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Angels Select Trey Cabbage, Outright David Fletcher

By | at July 14, 2023 4:38pm CDT

The Angels announced a number of moves before tonight’s game with the Astros. Los Angeles selected first baseman/corner outfielder Trey Cabbage, recalled infielder Michael Stefanic and reinstated Zach Neto and Matt Moore from the injured list.

In corresponding moves, the Halos placed Anthony Rendon, Jo Adell and Sam Bachman on the IL. All three placements are retroactive to July 11. The position players will be eligible to return a week from now, while Bachman is out until at least July 26. In a final transaction, infielder David Fletcher has already cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster to clear a spot for Cabbage.

On the positive side, Cabbage gets his first MLB look. The left-handed hitter was a fourth round selection of the Twins out of a Tennessee high school back in 2015. He played in the Minnesota system through 2021, topping out at Double-A. After becoming a minor league free agent, he joined the Halos.

Cabbage has spent the entire season at Triple-A Salt Lake. He has demonstrated interesting physical tools, connecting on 23 home runs and stealing 24 bases in 84 games. Even in the Pacific Coast League, his .287/.358/.576 batting line is better than average. He and Adell share the league lead in homers, and he’s fifth among 68 PCL hitters (minimum 200 plate appearances) in slugging.

He’ll add a left-handed power bat to Phil Nevin’s bench. Cabbage has gone down on strikes at a lofty 31.3% clip in Triple-A and has posted elevated strikeout totals throughout his career. The swing-and-miss has kept him from reaching the majors before his 26th birthday, but the huge power production in the upper minors earns him a look.

Cabbage is the latest member of an Angels’ infield that has gone through numerous recent iterations. Injuries to Neto, Gio Urshela and Rendon led the club to acquire Mike Moustakas and Eduardo Escobar. Neto is back at shortstop tonight after a month-long absence because of an oblique strain. That pushes Andrew Velazquez to the bench, while Luis Rengifo draws in at third base.

Rendon is dealing with a left shin contusion after fouling a ball off his leg a week ago. He told reporters the injury hasn’t healed as hoped and declined to answer when asked if he was engaged in any baseball activities (via Sam Blum of the Athletic). Adell has a left oblique strain. Bachman has inflammation in his throwing shoulder; Nevin told reporters he’ll be shut down for a brief period but isn’t expected to require a long-term absence (relayed by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com).

Neto’s return squeezed Fletcher off the roster for the second time this season. The Halos also ran him through waivers in April. They re-selected his contract in late June but sent him back down after 11 games. Fletcher has gotten into 19 MLB contests on the season, hitting .213/.245/.298. He’s been far better in Salt Lake, putting up a .383/.431/.478 slash with more walks than strikeouts over 197 plate appearances.

Fletcher is making $6MM this season and under contract for the same amount through 2025. The $24MM extension he’d signed two years ago has given him ample financial security but ensured the Angels can send him through waivers without losing him. No other team is going to assume that money on a claim.

The latest demotion is timed so that the Halos can keep Fletcher in the organization as a non-roster player. He entered the season 61 days shy of the five-year MLB service threshold. He has picked up around 39 more days this year. Players with over five years of service time can decline a minor league assignment while retaining their entire contract; those with between three and five years would need to forfeit their guaranteed money to do so. Fletcher certainly isn’t going to pass on the money remaining on his deal, so the preemptive outright before he gets to five service years will keep him in Salt Lake.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions

Angels To Promote David Fletcher

By | at June 24, 2023 12:04pm CDT

12:04PM: Walsh and infielder Michael Stefanic have been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Fletcher and Escobar, Sam Blum reports (Twitter link).

10:13AM: Back in April, the Angels optioned David Fletcher to Triple-A and then outrighted him off the 40-man roster.  After two months in the minors, Fletcher is heading back to the Show, as FanSided’s Robert Murray (via Twitter) reports that the Angels are calling Fletcher back up to the active roster.  The corresponding move isn’t yet known, but it marks something of a mini-overhaul of the Angels’ infield, between Fletcher’s return and yesterday’s acquisition of Eduardo Escobar from the Mets.

Fletcher had only two hits in his first 16 plate appearances of the 2023 season, leading the Halos to finally make a tough decision on a player who looked like a building block just a couple of years ago.  Anaheim signed Fletcher to a five-year, $26MM contract extension in April 2021, and unfortunately, the infielder’s productivity has since tailed off.  Fletcher hit .260/.295/.327 over 893 PA in 2021-22, with a hip injury costing him a big chunk of the 2022 campaign.

However, it looks like Fletcher might have found something at Triple-A Salt Lake, as he is hitting .378/.432/.478 over 197 PA.  Fletcher does have a huge .407 BABIP, and numbers from the Pacific Coast League should be taken with a grain of salt in general given the league’s hitter-friendly nature, but it’s hard to argue that Fletcher hasn’t been doing all he can to earn another shot on the Angels’ roster.

In an interview yesterday with The Athletic’s Sam Blum (prior to the news of Fletcher’s call-up), Fletcher said he wasn’t sure why the Angels hadn’t already called up back up to the big leagues.  There also seemed to be something of a lack of communication between Fletcher and the front office, as the infielder said “I haven’t heard much from them” since the Triple-A demotion, and that the team was somewhat vague on what it exactly wanted Fletcher to work on hitting-wise.

Anthony Rendon and Zach Neto are both on the Angels’ 10-day injured list, while Gio Urshela‘s season may be over due to a pelvic fracture.  These injuries have left Anaheim very thin in the infield, and while there may have been some question over why Fletcher hadn’t already been called up, the time is now for the Halos to again turn to the 29-year-old.

It remains to be seen how this new-look Angels infield will shake out, considering that both Fletcher and Escobar are multi-position players, and because some 40-man roster moves will have to be made to accommodate Fletcher’s return.  Escobar will likely rotate between second and third base, while Fletcher could play either shortstop or second base.  Brandon Drury has played the bulk of time at second base this season, but he has also seen a lot of time at first base, which could be a more viable option since Jared Walsh has struggled since returning from the injured list.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions

Angels Outright David Fletcher

By | at April 17, 2023 7:10pm CDT

The Angels have sent David Fletcher through outright waivers, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The infielder remains in the organization but lost his spot on the 40-man roster.

It’s the result of a sharp downturn in production from Fletcher. The Loyola Marymount product looked like a core organizational piece a few years ago. Los Angeles signed him to a five-year contract extension two Aprils back. It was a $26MM guarantee that bought out one free agent year and contained club options for two more. The hope was they’d secured an excellent defensive middle infielder with roughly league average offense.

Fletcher signed that deal on the heels of a .319/.376/.425 showing during the abbreviated 2020 season. While that was built on an unsustainable .348 average on balls in play, it brought his career line to .292/.346/.386 in just shy of 1200 plate appearances. Fletcher never hit for power but demonstrated elite contact skills and played plus defense at second base.

Unfortunately for the Halos, the righty-swinging Fletcher has seen a significant drop in his offensive production for the past couple seasons. He put up only a .262/.297/.324 line across 665 plate appearances in 2021. The following year proved challenging both from a performance and health perspective. Fletcher was nagged early in the season by a hip strain that eventually sent him to the 60-day injured list. He got into 61 games, hitting .255/.288/.333. He’d been off to a 2-16 start through this year’s first couple weeks.

Fletcher’s contact skills have remained elite. His walks have dipped the past couple years, though, and he hasn’t gotten good results on batted balls. Going back to 2021, he carries a .258/.292/.323 line in just over 900 trips to the plate. Even with continued strong grades as a keystone defender, the lackluster offense led the Angels to look elsewhere this winter. The Halos brought in Gio Urshela and Brandon Drury to add some offensive punch to the infield. They called up top shortstop prospect Zach Neto on Saturday, announcing at the time they’d optioned Fletcher back to Triple-A Salt Lake.

In conjunction with that move, they apparently also placed Fletcher on waivers. It’s no surprise he didn’t get claimed. Any team that added him would’ve had to taken on his contract. Fletcher is making $6MM both this season and next. He’ll make $6.5MM in 2025 and is due at least a $1.5MM buyout on the ’27 option. For any club to take on the nearly $20MM in guaranteed money given Fletcher’s recent struggles would have been unlikely.

There’s surely some amount of strategy in the Halos’ timing of the outright. Any player with over three years of major league service time can refuse an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency. However, players with between three and five years of service would have to forfeit any remaining guaranteed money on their contract to do so.

Fletcher entered the 2023 campaign with four years and 111 days of big league service. A player gets a full service year at 172 days, so Fletcher needed 61 days on the MLB roster this year to crack that threshold. Had he still been in the majors into early June, he’d have had the right to elect free agency while collecting the rest of his salary if the Halos wanted to take him off their 40-man roster.

By timing the outright before then, the Angels ensure Fletcher sticks in the organization. He’s obviously not going to pass on nearly $20MM in guaranteed money. He’ll accept the assignment to Salt Lake and try to hit his way back onto the major league radar.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Transactions

Angels Promote Zach Neto, Option David Fletcher

By | at April 15, 2023 11:23pm CDT

The Angels made a significant transaction today, calling up top prospect Zach Neto, their first round pick from the 2022 draft. In the corresponding move, the Angels optioned David Fletcher, sending the six-year veteran to Triple-A. To make room on the 40-man roster, Chris Rodriguez has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Neto will make his debut less than a year after the Angels took him 13th overall in the draft. The 22-year-old has absolutely torn up minor league pitching in that time, slashing .444/.559/.815 with three home runs in 34 plate appearances at Double-A to start this year, after slashing .320/.389/.492 over 136 plate appearances at the level last year.

All told, it took Neto just 44 minor league games to do enough for the Angels to call him up, and he’s now expected to take over as their everyday shortstop, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Neto as the Angels’ top prospect, and had him 59th overall in the sport. Law describes Neto as a “definite shortstop who projects to be a plus defender”, and combined with his bat expects him to be a “strong regular”.

The other side of this transaction is the demotion of Fletcher. The 28-year-old signed a five-year, $26MM extension just prior to the 2021 season, but Fletcher’s numbers have since deteriorated. After hitting .298/.356/.395 over 883 plate appearances between 2019-20, Fletcher has managed only a .258/.292/.323 slash line with four home runs over 909 PA, good for a wRC+ of just 69.

Fletcher’s a quality defender at second and third, posting a combined 31 Outs Above Average at the two positions throughout his career, while he’s more of a solid defender (two career OAA) at shortstop. He’s also sporadically played in the outfield.

Fletcher’s owed $6MM in 2023, and then a further $12.5MM over the next two seasons plus $3MM in buyouts on a pair of club options for 2026-27. It’s not an overly burdensome amount of money, but it’s a lot to be paying a minor league infielder. It’s possible the Angels see if Fletcher can rediscover his bat at Triple-A and then look to recall him to serve as a utilityman on the big league club going forward.

Of course, Neto has never played above Double-A so if he struggles after a stint in the big leagues the team could opt to give him a bit more time at Triple-A to develop and turn back to Fletcher. For now though, Neto will be the Angels’ starting shortstop, and if his hitting in the minor leagues can translate to the Show he could have that position for many years to come.

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Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Top Prospect Promotions Transactions

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

By | at February 9, 2023 7:30pm CDT

The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

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Arizona Diamondbacks Athletics Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals

Angels Place Archie Bradley, Mickey Moniak On Injured List

By | at September 29, 2022 8:25pm CDT

The Angels announced a series of roster moves in advance of tonight’s contest with the A’s. Reliever Archie Bradley and outfielder Mickey Moniak have each landed on the injured list, officially ending their 2022 seasons. Infielder David Fletcher was reinstated from the 10-day IL to take one of the vacated active roster spots, while reliever Nash Walters was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake in the other transaction.

Bradley is dealing with a forearm strain, a disappointing conclusion to a season that has been marred by injury. The right-hander missed about three months after fracturing his elbow in late June, just returning from the IL on Tuesday. Without making an appearance, he heads back on the shelf. It’s unclear how serious the issue is, but Bradley has now had a successive elbow fracture and forearm strain since his most recent major league pitch.

That’s certainly not the way he’d have wanted to return to the open market. The veteran righty signed a $3.75MM guarantee with the Halos last offseason, and he’ll reach free agency again in a few months. Even prior to the injuries, the 30-year-old had a down season. Bradley posted a 4.82 ERA across 18 2/3 innings, the first time he’s pitched to an ERA above 4.00 since moving to the bullpen in 2017. He still averaged around 94 MPH on his fastball and induced ground-balls at an excellent 57.1% clip, but his 19.2% strikeout percentage and 8.1% swinging strike rate are each a few points below the league average.

Moniak, meanwhile, suffered a left hand contusion after a Kirby Snead pitch struck him on a check-swing last night. Moniak has been the victim of some brutal injury luck this season, as this marks his third hand-related IL stint of the season. He opened the year on the shelf with a fracture in his right hand while still a member of the Phillies, then lost a month recently due to a fractured finger on his left hand.

In the interim, Moniak was dealt from Philadelphia to Anaheim in the deadline swap that sent Noah Syndergaard to the Phils. The former first overall pick never emerged as the everyday center fielder the Phillies had hoped they were selecting, and he’d continued to scuffle over his first 19 games as an Angel. Moniak’s season concludes with a .170/.207/.302 line in 112 cumulative plate appearances.

Walters is now in line to make his major league debut. A third-round pick of the Brewers out of a Texas high school in 2015, the right-hander spent parts of seven seasons in the Milwaukee system. The Angels acquired him for cash considerations in the first week of September. Anaheim immediately added him to the 40-man roster but kept him on optional assignment to Salt Lake. After seven appearances with the Bees, the 25-year-old will get his first crack against big league hitters. Walters has spent most of the year in Double-A, working to a 4.60 ERA but striking out a third of opponents through 47 frames. He’ll look to compete for a spot in next season’s bullpen.

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Los Angeles Angels

Angels Select Livan Soto

By | at September 17, 2022 3:15pm CDT

3:15PM: The Angels have officially announced Soto’s selection, Fletcher’s placement on the 10-day IL, and Velazquez’s move to the 60-day injured list.

11:45AM: The Angels are going to select the contract of infield prospect Livan Soto, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extra Base. He will take the active roster spot of fellow infielder David Fletcher, who was already reported to be headed to the injured list. A corresponding move will be required to get Soto onto the 40-man roster, though it will likely be Andrew Velazquez getting transferred to the 60-day IL. Velazquez recently underwent knee surgery that is going to keep him out of action well beyond the end of the schedule.

Soto, 22, was originally signed as an amateur by Atlanta but was one of several prospects later released when an MLB investigation found that the club violated various international signing rules. Soto played for Atlanta’s rookie ball in 2017 team but signed on with the Angels prior to the 2018 season.

Soto was featured in Baseball America’s list of top 30 Angel farmhands in 2018 and has been there ever since, currently occupying the #19 slot. Their report on him notes that he is regarded as a strong defender who doesn’t provide much with the bat, though Soto seems to have taken a step forward in that department this season. In 119 Double-A games this year, he’s walked in 13.1% of his plate appearances while striking out in 18.8% of them. His batting line of .281/.379/.362 amounts to a wRC+ of 104, or 4% above league average. That’s not an eye-popping result, but getting above-average production from a glove-first prospect is an encouraging development. Soto’s also added value on the basepaths, swiping 18 bags on the season.

The Angels have used a motley crew of veteran role players up the middle this year, with the injury bug eating into that group recently by taking out both Fletcher and Velazquez. With the Halos well out of contention and just over two weeks remaining in the season, they can give a bit of playing time to Soto down the stretch and see how he fares. He’s mostly played shortstop this season in the minors, but with a bit of time at second base and third base mixed in. While Fletcher is out of action, Soto will join an infield mix that includes Luis Rengifo, Matt Duffy and Michael Stefanic.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions

Angels To Place David Fletcher On Injured List

By | at September 17, 2022 10:03am CDT

Angels interim manager Phil Nevin told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that infielder David Fletcher will be going on the 10-day injured list. The corresponding move is not yet known.

Fletcher, 28, was hit on the hand by a pitch a week ago and has been clearly hurt since then. Despite a diminished swinging ability, he has continued taking the field but it seems the ailment will finally put him out of action for a spell. Sam Blum of The Athletic relays that scans on the hand came back negative, which is encouraging. Nevertheless, the club will keep him out of action for 10 days and hope to have him back for the final week of the season. The club is well out of contention, making it fairly logical to let him heal up and get some healthy at-bats before the winter arrives.

Regardless of how things play out from here, it will surely go down as a frustrating campaign for the infielder. This will be his third trip to the IL on the season, having already twice landed on the shelf due to a hip strain. With all that missed time, he’s only been able to get into 54 games on the season so far, producing a .259/.296/.349 batting line that’s been 18% below league average by measure of wRC+.

Fletcher has always provided strong defensive marks at multiple positions, which allows him to be a valuable player even if his bat is a bit below average. The shortened 2020 season is the only time he’s produced a wRC+ above 96, but he’s still produced 7.3 fWAR in 494 career games thanks to his glovework.

Despite having two superstars in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the same team, the Angels have still struggled for years due to subpar performances elsewhere on the roster. MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently took a look at how the starting pitching may be in a better position than it has been in quite some time. With 2023 being Ohtani’s last season before becoming a free agent, it could be argued that the middle infield is the biggest weakness for next year’s club.

This year’s breakout of Luis Rengifo is an encouraging development in that department, but getting Fletcher healthy and productive could be another boost. In 2019, Fletcher played 154 games and produced a wRC+ of 96 but was still worth 3.1 fWAR thanks to his glovework at second base, third base, shortstop and the outfield corners. Rengifo can also play those positions but not as well, though he has hit .275/.305/.443 for a wRC+ of 110 this year. Anthony Rendon and Jared Walsh are expected to be on the corners, though each of those comes with question marks after injury-plagued seasons of their own. Rendon has missed most of this year due to a wrist injury that required surgery while Walsh underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome a few weeks ago. Both are expected to be ready for Spring Training, and Rendon could even return this season, though there’s a great deal of uncertainty hanging over the club’s infield mix for a very crucial season.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions

Angels Reinstate David Fletcher

By | at July 28, 2022 6:36pm CDT

The Angels have activated infielder David Fletcher from the 60-day injured list. He’s in tonight’s lineup at second base. Michael Stefanic was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move. To create space on the 40-man roster, the Halos transferred veteran infielder Matt Duffy from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.

It has been a rough season for Fletcher, who’s spent the bulk of the year on the shelf. He missed the first three weeks of the year recovering from a strain in his left hip. Fletcher returned to action for about two weeks, then went back on the IL with recurring hip issues. He underwent adductor surgery in mid-May and has spent nearly three months recovering.

In Fletcher’s absence, the Angels have struggled to a 42-56 record that has them ahead of only the A’s, Royals and Tigers in the American League standings. Lack of production at second base has been among the factors for that, as the Halos have gotten a meager .236/.294/.319 showing out of the position. Six players — Fletcher, Stefanic, Duffy, Luis Rengifo, Tyler Wade and Jack Mayfield — have tallied at least 20+ plate appearances as part of the second base rotation.

Duffy has been out since June 27 with what the team originally termed lower back spasms. There hasn’t been much word on his status over the past month, but he’s evidently not close to a return. The 60-day window backdates to his original IL placement, so Duffy won’t be back on the diamond at Angel Stadium until at least the final week of August.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions

Angels Select Cesar Valdez

By | at May 17, 2022 6:22pm CDT

The Angels selected right-hander César Valdez onto the big league roster in advance of tonight’s game against the Rangers. Andrew Wantz has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move. To clear space on the 40-man roster, Anaheim transferred middle infielder David Fletcher from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Valdez agreed to a minor league deal during Spring Training. The 37-year-old reported to Salt Lake, where he’s worked as a starting pitcher. Valdez has averaged north of seven innings per appearance, tossing 35 2/3 frames altogether with an excellent 3.03 ERA. He’s fanned just under a quarter of opponents while walking a microscopic 2.9% of batters faced. Valdez has induced ground-balls at an elite 58.8% clip and only allowed one of 137 batters he’s faced to take him deep.

That’s a very impressive showing, particularly in the context of a move back to the starting staff. Valdez had worked exclusively as a reliever since landing with the Orioles in 2020. He spent a good chunk of last season in the majors, tossing 46 innings over 39 outings. The Dominican Republic native had a very good April for the O’s, eventually pitching his way into the closer role. He stumbled from May onwards, however, managing only a 5.87 ERA in the long run. Because he’s been stretched out as a starter, he’ll offer skipper Joe Maddon a long relief option in the majors.

Fletcher, the club’s primary second baseman in recent years, has been held to just 14 games in 2022. He spent the first few weeks of the season on the injured list owing to a hip strain, returning in late April. Fletcher landed back on the IL a bit more than a week later, and he was forced to undergo adductor surgery last week. That procedure came with a rough recovery timeline of “a couple months,” according to the team, making it unsurprising he heads to the 60-day IL. He’ll likely be out until after the All-Star Break.

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