- The Angels’ bad luck in the injury department has shown no signs of abating, as the team has placed outfielder Daniel Nava and reliever Cory Rasmus on the 15-day DL. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes, both players are dealing with groin strains, though neither is expected to be out for much more than the minimum.
Angels Rumors
Angels Sign David Huff, Outright Javy Guerra
The Angels have signed southpaw David Huff to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned. In other pitching news, the club outrighted righty Javy Guerra after he cleared waivers, Halos media relations rep Adam Chodzko announced via Twitter.
Huff, 31, is expected to work as a starter at Triple-A. He’ll present Los Angeles with a swingman option moving forward as the team continues to build out its pitching depth amidst significant uncertainty in its staff.
After signing on with the Royals before the season, Huff opened with a strong showing at Triple-A Omaha and ultimately opted out of his deal with Kansas City. Over 23 2/3 innings of relief in a dozen outings, Huff racked up 29 strikeouts against just two walks, though he did surrender 29 hits while recording a 4.18 ERA. He has appeared in each of the last seven major league seasons, working to a 5.08 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 388 frames.
Guerra is a one-inning reliever who’ll also continue to provide the organization with an arm on call. He has seen limited MLB action in each of the last two seasons after previously playing important roles with the Dodgers and White Sox. Prior to his brief call-up this year, he carried a 2.19 ERA in 12 1/3 Triple-A innings, with his 10.2 K/9 accompanied by a less-than-promising 7.3 BB/9.
Garrett Richards Will Not Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Angels righty Garrett Richards has elected not to undergo Tommy John surgery at this time, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports (Twitter links). He’ll receive a stem-cell therapy treatment on his elbow, take a six week hiatus, and attempt to rehab his injured right elbow.
That’s promising news for the Halos, who desperately need their staff ace back in action. It’s not yet clear what kind of timetable might be hoped for, and there remains a good bit of uncertainty in how quickly Richards can return to the hill and work his way back to the majors.
Of course, there’s also likely some risk entailed. Richards had been said to be headed toward a UCL replacement after being diagnosed with a fairly significant tear. If he ultimately does require surgery, then his prospective return could be delayed rather substantially by waiting. But as Gonzalez notes, it is possible that he’d have missed all or most of 2017 regardless, depending upon the speed of his recovery.
Richards, 27, was off to an excellent beginning to the 2016 campaign after taking a step back last year. He had thrown 34 2/3 innings of 2.34 ERA ball, with 8.8 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. That performance was more reminiscent of Richards’s breakout 2014, and he was clearly the best-performing arm in an underwhelming and injury-riddled Angels rotation.
Los Angeles owes Richards $6.425MM this year in his second of four seasons of arbitration eligibility. He’ll likely be in line for at least some increase over that amount heading into 2017, and can still earn more if he’s able to return to the mound. Of course, if he ultimately has the TJ procedure, then the club will face a tough decision as to whether to tender him a contract for 2017, all just to pay another large salary for his final season of eligibility in 2018.
Ji-Man Choi Accepts Outright Assignment From Angels
- The Angels have outrighted first baseman/Rule 5 pick Ji-Man Choi to Triple-A Salt Lake after he cleared waivers, and he accepted the assignment, tweets Adam Chodzko of the Angels’ media relations department. (Having been previously outrighted, Choi could have refused and elected free agency.) Choi, 24, saw just 24 plate appearances with the Halos this season and went 1-for-18, though he did draw six walks as well. That he cleared waivers means that all 29 other clubs, including the Orioles (from whom he was selected in last December’s Rule 5 Draft), passed on the opportunity to add him. With Trey Mancini and Christian Walker, two of the Orioles’ more highly regarded prospects, each present on the Triple-A Norfolk roster, it seems that Baltimore felt comfortable with its first base depth. Choi had only just signed a minors deal with the Orioles a couple of weeks prior to being taken in the Rule 5, so his history with the organization wasn’t particularly lengthy. He’ll now hope to build on his career .280/.379/.401 batting line at the Triple-A level and work his way back onto the Angels’ Major League roster.
Latest On Andrew Heaney
- The Angels’ rotation remains a major question mark as the club seeks to crawl back into things in the AL West, and the status of lefty Andrew Heaney could play a big role in the team’s near and long-term outlook. At present, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, he’s waiting to see how his elbow reacts to a platelet-rich plasma treatment while using meditation to gain any advantage he can. “Right now I’m trying to will my body to heal itself,” he said. “The mind is a powerful thing. … It sounds like a crock, but it can’t hurt.”
Angels Sign David Carpenter To Minors Deal
The Angels have signed veteran righty David Carpenter away from the Bridgeport Bluefish, the indy league club recently announced. As Baseball America’s Matt Eddy notes on Twitter, there are two right-handed relievers by that name, and this signing means that both have now been with the Halos.
Carpenter, 30, has already made one Triple-A appearance at Salt Lake City, notching two strikeouts. With Bridgeport, he had allowed just two unearned runs in eight frames. Carpenter surrendered five hits and four walks while punching out ten batters in that brief stretch.
Health is the main concern with Carpenter. He was limited to 24 1/3 innings last season with the Yankees and Nationals after providing the Braves with two consecutive solid campaigns. Carpenter was cut loose by two clubs this spring after failing to show enough, but he’s had plenty of success in the past and could certainly be an intriguing addition if he can return to form.
Angels Designate Javy Guerra For Assignment
Following last night’s loss to the Cardinals, the Angels designated right-hander Javy Guerra for assignment, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweeted, both Yunel Escobar and Cliff Pennington are day-to-day with minor injuries right now (a jammed thumb and a hamstring cramp, respectively), thus making it seem likely that an infielder will be recalled to take Guerra’s place today.
Guerra, 30, started his 2016 season with three shutout innings but didn’t retire a batter in either of his two most recent appearances, leaving him with three earned runs on three hits and four walks with four strikeouts this season. The former Dodgers closer has appeared sparingly in the Majors over the past two seasons, totaling just 4 2/3 innings at the big league level. He missed much of the 2015 season after failing a second test for a drug of abuse while in the minors and thus receiving a 50-game suspension.
Overall, Guerra has a 3.99 ERA in 79 innings at the Triple-A level and a 2.99 ERA in 153 1/3 innings in the Majors. He’s averaged nearly eight strikeouts and roughly four walks per nine innings at both Triple-A and in the Majors, and his fastball sat at 92.3 mph in his brief showing this season. Guerra is out of minor league options, so any club that claims him will have to keep him on its Major League roster. In the event that he clears waivers and is outrighted to Triple-A, he’ll have the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, as he’s been outrighted previously in his career.
Latest On Interest In Tim Lincecum
Tim Lincecum has yet to sign following last Friday’s showcase, which was attended by roughly two-thirds of the league, but a handful of reports today has at least eliminated a few teams from consideration. Per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter), both the Padres and Mariners are out of the mix on Lincecum at this point. While some San Diego fans speculated that the Friars’ claim of Hector Sanchez, who caught Lincecum during the pair’s San Francisco days, could be related, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune squashed that notion in relatively short order last night, tweeting that the Sanchez claim was unrelated to any pursuit of Lincecum and was instead merely about adding catching depth to the organization.
Beyond all of that, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that the Marlins, too, are unlikely to make a play for the right-hander at this time. Those reports join previous word out of Baltimore and Arizona that the Orioles and D-backs, respectively, aren’t expected to pursue Lincecum, either.
Rosenthal adds (Twitter link) that the Angels, Giants and White Sox currently have the most interest in Lincecum, which is the same list of clubs reported to be most intrigued this past weekend, with the notable exclusion of the D-backs. Per Rosenthal, no decision is close. Any of the three make sense as a landing spot, though Giants manager Bruce Bochy said last week that the club was only interested in a relief role for Lincecum, and fallen ace Matt Cain delivered a strong showing in his most recent start, by dominating the Blue Jays over eight innings. The Angels, meanwhile, picked up one arm yesterday by acquiring Jhoulys Chacin from the Braves, and while it’s hard to imagine that lone pickup leaving the Halos feeling like they have sufficient depth in the rotation in the wake of all the injuries they’ve incurred, it probably does curb some of the urgency to seek further rotation help.
As for the White Sox, they have some options to replace the recently released John Danks (former Oriole Miguel Gonzalez is getting the first crack at the fifth spot), but the rotation is suspect beyond Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon. Mat Latos started the year strong, but his lack of strikeouts and considerable fortune on balls in play made him a clear regression candidate through his first several starts, and the wheels have begun to come off as of late.
Amid the considerable Lincecum chatter, it seems worth addressing that it’s been five years since he posted an ERA south of 4.00 in a season, making it likelier that he stabilizes the back end of a rotation than emerges as a revitalized top-of-the-rotation force. Lincecum did post a 4.37 ERA and come within arm’s reach of 200 innings as recently as 2013 even while averaging 90.4 mph on his fastball, so there’s certainly reason to express optimism that he can help a club in 2016 with the aid of improved health. However, fans hoping for a return to the levels displayed in his Cy Young heyday are probably overreaching.
Angels Designate Ji-Man Choi
The Angels have designated first baseman/outfielder Ji-Man Choi for assignment, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. His active roster spot was needed for the activation of righty Matt Shoemaker, though his 40-man slot will presumably go to just-acquired right-hander Jhoulys Chacin.
Choi received his first chance at the majors this year with the Halos, but has just one hit in 24 plate appearances. He does have six walks, though, leaving him with a rather unusual .056/.292/.056 slash line.
Prior to this season, the 24-year-old had played exclusively in the Mariners organization. Choi owns a .280/.379/.401 batting line in 400 Triple-A plate appearances, and he’s struck out just 63 times while taking 50 walks in that span.
Angels Acquire Jhoulys Chacin
The Angels have acquired righty Jhoulys Chacin from the Braves, as first reported by David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Lefty Adam McCreery is going to Atlanta in the deal.
Chacin is owed $1.1MM on the minor league deal he signed with Atlanta this winter. That makes him a reasonably-priced addition for a Halos staff that has been devastated by injuries early in 2016.
A 28-year-old veteran of eight MLB seasons, Chacin has pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 26 2/3 innings over five starts this year. While that isn’t the most enticing mark in terms of run prevention, he has racked up 9.1 K/9 against just 2.7 BB/9 to go with a 48.1% groundball rate, leading ERA estimators to value his efforts thus far much more highly.
Of course, Chacin was only available on a meager commitment this winter because he’s lacked consistency at the major league level. There have been some notable highlights — including two seasons with nearly 200 innings and mid-3.00 ERAs while pitching at Coors Field — but Chacin has dealt with shoulder issues and proven susceptible to the long ball of late.
McCreery, 23, was a 22nd-round pick in the 2014 draft. He’s a tall and lanky reliever who has thrown 38 innings at the Rookie level over the last two years but has yet to make his 2016 debut. McCreery made strides in his second run at Rookie ball last year, striking out 28 batters in 28 2/3 innings while allowing just ten hits and five earned runs, but he still coughed up 14 free passes in that span. As Scout.com has explained, McCreery has high-powered stuff but has struggled to harness it with his huge frame.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
