% walk rate. Ortega, who entered the season as Baseball America’s #10 prospect in the system, would have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft if not added to the 40-man roster this winter. The front office will give him a month-long look to gauge his likelihood of being a season-opening bullpen option in 2022.

Sandoval’s IL transfer is a procedural move. The Angels have already ruled him out for the rest of the season due to a stress fracture in his back.

Astros Sign Drew Butera

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The Astros announced they’ve signed catcher Drew Butera to a minor league contract. He’ll be assigned to Triple-A Sugar Land. Butera had been in the Angels’ organization but was released today, setting the stage for this new opportunity.

Butera provides some security for a Houston club that lost fellow catcher Jason Castro to the 10-day injured list last week. Martín Maldonado and Garrett Stubbs are the only other backstops on the 40-man roster. Adding Butera — a respected veteran presence and well-regarded defender — to the high minors offers some additional cover in case Castro doesn’t make it back to the field in the near future.

While Butera saw brief big league time with the Angels this year, he’s spent much of the campaign at Triple-A. The right-handed hitter has posted a .222/.328/.354 line in that hitter-friendly environment. Of course, Butera has never been known for his offense. The 38-year-old owns a career .196/.252/.290 slash over parts of twelve seasons in the majors.

It’s no coincidence the AL West-leading Astros added Butera tonight. Signing him before September 1 means he’ll be eligible for Houston’s postseason roster. For now, he’ll hang around in the high minors as an insurance option. Butera will reach free agency at the end of the season.

Angels Select Jimmy Herget

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The Angels announced they’ve selected reliever Jimmy Herget to the big league roster. Infielder Kean Wong was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake to create an active roster spot. Los Angeles already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so no additional corresponding move was necessary.

Herget just joined the Angels on a minor league deal a couple weeks ago. The low-slot righty has made four appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake, coughing up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings. Nevertheless, the Angels’ front office has been sufficiently impressed with Herget’s form to add him to the middle innings mix.

It’ll be Herget’s second big league stint this season. The 27-year-old logged four innings with the Rangers before being designated for assignment in mid-August. Upon clearing waivers, he elected free agency and latched on with L.A. not long after. While Herget hasn’t yet found success in the Angels’ system, he was quite good with the Rangers’ top affiliate earlier in the year. Through 37 2/3 frames with Round Rock, Herget posted a 2.63 ERA with a strong 30.6% strikeout rate and a solid 7.6% walk percentage.

Quick Hits: Ohtani, Cron, Dodgers, Blach

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Shohei Ohtani was originally scheduled to start today’s game against the Yankees, but the two-way star won’t be pitching due to some soreness in his right hand/wrist area.  Ohtani was hit by a Ryan Weathers pitch on Saturday and didn’t sustain any structural damage, though the Angels are being cautious with the right-hander.  “He’s fine, he’s just sore,” Angels manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters.  “Pitching is problematic, so we’ll just have him hit until he’s ready to pitch.”

Ohtani didn’t leave the lineup after being hit on Saturday, and his batting doesn’t appear to be much affected by his hand/wrist issue.  He belted his Major League-leading 42nd home run in last night’s 8-7 win over New York, further strengthening Ohtani’s increasingly airtight bid to be the American League’s MVP.  Ohtani is now hitting .264/.362/.626 over 516 plate appearances, augmenting his huge hitting numbers with 20 stolen bases and his excellent numbers on the mound (3.00 ERA, 29.9% strikeout rate over 105 innings).  While his injury doesn’t seem overly serious, it isn’t yet known when Ohtani might pitch again.

More from around baseball…

  • The Dodgers made C.J. Cron a contract offer last winter, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).  The exact nature of the offer isn’t known, but Cron instead opted to take a minors deal with the Rockies that ended up paying him $1MM in guaranteed money once he was selected to the active roster.  As noted by Nightengale, it was a “bet on himself” type of move from Cron that has worked out well, as the first baseman has hit .275/.379/.537 with 24 homers over 428 PA.  This type of playing time would likely not have been available in Los Angeles, as Cron was able to fill Colorado’s need for an everyday first baseman.  Cron will look to convert his big season into a nice free agent contract this winter and possibly some security after playing with five different teams over the last five seasons.  Since the Rockies didn’t trade Cron at the deadline, one would imagine the club has some hopes of re-signing the veteran slugger.
  • After undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2020, left-hander Ty Blach has returned to toss 13 innings in the lower levels of the Orioles farm system.  It may be unlikely that Blach gets a call to the majors before the season is over, though the southpaw tells MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski that he is “just excited to be here and face some competition” as he continues his recovery process.  “Really thankful for the Orioles to give me this opportunity to rehab, get me into some games this year, knowing that I wasn’t going to throw many meaningful innings this season,” Blach said.  “But just to help me get out there, that’s meant a lot.  Been nice to be back in a team environment, and I feel really good.”  Baltimore initially claimed Blach off waivers from the Giants in August 2019 and then released the lefty last August, before Blach rejoined the club on a minor league deal during the offseason.

Maddon: Shutting Down Mike Trout “A Possibility”

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Mike Trout continues to feel soreness in his right calf, and after almost three and half months on the injured list, it remains to be seen when or if the Angels superstar might return to action in 2021.  Angels manager Joe Maddon told The Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters that “it’s a possibility” that Trout might be shut down for the remainder of the season.

“We’re probably getting closer to having to say something like that,” Maddon said.  “But he still wants to continue to fight, and we’re going to honor his wishes.  However Mike sees this, we’re going to go with it that way.”

As one might expect, neither Trout or the Angels want to move forward with a minor league rehab assignment while the outfielder continues to deal with lingering discomfort in his calf.  Trout hasn’t been able to get to that next step of being entirely pain-free, as his calf soreness has persisted after Trout has taken part in baseball activities for several weeks now.

The Angels are all but officially out of the playoff hunt, with a 65-67 record and 9.5 games back of a wild card berth.  It isn’t as if Trout is trying to rush back for a pennant race, though Maddon implied that Trout simply wanted to clear the hurdle of his return now rather than wait until Opening Day 2022 to appear in his next big league game.  “The biggest thing about it right now is his mental well-being, how he feels about now and going into the offseason.  That’s the most important thing, and then how it plays into next year,” Maddon said.

As much as Trout might want to return, however, Maddon noted “there’s got to be that moment where we have to start being realistic about it, where we may just have to say, ’That’s it.’ ”  Considering all the time Trout has missed, it would certainly seem like he’d need at least a week of minor league rehab games to ramp up, and the Angels might require a few days of soreness-free workouts prior to such a rehab assignment just to ensure that Trout has fully put his calf injury behind him.

That would leave late September as the most optimistic timeline for when Trout might be able to return, giving Trout perhaps a week or two of games to put a coda on what was shaping up as another huge season.  Trout was hitting .333/.466/.624 over his first 146 plate appearances, with a 192 wRC+ that stood as the highest of his incredible career.  If Trout indeed doesn’t play again this year, 2021 will go down as the shortest season of his career, with only 36 games played.

Giants Claim Jose Quintana

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The Giants have claimed veteran left-hander Jose Quintana off waivers from the Angels, per a team announcement from the Halos. The Giants themselves yet to announce the claim or a corresponding move, although they have an open 40-man roster spot after designating Tyler Chatwood for assignment this weekend.

Quintana, 32, signed a one-year, $8MM contract with the Angels over the winter in hopes of bouncing back from 2020’s injury-ruined season. However, the left-hander labored through just 10 starts before being ousted from the rotation and dropped to the bullpen. Fourteen of his past 15 games have come in relief, and the one spot start he made since that initial demotion went quite poorly. He’s still owed about $1.5MM between now and season’s end, and by claiming him on waivers, the Giants are assuming the remainder of that commitment.

In a total of 53 1/3 innings this season, Quintana has pitched to a 6.75 ERA with a career-worst 11.4  percent walk rate, but his secondary numbers paint a brighter picture. He’s sporting a 3.90 SIERA and career-best marks in strikeout percentage (28.7), swinging-strike rate (11.9 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (32.6 percent). His 45.6 percent ground-ball mark, meanwhile, is his best since back in 2015 with the White Sox.

Quintana has been rocked in the majority of his starts this season, but he holds a 3.93 ERA, a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 3.9 percent walk rate in 18 1/3 frames as a reliever. It’s obviously a very small sample, but the vastly improved control he’s shown when working in relief perhaps encouraged the Giants to take a flier on a veteran arm who was at one point one of the most consistently solid starters in Major League Baseball.

From 2013-18, Quintana pitched at least 174 innings and made at least 32 starts per season. His ERA along the way was a rock-solid 3.58 — a number that was largely supported by metrics such as FIP (3.56) and SIERA (3.85). Quintana was a consummate source of reliable, above-average innings throughout that span and an often-overlooked name in All-Star and awards voting. Despite his consistency, he made just one All-Star appearance and only garnered Cy Young votes on one occasion: a 10th-place finish in 2016.

A return to his peak form probably shouldn’t be expected, but Quintana will give the Giants another lefty who is stretched out enough to at least throw a couple of innings per relief stint. And if he can maintain the output that he’s posted as a reliever to this point in the season — or perhaps improve upon it — he’ll be a fine addition to the team’s relief corps down the stretch. By claiming Quintana prior to Sept. 1, the Giants have ensured that he’ll be eligible for their postseason roster. He’s not a lock to be included, of course, but we’ve seen the Giants help turn around the careers of many pitchers to date and Quintana could surface as yet another data point on that growing list.

West Injury Notes: Paddack, Gray, Ibanez, Ohtani, Astros

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Padres starter Chris Paddack appears to be ready to come off the IL to start Monday’s game in Arizona, according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Acee says that Padres manager Jayce Tingler didn’t confirm the plan, but then later listed Paddack as Monday’s starter on Twitter.

For Paddack, his third big league season has been a disappointing one, logging an ERA of 5.13 over 93 innings. That’s a spike from last year’s 4.73 and his 3.33 mark from 2019. His strikeout rate has also gone in the wrong direction. After a solid 26.9% rate in his debut season, it dropped to 23.7% last year and sits at 22.5% so far this year. However, his walk rate has stuck around 5% in every season, which is excellent. (MLB average is 8.7% this year.)

Despite those struggles, the team has certainly missed Paddack. Since the righty went on the shelf July 31st with an oblique issue, the team has been on a disastrous slide. They’ve gone 9-15 so far in the month of August, surrendering the final National League playoff spot to Cincinnati. During that time, the rotation was missing not only Paddack, but also Yu Darvish. They tried to patch over those absences with the addition of Jake Arrieta, only to see him land on the IL himself after just one start of 3 1/3 innings. With Darvish having already returned and Paddack on the way, that could allow the team to steady the ship and finish strong, as they try to retake the Reds over the season’s final weeks.

Other notes from the west…

  • Rockies starter Jon Gray left last night’s start after 48 pitches. Manager Bud Black told reporters, including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, that the move was precautionary and related to some forearm tightness. Nick Groke of The Athletic gets a bit more granular, explaining that the injured area appears to be away from the ulnar collateral ligament, hopefully negating the worst fears of Rockies fans. Though the extent of the injury remains to be seen, it makes sense for the club to be cautious, as they are 11 games out of a playoff spot. Gray is a free agent at year’s end, but the Rockies are reportedly hoping to sign him to an extension. They will also have to decide on whether or not to issue him a qualifying offer at the end of the season. Gray would surely warrant the offer if he’s healthy. Over 806 2/3 career innings, Gray has an ERA of 4.52 while pitching primarily in the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the league, producing 15.7 fWAR.
  • Rangers infielder Andy Ibanez left last night’s game with left hamstring tightness, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. She quotes Rangers manager Chris Woodward as being “not optimistic” about the injury. Regardless of the eventual severity of the injury, the club has every reason to be cautious, as they have one of the worst records in the league and no shot at contending. If this is the end of the season for Ibanez, it will go down as a solid rookie campaign for the 28-year-old. He’s hit .260/.304/.415, wRC+ of 96, while splitting time between first, second and third base, as well as one game in left field.
  • Shohei Ohtani was hit on the hand by a pitch in last night’s game, while serving as the designated hitter. However, he stuck around for the remainder of the contest and x-rays on the hand came back negative. Angels manager Jeff Madden told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that Ohtani should be fine to make his scheduled start on Tuesday. That is good news for the club and baseball fans in general, as Ohtani is having the most unique and fascinating season that baseball has seen in quite some time, if not ever. He’s currently the MLB home run leader with 41, and has an overall slash line of .264/.363/.623, producing a wRC+ of 160 which is currently bested by only two other qualified hitters. (Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper) All of that is combined with Ohtani’s 105 innings in the Angels’ starting rotation with an ERA of 3.00.
  • The Astros could be getting a couple of players back this week. Jose Urquidy is pitching in a rehab game tonight, which could be his last before returning, according to Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. Urquidy has only been able to make 14 starts this season because of injuries but has been excellent when healthy, putting up an ERA of 3.38. It’s unclear who would be bumped from the rotation in his absence, but some have speculated that Luis Garcia could be an option. Garcia has already set a career high in innings pitched this year and has seen his results slip a bit recently. Since July 26th, he has an ERA of 4.22. The club has already moved another young starter, Cristian Javier, to the bullpen as a way to manage his workload. The Astros could also be welcoming Chas McCormick back later this week. General manager James Click told various reporters, including Mark Berman of Fox 26, that the outfielder could be back as soon as Friday. The club hasn’t suffered much in McCormick’s absence, given that Jake Meyers has been manning center field and has been on a tear. Since having his contract selected last month, in the first 20 games of his career, Meyers is slashing .323/.348/.523.

Angels Outright Aaron Slegers, Select Kyle Tyler

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Aug. 29: Slegers has elected free agency, per a team announcement. He was eligible to do so because he had been previously outrighted in his career.

Aug. 28: The Angels announced that right-hander Aaron Slegers has been outrighted to Triple-A, and that righty Kyle Tyler’s contract has been selected from Triple-A.  Roster space was created last night, when right-hander Cooper Criswell was optioned back to Triple-A following his big league debut.

Tyler is now in line for his first MLB game, after three seasons in the Angels’ farm system since being a 20th-round pick in the 2018 draft.  The 2021 season saw the righty pitch beyond the high-A level for the first time, as he delivered a 3.38 ERA over 72 innings of Double-A ball and then a 5.14 ERA over 14 innings at Triple-A.  That latter statistic is perhaps a bit misleading, as Tyler was crushed for seven runs over two innings in his very first Triple-A outing, but he has allowed just one run in 12 subsequent frames of work.

Baseball America ranked Tyler 28th on their midseason list of the Angels’ top prospects, praising the “tremendous natural cut and ride” on his fastball.  This is his only plus offering, however, so Tyler’s chances at becoming a starter at the MLB level could hinge on the development of his secondary pitches.  Tyler has started 14 of his 20 games in the minors this year, so the Halos could give him a look as a regular starter, a reliever, or perhaps a combination of both roles (i.e. swingman or bulk pitcher).  Since Patrick Sandoval will miss the rest of the season, Anaheim will have some room in the rotation to audition Tyler and other younger arms in the organization.

The Angels acquired Slegers in a trade with the Rays last February, and the righty’s first season in L.A. has been a tough one.  Slegers has a 6.97 ERA over 31 relief innings, with only a 16.8% strikeout rate.  While he has a career-best 57.9% grounder rate, Slegers has also been hurt badly by the long ball, with six home runs allowed for a 23.1% home rate.  The 31 innings represents a new career high for Slegers, who tossed 58 total innings while appearing in each of the last four seasons (2017-18 with the Twins and 2019-20 with the Rays).

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