Minor MLB Transactions: 11/12/20
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Red Sox have inked right-handed reliever Kevin McCarthy to a minor league contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. McCarthy will earn an $825K salary if he makes the majors in 2021. The 28-year-old appeared in the bigs with the Royals in each season from 2016-20, and despite a meager 5.63 K/9, he recorded a 3.80 ERA/4.11 FIP in 191 2/3 innings. McCarthy has three seasons of between 45 and 70 innings under his belt, but after a 2020 in which he threw a mere six frames, the Royals outrighted him.
- The Angels have signed infielder Kean Wong and righty Jake Reed to minors contracts with invitations to MLB camp, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. A fourth-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2013, Wong’s only major league experience came when he went 3-for-18 with the Rays and Angels in 2019. Wong does, however, own a respectable .286/.350/.413 line in 1,425 Triple-A plate appearances. The 25-year-old is the younger brother of free-agent second baseman Kolten Wong, whom the Angels have shown interest in this offseason. Reed entered the pro ranks as a Twins fifth-rounder in 2014, but he hasn’t gotten to the majors yet. The 28-year-old appeared at the Triple-A level from 2016-19, during which he logged a 3.68 ERA with 9.6 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 over 164 innings.
Angels Name Perry Minasian GM
3:20pm: The Angels have announced the hiring. Minasian received a four-year contract, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets.
12:09pm: The Angels have decided on Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian as their new general manager, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Rosenthal reported last night that Minasian was the favorite to land the post, replacing the recently fired Billy Eppler.
Following Eppler’s ousting, the Angels reportedly interviewed as many as 20 candidates for the position, though Minasian was one of just five to advance to the second wave of interviews. Also in the mix were Cubs senior vice president of player personnel Jason McLeod, D-backs assistant GMs Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye, and Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander.
Ultimately the job will be entrusted to Minasian, who has been with the Braves since 2017 after a nine-year run working his way up through the Blue Jays’ scouting ranks. His appointment to this post makes for another rookie GM hire for Angels owner Arte Moreno, who has previously tabbed first-timers Tony Reagins, Jerry Dipoto and the aforementioned Eppler to lead his baseball ops department. (Dipoto had served as an interim GM in Arizona prior to being hired by the Angels.)
That’s not to suggest that Minasian is in any way a head-scratching hire — far from it. He’s previously been connected to GM vacancies, including the Mets’ opening prior to their 2018 hiring of Brodie Van Wagenen. Minasian has seemingly been preparing for an opportunity like this for most of his life, in fact. As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman noted back when the Braves hired Minasian in October 2017, he served as the Rangers’ bat boy while his father was their equipment manager and eventually rose to clubhouse attend and then to the team’s scouting department prior to his move to the Blue Jays. His brother, Zack, is currently the Giants’ pro scouting director.
From his time in the clubhouse to his tenure as a prominent scout and then an assistant GM and vice president who helped to bolster the Braves’ analytics department, Minasian has a wealth of experiences and vantage points — all of which have contributed to his ascension to the top of a big league baseball operations department.
Minasian inherits a crowded but manageable long-term payroll outlook in Anaheim. The Angels are at last in the final season of the 10-year, $240MM Albert Pujols contract negotiated by Moreno, and they’ll be out from underneath Justin Upton‘s five-year, $105MM deal after the 2022 season. Starting in 2023, the only players on the books for the Angels are Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, although they’ll have some key players up for arbitration that year — most notably Shohei Ohtani, David Fletcher and Griffin Canning.
Minasian joined the Braves after the 2017 season as they were emerging from a rebuilding effort. He’ll now join a club with an even greater win-now imperative — this time standing alone atop the operations hierarchy (although Moreno has a reputation for being far more involved in baseball operations maneuverings than most of his ownership peers). It’s been six years since the Halos and Trout last reached the postseason, and Moreno has clearly grown restless as that drought has grown.
Minasian should have the green light for an aggressive offseason if he wishes. Jason Martinez of Roster Resource/FanGraphs projects a roughly $36MM gap between the Angels’ current luxury obligations and the luxury tax barrier, and that only figures to grow once the Halos make some expected non-tenders. The Angels will need to address at least one middle-infield spot and perhaps add a catcher, but the bulk of Minasian’s heavy lifting should be expected to be on the pitching side of things — in the rotation and bullpen alike.
Minasian, Hollander Finalists For Angels GM Job
11:29pm: Minasian is seen as the “front-runner,” Rosenthal tweets.
11:03pm: The Angels have narrowed their search for a new GM. They’ll choose between Braves assistant GM Perry Minasian and Mariners AGM Justin Hollander, according to Ken Rosenthal and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Other serious candidates included Jason McLeod of the Cubs and Jared Porter of the Diamondbacks. Both were among the finalists recently removed from consideration, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Another Arizona exec, Amiel Sawdaye, was also among the finalists, Rosenthal adds.
It seems we’ll soon know which of the remaining candidates will get the gig. The Halos will likely announce their choice tomorrow, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Registers reports on Twitter.
The top baseball operations position came open in late September, on the heels of another disappointing season. Owner Arte Moreno elected to cut bait on GM Billy Eppler despite recently extending his contract by one additional year.
Despite a five-year run of losing campaigns under Eppler, the Angels aren’t expected to present a rebuilding opportunity for a new front office leader. The club still features some premium talent, headlined by living legend Mike Trout, with the payroll commitments to match.
Though the Angels reportedly considered a wide array of potential hires, including some with previous experience in a GM seat, the team clearly homed in on a certain archetype as its search progressed. The five finalists are all relatively youthful, rising-star types who’ve yet to run their own department.
Angels Down To Five GM Finalists
Nov. 11: Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian is the fifth finalist for the job, Rosenthal tweets.
Nov. 10: The Los Angeles Angels are closing in on their next general manager. Per the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter), the Angels have narrowed the field to a final five candidates. Granted, the field was said to have narrowed to three as of a couple of days ago, but regardless of how many remain in contention, Rosenthal adds that a decision could be made by the end of the week.
The known candidates are Cubs senior VP Jason McLeod, Diamondbacks assistant GMs Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye, and Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander. The unknown fifth candidate fits a similar mold as an assistant GM type, per Rosenthal. Porter and McLeod both connect back to manager Joe Maddon and his time with the Cubs, while Hollander spent 9 years in the Angels’ front office before moving to the Mariners, notes Rosenthal.
As many as 14 different candidates were said to have interviewed for the role, most notably Michael Hill, formerly of the Marlins. Dave Dombrowski was rumored to be a consideration, but he proved unavailable for front office roles at this time. The Angels have apparently chosen to go the promotion route, selecting someone without significant prior experience in the role.
Quick Hits: M. Kelly, Angels, Royals, Shoemaker, Crochet
D-backs righty Merrill Kelly is on the mend after undergoing thoracic outlet surgery and tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that to this point, the rehab process has been “way easier than I could have ever imagined.” Kelly expects to begin a throwing program later this month and struck a generally upbeat chord when discussing his future and his recovery process.
Thoracic outlet surgery has been a dagger to many careers in recent years, as the track record of successful returns from TOS is considerably smaller than with other major procedures like Tommy John surgery. That said, there have been some notable success stories, including Chris Young and Jaime Garcia. Tyson Ross had a nice 2018 campaign after 2016 TOS, and Royals righty Kyle Zimmer, who also had TOS surgery a few years ago, posted what looked like a breakout campaign in 2020.
The D-backs picked up a $4.25MM club option on Kelly for the 2021 season and hold a $5.25MM option on him for the 2022 campaign. Since coming over from the KBO following the 2018 season, Kelly has a 4.15 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 214 2/3 innings (37 starts).
A few more notes from around the league…
- The Angels’ search for a general manager is down “to no more than three candidates,” though the names aren’t known, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. That’s a significant drop-off for a team that has reportedly considered 14 candidates to replace the fired Billy Eppler. The Angels figure to complete a new round of interviews by the end of next week and should have a GM by Thanksgiving, according to Morosi.
- More from Morosi, who reports (on Twitter) that the Royals have shown interest in free-agent righty Matt Shoemaker. They join the previously reported Red Sox in that regard. Injuries have limited Shoemaker during his Angels/Blue Jays career, which began in 2013, but he has been pretty effective when healthy enough to pitch. Shoemaker owns a 3.86 ERA/4.03 FIP with 8.07 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 602 1/3 innings.
- Left-hander Garrett Crochet gave the White Sox a scare when he was pulled from a postseason game following a velocity dip and subsequently diagnosed with a flexor strain. However, the 2020 first-rounder tells MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that he’s now pain-free after some down time and, after a recent wave of tests, is set up to commence an offseason throwing program at his new home in Arizona. The organization hasn’t yet set a role for the flamethrower, but Crochet adds that he’s comfortable working as a starter or reliever and is merely focused on gaining more pro experience in 2021. The 21-year-old Crochet skyrocketed from the University of Tennessee to the Majors in a span of a couple months, holding opponents scoreless through 6 2/3 innings — postseason and regular season combined — and whiffing 10 of the 24 batters he faced.
Quick Hits: Mets, Lindor, Angels, Hill, Padres, Pirates
The Mets could go after Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor in a trade during the offseason, but the return might prove prohibitive for New York. As David Lennon of Newsday tweets, the Indians could ask for an Andres Gimenez–Jeff McNeil tandem in trade talks. That would be a lot for the Mets, who saw Gimenez perform well as a rookie in 2020 and who have gotten tremendous production from the versatile McNeil dating back to his 2018 debut. McNeil has batted an outstanding .319/.383/.501 in 1,024 major league plate appearances, so it seems highly unlikely the Mets will part with him and Gimenez for one year of control over Lindor.
- Former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, whom they parted with in late October, continues to look like a serious candidate for the Angels’ general manager job. Hill will have an in-person meeting soon with Angels owner Arte Moreno, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
- Padres left-hander Matt Strahm recently underwent successful surgery on his partially torn right patellar tendon, Robert Murray of Fansided reports. The 28-year-old Strahm logged a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP with a career-worst 6.53 K/9 against 1.74 BB/9 over 20 2/3 innings in 2020.
- John Baker looks like the front-runner to take over as the Pirates’ farm director, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reports. The former major league catcher has been working in the Cubs’ front office since 2015.
Latest On Shohei Ohtani
After back-to-back injury-limited seasons, the Angels expect a healthy Shohei Ohtani for spring training in 2021, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. Ohtani has been throwing from 120 feet of late with roughly 75 to 80 percent effort, according to Fletcher.
This is welcome news at the outset of the offseason for the Angels. who probably haven’t gotten as much out of the ballyhooed Ohtani as expected since they signed the former Japanese standout before 2018. The two-way Ohtani more than lived up to the hype as a pitcher and hitter in his first year, but elbow problems limited him to 51 2/3 innings then. He subsequently underwent Tommy John surgery, which stopped him from pitching in 2019, and then threw a meager 1 2/3 frames this year because of a flexor strain.
All said, Ohtani has given the Angels 53 1/3 innings of 4.39 ERA/3.89 FIP ball with 11.14 K/9 and 5.06 BB/9 across 53 1/3 innings. As a hitter, the 26-year-old has slashed an easily above-average .269/.340/.503 (126 wRC+) with 47 home runs and 29 stolen bases in 967 plate appearances, though he did struggle in 2020. Nevertheless, Ohtani’s someone the Angels will continue to bank on, both as a starter and a designated hitter, in 2021.
Dombrowski Staying With Nashville Group, Not A Candidate For Current Front Office Openings
Former Marlins, Tigers and Red Sox baseball operations lead Dave Dombrowski has been regularly mentioned as a possible candidate for the Angels’ GM vacancy, but Dombrowski went on record with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal to explain that he is committed to his current role with Music City Baseball and is not pursuing other opportunities in the sport.
Dombrowski, former D-backs GM Dave Stewart and Tony La Russa joined Music City Baseball, LLC back in July — an organization endeavoring to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville, Tenn. While La Russa was clearly open to other opportunities — he’s since been the surprise managerial pick of White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf — Dombrowski tells Rosenthal that he signed a four-year contract and has no plans to change course.
“I’m staying in Nashville,” Dombrowski plainly stated, adding that he made “…a commitment when I moved here that as we continue to pursue a new team — expansion, relocation or if it goes nowhere — that I would stay here with them.”
For now, the Nashville group will continue its efforts to bring a team to Tennessee and Dombrowski will remain a major part of that effort. It’s likely, per Rosenthal, that if Dombrowski’s group is ultimately able to succeed in bringing an expansion club to the city, that he would head up that new club’s baseball ops department. Of course, that’s a rather long-term goal that likely won’t come to fruition at any point in the immediate future, if at all. Dombrowski did leave the door open for him to explore new MLB opportunities before the end of his current contract if eventually “there’s nothing at the end of the road” and “we don’t have an organization” any longer.
It’s clear, though, that Dombrowski’s name can be removed from speculation surrounding not only the Angels but the Marlins, Phillies and, if a change is made in New York under new owner Steve Cohen, the Mets.
Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Angels
The 2020 campaign was another disappointment for the Angels, who finished under .500 for the fifth straight year and expanded their playoff drought to six seasons. General manager Billy Eppler lost his job as a result, and the Angels are now searching for his replacement. Despite the Angels’ recent struggles, the next GM will inherit a high-payroll club with some blue-chip talent on its roster.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Mike Trout, CF: $354.5MM through 2030
- Anthony Rendon, 3B: $215.5MM through 2026
- Justin Upton, OF: $51MM through 2022
- Albert Pujols, 1B: $30MM through 2021
Arbitration-Eligible Players
Note on arb-eligible players: this year’s arbitration projections are more volatile than ever, given the unprecedented revenue losses felt by clubs and the shortened 2020 schedule. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, who developed our arbitration projection model, used three different methods to calculate different projection numbers. You can see the full projections and an explanation of each if you click here, but for the purposes of our Outlook series, we’ll be using Matt’s 37-percent method — extrapolating what degree of raise a player’s 2020 rate of play would have earned him in a full 162-game slate and then awarding him 37 percent of that raise.
- Justin Anderson – $700K
- Matt Andriese – $1.9MM
- Dylan Bundy – $6.8MM
- Andrew Heaney – $5.7MM
- Mike Mayers – $800K
- Keynan Middleton – $900K
- Shohei Ohtani – $2.1MM (using hitter model)
- Felix Pena – $800K
- Noe Ramirez – $1.0MM
- Hansel Robles – $3.9MM
- Max Stassi – $1.4MM
- Non-tender candidates: Anderson, Andriese, Middleton, Robles
Free Agents
- Andrelton Simmons, Julio Teheran, Cam Bedrosian (outrighted, elected free agency)
Led by the foremost position player tandem in baseball — center fielder Mike Trout and third baseman Anthony Rendon — the Angels fielded an above-average offense in 2020, ranking ninth in runs and 11th in wRC+. The problem is that the Angels couldn’t keep runs off the board, which has been the case far too often during their years-long skid. Their pitching staff tied for the fifth-worst ERA in baseball, and while it did fare better with the game’s 17th-ranked FIP, that’s probably not of much comfort to the Angels or their long-suffering fans.
As this offseason gets underway, the Angels are once again going to have search for starting help. That said, their rotation does appear to have at least a few quality pieces in place. Former Oriole Dylan Bundy broke out in 2020, his first season as an Angel; Andrew Heaney turned in a solid and healthy season; Griffin Canning performed well in his second year; and Jaime Barria rebounded over a small sample of starts. However, the Angels didn’t get much else from their rotation, in part because Shohei Ohtani was barely a factor for the second straight season. Opposing offenses clobbered Ohtani over two appearances, and he didn’t pitch after Aug. 2 because of a flexor strain in his right arm.
Ohtani has thrown just 53 1/3 innings since he debuted in 2018 and a grand total of 1 2/3 frames dating back to 2019. It’s going to be hard to count on him going forward, though the Angels figure to at least give the gifted Ohtani another opportunity in 2021. That could even come as part of a six-man rotation, which he’s accustomed to from his days in Japan.
If the Angels do experiment with a six-man rotation, it could up their chances of signing the offseason’s No. 1 free agent, Trevor Bauer. Coming off a potential NL Cy Young-winning season with the Reds, Bauer has expressed interest in pitching every fourth day. The Southern California native may be open to doing so for the Angels, but that’s assuming they’re going to pursue him and add yet another big contract to their books. It’s also unclear whether Bauer would even want to pitch for the struggling Angels, considering the 29-year-old has made it clear he’d like to play for a winner on an annual basis. It’s also worth noting that Bauer has had differences in the past with Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway, who held the same position when the two were in Cleveland.
As Ben Reiter wrote for Sports Illustrated in 2019: “A few years ago, Bauer says, Mickey Callaway—then the Tribe’s pitching coach, now the Mets’ manager—berated him during batting practice for nearly an hour for refusing to throw more fastballs. Callaway had a point: Bauer’s career ERA was around 4.50. Bauer had a point too. “My process has been the same the entire time,” he says. “I’m going to try to find every single way to do better, and I’ve probably researched it more than you have. Don’t tell me what I do and don’t know without some good f—ing data behind it.”
That doesn’t necessarily rule the Angels out for Bauer, though it’s at least worth keeping in mind. In the event the Angels don’t get Bauer, there will be at least a few other capable starters available (albeit less exciting ones). Beginning with a trade possibility, the Rangers’ Lance Lynn would give the Angels some much-needed stability near the top of their rotation. Of course, reeling in Lynn would require the Angels to pry him from a division rival.
Free agency features plenty of other well-known names after Bauer, but most come with their share of questions. Marcus Stroman, Kevin Gausman, Masahiro Tanaka and Jake Odorizzi could each pull in fairly lucrative deals for multiple years, while there are a slew of one- or two-year possibilities including Jose Quintana, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, ex-Angel Garrett Richards, Corey Kluber, Mike Minor, Adam Wainwright, Cole Hamels and Jon Lester. Some members of that group happen to have past connections to the Angels’ coaching staff. Quintana, Hamels and Lester were in the Cubs’ rotation when Joe Maddon was their manager, while Kluber was a two-time Cy Young winner in Cleveland when Callaway was the Indians’ pitching coach.
Just as the Angels figure to address their rotation this winter, their bullpen is also likely to be a focus. Their top reliever, Mike Mayers, is returning, but help is needed otherwise — especially from the left side. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them pursue free agents such as Brad Hand and Jake McGee (who played under Maddon in Tampa Bay). The right side has an even larger selection, including Liam Hendriks, Trevor May, Trevor Rosenthal, Alex Colome (he was also with Maddon as a Ray), Mark Melancon and Shane Greene. The very fact that Mayers, a Nov. 2019 waiver claim who came to the organization with a career 7.03 ERA, emerged as their most reliable reliever in 2020 speaks to the need to supplement this group.
Turning to the offensive side, most of the Angels’ regulars for 2020 looks to be in place. Trout and Rendon will continue to man their positions, while David Fletcher will have a starting spot somewhere. The Angels are stuck with first baseman Albert Pujols and left fielder Justin Upton because of their contracts, so they’ll continue to get regular playing time (Jared Walsh will rejoin Pujols at first). Ohtani should continue as their option at DH. At catcher, the Angels are unlikely to pursue a new starter to replace Max Stassi, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Stassi did undergo hip surgery in October, which could call his Opening Day availability into question. If it does, the Angels might at least make a depth move there and pair that player with Anthony Bemboom as they await Stassi’s return.
The Angels at least seem likely to address their middle infield from the outside, as they’re losing starting shortstop Andrelton Simmons to free agency. The club does appear to have several viable outside options, though, considering Fletcher is versatile enough to hold down second base or short. If he plays second, they can peruse the trade market (e.g. Francisco Lindor, Trevor Story) or free agency (e.g. Didi Gregorius, Marcus Semien, Ha-Seong Kim) for a shortstop. If he handles short, the Angels could look to DJ LeMahieu, Kolten Wong, old friend Tommy La Stella or Cesar Hernandez to take over at the keystone. They’ve already expressed interest in Wong — who, as MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk noted, resembles the second base version of Simmons. Gregorius is said to be of interest to them as well.
The Angels may have to make a move in their outfield, where they received little to no production from anyone but Trout in 2020. As mentioned earlier, Upton will get a chance to rebound by virtue of the $51MM he’s owed through 2022 and his full no-trade clause. Right field doesn’t look as certain, however. The Angels do have Jo Adell and Taylor Ward there, but Adell had a brutal debut and Ward didn’t hit a home run in 102 plate appearances. Adell has long rated as one of the game’s elite prospects, but he barely got his feet wet in Triple-A in 2019 and obviously didn’t have the benefit of a minor league season in 2020. He could require some additional development time.
It may at least make sense to bring in a left-handed bat to platoon with all of their right-handed corner outfielders and slightly balance out the lineup. Michael Brantley, Joc Pederson, Brett Gardner, Jurickson Profar and Robbie Grossman lead the way among this winter’s class of lefty-capable hitters who can play the outfield. Admittedly, Brantley seems like a better fit for a club that can offer him some time at DH to help keep him fresh. The Angels did have a trade in place for Pederson last winter, but their deal with the Dodgers fell through for unknown reasons. It’s anyone’s guess whether a new front office regime would pursue him.
Year 1 of the Trout-Rendon era didn’t produce nearly enough team success — through no fault of that duo, of course — but it’s a massive advantage for the next GM to have those two in place. If the Angels are finally going to get back to contention in 2021, that executive will at least have to make meaningful additions to the Halos’ pitching staff and figure out the middle infield.
AL Notes: Rangers, Angels, Quatraro
Some notes from the American League:
- The Rangers reinstated a trio of players from the 60-day injured list this afternoon, per a team announcement. Right-hander José Leclerc and left-handers Brock Burke and Joe Palumbo are all back on the 40-man roster, bringing Texas’ tally to 35. Those three relievers only combined for 4.1 innings in 2020. Leclerc suffered a teres major strain in July, while Burke underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in February. Palumbo, meanwhile, battled a bout of ulcerative colitis.
- The Angels and assistant general manager Jonathan Strangio are parting ways, reports Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic (Twitter link). The Harvard alum’s contract expired October 31 and was not renewed. There’s been quite a bit of turnover in the Halos’ front office in recent weeks. The club fired general manager Billy Eppler, while former advisor Tony La Russa signed on as White Sox manager. As Ardaya notes in a follow-up tweet, Strangio had taken on a larger role in day-to-day baseball operations in the wake of Eppler’s firing. He informed the organization in August he’d be leaving at the end of the season for family reasons, Ardaya adds.
- Before deciding on A.J. Hinch, the Tigers interviewed Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro in their managerial search, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Quatraro also drew some consideration from the Pirates and Giants for their respective vacancies last offseason. The 46-year-old has been on Kevin Cash’s coaching staff since the start of the 2018 season.