Griffin Canning

Braves, Angels Swap Jorge Soler For Griffin Canning

By Steve Adams | October 31, 2024 at 11:56pm CDT

The Angels and Braves wasted little time hammering out the first significant trade of the offseason, as the teams announced Thursday that they’ve agreed on a swap sending designated hitter Jorge Soler to Anaheim in exchange for righty Griffin Canning. There’s reportedly no money changing hands in the deal. The Angels will take on the entirety of the remaining two years and $26MM on Soler’s contract. Atlanta, meanwhile, will be on the hook for Canning’s salary in his final season of arbitration. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $5.1MM salary for Canning, who’ll be a free agent next winter.

Soler stood as one of the most obvious trade candidates in all of baseball this offseason, given his defensive limitations and the presence of Marcell Ozuna in Atlanta. The Braves acquired him as something of a desperation move at the deadline, needing help for an injury-ravaged lineup. The plan always seemed to be stomaching Soler in the outfield for a couple of months and pursuing a trade in the offseason (hence Soler ranking prominently on our list of the top 35 trade candidates of the 2024-25 offseason).

The 32-year-old Soler (33 in February) will add a thunderous bat and defensively limited skill set to the Angels’ roster. He inked a three-year, $42MM deal with the Giants last winter on the heels of a 36-homer campaign in Miami and has now been traded twice in the first year of the contract. That isn’t for lack of production, however. To the contrary, Soler enjoyed a solid season at the plate, slashing .241/.338/.442 in 142 games. He was particularly productive from June onward, catching fire with a .263/.366/.489 batting line and clubbing 15 of his 21 homers in that span of 386 plate appearances.

Soler simply wasn’t a good long-term fit on Atlanta’s roster with Ozuna a lock to be retained on a $16MM club option. Both players offer huge power but bottom-of-the-scale defense in the outfield corners. The Braves, as a luxury tax payor, would’ve been on the hook for overage penalties in addition to the $13MM annually owed to Soler.

With the Angels, it’s a more straightforward match. He’ll slot in as the everyday designated hitter on a Halos club that used journeyman Willie Calhoun as its primary option at the DH position in 2024. Eighteen players saw time at DH for the Angels last year, and their collective output (.222/.299/.328) was the fifth-worst in the sport, by measure of wRC+ (80). Even if Soler doesn’t bounce all the way back to his standout 2023 production, his 2024 output represents a monumental upgrade over what the Angels received out of last year’s committee approach to the DH spot in their lineup.

Soler is now one of five Angels under a guaranteed contract for the 2025 season, joining Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Tyler Anderson and Robert Stephenson. Add in an arbitration class that could cost upwards of $31-32MM before any potential non-tenders (via Swartz’s previously referenced projections), and the Halos are looking at a projected payroll around $168MM (via RosterResource) with the entire offseason ahead of them. They’re presently about $58MM beneath the first luxury tax threshold.

For the Braves, the trade subtracts an onerous contract while adding another competitor to their rotation competition behind Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Schwellenbach (and, once healthy, Spencer Strider). Canning, a former second-round pick and top prospect, has shown promise with the Angels at times — 2020 and 2023, in particular — but has yet to solidify himself as a viable big leagues starter. He’s coming off a season that saw him soak up a career-high 171 2/3 innings but do so with a lackluster 5.19 earned run average. His 17.6% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate, 40.7% ground-ball rate and 1.63 HR/9 mark are all worse than the league average.

As recently as ’23, however, Canning logged 127 innings with a 4.32 ERA and much more promising strikeout and walk rates of 25.9% and 6.7%, respectively. A dip in both command and fastball velocity (94.7 mph in 2023, 93.4 mph in 2024) contributed to a downturn on the mound. That said, Canning entered the 2024 season with career-long strikeout and walk rates that were better than league average and a decent bit of post-hype prospect pedigree. He won’t be guaranteed a rotation spot in Atlanta, but if he’s tendered a contract — not a sure thing — he’d compete with AJ Smith-Shawver, Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder and Hurston Waldrep for a spot at the back of the starting staff.

Canning has more than five years of service time and thus cannot be optioned to the minors without his consent. That lack of options leaves open the possibility that the Braves could attempt to sign him to a one-year deal that checks in well shy of his projected arbitration salary and, if unsuccessful, decline to tender him a contract. That’d render the Soler trade a straight-up salary dump, but that’s still not an entirely bad outcome for the Braves. If Canning is indeed tendered a contract, he could also be used as a swingman or long reliever.

The Braves paid the luxury tax in both 2023 and 2024. They’re overwhelmingly likely to do so again in 2025, based on the state of their books. Paying Soler $13MM would’ve come with at least a 50% luxury tax — possibly more, depending on the extent of their remaining offseason spending. For a club with holes to fill in the rotation and quite likely at shortstop, that was an untenable setup. In effect, Atlanta is buying low on a rotation flier and creating greater financial flexibility to address other offseason needs. The Angels, meanwhile, move a potential fifth starter/non-tender candidate to provide a substantial upgrade to a lackluster offense. The Angels’ roster is still littered with holes, so this should be just the first of many additions if the team is intent on trying to compete next season. It’s a fine start as long as it’s merely the first domino in a broader sequence.

Mike Rodriguez first reported Soler was being traded to the Angels. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Canning was headed back to Atlanta. David O’Brien of The Athletic reported that no money was changing hands in the trade.

Latest On Angels’ Deadline Outlook

By Steve Adams | July 8, 2024 at 1:43pm CDT

The Angels are one of the few obvious deadline sellers at the moment, but even they might not be fully open for business. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggests that the club prefers to hold onto outfielder Taylor Ward and starters Tyler Anderson and Griffin Canning, due to the fact all three are signed/controlled into next season. If the Angels are reluctant to move anyone signed or controlled beyond the current campaign, that would then extend to Luis Rengifo as well. Anderson is signed through 2025 and earning $13MM each season. Ward is controlled through 2026 via arbitration. Canning and Rengifo are arb-eligible through the 2025 season.

It’s always possible, especially this time of year, that there’s some level of posturing in that stance. The Halos are 15 games under .500, 10.5 games out of the division lead and 12 games out of a Wild Card spot as of Monday morning. Their -78 run differential is the fifth-worst in MLB. Mike Trout has been on the injured list since late April. Patrick Sandoval and Robert Stephenson have both been lost to UCL surgeries. To say things have not gone well in 2024 would be putting things mildly.

That said, Angels owner Arte Moreno has long appeared averse to embarking on any kind of rebuilding effort. The Angels have regularly been active in free agency and on the trade market over the past decade, even as their playoff drought has grown to the largest in the sport. (They last qualified for postseason play in 2014.) That trend has spanned multiple general managers — Jerry Dipoto, Billy Eppler, Perry Minasian — and thus seems largely attributable to ownership. Even as they were faced with losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency this offseason, Minasian decisively stated that the Angels would not rebuild.

When considering that context, it’s easier to see a scenario in which the Angels would rebuff interest in names like Ward — even if there’s a strong logical case that they should be capitalizing on trade value nearly anywhere it exists on the roster. As it stands, Nightengale writes that the Angels have been “bombarded” with interest in closer Carlos Estevez and are also likely to trade setup man Luis Garcia. Other rental players of note on the Halos include Matt Moore, Brandon Drury, Kevin Pillar, Hunter Strickland and Miguel Sano.

The 31-year-old Estevez is in the second season of a two-year, $13.5MM contract signed in the 2022-23 offseason. The longtime Rockies hurler has taken his game to a new level in Anaheim — particularly in 2024. He boasts a tidy 2.89 ERA with a strong 26.9% strikeout rate and a career-best 3.8% walk rate. Estevez averages just shy of 97 mph on his heater, has picked up 16 saves this year (and 31 last year), and was named the AL Reliever of the Month in June after tossing 10 shutout innings and recording a 32.3% strikeout rate without issuing a walk.

Garcia, 37, is on a one-year, $4.25MM contract. He’s pitched 36 innings and yielded a 4.25 ERA while recording nine holds. The veteran righty has fanned a sharp 23.7% of his opponents against a similarly strong 7.9% walk rate. He’s kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 49.5% clip. His sinker is down from the career-best 98.7 mph average he showed with the Padres in 2022 but still has plenty of life, sitting at 96.4 mph, per Statcast.

Strickland, 35, has had an up-and-down career with inconsistent year-to-year results but is in the midst of a strong season. He’s pitched 40 innings out of the bullpen and logged a 3.60 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate, 35.3% ground-ball rate and 0.90 HR/9. Over his past 9 2/3 innings, he’s gone unscored upon and allowed only one hit and three walks while punching out 10 batters.

The 35-year-old Pillar was released by the White Sox in April and has been a godsend in Anaheim. Since heading to Orange County, the journeyman outfielder has turned in a huge .305/.360/.516 slash with six home runs and five steals in just 139 plate appearances. Pillar recently acknowledged that this will likely be his final season, so it stands to reason that he’d welcome the opportunity to join one more playoff race and one more chance to chase down a World Series ring.

None of the other rental options on the Angels’ roster are performing particularly well. Moore, Adam Cimber and Jose Cisnero all signed one-year deals in the offseason. Moore has seen his strikeout rate plummet as he’s struggled to keep his ERA under 5.00. Both Cimber and Cisnero have ERAs north of 7.00 and are presently on the injured list. Drury, hitting .172/.24/.227 in the second season of a two-year $17MM deal, is more a release candidate than a trade candidate. Sano, back in the majors after not playing in 2023, is hitting .205/.295/.313 with a 37.9% strikeout rate in 95 plate appearances.

Who Could The Angels Trade This Summer?

By Darragh McDonald | May 3, 2024 at 11:30am CDT

The Angels came into 2024 hoping to compete, despite losing Shohei Ohtani to free agency, but it’s not going well so far. It’s usually unwise to pour dirt on a club’s grave so early in the season, but the odds were against them even before the 2024 campaign started. They have piled up a few losses while Mike Trout is once again facing a significant absence, narrowing whatever contention window they had.

The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs gave them a 16.9% chance of making the playoffs prior to any games being played. Now that the club is 11-20 and Trout is set to miss weeks due to surgery to repair a torn meniscus, those odds have slimmed. As of this morning, their chances of cracking the postseason are down to 2.6%. The PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus are even more pessimistic, giving the Halos just a 0.3% shot.

Barring a miracle in the next few months, they are going to be deadline sellers in the months to come. There could be some speculation about Trout being available, but that’s a complicated situation. He has full no-trade protection and has said he wants to stay in Anaheim. Even if he changes his mind and wants out, facilitating a deal won’t be easy. Despite his immense talents, he actually has negative trade value right now. He is about to turn 33 years old, is making $35.45MM annually through 2030 and has frequently been injured in recent years.

The Angels would be in a tough spot, as they would likely want some notable prospect return in trading a face-of-the-franchise player like Trout, but they would have to swallow a significant portion of the deal to make that happen. On top of that, Trout’s no-trade clause means they would have to factor in his preferences, perhaps narrowing their options and reducing their leverage. Given how convoluted the factors are, a Trout trade isn’t likely to come together hastily, especially since he’s currently hurt.

On top of Trout, there are others who aren’t likely to be moved. Anthony Rendon has a massive salary and hasn’t been healthy in years. Robert Stephenson recently underwent Tommy John surgery and is out until the middle of next year, at least. Players like Logan O’Hoppe, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel are still in their pre-arbitration years, giving the club little reason to move them.

But that still leaves them with quite a few options that could hold appeal around the league:

Luis Rengifo

Rengifo is currently hitting .326/.376/.465 this year for a 142 wRC+. That’s at least partly a mirage because he won’t be able to sustain a .377 batting average on balls in play all season. But even with a bit of regression, he’d be on track for his third straight year of above-average offense. He hit a combined .264/.315/.436 over 2022 and 2023, with a 103 wRC+ in the first of those two seasons and a 114 wRC+ last year.

Defensively, Rengifo can play all over the diamond. He has spent time at the three infield positions to the left of first base, as well as all three outfield slots. He’s not considered especially strong at any one spot, but the ability to move around will help him fit in with other clubs. The fact that he’s a switch-hitter gives him extra versatility.

Financially, Rengifo is making just $4.4MM this year and can be controlled via arbitration for next year as well. Even if a club has financial concerns due to the competitive balance tax or lack of TV revenue, he won’t break the bank.

Carlos Estévez

Estévez is out to a rough start this year with a 6.23 ERA, but the numbers are good just about everywhere else. He is striking out 29.4% of batters faced on the year and hasn’t yet issued a walk. The runs are scoring at least partially due to a tiny strand rate of 48.4%. His 3.83 FIP and 2.70 SIERA point to him being the same lockdown reliever he has been in previous years.

The righty has a 4.51 career ERA but spent his entire career in Colorado until last year. He secured a two-year, $13.5MM deal with the Angels going into 2023. His first season in Anaheim saw him rack up 31 saves while punching out 27.8% of opponents, though walking 11% of them. He should be one of the better rental relievers available this summer. He’s making a salary of $6.75MM this year.

Tyler Anderson

Anderson’s up-and-down career is in a bit of an upswing right now, at least in terms of results. Through six starts this year, he has a 2.23 earned run average. But with a .194 BABIP and 90.9% strand rate, he likely won’t be able to keep that up. His 4.76 FIP and 4.80 SIERA suggest regression is coming, as his 18.5% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate are both subpar.

The lefty secured a three-year, $39MM deal with the Halos going into 2023. He had a 4.62 ERA through 2021 but then posted a 2.57 ERA with the Dodgers in 2022. That led to his deal with the Angels, but he regressed immediately with a 5.43 ERA last year. Though his results will likely dip a bit as the year goes on, pitching is always in demand at the deadline and the Angels could be able to eat some of his salary to get a deal done. His contract pays him $13MM annually and runs through the end of 2025.

Griffin Canning

Health has been the big question mark for Canning, but he showed positive development in that department last year. He missed the 2022 season entirely but then appeared in 24 games in 2023 — 22 of them starts — while logging 127 innings. All of those figures were career-highs. Beyond the quantity, the quality was also encouraging. He had a 4.32 ERA on the year with a 25.9% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate.

Unfortunately, things have backed up in 2024. Through six starts, he has struck out just 15.9% of opponents while walking 9.1%, leading to a 7.45 ERA. A 56.1% strand rate isn’t helping him, but even his 5.48 FIP and 4.96 SIERA aren’t amazing. He’ll have to get things back on track in the months to come but would have some appeal if he did. Because of the missed injury time, he’s making a modest $2.6MM salary this year and has one more arbitration season remaining in 2025.

Patrick Sandoval

Sandoval’s ERA is up at 5.91 this year, but the numbers under the hood are more encouraging. His 10.8% walk rate is a bit high, but he’s striking out 25.7% of batters faced and getting grounders on 47.3% of balls in play. Were it not for a .396 BABIP and 57.5% strand rate, he’d be in better shape, which is why he has a 3.17 FIP and 3.83 SIERA.

He’s a bit less of an obvious trade candidate since he’s controlled through 2026. He’s making $5.025MM this year and will have two more arb seasons before he’s slated for free agency. The Halos could hold him if they think they can compete again in that window, but his trade value will only decline going forward as his control window shrinks and his salary keeps rising.

Taylor Ward

Ward is in the same service bucket as Sandoval, meaning he has two years of control beyond this one. He’s had a bit of a stop-and-go career due to injuries but is often in good form when healthy. He already has seven home runs this year and is slashing .278/.313/.492 with a 126 wRC+. Going back to the start of 2021, he’s hit .267/.343/.453 for a 122 wRC+.

Similar to Sandoval, the Halos don’t have to move Ward, but there’s an argument for it. He’s making $4.8MM this year and will be in line for a healthy raise if he keeps hitting homers. Since his health has been so mercurial, they might be tempted to strike while the iron is hot, cashing him in for younger players if he stays healthy through July.

Matt Moore

Moore is continuing to enjoy a nice second act to his career after moving from the rotation to the bullpen. Since the start of 2022, he’s made 125 appearances with a 2.35 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate and 40% ground ball rate.

His strikeout rate has dipped to 21.3% this year, but in a small sample of 12 appearances. His 3.97 ERA is more passable than it is exciting and he’s making $9MM on the year. But every contender is looking for bullpen upgrades at the deadline and Moore will have suitors, especially since he’s left-handed.

Brandon Drury

Drury parlayed a 28-homer breakout in 2022 into a two-year, $17MM deal to suit up for the team he grew up cheering for. The first season went well, as he launched another 26 home runs last year while bouncing between multiple positions, but he’s out to a dreadful start here in 2024. He has battled some hamstring tightness and migraines while hitting just .176/.245/.235.

Those nagging injuries are surely playing a part in his struggles, as is a .209 BABIP. He could be due for a turnaround if his health and batted-ball fortune both improve. If that comes to pass, he could fit on multiple clubs around the league. He has played all four infield positions and the outfield corners in his career, so various teams could find a way to squeeze him in.

Luis García

Somewhat similar to Estévez, García is allowing more runs than he seemingly deserves. He has struck out 28.3% of opponents this year while walking just 5.7% and keeping 54.3% of balls in play on the ground, leading to a 2.52 FIP and 2.38 SIERA. But a strand rate of just 39.7% has helped push some runners across the plate, leading to a 5.54 ERA.

He’s a 37-year-old veteran and won’t fetch a huge return, but each contender needs bullpen help. He’s making just $4.25MM on a one-year deal and has a decent track record. Since the start of 2021, he has a 3.77 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 55% ground ball rate.

Adam Cimber

Cimber had a pretty solid run in 2021 and 2022, pitching over 70 innings in each of those seasons with a combined ERA of 2.53. He only struck out 18.8% of batters faced in that time, but he only walked 5% of them while his submarine delivery helped him produce a 47.9% ground ball rate and lots of weak contact.

He was hurt for a lot of 2023 and his ERA shot up to 7.40 when he was on the mound. The Angels took a shot on a bounceback which has mostly gone well so far, as Cimber has a 3.14 ERA this year. His 11.1% walk rate is uncharacteristically high, as he’s never finished a season above 7.8% in that department. If he can shake off the rust and rein in his control, perhaps he’ll be back in 2021-22 form in the months to come. He’s making just $1.65MM this year and could fit in the budget of any club.

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The Angels could also push further, depending on what their long-term plans are. Reid Detmers and Jo Adell haven’t yet reached arbitration yet, but they will this coming winter. Adell has struggled so much over the years but is in good form so far this year, which may tempt the Angels to listen to offers on him now in case he turns into a pumpkin. He’s slashing .290/.338/.565 for a 152 wRC+, with his 26.5% strikeout rate a big improvement compared to previous years.

Parting with Detmers could be painful since he seems to be breaking out this year. He has a 3.12 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 44% ground ball rate. With three more years of control beyond this one, there’s no rush to move him. But if the club is planning a significant rebuild, those years might be wasted in Anaheim. If they decide to pull the trigger, he would fetch a haul.

MLBTR Poll: Angels’ Sixth Starter

By Anthony Franco | April 6, 2023 at 10:50pm CDT

The Angels have run six-man rotations in recent seasons. They’re expected to do the same this year, although manager Phil Nevin has already indicated the club will be a little less rigid than in prior years to try to get more innings for their top arms.

The Halos had an off day on the second day of the season, mitigating the need for a sixth starter the first time through. They had an extra day to get a second start from Shohei Ohtani yesterday before settling on a sixth starter.

After today’s scheduled off day, the Angels play on six consecutive days. Sam Blum of the Athletic tweets the Angels are likely to turn to their sixth starter for their April 12 matchup with the Nationals. It remains unclear whom Nevin will give the first crack to assume that role behind Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Tyler Anderson and José Suarez.

The most likely candidates appear to be left-hander Tucker Davidson and righty Griffin Canning. Davidson, acquired in last summer’s Raisel Iglesias trade with Atlanta, is out of minor league option years. He has to stick on the MLB roster in some capacity if the Halos don’t want to chance losing him. They could deploy him out of the bullpen, where he made his only appearance of the season on April 1. Davidson tossed four innings of mop-up work to finish off a blowout win in Oakland. That was only his second relief appearance at the MLB level, as he’s started 16 of 18 big league games.

Davidson threw 52 innings between Atlanta and Anaheim last season. He was tagged for a 6.75 ERA, walking 14.4% of opponents while striking out 13.7% of batters faced. That kind of production obviously isn’t sufficient but the Halos have kept him on the 40-man roster, clearly believing he’s capable of taking a step forward. Davidson had been solid over 15 Triple-A starts last year, with an above-average 27.8% strikeout rate and solid 7% walk percentage more encouraging than his 4.59 ERA there lets on.

Canning is currently on the 15-day injured list. He opened the season on the shelf with a groin strain, but the issue seems exceedingly minor. The UCLA product made a rehab start for Low-A Inland Empire this evening, working five innings and 92 pitches. Assuming he responds well in the next few days, it seems he’s on track for a quick reinstatement. Canning is first eligible to return on April 12, so his timetable could align with the Angels’ first need for a sixth starter.

If he got the nod, it’d be his first big league outing since July 2021. Canning has lost the past year and a half to back injuries. One of the organization’s more promising pitching prospects a few seasons ago, he looked like a possible mid-rotation arm when he worked to a 3.99 ERA over 11 starts during the shortened season. Canning surrendered a 5.60 ERA through his first 14 outings in 2021 before the back issues that cost him more than 18 months. He has 209 1/3 MLB innings under his belt, almost all of them as a starter. Unlike Davidson, Canning can still be optioned for another season.

While Davidson and Canning seem the top candidates for sixth starter work, they’re not the only options. Righty Jaime Barria indicated in Spring Training he had his sights set on the job. Barria had worked almost exclusively in long relief in 2022, throwing 79 1/3 innings across 35 appearances. He posted a 2.61 ERA out of the bullpen but without huge strikeout or ground-ball numbers.

Barria had primarily been a starter before last season, working to a 4.49 ERA built on solid control. Like Davidson, Barria has made one appearance out of the bullpen this season. He tallied 3 2/3 frames of low-leverage work in a blowout loss to Seattle on Tuesday. He’s also out of options and has to stick in the majors in some capacity.

Chase Silseth is also on the 40-man roster and started seven games as a rookie last year. The right-hander showed intriguing velocity but was hit hard in his initial MLB look. He started the year on optional assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake. Kenny Rosenberg and Jhonathan Diaz also got brief rotation showings last season, though neither occupies a spot on the 40-man at this point. It’s unlikely any of that group is in consideration for MLB starts this early in the year.

Who should get the first crack for the Angels when they turn to a sixth starter?

(poll link for app users)

Angels Place José Marte On 60-Day IL

By Darragh McDonald | March 29, 2023 at 4:50pm CDT

The Angels announced a series of roster moves today, including the previously-reported selection of infielder Jake Lamb. To open a spot for Lamb on the roster, right-hander José Marte was placed on the 60-day injured list. Additionally, the club placed catcher Max Stassi and infielder Jared Walsh on the 10-day injured list, and placed right-handers Chris Rodriguez and Griffin Canning on the 15-day injured list.

Marte, 27 in June, was recently shut down for four weeks due to a stress reaction in his elbow. Even if that cool down period helps get him back to health, he will then have to ramp back up into game readiness at that point, so it’s not shocking to see the club doesn’t expect him back in the next two months. He’s made 15 major league appearances for the Halos thus far in his career with a 7.80 ERA.

As for other IL placements, they’re all of the smaller variety. Stassi has a hip injury while Walsh is currently plagued by headaches and insomnia. Both of those issues were reported earlier this week when it was reported that Lamb would make the team. In the case of Rodriguez, he underwent shoulder surgery last year and it was reported last month that the club would be ramping him up slower than his teammates as he gets back into game shape. To this point, there’s nothing to suggest that there’s been any sort of setback from that plan, and the fact that he hasn’t been placed on the 60-day IL suggests he could return fairly early in the season.

As for Canning, the club announced his injury as a groin strain, which is a recent development. Manager Phil Nevin told Adrian Garro of MLB.com about the issue yesterday. “It’s something that’s not really alarming, but it’s there for sure,” Nevin said.

Canning, 27 next month, has shown some promise in his career, particularly during the shortened 2020 season. He made 11 starts that year with a 3.99 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and 36.3% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, his ERA ticked up to 5.60 in 2021 and then he missed all of 2022 due back issues. He was healthy here in spring, making four starts with a 1.32 ERA. That got him into the conversation for a sixth starter job behind Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers and José Suarez. Unfortunately, this groin issue will keep him out of action for the start of the season, seemingly giving Tucker Davidson that sixth starter gig, at least for the time being.

Angels Notes: Pujols, Guyer, Rodriguez, Canning

By Nick Deeds | February 23, 2023 at 11:56am CDT

Despite his time as a player in the organization ending on a rather sour note, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols is rejoining the Angels organization that designated him for assignment early in the 2021 season as a special assistant to honor his ten-year personal services contract with the club, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Pujols signed the personal services contract he is now set to fulfill for the Angels in conjunction with his ten-year, $254MM deal he signed with the club prior to the 2012 season.

Following that DFA, Pujols looked revitalized with the Dodgers before returning to the Cardinals for a final season that saw him hit his 700th career home run. Though he finished his career elsewhere and had an unceremonious exit from the Angels organization, Pujols emphasized that there is no bad blood between himself and an Angels organization with which he’s set to spend the next decade. He plans to serve as a special instructor in Angels camp this spring and also spend time in the Dominican Republic working with prospects at Anaheim’s international complex there.

“It’s just part of the business, that’s how it is… I’m really happy to be back here.” Pujols told reporters, including Bollinger. “What happened two years ago, I don’t hold any grudges on anything. That’s part of the business.”

Angels Looking To Increase Workload For Top Starters

By Nick Deeds | February 14, 2023 at 8:20pm CDT

Angels manager Phil Nevin spoke with reporters (including The Athletic’s Sam Blum) about the club’s pitching plans this afternoon. The Halos have run with a six-man rotation for the past few seasons, and while they could adopt that as a loose framework in 2023, Nevin indicated the team wants to put an emphasis on allowing the pitchers at the top of the rotation- including two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani – to get more action on the mound. Rather than adhere to a rigid six-man staff every turn through, Nevin suggested the club would be flexible in deploying their nominal sixth starter as more of a swing option.

Headed into the 2022 season, the club had few surefire starting pitchers beyond Ohtani, as Patrick Sandoval had started just fourteen games in 2021 while the big pitching acquisition for the Halos that offseason was Noah Syndergaard, who was returning to the mound after pitching just two innings since the end of the 2019 season.

Fortunately, the 2022 season saw multiple impressive performances from Angels starters: in addition to Ohtani improving as a pitcher on his 2021 MVP campaign and placing fourth in Cy Young award voting, Sandoval impressed with a 2.91 ERA and 3.09 FIP in a career-high 148 2/3 innings while Reid Detmers showed flashes of the talent that made him the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Jose Suarez proved to be a capable back-of-the-rotation starter over twenty starts. The Halos also improved their rotation externally with the addition of Tyler Anderson, a durable starter who broke out with the crosstown Dodgers in 2023 to the tune of a 2.57 ERA and 3.31 FIP across 178 2/3 innings.

With Sandoval having proved himself, Anderson under contract, and both Detmers and Suarez looking ready for a bigger challenge, it makes sense for the Angels to try and lean more on their top five in the rotation, especially if it means getting Ohtani on the mound more often. After years of carefully managing Ohtani’s workload in an attempt to keep him healthy, the Angels have allowed him to play more and more, with less firm restrictions in recent years. Considering a more traditional rotation appears to be the next logical step in that process.

Each of those five starting options appears likely to be a substantial improvement over the starts Anaheim’s internal options for a sixth starter can provide. Following his trade to the Angels last summer as part of the deal that sent closer Raisel Iglesias to the Braves, lefty Tucker Davidson struggled mightily in eight starts (36 2/3 innings): a ghastly 6.87 ERA and nearly matching 6.30 FIP was good for an ERA+ of just 60, or 40% worse than the league average pitcher.

Blum notes that right-hander Griffin Canning is fully healthy and partook in a normal offseason after missing the entire 2022 season with a back injury, so he could certainly factor into the sixth starter mix as well. That said, despite roughly league average results in his major league career to this point (an ERA+ of 96 in 209 1/3 innings spanning from 2019 to 2021), Canning has never reached 100 innings pitched in the majors and is coming off a long layoff, so it would be no surprise if the Angels planned on managing his workload carefully during his age-27 season.

Overall, given the relative strength of their starting five, the emphasis on letting Ohtani play without restriction in recent years, and the dearth of quality, reliable options for the sixth starter slot, Nevin’s plan to consider a more traditional rotation in 2023 makes sense. A reliable sixth starter would likely have to come externally, and those options are slim following Michael Wacha’s signing with the Padres earlier today.

Angels Notes: Adell, Moniak, Injuries, Ohtani

By Darragh McDonald | January 11, 2023 at 9:57am CDT

The Angels made a small signing earlier this week, bringing Brett Phillips aboard with a $1.2MM deal to be the club’s fourth outfielder. With Mike Trout, Taylor Ward and Hunter Renfroe set to be the primary starters on the grass, it seems the outfield jobs are now spoken for. Barring injury, that doesn’t leave much opportunity for players like Jo Adell or Mickey Moniak.

The club’s general manager Perry Minasian spoke about the situation yesterday, with Sam Blum of The Athletic and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register each relaying some of his comments. “Those jobs are solidified,” Minasian said, implying that Adell and Moniak are likely to begin the season in the minors. “Those are obviously young players who are very talented that haven’t necessarily turned the corner yet that have been putting in a significant amount of work this offseason to do that,” Minasian said. “They’re both young. I think we forget about how young these two players are.”

The two players have followed similar trajectories thus far. Adell, 24 in April, was the first round draft pick of the Angels in 2017, selected 10th overall. Moniak, 25 in May, was selected first overall the year prior by the Phillies. He came over to the Angels in the Noah Syndergaard trade at last year’s deadline. Both players made quick charges through the minors to reach the majors in 2020, when Adell was just 21 and Moniak just 22. Since then, however, each player has struggled mightily. Adell currently has a batting line of .215/.259/.356 over 557 major league plate appearances. He’s also struck out in 34.8% of those trips to the plate. Moniak’s struggles have been even greater, as he’s struck out at a 39.5% rate while hitting .157/.218/.268.

There is an air of urgency around the Angels this year, with Shohei Ohtani slated for free agency at the end of the schedule. As such, the club isn’t relying on a breakout from Moniak or Adell, having acquired Renfroe and Phillips to push the younger players down the depth charts. Each of them has just one option year remaining, which perhaps makes this sort of a make-or-break year for them. Renfroe is set to reach free agency after 2023, which could provide an opportunity for one of the youngsters to find a future job if they succeed in turning a corner this year. However, they might have to be patient since the path has been blocked for now.

Minasian also provided some health updates on some other Angels, including Griffin Canning and Chris Rodriguez. Both of those pitchers missed the 2022 season entirely, with Rodriguez rehabbing from November 2021 shoulder surgery and Canning fighting lingering back issues. Both players have now begun throwing off a mound. “If both those guys are healthy entering spring training, they’ll be exciting to watch,” Minasian said. “Right now they are on schedule to be with us in spring training and we’ll see where they’re at.”

Canning posted a 3.99 ERA over 11 starts in the shortened 2020 season while striking out 23.5% of batters faced. However, he saw that balloon to 5.60 the following year while his strikeout rate dipped to 22.4%. Rodriguez was a starter in the minors but worked primarily out of the bullpen when he made his MLB debut in 2021. He registered a 3.64 ERA in his first 29 2/3 innings but has been dealing with the shoulder issue since then.

The Angels shouldn’t be reliant on either Canning or Rodriguez, at least to start 2023. They have a rotation consisting of Ohtani, Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, José Suarez and Reid Detmers. The club has ran out a six-man rotation in recent years to reduce the workload on Ohtani but have at least considered going to a five-man this season. If they want a sixth starter, they have some candidates for the final spot, such as Chase Silseth and Tucker Davidson. However, injuries and lackluster depth have been an achilles heel of the Angels in recent years, meaning the health of Canning and Rodriguez could be an important factor for them as the campaign goes along. That makes it at least somewhat encouraging that the players are on track for now.

The same goes on the position player side, as Minasian says that both first baseman Jared Walsh and shortstop Andrew Velazquez are on schedule for spring. Walsh was great in 2020 and 2021 but slumped badly last year and eventually required surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He hit .215/.269/.374 last year after batting .280/.338/.531 over the two prior campaigns. Velazquez, known primarily for his glovework, was sidelined by knee surgery late last year. Both players could play key roles on the 2023 Angels club if they are healthy, but the club has taken measures to provide safety nets. They’ve added utility players Brandon Drury and Gio Urshela to their infield mix this winter, joining David Fletcher, Luis Rengifo and Anthony Rendon. Should Walsh or Velazquez not be available, the club will still have plenty of options to fill out the lineup, but it sounds like both players are on schedule to get back on track.

Minasian also addressed one other spot on the roster with Spring Training now just over a month away. Ohtani might not be with the team when camp opens, but not because of injury. He is going to be playing for Japan in this year’s World Baseball Classic, with that team playing their first game March 9. At this point, it’s still unclear if Ohtani will report to camp with the Angels before then or simply meet up with them after the WBC.

Angels’ Griffin Canning, Chris Rodriguez Out For Season

By Anthony Franco | August 4, 2022 at 8:38pm CDT

Angels right-handers Griffin Canning and Chris Rodríguez will not pitch this season, trainer Mike Frostad told reporters (including Sam Blum of the Athletic). It’s a lost year for both, as they’ve each spent the entire 2022 campaign on the injured list.

Canning is now over a year since his last game action. He suffered a back injury while on optional assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake in July 2021, and he was shut down for the year not long after. The 26-year-old suffered a setback in May while throwing a simulated game in trying to build his way back. Canning declined to undergo surgery at the time in hopes of making it back to the mound this year, but that unfortunately won’t come to pass.

The only silver lining is that Canning has accrued a full year of big league pay and service time this season. The former second-round pick entered the season with two-plus years of service, so he’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. Canning won’t be in line for much of a raise, as he carries a 4.73 ERA through 209 1/3 career innings and had no work in his platform year. Depending on his health status, it’s possible the Angels nevertheless non-tender him rather than devote him a 40-man roster spot for the offseason.

Injuries have been all too familiar for Canning, who’d been one of the Angels better pitching prospects during his time in the system. Despite the lackluster ERA, he’s shown some of that promise during his big league stint. Canning has a slightly above-average 23.8% strikeout rate and quality 13.2% swinging strike percentage as a major leaguer. He still seems to have mid-rotation upside if healthy, but he’d also lost an extended chunk of the 2019 season due to elbow inflammation before these back issues.

Rodríguez underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder last November. The team announced at the time the procedure would cost him most of this season, so it’s not especially surprising that he won’t make it back to Angel Stadium this year. Frostad indicated Rodríguez is still throwing at the club’s Arizona complex and generally progressing well, so it seems they simply doesn’t want to press him late in a non-competitive season.

The 24-year-old made his MLB debut last season, working 29 2/3 innings over 15 appearances in a multi-inning relief role. He posted a 3.64 ERA, compensating for mediocre strikeout and walk numbers with a robust 54.7% ground-ball percentage. As with Canning, Rodríguez collected a full year of service and salary in 2022. He won’t reach arbitration-eligibility until after the 2024 campaign at the earliest.

Injury Notes: Civale, Ross, Odorizzi, Canning

By Anthony Franco | May 25, 2022 at 10:10pm CDT

The Guardians are placing starter Aaron Civale on the 15-day injured list because of left glute tightness, writes Joe Noga of Cleveland.com. It’s not expected to be a long-term absence, with manager Terry Francona telling reporters the organization was debating whether he would even need to spend two weeks on the shelf. The skipper suggested Civale is likely to continue throwing bullpen sessions during his absence, and the hope is that “the next time he pitches he won’t have to be worried about this.”

Civale has had a rough go of things this season. The right-hander has been tagged for a 7.84 ERA through seven starts, allowing six home runs in 31 innings. His strikeout and walk rates are right in line with last season’s marks, and Civale posted a 3.84 ERA in 124 1/3 frames in 2021. His ground-ball rate has plummeted this year, however, and he’s seen a spike in opponents’ average exit velocity and barrel rate. Civale will try to get his results back on track once he’s eligible to return a couple weeks from now. Konnor Pilkington is set to be recalled to start tomorrow’s game against the Tigers in his place.

The latest on some other injured pitchers around the game:

Nationals starter Joe Ross was pulled after three innings during yesterday’s rehab outing with Double-A Harrisburg, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). The 29-year-old experienced renewed tightness in his elbow and is headed for an MRI. That’s obviously a worrisome development, as the outing marked Ross’ first game action since he was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear in his elbow last August. That ended his season, and he also underwent surgery to remove bone chips from the joint this spring. Ross, who threw 108 innings of 4.17 ERA ball last year, is in his final season of club control via arbitration.
Jake Odorizzi returned to the mound yesterday, throwing a bullpen session before the team’s game against the Guardians (video provided by Mark Berman of FOX 26). It’s fairly remarkable the Astros right-hander was back throwing that quickly, as we’re just nine days removed from him being carted off the field at Fenway Park. Odorizzi suffered a left leg injury that kept him from walking off, but an MRI later revealed that his Achilles tendon remained intact. The 32-year-old suffered some ligament and tendon issues and was placed on the 15-day injured list, but it doesn’t appear he’s in for a particularly long-term absence.
Angels starter Griffin Canning hasn’t pitched in the majors since last July 2. Optioned to the minor leagues, he made just one start with Triple-A Salt Lake before being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back that ended his 2021 season. The righty opened this year on the 60-day injured list, and while there’d been some hope he could return by June, he suffered another stress reaction recently that’ll push his timeline back further. Canning told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) that after meeting with a specialist, he’s elected not to undergo a surgical procedure. There’s no timetable for him to resume throwing, but Canning still hopes to make it back at some point this season. The former second-round pick has had myriad health issues over the past couple years, keeping him to 43 MLB appearances since the start of the 2019 campaign.

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