OC Register: Angels GM Perry Minasian believes Noah Syndergaard has the ‘moxie’ to lead staff

[AngelsWin.com]

Time will tell if the Angels’ decision to take a chance on Noah Syndergaard works out well. If it fails, Perry Minasian said, it certainly won’t be for lack of information.

“We’ve done as many man-hours of work on this individual as I’ve ever done on an individual player,” the Angels’ general manager said Wednesday, a day after committing a $21 million deal to a pitcher who has barely pitched in the past two seasons because of rehab from Tommy John surgery. “We feel really good where he’s at in his rehab. The physical went really well. I think it’s a good gamble to take.”

Syndergaard, 29, was one of baseball’s best pitchers in the first years of his career with the New York Mets.

Syndergaard had a 2.93 ERA in his first four seasons, helping pitch the Mets to the World Series as a rookie in 2015. He has a career 2.42 ERA in four postseason games, including seven scoreless innings in the 2016 National League wild-card game, which the Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants.

“I think when he’s right, he’s one of the better pitchers in the game,” Minasian said. “I think he’s one of those guys that you want to give the ball in big spots.”

Syndergaard struggled in 2019 and then missed the past two seasons with injuries, which is why it’s such a risky proposition for the Angels. Minasian said he feels comfortable with the risk because of all he’s learned about Syndergaard, including during a three-hour dinner last week in New York.

Syndergaard is scheduled to speak to the media about the deal on Friday.

“We’re betting on him and he’s betting on us,” Minasian said. “He did not come here to lose. He wants to win as bad as any player I’ve talked to. He’s as competitive as it gets, and that’s the kind of player we’re looking for.”

Minasian had said last week at the GM meetings that the Angels were looking for a pitcher who is “aggressive” and can “set the tone” for the rest of the staff.

“The aggressiveness with which he pitches, the moxie, whatever you want to call it, I think complements our rotation really well,” Minasian said.

That rotation still needs work, though. Syndergaard joins a group that includes Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval and José Suarez. The Angels are planning to use a six-man rotation in 2022, so they still need more starters. The internal candidates include Griffin Canning, Jaime Barria and Reid Detmers.

“There’s no secrets,” Minasian said. “We’re looking for multiples. We’d like to add more.”

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Top free agent starters like Max Scherzer, Cy Young Award-winner Robbie Ray and Marcus Stroman will all command annual salaries of $20 million to $30 million. A cheaper pitcher, like the Cincinnati Reds’ Luis Castillo, could be had in trade if the Angels are willing to give up a chunk of young talent.

The Syndergaard deal pushes the Angels’ current salary commitments to around $150 million. Their payroll last season was about $180 million. It’s unclear if it will be the same in 2022. Minasian said “anything is possible” when asked if the payroll could go up.

He added that owner Arte Moreno is open to spending.

“The Moreno family is willing to invest in this club,” Minasian said. “They’re willing to make the necessary financial commitment to get us where we want to go.”

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[ukyah]

the last half of that article is so familiar it rings of "fool me once". i've learned to just let the cards fall where they may, it's not my job to invest at this point.

[Docwaukee]

[Warfarin]

I'd really love Scherzer

39 minutes ago, AngelsWin.com said:

Top free agent starters like Max Scherzer, Cy Young Award-winner Robbie Ray and Marcus Stroman will all command annual salaries of $20 million to $30 million. A cheaper pitcher, like the Cincinnati Reds’ Luis Castillo, could be had in trade if the Angels are willing to give up a chunk of young talent.

The Syndergaard deal pushes the Angels’ current salary commitments to around $150 million. Their payroll last season was about $180 million. It’s unclear if it will be the same in 2022. Minasian said “anything is possible” when asked if the payroll could go up.

He added that owner Arte Moreno is open to spending.

I'd really love Scherzer, but that'd take us to around 180million of commitments.  I could see Arte stretching it to 185-190, but I sorta doubt we'd see him go much higher than that.  If we went the Scherzer route, that means the other holes we have (BP, SS, backup C) would either have to be filled internally or "dumpster diving," so to speak.

[T.G.]

"Moxie" is going to be the 2022 buzz word 

[OldAndInTheWay]

11 minutes ago, True Grich said:

"Moxie" is going to be the 2022 buzz word 

 

[Taylor]

26 minutes ago, True Grich said:

"Moxie" is going to be the 2022 buzz word 

This team is moxiecal.

[Revad]

This team has the moxie to go for multiples.

[Angelsfan1984]

How does moxie effect clubhouse chemistry 

[UndertheHalo]

I’ll settle for “not shitty” 

[Kendo36]

Love the aggressive move and I’m buying what Perry is selling. 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

1 hour ago, OldAndInTheWay said:

 

Great Soda!

[Robrock30]

2 hours ago, True Grich said:

"Moxie" is going to be the 2022 buzz word 

True Grich,

I think the 2022 Angels theme will be Angels fans, Mike Trout & Ohtani deserve nice things.  There is heavy lifting to be done now for this to be possible.

 

[Robrock30]

I am curious which restaurant in NYC Perry & Noah dined at on Friday.  Post Covid I haven't been out and about as back in the Day.  

If it were me I would have chosen the River Cafe under the Brooklyn Bridge right on the Water with fantastic view of Lower Manhattan or maybe Peter Luger Steakhouse in Williamsburg keeping it in Brooklyn or maybe the Water Club in Manhattan by the heliport and the River but there are many good choices.

 

[Robrock30]

5 hours ago, True Grich said:

"Moxie" is going to be the 2022 buzz word 

True Grich,

I am going with " The Superheroes" Thor, Trout & Ohtani!

[failos]

6 hours ago, Robrock30 said:

I am curious which restaurant in NYC Perry & Noah dined at on Friday.  Post Covid I haven't been out and about as back in the Day.  

If it were me I would have chosen the River Cafe under the Brooklyn Bridge right on the Water with fantastic view of Lower Manhattan or maybe Peter Luger Steakhouse in Williamsburg keeping it in Brooklyn or maybe the Water Club in Manhattan by the heliport and the River but there are many good choices.

 

Per Heyman, it was a Del Taco

[eligrba]

12 hours ago, Warfarin said:

I'd really love Scherzer

I'd really love Scherzer, but that'd take us to around 180million of commitments.  I could see Arte stretching it to 185-190, but I sorta doubt we'd see him go much higher than that.  If we went the Scherzer route, that means the other holes we have (BP, SS, backup C) would either have to be filled internally or "dumpster diving," so to speak.

I would have until he decided to pass when asked to pitch in the biggest game of the season.  Dead arm......at the last minute....weird. No thanks. 

Edited November 18, 2021 by eligrba

[Warfarin]

3 minutes ago, eligrba said:

I would have until he decided to pass when asked to pitch in the biggest game of the season.  Dead arm......at the minute....weird. No thanks. 

I don't know.  He knows his body best.  If he couldn't loosen up, it's probably better to have an alternative pitch than go out and get lit up, I imagine.  I say that in the context that he's known to have a fiery personality and someone who doesn't like to get removed from games / etc. 

But that aside, unless Arte is willing to blow through the payroll for a year, I suspect Scherzer isn't in the cards, anyway.  Maybe two middle tier type pitchers and a closer.

[Robrock30]

1 hour ago, failos said:

Per Heyman, it was a Del Taco

Maybe Del Frisco's Steakhouse in Midtown and they advertise alot but I never been as Ben Benson's ( no longer in business ) was my go to in that area also Gallaghers as I tried to keep it on 52nd Street.

[eligrba]

2 hours ago, Warfarin said:

I don't know.  He knows his body best.  If he couldn't loosen up, it's probably better to have an alternative pitch than go out and get lit up, I imagine.  I say that in the context that he's known to have a fiery personality and someone who doesn't like to get removed from games / etc. 

But that aside, unless Arte is willing to blow through the payroll for a year, I suspect Scherzer isn't in the cards, anyway.  Maybe two middle tier type pitchers and a closer.

Completely agree.  I just thought it was weird that Max passed at the last minute.  I would have expected the Dodgers to know about his dead arm situation but the way the story was presented, they didn't seem to know.

 

I still don't have a clear understanding of the Angels' payroll philosophy. It appears that Arte wants enough star players on the field for marketing with a payroll that can't support it.  The Angels need to have a payroll of 200-210 million if they intend to keep Ohtani.  We have all seen the teams from the past where there was one star player who could never get the support they needed to make a difference.

[Jason]

@Blargwill get the reference 

[greginpsca]

12 hours ago, SlappyUtilityMIF said:

Great Soda!

Coming to concession stands near you.

[Hubs]

I still think they're in on Ray/Gausman/Stroman group. I think if they go with one more guy in the upper range, then they'll likely be better off than two mid-range guys like the Gray Brothers*

I'd give a similar amount to Stroman or Ray as Noah, plus a few million in AAV probably and over a longer term 5-7 years.

5/140? 6/150? 7/160?

 

 

*(LOL I KNOW THEY'RE NOT REALLY BROTHERS)

[ettin]

3 hours ago, Jason said:

@Blargwill get the reference 

Okay Caitlyn....

[Duren, Duren]

I'd be very cautious about Ray. These dramatic one season reversals of form often aren't sustainable. His leverage post Cy Young will be inflated. He is a good pitcher, but I wouldn't go overboard with a big long term deal. 

Gausman makes sense, but at what cost? With Scherzer you have an impeccable track record, but age and health become bigger factors every year. If Arte is going all in for the short term, the gamble could pay off, but the ghost of other terrible long term deals still haunts the team. Stroman has been pretty dependable for the last few years though he can have spells of control problems. Maybe Perry got some inside information about him from former teammate Noah during their dinner?