I kind of like the Angels bullpen.

[Docwaukee]

How about some baseball talk?  

I don't absolutely love it but I think it's got potential to be very very good and it's the most confidence I've had in our pen for probably the last 10 to 15 years.  

The 2014 pen morphed into a really good pen but mostly in the second half with Street et al.  But I can't say I felt great about that crew going into the season. 

Iglesias - I think he'll have another really good season.  Probably not as good as 2021 but still dominant.  His only nit was being used in non save situations early in the year.  
Mayers -  Had a strong second half and I think he's due for another good season.  
Loup - was amazing last year.  Won't be as good but I think he'll be a very strong late innings option.  
Warren - I like him a lot.  He has good stuff.  Had issues with walks in the minors a bit but I think he's figured it out. 
Quijada - a bit of a wild card because of his control (or lack thereof).  But he misses bats and they should be able to use keep him out of high leverage.  He'll be the classic type of guy where he's either got it that day or he doesn't and you'll know that pretty quick. 
Buttrey - personal history aside, he was very good in 2019.  Whether he dropped off because he didn't care in 2020 or whatever, if he can be similar to his first couple seasons then we've got a really nice option for the 5th/6th/7th.  I guess I'm not banking on this but my gut tells me he's gonna make the team and be solid.  

Not a fan of Herget although he could carve a role as a pure LOOGY.  Tougher to do these days though with the 3 batter rule and Joe will likely continue to perform his half assed protests of such by not using him right.  

Wantz is kinda meh but young and could improve although I wasn't overly impressed with his stuff.  FB seems a bit flat to me and I have concerns that he'll be long ball prone but he could be serviceable as one of the last guys out.  

And then there are some of the minor league guys that have some promise like Marte, Ortega, Peguero.  And if we're able to keep Pina, I could see him move into a pen role and move up pretty quick.  And it wouldn't surprise me to see a guy like Barraclough regain form.   Or Gerardo Reyes to finally get healthy and do something.  

Then a bunch of dudes in the AAA/AA and even A+ range with big arms that could move pretty quick.  Something the system hasn't had in awhile.  

On a similar note, I don't remember seeing that they added a couple guys to the depth chart at AAA.   

Kenny Rosenberg was very good for Tampa in AAA last year at age 25 after being converted to a reliever and of course missing 2020.  Low ceiling lefty who the halos took in the minor league R5 last year. 

Luis Ledo  - RHer who converted to relief in 2018.  Mid 90's with flashes of a plus split per his scouting report a couple years ago.  Control issues.  Had a strong 2021 in AA.  Looks like his first few years were injury filled.  But a guy to keep an eye on.  

My guess is we end up with a bunch of potential cheap options in the AA/AAA range with a bunch of the college picks moving up by the end of 2022 and maybe one or two of them could end up contributing as well.  Like a Luke Murphy.  

The pen could be cheap and deep here very soon.  
 
 

[ScottT]

Bullpens are volatile.  Iglesias will be great.  Buttrey... the rest of them we shall see...

[wopphil]

Iglesias was obviously superb last year. Mayers had a 2.78 ERA (3.29 FIP) after the all-star break. And Loup is a great addition. But they badly need to add at least one more reliable arm, preferably two.

Colin McHugh - who can go multiple innings without issue - would be ideal. 

[Jason]

Good looking bullpen. Groundskeepers did an excellent job 

[Second Base]

It'll either be the best or the worst. Or something in between. 

I do like that doc points or the potential of the bullpen. It could be a dominant unit if things break right. 

[Dtwncbad]

Will the bullpen be good?

 

[Chuck]

I agree @Dochalo I think the bullpen could be very good. 

The late bullpen is much improved by signing Iglesias to an extension and by adding Loup to go with Warren for the 7th, 8th & 9th lockdown guys. 

[Taylor]

Hoping this thread doesn't get ironically bumped too much this season.

[Angelsjunky]

Well, @Dochalo, you caved and posted the first of what I expect to be several posts of optimistic outlook, that you said both you and I are prone to do every year.

Hey, it's who we are. We are the gatekeepers to non-cynical Chuckism.

But yes, I agree. The bullpen could be sneaky good. At the least, it is less bottom-heavy.

And on the theme of optimism, the same is true of the lineup and rotation.

I'll say it: this team is going to win 90+ games.

It is going to be a magical season.

[BTH]

Agreed. I'd love to see them add 1-2 more "proven" relievers to make the pen an undeniable strength.

- Iglesias is a stud: beyond his amazing his performance, he has the amazing stuff to back it up.

- Loup was insane in 2021 and still should be a good LH reliever even if he doesn't match his 2021 season.

- Mayers was outstanding after he ditched his cutter in mid-June.

- Warren, albeit in a small sample size, was great and all his pitches got good results.

- Quijada was pretty good, and he fits even better if he's the 2nd or 3rd lefty in the pen pitching more in the middle innings.

 

Hopefully the up/down arms (Herget/Marte/Ortega/Peguero/etc.) can establish some baseline of consistency.

[Taylor]

33 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Well, @Dochalo, you caved and posted the first of what I expect to be several posts of optimistic outlook, that you said both you and I are prone to do every year.

Hey, it's who we are. We are the gatekeepers to non-cynical Chuckism.

But yes, I agree. The bullpen could be sneaky good. At the least, it is less bottom-heavy.

And on the theme of optimism, the same is true of the lineup and rotation.

I'll say it: this team is going to win 90+ games.

It is going to be a magical season.

Why do you hate the Angels?

[floplag]

I do not want the pen to be a question mark, at all... there are far too many good bullpen guys still out there, go get a couple more.

[Adam]

As Scott implied, all bullpens are question marks. Unavoidable uncertainty. Lot to be optimistic about though

 

[Don]

Yeah, this is the best I've felt about the bullpen in a given offseason in quite some time. How that plays out in reality is another matter entirely. Grabbing one more consistently reliable middle reliever/setup guy would obviously be ideal.

[Docwaukee]

3 minutes ago, Adam said:

As Scott implied, all bullpens are question marks. Unavoidable uncertainty. Lot to be optimistic about though

 

Agreed and Warren, Mayers, Quijada and Buttrey all fall into that category.  

[Blarg]

Who Wantz to know?

[Angels 1961]

We need to sign Yusmeiro Petit 

[tdawg87]

I think our back end is great (gross). It will ultimately depend on how the middle guys perform. I think we have enough depth there to figure that out by May.

[T.G.]

7 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

It is going to be a magical season.

Confirmed. 2022 season cancelled.

[Angels 1961]

41 minutes ago, True Grich said:

Confirmed. 2022 season cancelled.

Another year wasted for Trout

[totdprods]

I would prefer they make a couple low-dollar FA signings and a trade for a decent reliever who's established, ranging the lines of a Caleb Thielbar or Chris Stratton (yes) to Dylan Floro-type. No one that will cost a fortune in trade and has a couple years of reliable success. 

I am intrigued by the Warren, Wantz, Herget, Ortega-type guys, but think the best case scenario is that as many of those start the year in SLC rather than Anaheim purely to build up depth. If after 6 weeks or so the low-dollar vet signings (think Watson, Cishek, or like the Bud Norris, David Hernandez types) aren't cutting it, DFA them and bring up a couple kids. Opening the year relying on the kids in the bullpen is just asking for trouble if they struggle or any injuries hit. We can't afford to keep rushing arms. 

Edited February 2, 2022 by totdprods

[Junkballer]

Bachman making his debut after a few months will definitely make the BP interesting.  Here's to hoping for a K-Rod type rookie season.

[Docwaukee]

6 hours ago, AlwaysAnAngelsFan said:

Thanks for this. I like our bullpen also and you drilled down deeper than I had knowledge of with the AAA/AA guys.

Also, you mentioned Warren twice. Is the second mention supposed to be Wantz?

Fixed.  Yes, it was supposed to be Wantz.  

[Docwaukee]

6 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I would prefer they make a couple low-dollar FA signings and a trade for a decent reliever who's established, ranging the lines of a Caleb Thielbar or Chris Stratton (yes) to Dylan Floro-type. No one that will cost a fortune in trade and has a couple years of reliable success. 

I am intrigued by the Warren, Wantz, Herget, Ortega-type guys, but think the best case scenario is that as many of those start the year in SLC rather than Anaheim purely to build up depth. If after 6 weeks or so the low-dollar vet signings (think Watson, Cishek, or like the Bud Norris, David Hernandez types) aren't cutting it, DFA them and bring up a couple kids. Opening the year relying on the kids in the bullpen is just asking for trouble if they struggle or any injuries hit. We can't afford to keep rushing arms. 

I'm kind of assuming they'll add several of those types.  Maybe one or two to the major league roster on the cheap.  Like a guy about to lose his roster spot etc.  And then a bunch of spring invites.  

Part of the reason I like this crew more than most years is the depth.  Even if we do add a guy or two ala Cishek/Watson, it won't be to the back end of the pen but as low leverage guys most likely.  

I think there will be at least 4 if not 5 decently reliable guys to start the season so we don't have to use April as national bullpen tryout month like we've done in the past.  

[Docwaukee]

8 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

Well, @Dochalo, you caved and posted the first of what I expect to be several posts of optimistic outlook, that you said both you and I are prone to do every year.

Hey, it's who we are. We are the gatekeepers to non-cynical Chuckism.

But yes, I agree. The bullpen could be sneaky good. At the least, it is less bottom-heavy.

And on the theme of optimism, the same is true of the lineup and rotation.

I'll say it: this team is going to win 90+ games.

It is going to be a magical season.

I purposefully left out actual predictions and numbers because my crystal ball broke like 8 years ago and I only realized it this last year when I got the recall notice.  My new one is cruising around long beach harbor and they tell me it's due any day now.  Any day now.  Any day now.