- The Angels called up left-hander Reid Detmers to start today’s contest with the Mariners, and also activated righty Junior Guerra from the 10-day IL. Outfielder Taylor Ward heads to the 10-day IL with a right adductor strain while southpaw Jhonathan Diaz was optioned to Triple-A.
- Jose Quintana cleared waivers and outrighted to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate. San Francisco designated Quintana for assignment earlier this week, after the veteran left-hander posted a 4.66 ERA over 9 2/3 innings with the Giants. Quintana was claimed off waivers from the Angels at the end of August, as the Giants looked to add some lefty depth down the stretch.
Angels Rumors
Raisel Iglesias Hopeful To Return To Angels
Angels’ closer Raisel Iglesias figures to be another in-demand free agent this winter. His priority, however, is re-signing with the Angels, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange-County Register. Iglesias made the most of his first season with the Angels, tossing 69 innings in 64 appearances with a 2.61 ERA/2.87 FIP. He has notched 34 saves, a mark that will look attractive to contenders this offseason.
No Extension Talks Yet Between Angels, Alex Cobb
Alex Cobb made his final start of the season this afternoon, allowing five runs over as many innings in a loss to the Rangers. It’s possible that was his last outing in a Los Angeles uniform, as Cobb is slated to hit free agency this winter. After the outing, the right-hander expressed a desire to stick around in Anaheim beyond this year though.
Cobb told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) that while there’s not yet been any talk between the club and his representatives at Beverley Hills Sports Council, he believes both sides are amenable to extending their relationship. “We both have the understanding that there’s mutual respect there and mutual desire to reunite next year,” Cobb said. “We haven’t had those talks yet, but it’s obviously something I’d be really happy to do.”
Mutual interest in a reunion doesn’t guarantee anything will get done, of course, but it’s nonetheless the first step in any potential extension. It’s not particularly surprising the Angels would like to keep Cobb in the fold, as he posted a quietly strong first season in Anaheim (today’s start notwithstanding).
The Angels drew some criticism last offseason when they traded one-time top prospect Jahmai Jones to land Cobb from the Orioles. General manager Perry Minasian and his staff were rewarded for their faith in the veteran hurler, as he worked to a 3.76 ERA across 93 1/3 innings this season. A pair of injured list stints (one because of a blister, the other due to wrist inflammation) limited Cobb to nineteen starts, but he posted generally strong results when healthy.
Cobb backed up his sub-4.00 ERA with quality peripherals. He punched out a career-best 24.9% of opponents while handing out free passes at only an 8.4% rate. Always one of the game’s better pitchers at keeping the ball on the ground, he racked up grounders at a 53.8% clip that’s more than ten percentage points above the league average. Cobb’s 3.78 SIERA (prior to today’s start) lands right in line with his actual run prevention figure.
Soon to turn 34 years old, Cobb looks to have a real case to land a multi-year deal this winter. That didn’t seem particularly likely just a few months ago, as the first three years of his free agent contract with the Orioles didn’t go well. Between 2018-20, he tossed 217 innings of 5.10 ERA/5.22 FIP ball in Baltimore. Cobb candidly acknowledged when speaking with reporters today he’d once feared those struggles could soon limit his chances to continue playing, but he’s flipped that script with a strong showing in Anaheim.
Potential suitors — the Angels included — will have to determine precisely how much to buy into Cobb’s renewed success. His repertoire wasn’t much different than it had been in recent seasons. Cobb continued to lean on his sinker (40%), split (37%) and curveball (16%) while occasionally mixing in a four-seam fastball, as he had in Baltimore. His pitch velocity, spin and movement haven’t changed much. But Cobb has excelled at avoiding the heart of the plate and getting opposing hitters to chase pitches outside the strike zone, leading to a personal-best 11.6% swinging strike rate.
Cobb certainly benefitted from a bit of good fortune in the home run department. Even after coughing up two long balls against Texas today, his season-long HR/9 mark winds up at just 0.48. Teams wouldn’t be able to count on Cobb being quite that successful at keeping the ball in the yard moving forward, but he did execute pitches consistently enough on the whole to put together a quality bounceback season.
As is typically the case, the Angels look likely to target rotation help over the offseason. Shohei Ohtani will continue to star in his two-way role, and Patrick Sandoval earned a spot in next season’s group before suffering a season-ending back injury. José Suarez will likely hold down a spot as well, but Cobb’s departure would still leave at least two spots in the rotation to be addressed. Griffin Canning remains on hand, and top prospect Reid Detmers should get another chance at some point in the year. But injuries and/or underperformance often force teams to lean on seven or eight starters over the course of a season. Adding some veteran certainty to that group, whether Cobb or external upgrades, figures to a top priority for Minasian and his staff yet again.
Angels Move Matt Thaiss To Catcher
Former first-round pick Matt Thaiss was a catcher in college but was drafted more for his bat than his defensive skills. Upon selecting him with the No. 16 overall pick in 2016, the Angels immediately converted Thaiss to a corner infielder. However, manager Joe Maddon tells reporters that Thaiss, who moved back behind the plate in Triple-A this season, will now be considered a full-time catcher (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). Thaiss was recalled from Triple-A today, with righty Janson Junk being optioned to Salt Lake in his place.
It’s a notable development for the Angels, who’ll likely entrust Max Stassi with the bulk of the catching workload in 2022 but will also see veteran Kurt Suzuki become a free agent this winter. For now, Thaiss gives the Halos an option to perhaps see some time as a backup next year. However, if he proves to be a passable option behind the dish and can carry over any of his minor league production to the big leagues, Thaiss would give the Angels a potential long-term option at catcher.
That’s a tall order for a player who didn’t receive great reviews for his defense at catcher even dating back to his college days at the University of Virginia. Baseball America noted in 2016, when ranking Thaiss as the No. 28 prospect in the draft, that he had “more than enough arm for the position, but many scouts aren’t sold on his receiving and blocking skills despite the work he’s put into both.” He was regarded as a polished hitter but one who was best-suited for a position change. The Angels clearly agreed, as Thaiss didn’t catch a single game in their system until earlier this year.
Thaiss has yet to provide much offense in the big leagues, although he hasn’t had much of a look — just 196 plate appearances in that three-year span. He’s walked in 11.2 percent of those plate appearances, connected on nine homers and struck out at a 31.1 percent clip. The overall .201/.291/.397 slash isn’t good, but there’s some obvious power and a knack for drawing walks with Thaiss. His small sample of MLB work paints the portrait of a three-true-outcomes slugger, but strikeouts haven’t been a major issue for Thaiss in the upper minors. He’s fanned in 18.3 percent of his Triple-A plate appearances over three seasons and, this year, is slashing a very solid .280/.383/.496 with 17 long balls in 449 trips to the plate.
The move to catcher, in some ways, is partly out of necessity. The presence of Jared Walsh, Shohei Ohtani and (until he was released in May) Albert Pujols cut into any available at-bats at first base or designated hitter. The signing of Anthony Rendon nixed any chances of Thaiss becoming a long-term option at the hot corner. Thaiss could’ve conceivably been a fill-in at third this season, given Rendon’s injuries, but he’s instead been honing his catching skills down in Triple-A. It’s a small sample of just 54 games, but Baseball Prospectus gives Thaiss solid marks both in framing and blocking. He’s thwarted just 20 percent of stolen base attempts (12 of 60). It’s a work in progress.
Thaiss’ defensive development (or lack thereof) as a catcher carries some long-term implications. While the incumbent Stassi has enjoyed a quietly hit .256/.340/.463 with 20 homers in 415 plate appearances since Opening Day 2020 — a breakout that should really garner more attention than it has — he’s also on pace to be a free agent after the 2022 campaign. There’s an opportunity for Thaiss to make the necessary improvements and position himself as a plausible successor to Stassi, so it’s well worth keeping an eye on his progress behind the dish over the next year. If he’s unable to make the adjustment, he’d be out of minor league options by the time 2023 rolls around, clouding his outlook with the Halos.
No Extension Talks Ongoing Between Angels, Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani played his final home game of the 2021 season today, limiting the Mariners to five hits and one run over seven innings, while striking out 10 Seattle batters. Ohtani also added a single as part of a 1-for-3 day, underlining another outstanding two-way performance for the AL MVP favorite.
However, Ohtani’s single was one of only three hits for the Angels, and Ohtani ended up with a no-decision as Los Angeles dropped a 5-1 result to the M’s. Following the game, Ohtani told reporters (including Bill Shakin of The Los Angeles Times) that it had been a “very frustrating, very disappointing” season for the 74-82 Angels, and hinted that he is losing patience with Anaheim’s lack of success.
“I really like the team. I love the fans. I love the atmosphere of the team,” Ohtani said. “But, more than that, I want to win. That’s the biggest thing for me. I’ll leave it at that.”
Such Angels stalwarts as Mike Trout and Joe Maddon have made similar statements in recent days, which isn’t surprising considering that the Halos haven’t had a winning season since 2015. Trout and Maddon each indicated that upgrades need to be made to the L.A. roster, and Ohtani echoed those sentiments, saying “if nothing changes on the team, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to be in playoff contention.”
Ohtani also noted the interesting detail that he and his representatives have yet to begin talks with the Angels about a contract extension. Ohtani is under team control through the 2023 season, so there isn’t yet any immediate rush for the Halos to pursue a new deal, nor is unusual that a team wouldn’t want to open negotiations during a season (especially given all the extra preparations already on Ohtani’s plate). That said, figuring out Ohtani’s future would seem like a top priority for the Angels.
Ohtani is scheduled to hit the open market at age 29, so Anaheim will have to figure out how much they are willing to pay such a unique talent into his 30’s. The other factor could be that the Angels themselves aren’t yet sure about how Ohtani will continue to perform as both a pitcher and a hitter, so they could conceivably hold off on extension talks until perhaps after the 2022 campaign to gather more information on how Ohtani has (or hasn’t) held up after another year of two-way action. Plus, if the Angels do spend big to acquire more talent this winter, that creates another major long-term salary on a payroll that already ha Trout and Rendon locked up on huge contracts for the better part of the decade.
The Angels have already reached one low-level contract extension with Ohtani; a two-year/$8.5MM pact that covered his first two years of arbitration eligibility. That does set up a very intriguing arbitration case for the 2022-23 offseason heading into Ohtani’s final arb year, as his contributions as both a star batter and a star pitcher could certainly make the argument for a precedent-setting arbitration payday. Of course, an extension to avoid arbitration would make the whole situation moot.
Angels Place Jaime Barria On 10-Day Injured List
The Angels announced a pair of interlocking roster moves today. Jaime Barria has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement, and Sam Selman has been recalled from Triple-A, per the team.
Barria’s season ends after 56 2/3 innings, 11 starts, and a pair of relief appearances. There is at least some hope that Barria will emerge as a rotation candidate next season, though that’s not at all a guarantee for the 25-year-old. He posted a 4.61 ERA/4.88 FIP this season with a too-low 14.0 percent strikeout rate, solid 7.6 percent walk rate, and better-than-average 43.8 percent groundball rate.
Selman returns for another stint in manager Joe Maddon’s bullpen. The 30-year-old has made 21 appearances this season, struggling to a 6.65 ERA/5.14 FIP. Selman joined the Angels earlier this season from San Francisco as part of the Tony Watson trade.
Latest On Angels' Offseason Plans
- The Angels have needs in both the rotation and at shortstop, though a source tells Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times that the team is more willing to spend big on pitching, and the Angels could “perhaps scrimp a bit at shortstop.” This could indicate a shortstop acquisition akin to the Halos’ pickup of Jose Iglesias from the Orioles last winter, with the Angels obviously hoping for much more than Iglesias’ underwhelming performance in Anaheim. Though several star shortstops will be available in free agency, it is hard to argue against pitching as the greater need, considering that Los Angeles has long been hampered by a lack of healthy and productive arms. Manager Joe Maddon believes the Angels need two front-of-the-rotation starters, telling The L.A. Times’ Bill Shaikin and other reporters that while he thinks his team has a “championship-capable” core of position players, “it’s almost impossible for it to happen” without an upgraded rotation. Maddon used his former organization as a comparison point, noting that the Cubs wouldn’t have won the 2016 World Series without their signings of Jon Lester and John Lackey.
Mike Trout Confirms End Of His 2021 Season
Mike Trout officially confirmed what has been looking more and more obvious for some weeks now — he won’t play again in the 2021 season. The decision was actually made a few weeks ago, Trout told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters, as Trout was never able to fully recover from the right calf strain that first sent him to the injured list back in May.
“My body wasn’t allowing it. It’s been a grind and it’s been tough for me….My mind and what I wanted was telling me one thing and my body was telling me something else,” Trout said. “I was feeling really good in workouts and then [the calf] would get sore on me. It’s been a tough September for me. If we were in the race, it might be different and maybe I could play through it. But it got to the point where I needed a rehab assignment and had two weeks left and just looking at the bigger picture, it was smarter to get it right and get ready for Spring Training.”
After suffering the injury on May 17, Trout was initially projected to miss six-to-eight weeks — a lengthy absence to be sure, but nothing that appeared to be season-threatening. On multiple occasions, Trout appeared to be on the verge of beginning a minor league rehab assignment, though as he noted, continued soreness in his calf prevented him from taking the field in a proper game environment.
In something of a bitter irony, Trout said his calf is “almost 100 percent, if not 100 percent” in the two weeks since he was shut down. He fully expects to be ready for Spring Training, and is “looking forward to having a healthy offseason. Keep that same routine.”
Since the Angels were also hampered by an injury-plagued year for Anthony Rendon, mediocre defense, and another year of subpar pitching, it’s hard to say whether or not a healthy Trout would have been enough to get Los Angeles into the postseason race. However, it’s safe to assume that the Angels would have more than just 73 wins with Trout providing his usual level of superstar production. Trout was hitting an absurd .333/.466/.624 with eight home runs over 146 plate appearances, and one can only imagine the offensive fireworks that could have been generated with a healthy Trout and Rendon joining MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani in the lineup.
Trout does expect big things from the Angels in both 2022 and in the coming offseason, noting that “We have a lot of money to spend. Hopefully we go out there, get some good guys. I trust Perry [GM Perry Minasian], I trust the top guys in this organization….I’m very confident with the group up there. They’re working hard every day. They’re trying to put a winning team on the field.”
Angels Release Felix Pena
The Angels have released right-hander Felix Pena, as indicated on the Triple-A transactions log at MiLB.com. The move concludes a four-year stint with the organization.
Pena was originally acquired out of the Cubs organization, coming over in an Oct. 2017 trade that sent cash back to Chicago. The now-31-year-old righty was a solid swingman for the Halos from 2018-20, pitching to a 4.34 ERA with a 23.6 percent strikeout rate and a strong 7.7 percent walk rate through 215 2/3 innings. He stepped up for numerous spot starts or short stints in the rotation as needed over that three-year run, making 24 total starts in addition to 42 relief appearances. Angels fans will undoubtedly remember Pena best for his seven innings of no-hit relief that closed out a combined no-hitter the day after teammate Tyler Skaggs’ untimely passing.
The 2021 season hasn’t gone particularly well for Pena either in the big leagues or in Triple-A Salt Lake. He started the year on the injured list due to a hamstring injury that cost five months, and he was clobbered for seven runs in 1 2/3 innings across his first two outings upon returning. Pena never found his footing after being optioned to Triple-A to try to right the ship. Through 68 1/3 innings in Salt Lake this season, Pena was rocked for an 8.03 ERA. His 18.8 percent strikeout rate and 8.6 percent walk rate there were both worse than his Major League levels from 2018-20, and he yielded an average of 1.84 homers per nine frames.
The Halos passed Pena through waivers unclaimed in mid-May, so today’s move doesn’t open a 40-man roster spot. As a player with three-plus years of Major League service who’d been outrighted off the 40-man roster, Pena would have become a free agent at season’s end anyhow, so today’s move just gives him a bit of a head start on gauging interest from other teams. He’ll likely have to settle for a minor league contract in free agency, but Pena posted sharp results as recently as 2020, when he worked to a 4.05 ERA and struck out more than a quarter of his opponents against a seven percent walk rate. Rough 2021 season notwithstanding, he should garner some interest this winter.
Angels Select AJ Ramos
The Angels announced they’ve selected veteran reliever AJ Ramos to the big league roster and recalled bullpen mate James Hoyt from Triple-A Salt Lake. José Marte and Sam Selman were optioned to clear active roster space. Los Angeles also reinstated rookie southpaw Reid Detmers from the COVID-19 injured list and optioned him to Salt Lake.
Selecting Ramos and activating Detmers required opening a pair of spots on the 40-man roster. To do so, the Angels transferred Justin Upton and Dylan Bundy from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
Ramos is in the majors for the first time this season. He’s best known for his early-career days with the Marlins, with whom he began his big league career in 2012. The right-hander was electric from essentially the outset of his career, ascending to the closer’s role within a couple seasons and earning an All-Star nod in 2016. Over his first four-plus MLB seasons, Ramos posted a 2.66 ERA/3.15 FIP across 287 2/3 innings of relief.
Halfway through the 2017 season, Miami traded Ramos to the division-rival Mets. He had a decent year but fell off a bit from his previous pace. Ramos struggled badly through the first couple months of 2018 before it was revealed he’d suffered a labrum tear in his shoulder that necessitated surgery.
That procedure kept Ramos out of action for more than two calendar years. He began a comeback attempt in 2020 and landed successive minor league deals with the Dodgers and Cubs. While neither of those stops resulted in a major league opportunity, Ramos did get back to the bigs late in the year with the Rockies. He made three appearances with Colorado last September, his first MLB action in 28 months, and signed a minor league deal with the Angels over the offseason.
Ramos has spent the entire season with Salt Lake. The 35-year-old has avoided the injured list and logged 53 innings over 42 outings, pitching to a 5.26 ERA in a very hitter-friendly environment. Ramos has been extremely fly ball prone and has issued a few too many walks, but he’s continued to miss plenty of bats. He’s punched out 31% of opposing hitters on the strength of a big 15.4% swinging strike rate, and the Angels will give him a late chance to demonstrate his form against big league opponents.
As with last season’s stint in Colorado, it’s possible Ramos’ stay with the Angels will be quite brief. He’s scheduled to hit free agency again at the end of the season. The late-season look will allow him to showcase his current caliber of stuff before he reaches the open market.
The IL transfers officially bring Upton’s and Bundy’s seasons to a close. It was a third consecutive down year for Upton, who hit .211/.296/.409 with seventeen homers over 362 plate appearances. His campaign ends prematurely because of a right lumbar strain.
Upton will return to Anaheim next season on a $28MM salary, the final year of his deal. The Angels have youngsters Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh at the big league level, and Mike Trout is expected back at full strength. It’s possible Upton’s role is curtailed a bit moving forward, although he still brings enough right-handed pop to contribute in a part-time capacity.
It’s an especially disappointing end for Bundy, who expressed confidence two weeks ago that he’d make it back to the mound before the end of the year. Instead, his final five weeks will be wiped out by a shoulder strain. It ends a season in which Bundy threw 90 2/3 innings of 6.08 ERA ball, a massive drop-off from a 2020 season in which he picked up some down-ballot Cy Young support.
The career-worst showing couldn’t have come at a worse time for Bundy, who’ll hit free agency for the first time this winter. It’s possible the 28-year-old will be limited to a one-year deal in an attempt to rebuild his value before re-testing the market during the 2022-23 offseason.
