Minasian: "We have to play quality defense."

[BTH]

During Perry Minasian's press conference, it seemed apparent that addressing the defense is a priority, as he said: “With pitching comes run prevention. I think we can’t lose sight of that either. That entails defense. We have to play quality defense. We have to catch the ball. Game calling, game planning, positioning … all the things that entail run prevention, we’re going to attack.”

The positions the Angels may look to shore up figure to be C, 2B/SS, and OF.

With that in mind, here's a look at some of the top defensive players at those positions in 2020 that are free agents, per Fangraphs.

C- Among all catchers, James McCann and Jeff Mathis tied for 4th in DRS. For "Def," Yadier Molina tied for 9th and James McCann was 12th.

2B- Among all second basemen, Enrique Hernandez tied for 1st in DRS, while Cesar Hernandez and Kolten Wong tied for 2nd in DRS. For "Def," Enrique Hernandez was 1st, Kolten Wong was 2nd, and Jonathan Schoop was 3rd.

SS- Among all shortstops, Marcus Semien was 5th in "Def", while Gregorius was tied for 12th in "Def."

OF- Among all outfielders, Jackie Bradley Jr and Michael Brantley tied for 12th in DRS. Among all right fielders, Kevin Pillar was 4th in "Def."

[Junkballer]

Obtaining a good defensive SS would be optimal.  Fletcher is an outstanding 2B and a good SS.  Having Fletch at 2B as the Ace in the Hole for SS injuries, days off, etc. would be ideal as Rengifo (or Jones if LR is traded) fills in nicely at 2B.  If Fletch is starting SS, when he is out, there will be a noticeable dropoff there.  Outside of pitching, this is the position Id like to see Minasian get creative with more than any other.

[Lazorko Saves]

18 minutes ago, Trendon said:

James Mathis

Who?  Who is this James Mathis?

 

[Taylor]

If only we had a cheap, Gold Glove calibur shortstop that we let get away.

[Angelsjunky]

Bauer, Musgrove, McCann, and Wong would make me happy.

[Lazorko Saves]

16 minutes ago, Taylor said:

If only we had a cheap, Gold Glove calibur shortstop that we let get away.

Some people just never going to get over than Jim Fregosi trade...

[Taylor]

1 hour ago, Lazorko Saves said:

Some people just never going to get over than Jim Fregosi trade...

I was talking about the great Maicer Izturis.

[Docwaukee]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

Bauer, Musgrove, McCann, and Wong would make me happy.

[Lou]

"We need good defense"

It's that type of revolutionary thinking that will make Minasian a successful GM.

 

[Docwaukee]

6 minutes ago, Lou said:

"We need good defense"

It's that type of revolutionary thinking that will make Minasian a successful GM.

 

he also mentioned that he would pursue all avenues to improve the team.  

 

[Lou]

3 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

he also mentioned that he would pursue all avenues to improve the team.  

 

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, Taylor said:

I was talking about the great Maicer Izturis.

[rafibomb]

I think Minasian goes after Kolten Wong pretty hard and there's no coincidence we signed his brother right away after he was announced as GM. Wong plays a gold glove defense at 2nd base and would make this team better.

[Warfarin]

7 hours ago, Trendon said:

During Perry Minasian's press conference, it seemed apparent that addressing the defense is a priority, as he said: “With pitching comes run prevention. I think we can’t lose sight of that either. That entails defense. We have to play quality defense. We have to catch the ball. Game calling, game planning, positioning … all the things that entail run prevention, we’re going to attack.”

The positions the Angels may look to shore up figure to be C, 2B/SS, and OF.

With that in mind, here's a look at some of the top defensive players at those positions in 2020 that are free agents, per Fangraphs.

C- Among all catchers, James McCann and Jeff Mathis tied for 4th in DRS. For "Def," Yadier Molina tied for 9th and James McCann was 12th.

2B- Among all second basemen, Enrique Hernandez tied for 1st in DRS, while Cesar Hernandez and Kolten Wong tied for 2nd in DRS. For "Def," Enrique Hernandez was 1st, Kolten Wong was 2nd, and Jonathan Schoop was 3rd.

SS- Among all shortstops, Marcus Semien was 5th in "Def", while Gregorius was tied for 12th in "Def."

OF- Among all outfielders, Jackie Bradley Jr and Michael Brantley tied for 12th in DRS. Among all right fielders, Kevin Pillar was 4th in "Def."

While defensive rankings are nice, I think a lot of them are a bit flawed in terms of grading.  That said, I'm sure teams have their own proprietary defensive grading systems that we aren't privy to that probably grades them better than the tools we fans have access to.

I do suspect we'll see Minasian utilize the depressed free agency market to shore up areas fairly cheaply - 2B, corner OF are definitely two spots I can see him attacking, as well as possibly a backup C and for sure relief pitching.

Given that we have quite a few RHH, someone like Kolton Wong definitely makes sense.  I know @rafibombmentoned we signed his brother.  Actually, one of the hallmarks of teams iike the Braves, Dodgers, Rays, etc, is that they seemingly find guys who are super cheap and end up playing well.  So it wouldn't surprise me if Kean Wong actually ends up being a good pickup and ends up playing well.  Or if not him, someone else similar to that.

Regardless, I'm eager to see what he does.  He'll start building out his front office in the upcoming weeks, as he also starts to make some moves to fill out the team.  He's getting a late start compared to his colleagues, but all that said, given that this market is projected to be a bad one for players, he likely has a lot of time to catch up, as the bulk of the moves will probably come in January / February.

[totdprods]

I’m really high on Kolten Wong for 2B. He’ll be 30 next year, the same age as La Stella’s first with the Halos. 

Look at their slash through age 29...

• La Stella: .264/.345/.366/.711, 10.6 K%, 9.6 BB%, .131 ISO
• Wong: .261/.333/.384/.717, 15.2 K%, 7.7 BB%, .123 ISO

They’re fairly similar players - La Stella obviously has a little better pitch recognition a discipline, but Wong isn’t bad in that department, especially in recent years. And obviously, Wong is tremendously better defensively. 

I maintain that Jeremy Reed has unlocked something with left-handed hitters finding more power. He turned Calhoun around. La Stella broke out here. Goodwin played his best. Castro and Bemboom both had solid power/discipline. 

I think he could be a bargain and could turn a corner. We’ve seen a lot of light-hitting, defense-first infielders turn a corner later in their careers recently...La Stella, Turner, Murphy, Cozart, Gennett...Wong could be the next.

[totdprods]

I’d also consider flipping someone like Jose Suarez, who I think is going to be buried in the depth charts soon with Detmers, Yan, Stallings, Seminaris, etc. drawing closer to the bigs, to Tampa for RF Hunter Renfroe. He’s a non-tender candidate with excellent defense and some offensive potential.

Joey Wendle or Kiermaier make sense to look at too. Pillar or JBJ on the FA side.

Edited November 18, 2020 by totdprods

[Inside Pitch]

9 hours ago, Lou said:

"We need good defense"

It's that type of revolutionary thinking that will make Minasian a successful GM.

Well, might be an indication he saw that the defense was a huge issue and negatively impacted the pitching last year.  Everyone keeps blathering on about the need for pitching and its true they need help there, but that 17-12 run kicked into gear after they traded away the two worst defenders on the team.  Honestly, his bringing the defense up as often as he did scored points with me.  I agree it was a super cliche, almost duh level comment but in the Angels' case last year it's a very accurate assessment.

[tdawg87]

12 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

Wong would make me happy.

Me too, bud.

[greginpsca]

Perry's comments about defense, and Arte's comment about Fletcher "also being a very good second baseman" , makes me think they will go after a ss.  With another good defensive ss would give the team a really good infield defense. I was also noticing that the Indians might non-tender the catcher they got from San Diego in the Clevenger trade. Good defense there and he is an OC kid. Sorry, i can't remember his name offhand. I should be able to remember his name, as my sister use to do bookkeeping for his family. I thought about that after Perry's comments about pitch calling and game plans. If that were to happen, the only weakness defensively would be LF & RF.

[Angel Oracle]

7 hours ago, rafibomb said:

I think Minasian goes after Kolten Wong pretty hard and there's no coincidence we signed his brother right away after he was announced as GM. Wong plays a gold glove defense at 2nd base and would make this team better.

Either Wong or Cesar Hernandez would give them good up the middle defense, and solid enough OBP to set the table for Trout, Rendon, Ohtani, Upton, and Walsh.

[Angel Oracle]

40 minutes ago, greginpsca said:

Perry's comments about defense, and Arte's comment about Fletcher "also being a very good second baseman" , makes me think they will go after a ss.  With another good defensive ss would give the team a really good infield defense. I was also noticing that the Indians might non-tender the catcher they got from San Diego in the Clevenger trade. Good defense there and he is an OC kid. Sorry, i can't remember his name offhand. I should be able to remember his name, as my sister use to do bookkeeping for his family. I thought about that after Perry's comments about pitch calling and game plans. If that were to happen, the only weakness defensively would be LF & RF.

Austin Hedges

Good defense but also Mathis like hitting

Good guy to have as a backup catcher for say 40 games

[greginpsca]

18 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Austin Hedges

Good defense but also Mathis like hitting

Good guy to have as a backup catcher for say 40 games

Yea, don't know why is name escaped me.

[Pancake Bear]

Fletcher doesn't exactly have elite SS defense. Wong seems fine, but if you're giving up the bat for elite defense at 10m per for a 30 year old, why not just bring Simba back?

[GrittyVeterans]

The bottom line is the outfield is a total disaster defensively. Upton and Adell were liabilities and Trout has clearly lost a step and can’t cover for them. I don’t think the infield is going to be the issue...you’ve got Rendon, Fletcher, Rengifo and can add Wong or Simmons. That seems just fine to me

 

once again we have too many DH only guys on this roster in Upton, Ohtani, and Pujols. Minasian has his hands full with that

[Jeremiah]

54 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

Fletcher doesn't exactly have elite SS defense. Wong seems fine, but if you're giving up the bat for elite defense at 10m per for a 30 year old, why not just bring Simba back?

I was thinking along those lines as well. If Fletch's better position is 2B, then the team should go after a SS on the market. I know Semien isn't many people's favorite option, but he plays good defense. Perhaps the team can get Simba back on a one-year deal so he'll hit FA again in what should be a better market next offseason, assuming that fans will be allowed back at some point next season.