OC Register: Angels still have work to do as Winter Meetings come to an end

[AngelsWin.com]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Whether the Angels end up keeping Shohei Ohtani or not, general manager Perry Minasian believes they made some progress toward reshaping their roster during the Winter Meetings.

“As we sit here today, I feel there’s ways to improve that are closer today than they were yesterday,” Minasian said Wednesday morning. “We’ll see what happens the rest of the way.”

Although there is always a spotlight put on the three or four days that baseball executives and agents convene for the Winter Meetings, and even more so this year with the anticipation of an Ohtani decision, Minasian said it’s important not to focus too much on what happens here.

“There’s something about the Winter Meetings, the dialogue is maybe a little different,” Minasian said. “So you try to take advantage of that and do as much as you can, to get as much as you can get accomplished and not necessarily push everything past the finish line, but a lot of the dialogue here is to set things up going a week from now two weeks from now a month from now.”

So far the Angels agreed to terms with right-hander Luis Garcia on a one-year, $4.25 million deal, but even that isn’t official because he has to pass his physical.

As for Ohtani, by most reports the process has boiled down to the Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants and Angels.

The baseball world would be surprised if Ohtani decided to stay with the Angels, even though many within the organization have believed all along they had a realistic chance at keeping him because of his comfort with the organization.

Minasian has been careful to say nothing about the Angels’ pursuit of Ohtani, which is no different from his policy on all player moves.

WHAT ABOUT FLETCHER?

Infielder David Fletcher remains a part of the organization even though his role has been diminished since early last season. He still has at least two years left on his contract, and Minasian said he’s hoping Fletcher will rebound and be productive in 2024.

“I am looking forward to see how he looks this spring,” Minasian said Wednesday. “I know he’s motivated. He’s been a good player before. We saw flashes of it last year. Now it’s just to be a little more consistent.”

Fletcher, 29, had surgery to repair a torn core muscle in 2022, and Minasian said the further removed he is from that, the better he can be.

Fletcher, who spent most of 2023 in Triple-A, has said repeatedly that he didn’t feel his health was an issue this past season. He also said he doesn’t think he needed to change anything about his offensive approach. Fletcher hit .292 with a .732 OPS from 2018-20, and .259 with a .622 OPS from 2021-23.

“I know he’s putting work in,” Minasian said. “He wants to help the team. When he’s right, he’s a good player. He’s a winning player. He can do a lot of things on the field to help you win baseball games.”

At the moment, the Angels presumably have third baseman Anthony Rendon, shortstop Zach Neto and second baseman Brandon Drury as the starters at the positions that Fletcher plays. Fletcher and Luis Rengifo are both in line to be utility players.

THAISS’ ROLE?

The Angels’ top two catchers are set to be Logan O’Hoppe and Max Stassi, but Matt Thaiss will be out of options, which raises the prospect of keeping him as a third catcher.

Minasian said that’s a possibility, particularly because Thaiss can also play first, third and even second. Having Ron Washington, who is an expert at getting the most out of players defensively, could help make Thaiss more proficient in the infield.

Thaiss, 28, hit .214 with a .659 OPS last season. He had a .754 OPS before slumping over his final 92 plate appearances.

“Offensively, early on he swung the bat really well,” Minasian said. “Over the last month or so, he was banged up. He wasn’t as productive. But it’s a good at-bat every time he goes up there, so there’s a lot of upside there.”

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RULE 5 PICKS

The Angels did not select anyone or lose anyone in the major-league portion of the Rule 5 draft, but they picked up a local product with one of their two selections in the minor-league portion.

The Angels selected first baseman Eric Wagaman from the New York Yankees. Wagaman, 26, went to Aliso Niguel High and Orange Coast College. He spent last season in Double-A, hitting .320 with an .882 OPS.

The Angels also took right-hander Ryan Miller out of the Boston Red Sox system. Miller, 27, had a 4.03 ERA in 60 1/3 innings at Double-A last season.

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[jsnpritchett]

9 minutes ago, AngelsWin.com said:

THAISS’ ROLE?

The Angels’ top two catchers are set to be Logan O’Hoppe and Max Stassi, but Matt Thaiss will be out of options, which raises the prospect of keeping him as a third catcher.

Minasian said that’s a possibility, particularly because Thaiss can also play first, third and even second. Having Ron Washington, who is an expert at getting the most out of players defensively, could help make Thaiss more proficient in the infield.

Thaiss, 28, hit .214 with a .659 OPS last season. He had a .754 OPS before slumping over his final 92 plate appearances.

“Offensively, early on he swung the bat really well,” Minasian said. “Over the last month or so, he was banged up. He wasn’t as productive. But it’s a good at-bat every time he goes up there, so there’s a lot of upside there.”

 

This is a somewhat odd way to frame his season.  While it's technically true, you could also say, "He had an .823 OPS in his first 103 plate appearances, before slumping to a .574 OPS over his last 204 plate appearances."  Point is, he was actually pretty awful as a hitter for a lot more of the season than he was passable.

[BTH]

44 minutes ago, AngelsWin.com said:

Minasian said that’s a possibility, particularly because Thaiss can also play first, third and even second.

He only played 16 inn at 1B and played 0 inn at 2B/3B in 2023.

Did Perry say that they are having him prepare to play some infield this offseason?

Because recent history suggests otherwise.

[jsnpritchett]

7 minutes ago, BTH said:

He only played 16 inn at 1B and played 0 inn at 2B/3B in 2023.

Did Perry say that they are having him prepare to play some infield this offseason?

Because recent history suggests otherwise.

To be fair, though, the main reason he didn't play much/at all at those positions was that he was needed as a C due to the Stassi/O'Hoppe absences.

[Dtwncbad]

24 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

To be fair, though, the main reason he didn't play much/at all at those positions was that he was needed as a C due to the Stassi/O'Hoppe absences.

I don’t see Thaiss as an asset unless he is occupying the roster spot as primarily a serviceable backup catcher that hits well (for a catcher).

I have a very hard time imaging him as good enough offensively to play a different role than that.

[Taylor]

Water is wet.

[Angels 1961]

1 hour ago, jsnpritchett said:

This is a somewhat odd way to frame his season.  While it's technically true, you could also say, "He had an .823 OPS in his first 103 plate appearances, before slumping to a .574 OPS over his last 204 plate appearances."  Point is, he was actually pretty awful as a hitter for a lot more of the season than he was passable.

The work load he carried had something to do with it. Never caught so many games in any season.

[Chuck]

It was great talking to you last night @Jeff Fletcher. 

Looking forward to having you on the podcast.

The only requirement for the show is a Titos on the rocks!

[jsnpritchett]

2 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

The work load he carried had something to do with it. Never caught so many games in any season.

He started going south after 100 PAs.  And still not really an excuse (catching too much).

[REDneck]

Productive WM Perry.

Good job!!

[totdprods]

3 hours ago, jsnpritchett said:

This is a somewhat odd way to frame his season.  While it's technically true, you could also say, "He had an .823 OPS in his first 103 plate appearances, before slumping to a .574 OPS over his last 204 plate appearances."  Point is, he was actually pretty awful as a hitter for a lot more of the season than he was passable.

I think it was trying to imply that it was sort of a tale of two seasons for him offensively, which I buy. He was super consistent and put together really solid at-bats for a good run; good discipline and contact, tiny bit of pop. Then it looked like the rug was pulled out from under him. Thaiss had almost no pro catching experience coming into this year. I think something like 400 innings?! Maybe 1000? Either way, that's almost nothing considering he was our main backstop a bulk of the year. I'm sure being the main guy behind the plate without it being something he's used to caused his production to drop right off. 

Frustrating because I think he's the perfect guy for the Angels to have with O'Hoppe going forward, but he's out of options and not a good use of a roster spot if he's hardly catching and only getting sporadic playing time. He needs to be continuing to develop as a catcher, and as long as Stassi is here and healthy and O'Hoppe is productive and healthy, that leaves almost no time for him here. 

Keep thinking about a team like Florida who has some catching, offense, and infielder need, and how they have more SP than they know what to do with. I know Thaiss' value isn't incredibly high, but feels like a fit there.

[jsnpritchett]

29 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I think it was trying to imply that it was sort of a tale of two seasons for him offensively, which I buy. He was super consistent and put together really solid at-bats for a good run; good discipline and contact, tiny bit of pop.

But my point is that that's not what actually occurred if you dig deeper into his splits and/or game logs.  He had brief periods where he was fairly hot, but much longer stretches where he wasn't really doing much of anything.