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Kole Calhoun To Undergo Core Muscle Surgery

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The Angels announced on Tuesday that right fielder Kole Calhoun will undergo surgery to repair a “bilateral core muscle injury” today. The operation comes with a recovery timeline of six to eight weeks, after which the Halos are anticipating a normal offseason. Per the announcement, the team expects Calhoun to be ready for Spring Training.

Calhoun, 28, enjoyed yet another quietly excellent season, further building on his resume as a highly productive but largely unheralded talent. The soon-to-be 29-year-old (Friday) posted a very solid .271/.348/.438 batting line with 18 homers, 35 doubles and five triples this season while also posting career-best walk (10 percent) and strikeout rates (17.6 percent). In addition to his quality work at the plate — Calhoun has batted .267/.329/.438 and averaged 23 homers per 162 games over the past four seasons — the former eighth-round pick rates as an above-average defender in right field by measure of both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved, and he’s also notched positive baserunning contributions on a yearly basis, per Fangraphs.

Calhoun’s strong all-around play has him in line for a projected salary of $6.9MM in 2017, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz — a sizable raise from the $3.4MM payday he took home last winter when his service time landed him directly on the Super Two cutoff. He’s controllable for another three seasons via the arbitration process and serves as a reminder of the potential financial importance that Super Two status carries for players. Relatively comparable outfielders to Calhoun such as Marcell Ozuna and Wil Myers are projected at $4.5MM and $4.7MM, respectively, but Calhoun has topped each by more than $2MM in projected earning capacity after already banking $3.4MM despite being in the same service class. That level of additional earning power is a driving factor behind many teams’ decisions to hold off on promoting their top prospects until June, as the earnings will only compound over time. (Calhoun’s 2018 raise will now be based off a $6.9MM salary as opposed to something in the mid-$4MM range.)

Of course, the Angels will hope that there are no lingering effects from the core muscle operation that Calhoun will undergo. While core muscle surgery is not uncommon, Calhoun’s is listed as bilateral in nature, indicating that there are multiple areas in need of repair. And we’ve seen recent examples of such an operation having a lasting impact on players throughout the course of the season immediately following the surgery (Justin Verlander in 2014, Denard Span in 2015), even if that level of ripple effect isn’t necessarily the norm. The fact that he’s undergoing the procedure so early in the offseason certainly bodes well for him and the Angels, though, as Calhoun will have virtually the entire offseason to recover. (Verlander and Span, on the other hand, had their respective surgeries in early January and early March.)

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/10/16

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Here are today’s minor moves:

  • Righty A.J. Achter and outfielder Nick Buss were outrighted to Triple-A by the Angels after clearing waivers, per a club announcement. Achter, 28, carried a 3.11 in 37 2/3 innings last year but did so with a 14:12 K/BB rate. Having previously been outrighted, he’ll have the chance to elect free agency. As for the 29-year-old Buss, he is coming off of a solid campaign at Triple-A. But after putting up a .290/.345/.462 slash in 372 trips to the plate at the highest level of the minors, Buss failed to hit in a limited stint in the bigs. He’s also eligible to take free agency given his accumulation of minor league service time.
  • Left-hander Dana Eveland elected free agency after being outrighted by the Rays, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The 32-year-old has seen action in eleven major league campaigns, but this one was awfully rough. In 23 innings, he coughed up 23 earned runs on 32 hits while recording 19 walks to go with his 21 strikeouts. On the other hand, Eveland was lights-out at Triple-A, allowing just one earned in 29 2/3 frames.

Latest On Garrett Richards’ Recovery

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The possibility of Angels right-hander Garrett Richards bouncing back from an injury-shortened 2016 to return to the team’s rotation next year is gaining steam. In a move that has paid off thus far, Richards decided early in the season to undergo stem-cell therapy treatment on his elbow instead of Tommy John surgery.

Richards threw his second of three scheduled instructional league outings Saturday and told the Los Angeles Daily News via text that “everything was great. Felt even better than last time.” The 28-year-old tossed 50 pitches, up from 25 in his first showing, and will conclude with a four-inning effort Thursday. Barring any issues, Richards will then receive another stem-cell injection and stop throwing until January, at which point he’ll begin getting ready for the 2017 campaign.

Back in May, it appeared Richards and fellow Angels starter Andrew Heaney would undergo Tommy John procedures because of elbow tears. The pair chose another route, though Heaney hasn’t been as fortunate as Richards to this point. Heaney ultimately went under the knife in July, which means he won’t come back until the tail end of next season at the earliest. A significant snag in Richards’ recovery could also lead to surgery and keep him out for 2017, but he’s currently on track to return to action after missing all but one month this season.

Before his year ended on May 1, Richards logged a 2.34 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 34 2/3 innings. From 2014-15, Richards started 58 games and recorded a 3.18 ERA, 8.14 K/9 and 3.09 BB/9 across 376 frames. That type of production over a full season would have been a boon to this year’s Angels, who had one of the majors’ worst rotations. Going forward, penciling in Richards along with Matt Shoemaker, Ricky Nolasco and Tyler Skaggs would give Los Angeles nearly an entire rotation. Alex Meyer could grab the remaining spot, while Jered Weaver and Jhoulys Chacin are impending free agents, and Nick Tropeano won’t be available after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August.

Unless Richards experiences a setback significant enough for the Angels to non-tender him, he’ll make his third trip through arbitration during the winter and collect a negligible raise over his $6.43MM salary. Richards is under LA’s control through the 2018 campaign, after which he’s scheduled to become a free agent.

Angels Claim Blake Parker, Kirby Yates; Designate Nick Buss, A.J. Achter

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The Angels have claimed pitchers Blake Parker and Kirby Yates from the Yankees, according to an announcement from New York. In a corresponding move, the Halos designated outfielder Nick Buss and righty A.J. Achter.

Parker and Yates both provide the Angels with bullpen options heading into 2017, at least assuming they hold onto their 40-man positions over the months to come. The former threw 17 1/3 major league innings last year, posting a 4.67 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9. He was much better, however, during his time at Triple-A, which came with the Mariners organization.

As for Yates, he’ll look to bounce back after coughing up 5.23 earned runs per nine in his 41 1/3 innings with the Yanks. Actually, though, his peripherals were rather promising. He logged 10.9 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 while carrying a career-high 11.6% swinging strike rate and topping 93 mph with his average fastball for the first time.

Moving off of the Halos’ big league roster are Buss and Achter. The former cracked the majors briefly last year, struggling badly in 90 plate appearances. In his 372 Triple-A plate appearances, Buss posted a .290/.345/.462 batting line with six home runs.

The 28-year-old Achter threw a superficially productive 37 2/3 major league innings, with a 3.11 ERA, but things didn’t look great under the hood. He managed only 14 strikeouts against 12 walks while permitting 43 hits. Perhaps only sequencing luck — he carried a 93.1% strand rate — got in the way of much greater damage.

The Yankees also announced that righty Anthony Swarzak elected free agency rather than taking an outright assignment. He tossed 31 innings for the Yankees after a solid showing at Triple-A, but the results didn’t match up to his peripherals. Swarzak ended the year with a 5.52 ERA, owing largely to a sky-high 2.90 homers per nine. But he did compile 9.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 with a 46.4% groundball rate — leading to a 3.21 SIERA and 3.86 xFIP.

Angels Notes: Optimism, Richards, Needs

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  • Regardless, the Angels figure to chase pitching, per Eppler (also via Fletcher). And the Halos have several holes to fill on the position-player side. Still, the GM says he won’t head into the winter just looking to tick through the team’s needs. “I don’t really walk in with a grocery list and say ’This is what we need,’ because then you end up forcing a shot,” says Eppler. “To use a basketball reference, I don’t want to force the shot. If the shot is there and the circumstances are right, take it.”

    [SOURCE LINK]
  • The Angels also ended 2016 buried in the AL West, but the team is still exuding optimism about the season to come, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. “I don’t think we’re that far off,” says manager Mike Scioscia. “I know that we’re all going to work very hard this winter not only to put together a team but get it ready and play well in the spring and have some different conversations this time next year.”
  • One key for the Angels, of course, is righty Garrett Richards. Per Fletcher, he is up to 97 mph as he continues to try to battle through UCL issues rather than succumbing to Tommy John surgery. He is slated for two more instructional league appearances before undergoing a final medical exam. If all goes well, the club will pencil him in for next season. “If you talk about having a top-of-the-rotation starter vs. not having a top-of-the-rotation starter, that would be a sizable difference for any club,” Eppler said.
  • Regardless, the Angels figure to chase pitching, per Eppler (also via Fletcher). And the Halos have several holes to fill on the position-player side. Still, the GM says he won’t head into the winter just looking to tick through the team’s needs. “I don’t really walk in with a grocery list and say ’This is what we need,’ because then you end up forcing a shot,” says Eppler. “To use a basketball reference, I don’t want to force the shot. If the shot is there and the circumstances are right, take it.”

Angels To Retain Mike Scioscia For 2017

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Angels GM Billy Eppler has confirmed today that Mike Scioscia will manage the team in 2017, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. The news comes as no surprise, since both Eppler and owner Arte Moreno suggested in August that Scioscia would return. The Angels had a poor 74-88 record in 2016, although that was in large part because of a number of injuries to key starting pitchers. Scioscia still has two years and $12MM remaining on the $50MM deal he signed with the team all the way back in 2009. Here’s more from the West divisions.

Jered Weaver Aims To Pitch In 2017

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Angels right-hander Jered Weaver won’t pitch Sunday because of a back injury, but the erstwhile ace does aim to return in 2017.

“I am definitely not retiring,” Weaver told reporters, including Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times, on Saturday (Twitter link).

Weaver, a free agent-to-be, was on the fence about continuing his career earlier this week, saying Wednesday that he wasn’t sure if he’d come back next season. Now the question is whether Weaver will remain with the Angels. The 33-year-old (he’ll turn 34 on Tuesday) has been a member of the organization since it selected him 12th overall in the 2004 draft, but the three-time All-Star isn’t the asset he once was.

The Angels signed Weaver to a five-year, $85MM extension in August 2011, when he was amid a multiyear run as a front-line starter. From 2010 – his breakout season – through 2014, Weaver exceeded 200 innings three times and combined for a sparkling 2.99 ERA, 7.61 K/9 and 2.28 BB/9 over 1,016 1/3 frames. He morphed into a back-of-the-rotation type last year and has declined further during a career-worst 2016, which he’ll finish with a 5.06 ERA, 5.21 K/9 and 2.58 BB/9 over 178 innings. Even in his heyday, Weaver was an extreme fly ball pitcher, but his 28.8 percent ground-ball rate this year is both the lowest mark of his career and the worst among major league starters. That has helped lead to a 12.7 percent home run-to-fly ball rate, another career-worst figure for Weaver.

Looking ahead to 2017, the Angels are rife with rotation questions, which could help the soft-tossing Weaver land another deal with them. Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano will likely miss all of next season after they underwent Tommy John procedures earlier this summer, while the surgery could also be in Garrett Richards’ future. Richards has recovered well since declining to to take the Tommy John route in May, when he instead chose stem-cell therapy treatment, but a setback would bring his availability for next year into question.

If the Angels are set to move on from Weaver, there might be a market for him elsewhere. It seemingly bodes well for him that free agency won’t feature many appealing options. While Weaver’s career has gone backward in recent seasons, he still possesses one of the top track records among soon-to-be free agent starters.

Albert Pujols Done For Year After Plantar Fasciitis Treatment

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Angels first baseman Albert Pujols won’t suit up again this year after undergoing “shockwave therapy” to treat plantar fasciitis in his right foot, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. Pujols previously dealt with that malady in his opposing foot back in 2013. Certainly, he’ll have plenty of time to rest and recover, though it’s yet another nick for a player who’ll soon turn 37. The legendary slugger continues a slow decline at the plate, though he’s still a useful hitter who has scarcely missed any time in his 16-year career. Over 650 plate appearances in 2016, Pujols posted a .268/.323/.457 slash with 31 home runs. The Halos will hope that he can at least maintain that level of productivity, as he’s slated to earn another $140MM over the next five seasons.

Eppler Slowly Making Changes To Angels' Farm System

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  • Any improvements made to the Angels’ farm system in the past year have been slight, at best, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. GM Billy Eppler vowed to turn around what was the game’s worst-rated farm system when he inherited it last year, but as Fletcher notes, things are still bleak on the minor league front. However, the process of reestablishing a farm system is a lengthy one, and Eppler has made multiple changes, as Fletcher explains, focusing on higher-ceiling (but perhaps riskier) high school prospects in the draft and going over the team’s allotted draft pool by the maximum amount allowed without forfeiting a future pick. Eppler tells Fletcher he plans to spend opportunistically on next year’s international market once the Halos are out of the penalty bracket that prevents them from signing players for more than $300K. Fletcher also breaks down several changes throughout the Angels’ minor league system, including the adoption of Trackman software and an increased focus on diet and nutrition for the team’s minor leaguers.
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