- Things don’t appear to be trending well for Kole Calhoun to return to Los Angeles in 2020, observes Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription link). As expected, Olney notes that the Angels hope to clear room alongside Mike Trout and Justin Upton for top outfield prospect Jo Adell, Baseball America’s #2 prospect. The Angels hold a $14MM option (or a $1M buyout) on Calhoun’s services, a borderline price point for a corner outfielder with a .233/.325/.466 slash (107 wRC+). Despite the not-insignificant price tag, Olney believes the Angels will at least consider picking up the option and dangling Calhoun in trade, figuring some outfield-needy team would be willing to take on the veteran for a marginal prospect return.
Angels Rumors
Goodwin Has Played Himself Into 2020 Plans
- The Angels’ March claim of Brian Goodwin off release waivers from the Royals may have initially been intended to find a capable stopgap for the injured Justin Upton, but the 28-year-old Goodwin looks to have played himself into the team’s plans in 2020, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “Truthfully, I thought he was going to be a filler until Upton came back,” manager Brad Ausmus admitted. “But then he just proved himself to be way too valuable. Much more than just a stop-gap player. He’s turned himself into, shoot, you could make the argument he should play more.” Goodwin, indeed, has been a boon to the Halos’ roster, hitting at a .286/.346/.507 clip with 15 home runs, 27 doubles, two triples and five steals through 380 plate appearances. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter and should secure the first seven-figure salary of his career. The Angels hold a club option on Kole Calhoun and will have both Upton and Mike Trout back in 2020, but Goodwin at the very least should be a fourth outfield option next season.
Can The Angels Land A Scott Boras Ace?
The relationship between Scott Boras and Angels owner Arte Moreno is a notable subplot of the Halos’ plans to upgrade their starting pitching this winter, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required). There has been some level of friction between Moreno and Boras ever since the Angels came up short in their pursuit of free agent and Boras client Mark Teixeira in the 2008-09 offseason. This isn’t to say that the two sides haven’t worked together since, as current Angels such as Noe Ramirez and top prospect Jo Adell are all represented by the Boras Corporation, and the Angels have signed Boras clients like Ryan Madson and Matt Harvey to notable deals in recent years.
Still, the modest Madson/Harvey contracts are a far cry from what it would take to sign one of the several Boras clients at or near the top of the free agent pitching market — i.e. Gerrit Cole, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dallas Keuchel, and (if he opts out of his contract) Stephen Strasburg. Even beyond the Boras clients, Rosenthal notes that Los Angeles also couldn’t come to terms with any upper-tier free agent arms the team pursued last winter, leading the Angels towards their ill-fated strategy of signing players like Harvey to one-year contracts. Beyond free agency, Rosenthal wonders if the Halos could trade for pitching by offering from a farm system that is heavy on position-player talent, if not necessarily elite talent (besides Adell) in the eyes of most prospect rankings.
Notable September Callups
We’ll track the flurry of notable callups as roster expand on September 1.
Latest Moves
- The Mets promoted left-hander Daniel Zamora and right-hander Tyler Bashlor from Triple-A, and also selected the contract of second baseman Sam Haggerty. (The club posted a fun video on its Twitter account of the players receiving the news.) A 24th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2015 draft, Haggerty came to the Mets last winter part of the trade that sent Kevin Plawecki to the Indians. Haggerty began the year at low-A ball and worked his way up to the Show after posting a .907 OPS over 49 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Earlier Updates
- The Diamondbacks announced a slew of callups today. Most notably, the club has selected the contract of outfielder Abraham Almonte and recalled right-hander Jon Duplantier. Almonte, 30, has logged time as a reserve each of the past six seasons, to the tune of a career .237/.294/.367 slash (79 wRC+). Duplantier, one of the club’s top pitching prospects, has battled injury issues in recent years but offers a high-upside bullpen piece for the stretch run.
- The Rays’ September additions include a number of notable players, with Nate Lowe headlining a group of five call-ups. He’ll be joined by Peter Fairbanks and Daniel Robertson, among others.
- The Braves announced they’ve recalled utilityman Johan Camargo. Camargo was optioned after the club signed Adeiny Hechavarría to replace the injured Dansby Swanson at shortstop. Swanson’s back now, and Hechavarría is still on hand, so it’ll be a tough climb for Camargo, who’s mired in a dreadful season. He’s only a year removed from a productive age-24 campaign, though.
- The Padres will select the contract of right-handed reliever David Bednar, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The 24 year-old gets a little lost among the Padres’ loaded system, but he boasts a pair of plus offerings in his fastball and curveball, opine Kiley McDaniel and Eric Lognenhagen of Fangraphs. Despite a less-than-stellar reputation for his command, Bednar has dazzled in the Texas League this season, pitching to a 2.95 ERA with elite strikeout (35.8%) and walk (7.5%) numbers.
- The Indians announced today they have selected the contracts of Ryan Flaherty and James Hoyt. They’ve also recalled Eric Haase. Flaherty’s solid Triple-A work this year has earned him his seventh consecutive big league season, where he’ll serve as infield depth for the club down José Ramírez. Hoyt logged 72.2 innings with the Astros from 2016-2018 and offers right-handed bullpen depth, while Haase, 26, is a power-hitting catcher with contact issues.
- The Yankees announced they have selected left-hander Tyler Lyons. The veteran reliever just signed a minor-league contract with the organization a few weeks ago and adds depth to a loaded bullpen. Right-hander David Hale was transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man space. The Bombers also recalled right-handers Ryan Dull and Chance Adams and outfielder Clint Frazier.
- The Cardinals have selected catcher Joe Hudson, per a team announcement. The 28 year-old got into eight games last year with the Angels. He’s had a tough season offensively with Triple-A Memphis, slashing .223/.293/.411. Outfielder Lane Thomas was transferred to the 60-day injured list with a season-ending wrist injury. Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets that veteran backstop Matt Wieters is day-to-day with a calf strain, so the club elected to bring Hudson and Andrew Knizner aboard to bolster their catching depth.
- The Brewers announced they have selected the contract of first baseman Tyler Austin. A former Yankee, Twin and Giant, Austin has a strong minor-league track record and brings some right-handed power, but has mustered only a .220/.288/.451 line in 556 career MLB plate appearances thanks to untenable strikeout rates.
- Top Astros prospect Kyle Tucker isn’t up yet, but he will be shortly, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Houston’s additional reinforcements will be announced tomorrow, Rome adds. The 22 year-old corner outfielder has again laid waste to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and has nothing left to prove at the minor-league level, but opportunities have been few and far between in the Astros’ loaded lineup.
- Just-acquired first baseman Ryan McBroom will be selected to the Royals’ active roster shortly, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. As Flanagan notes, the 27 year-old was likely to be added to the 40-man this offseason to protect him from the Rule V draft regardless, so there’s little harm in giving him his first taste of MLB action in the meantime. The former 15th-rounder has put up strong offensive numbers throughout his minor-league career, culminating in a .315/.402/.574 line in the Triple-A International League this season.
Cam Bedrosian To Injured List With Forearm Strain
The Angels have announced that reliever Cam Bedrosian has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain. Bedrosian’s IL placement will be retroactive to Aug. 29. Righty Jose Rodriguez has been called up from Triple-A Salt Lake in a concurrent move.
This is certainly concerning news for Angels brass considering Bedrosian’s intimate relationship with injury–the 27-year-old pitcher had Tommy John surgery while in the minor leagues and saw his 2016 season end early with surgery to repair a blood clot in his arm.
Fortunately, Bedrosian indicated to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that this forearm strain does not feel similar to the one he experienced prior to his TJ surgery; Bedrosian also told Fletcher that he only expects to be shut down for about a week (link).
2019 had been a solid effort to date for the son of former big leaguer Steve Bedrosian. Across 61.1 innings, the righty has managed a 3.23 ERA supported by a healthy 9.39 K/9 mark and 3.23 BB/9 mark. Those numbers aren’t far off the career numbers he’s compiled over 263.0 frames since debuting in 2014 (3.76 ERA, 9.55 K/9, and 3.76 BB/9 career marks). Bedrosian is making $1.75MM this year in his second turn through arbitration.
Rodriguez, a 23-year-old rookie from Venezuela, will be making his third trip on the Anaheim taxi squad. In 5.2 Angel innings this year, Rodriguez has logged a 4.76 ERA–which actually represents far better results than he’s managed in Triple-A. In 61.2 PCL innings split between the bullpen and rotation, the righty has been tattooed to the tune of a 6.57 ERA and 5.38 FIP.
Angels Exercise 2020 Option Over GM Billy Eppler
The Angels have exercised a club option over general manager Billy Eppler for the 2020 season, according to Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). His original contract came with a four-year term, with the club option for another.
That decision leaves the front office under Eppler’s guidance for at least one more campaign. Unless further contract talks take place, however, he won’t enjoy a longer-term commitment.
Eppler, who was previously one of Yankees general manager Brian Cashman’s top lieutenants in New York, took over the Angels’ front office in October 2015. The franchise hasn’t achieved ideal on-field results since Eppler grabbed the reins, though, as it has finished below .500 in each of his years at the helm. At 64-71 in 2019, the Halos are on their way to another disappointing campaign in the standings, and they’re sure to extend their playoff drought to a half-decade.
Of course, it would be unfair to place the Angels’ current struggles solely at Eppler’s feet. The sudden passing of quality starter Tyler Skaggs back on July 1 has been among the reasons the Angels’ season has come off the rails. Most teams likely would’ve had difficulty carrying on in the wake of such a tragedy.
Skaggs looked like a long-term building block for the Angels’ rotation – a group that’s lacking in that department. Consequently, upgrading the team’s starting staff will perhaps be the chief objective for Eppler during the upcoming offseason. Eppler swung and missed in that category last offseason with the short-term signings of Matt Harvey (one year, $11MM) and Trevor Cahill (one year, $9MM). Harvey’s no longer on the club, which released him last month, while Cahill lost his starting job earlier in the season and hasn’t exactly been a lights-out reliever. Eppler acknowledged a few weeks ago that there are some strong starters set for free agency, so he may well go that route to ameliorate his roster.
Regardless of whether Eppler reels in any prominent free agents in the coming months, the return of right-hander Shohei Ohtani in 2020 should go a long way toward bettering the Halos’ rotation. Eppler’s signature free-agent signing to date, Ohtani hasn’t been able to pitch this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery last October. Ohtani, Andrew Heaney and Griffin Canning (a second-round pick of the Eppler regime in 2017) are among a few promising starting options for the Angels going forward.
The 25-year-old Ohtani’s also indispensable to the team’s offense, which makes the hurler/DH arguably the most unique player in baseball. He’s among a few excellent offensive complements to the top player in the sport, center fielder Mike Trout, whom Eppler inherited. However, it’s obviously a feather in Eppler’s cap that he was able to extend the future Hall of Famer to a record 10-year, $360MM contract prior to the season. The Angels haven’t capitalized on Trout’s presence yet, but considering he’s now in line to finish his career with the organization, there’s plenty of time for that to occur.
Trout could be joined in the Angels’ outfield next season by young outfielder Jo Adell, who’s among the majors’ elite prospects. Adell, the 10th overall pick of the Angels in 2017, is the face of a farm system that has made notable improvements during Eppler’s tenure. Eppler inherited a group of farmhands that ranked near the bottom of the league, but FanGraphs recently placed it 11th in the game.
There have clearly been hits and misses during Eppler’s run in Anaheim, but at least for now, deep-pocketed owner Arte Moreno believes the good outweighs the bad. It remains to be seen, though, whether the Angels will exercise the same patience with Eppler a year from now if there isn’t legitimate progress in the win-loss department.
Authorities Release Autopsy Report On Tyler Skaggs
The Tarrant County (Texas) medical examiner’s office has released a toxicology report regarding the untimely death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs. As Maria Torres and Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times report, the 27-year-old was determined to have died after imbibing a toxic combination of opioids and alcohol.
Specifically, the report found that Skaggs had taken the painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone. Thereafter, he died accidentally of “aspiration of gastric contents.”
The Skaggs family has issued a statement on the matter, which remains under investigation by the local police department. Attorney Rusty Hardin has been retained to look into things from the family’s perspective.
In addition to expressing surprise at the manner of death, the family revealed a troubling allegation. The statement reads: “We were shocked to learn that [Skaggs’s death] may involve an employee of the Los Angeles Angels. We will not rest until we learn the truth about how Tyler came into possession of these narcotics, including who supplied them.”
It is clear that there will be further examination and investigation of the circumstances leading to Skaggs’s death. An MLB spokesperson tells Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link) that the league had not been aware of any allegation of team involvement but will now investigate the matter. Beyond that, speculation would be unwise. It’s a tragedy regardless — one of many linked in recent years to the opioid epidemic.
Latest On Tommy La Stella
This has turned into another lost season for the Angels, who have slid to 64-70 and sit 13 games behind the second wild-card spot in the American League. Nevertheless, even when a team’s out of contention, it’s always a welcome sight when one of its top contributors is nearing a return from a long-term injury. That’s the case for infielder Tommy La Stella, whose dream season came to a halt July 3 after he suffered a brutal injury – a fractured tibia in his right leg. But La Stella’s now slated to take batting practice on the field for the first time Friday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com relays, adding that the 30-year-old is “hopeful” he’ll make it back during the Angels’ Sept. 9-15 homestand.
Before La Stella landed on the IL, he had emerged as one of baseball’s best low-cost pickups of last offseason. The Angels acquired La Stella from the Cubs for a meager return in late November, at which point he had combined to hit a useful but modest .264/.345/.366 with 10 home runs in 947 plate appearances between Chicago and Atlanta. This year’s version of La Stella has been vastly superior to the player who showed up from 2014-18.
Since joining the Angels, the lefty-swinging La Stella has slashed .300/.353/.495 with 16 HRs across 312 trips to the plate, owing in part to a remarkable ability to avoid strikeouts. The first-time All-Star has gone down on strikes just 8.7 percent of the time this season, making him a key reason why the Halos’ offense boasts the game’s second-lowest K rate. While La Stella hasn’t packed a wallop on the many occasions he has made contact (his average exit velocity of 87.9 mph and hard-hit rate rank near the bottom of the league, per Statcast), he has nonetheless mustered a respectable .352 expected weighted on-base average that almost matches his real wOBA of .362.
Along with breaking out at the plate, La Stella has provided the Angels 30-plus appearances at both second and third. And he could again serve as a versatile and affordable part of their roster next season. La Stella’s scheduled to go through arbitration for the final time in the offseason, when he’ll collect a raise on this year’s relatively cheap $1.35MM salary. Barring changes over the winter, La Stella may rejoin David Fletcher to comprise the Angels’ primary options at second and third in 2020.
Angels Release Adam McCreery
- Southpaw Adam McCreery was released recently by the Angels, per Baseball America’s most recent transactions report. He had originally been outrighted after being designated for assignment. McCreery is a 26-year-old reliever who has a single MLB appearance under his belt. This year, he owns a 3.63 ERA in 44 2/3 Triple-A innings, with 50 strikeouts against 28 walks. He’s averaged 11.3 K/9 throughout parts of six minor league seasons but has never been able to limit free passes at a sufficient rate.
Angels Sign Luiz Gohara
The Angels have signed former Braves left-hander Luiz Gohara to a minor league contract, Roster Roundup reports.
Gohara had been on the open market since the Braves released him Aug. 2, which came shortly after they designated him for assignment. It came as a surprise at the time that Atlanta decided to cut ties with Gohara, who was once a high-ranking prospect with the organization. However, physical problems have undermined the 23-year-old this season. A shoulder issue has prevented Gohara from taking the mound since 2018, and he won’t pitch at all this year as a result of the injury.
Last season was difficult at both the major and minor league levels for Gohara, but he did show positive signs in 2017. Gohara debuted in the majors that year and tossed 29 1/3 innings (five starts) of 4.91 ERA/2.75 FIP ball with 9.51 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9, averaging 96 mph on his fastball in the process. He also amassed 123 2/3 frames of 2.62 ERA pitching and notched 10.7 K/9 with 3.2 BB/9 across three levels in the minors.
Regardless of whether Gohara’s able to return to his old form, it’s worth it from the pitcher-needy Angels’ perspective to take a risk-free flier on him. The out-of-contention club figures to place a great deal of emphasis this offseason on improving its staff heading into 2020, when Gohara might be able to help its cause.
