OC Register: New GM Perry Minasian has put his stamp on Angels in short order

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM ― The burden to distract from society’s ills has rarely felt heavier than it did on a muggy Thursday afternoon at Angel Stadium.

A mass shooting at an office building less than 4 miles away left four people dead Wednesday night. Vast swaths of unsold green seats served as a reminder of the global COVID-19 pandemic. There was no moment of silence for the victims, but Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu appeared on the video board after the top of the first inning, speaking over highlights of locals receiving vaccinations, forcing 13,207 in attendance to close their eyes and cover their ears if they wanted to suspend reality.

As a reasonably priced distraction, the Angels often fall short of their potential. Their stars – Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani – are blindingly bright. One is already on the short list of the best all-around talents to ever play the game. The other is the best two-way player since Babe Ruth. Both heard richly deserved rounds of applause during pregame introductions Thursday, an Opening Day tradition rekindled.

Too often, however, the Angels are not the most complete team on the field. Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito struck out the side in the first inning Thursday, setting a tone for the kind of dominant pitching performance the Angels lacked most of the last decade.

The Angels have struggled to field a cromulent starting rotation since their last playoff appearance in 2014. It’s easy to blame the front office for missing on various free-agent targets over the years, from Zack Greinke to Trevor Bauer, but more often the blame lies at the foot of a player development pipeline run dry.

Mike Clevinger and Patrick Corbin are arguably the best active pitchers who were drafted as Angels. Both were traded before they reached Double-A – Corbin to the Diamondbacks in 2010, Clevinger to the Indians in 2014. That’s one way to torpedo your odds of making the playoffs.

New general manager Perry Minasian will need more than a year to rebuild his roster into that of a legitimate playoff contender. Albert Pujols’ $30 million contract comes off the books after this season. Justin Upton is owed more than $52 million before he becomes a free agent after next season. Freed from those constraints, Minasian can be judged for his own handiwork. In the meantime, the Angels’ dearth of homegrown pitching prospects requires we grade him on a curve.

Already, there are signs Minasian will not accept the status quo. This was an important part of the mandate for whoever succeeded Billy Eppler. Yet it wasn’t always clear how Minasian would go about the task, or if he could inject some hope into a fan base craving more than the usual heroics from Trout and Ohtani.

Minasian has had less than five months to assess the Angels’ strengths and weaknesses. His first order of business was broadening the perspective of what had been a relatively insular front office. Now, two of Minasian’s top advisors are Gene Watson, a veteran scout who helped the Kansas City Royals break their championship drought, and the analytically savvy Alex Tamin, whose Dodgers and Braves teams literally never missed the playoffs.

The Angels’ trades for slick-fielding shortstop Jose Iglesias and pitcher Alex Cobb filled two obvious roster holes. Veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki somewhat fell in Minasian’s lap. At 37, and two years removed from a World Series championship with the Nationals, Suzuki had a short list of possible 2021 destinations.

Where Minasian has shone most is his fast-track rebuild of the Angels’ bullpen. The unit combined for a 4.63 earned-run average last season, one of the highest marks in the American League. Blaming the bullpen’s shortcomings on a starting rotation that repeatedly failed to pitch deep into games would have been the easy response – if not the most logical. It’s a refrain Angels fans hear often from their managers, from Mike Scioscia to Brad Ausmus to Joe Maddon.

Rather than shuffle the deck chairs, Minasian cleaned house.

Right-hander Mike Mayers led the team in appearances last season (29) and posted a sparkling 2.10 ERA while striking out more than a batter an inning. Mayers will reprise his familiar set-up role in 2021. None of the other seven relievers on the Angels’ Opening Day roster – Raisel Iglesias, Steve Cishek, Alex Claudio, Junior Guerra, Tony Watson, Chris Rodriguez and Aaron Slegers – appeared in a game for Maddon last season. This is Minasian’s bullpen, for better or worse.

Drafting and developing position players has been among the Angels’ strengths as an organization. That’s why Minasian’s next item of business, signing David Fletcher to a long-term extension, brims with hope.

Fletcher will be an Angel for at least the next five years. His new contract includes a club option for a sixth and seventh season, at relatively team-friendly prices. He’ll make $6.5 million in 2025, what would have been his first season after reaching free agency, then $8 million in 2026 and $8.5 million in 2027 if the Angels exercise both contract options.

A former sixth-round draft pick out of Loyola Marymount, Fletcher is the best contact hitter in baseball. His 91.3 percent contract rate since the start of 2019 is the game’s highest, with no other player above 90 percent. His defense is scrappy enough to rekindle memories of another endearing Angel, David Eckstein, and he’s competent at enough positions to give Minasian roster flexibility for years to come.

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These attributes aren’t typically rewarded with long-term extensions. They merely offer a respite from the three-true-outcomes brand of baseball that has reduced pace of action to that of a chess match. Fletcher won’t make Francisco Lindor money – the Mets’ shortstop finalized a 10-year, $341 million contract extension Thursday – but he makes the Angels a better, more watchable team.

Fletcher grew up in Cypress. He attended the Angels’ 2002 World Series victory parade. Before his contract was finalized Thursday, Fletcher’s agent Steve Rath reached out to Minasian with a last-minute request: would the Angels help Fletcher’s efforts with Summer Harvest, a Cypress-based charity that benefits Orange County children dealing with food insecurity?

“That was an absolute no-brainer,” Minasian said. “This is the type of guy we want in this organization. I couldn’t be more excited.”

Keeping a fan favorite in an Angels uniform at a modest price makes for a promising start to Minasian’s tenure. It’s a good sign the new GM is acutely aware of the team’s recent failures and successes, eager to make every trip to the ballpark the departure fans deserve.

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[Warfarin]

Nice piece.  He has done a rather remarkable job in how much change he made in a relatively short period of time.  We'll see how he ultimately fairs, but it was nice watching the game last night and seeing a well-functioning bullpen that shut down a good offense.  The Fletcher extension was fantastic, and I hope he can do similar moves with others.

[Angel Oracle]

8 hours ago, Warfarin said:

Nice piece.  He has done a rather remarkable job in how much change he made in a relatively short period of time.  We'll see how he ultimately fairs, but it was nice watching the game last night and seeing a well-functioning bullpen that shut down a good offense.  The Fletcher extension was fantastic, and I hope he can do similar moves with others.

Next up, re-sign Bundy and both Iglesiases. 

[James]

I will go out on a limb and say during a game he can't sit still long enough to put a stamp on an envelope.