EdmontonAngelsFan

That should allow Minasian's new vetting process to go smoothly and quickly.

Since I gave up my season seats in 2015 I haven’t attended more than maybe 10 games in any given year.  What we have done with the extra money that we used to spend on season seats is travel.  I have seen the Angels play in Chicago, Texas and New York a few times.  We had a trip planned for Fenway last year but had to cancel it.

he doing things
leave alone
you go.  

Lifetime 283 avg. I think a trade is coming

Perry Minasian just shot himself in the foot. I don't know how much the rest of you know about Angels baseball culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in Atlanta where you can become successful by being an a******. If you screw a fanbase over in Anaheim by not making a big offseason splash, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance. What this means is the Angels fanbase, after hearing about this, is not going to want to support the Angels, nor will they watch any games. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Perry Minasian has alienated an entire market with this move. Perry Minasian, publicly apologize and resign or you can kiss @floplag and @RendZone goodbye. 

It might work better if Chuck posts his home phone number so people can call him directly with their complaints.

Catcher: Is Stassi healthy? 
If so, he will be the larger part of a platoon with Suzuki; if not, Bemboom will be the weaker half of the platoon until Stassi is healthy. Pretty straightforward.
Infield: Who is the utility guy?
The starting four is set with Walsh at 1B, Fletcher at 2B, Iglesias at SS, and Rendon at 3B; and, of course, Pujols will be there, splitting time between 1B, DH, and the bench. The biggest question going into spring training is the utility infielder, with the Angels having three options for one spot: Rengifo, Barreto, and newly acquired Gosselin. Rengifo still has a minor league option and will likely start the year in AAA, which is probably for the best as it gives him the regular playing time he has been lacking for two years. The Gosselin signing implies lack of confidence in Barreto, whether his hitting or his ability to play SS. But certainly they'll enter ST with a competition for the starting utility player. While neither have options, I believe that Gosselin--because he signed a minor league contract--could start the year in AAA, if they're worried about losing Barreto to waivers. If Barreto looks lost, they could risk sending him to AAA, with Gosselin earning the job and Rengifo waiting for another chance.
Outfield: How will the outfield look later in the year? 
The big outfield question isn't how it will look in April, but in August. The Opening Day starters will almost certainly be Upton, Trout, and Fowler, with Juan Lagares likely the 4th outfielder. This means that there's no place for Ward on the major league team, and thus he will likely join a crowded AAA outfield that includes Adell, Marsh, Schebler, and Lund. Ward could continue to raise his stock by playing multiple positions in Salt Lake, maybe getting some games in at catcher. 
Angels will also be taking a close look at Adell and Marsh and while it is probable that both start in AAA (definite for Adell), they'll want to get a sense of how close they are to major league readiness. Even if Marsh looks ready, they'll probably start him in AAA where he'll wait for injury or for one (or both) of Upton and Fowler to struggle. Adell will be given plenty of time to work on his defense and plate discipline, but both should be up sometime in 2021.
Rotation: Shohei Ohtani - Is he healthy? 
Ahh, the perennial question. The perennial answer: who tf knows. One would think that Bundy, Heaney, Quintana, and Canning are locks for the starting rotation. Cobb is likely the fifth starter, and option-less Barria in the bullpen, with Sandoval starting the year in AAA. But the big question is Ohtani and whether or not he can stay healthy and if so, how to work him into the rotation. I guess we'll just have to see.
If Ohtani isn't healthy, the Angels will likely go with a five-man rotation, with Barria first in line to get starts when the injury bug inevitably strikes, followed by Sandoval and some combination of Suarez, Faria, McNaughton, and Ortega. There's a chance that Detmers and/or Rodriguez makes some major league starts, but it almost certainly won't be until late in the year.
Bullpen: Who is the eighth man? 
The locks are Raisel Iglesias, Mayers, Pena, Buttrey, Claudio, Barria, and Rivera. It would seem that rules are, once again, determining the roster. Rivera was acquired in the Rule 5 draft so needs to stay on the major league roster all year or risk being lost on waivers. While he could probably do with some more time in the minors, stashing him in the bullpen for low leverage situations isn't such a terrible thing, but it does mean that the Angels will only have a spot for one of Guerra, Slegers, Sandoval, Suarez, Quijada and Reyes, all of whom have at least one option--except for Guerra, who like Gosselin is on a minor league contract (which means he can start the year in the minors, but if called up would have to pass through waivers before being sent down).
Sandoval and Suarez will probably start the year in the AAA rotation. One would think that flame-throwing Reyes is the most likely to win the final spot, but Slegers and Guerra are also possible. Quijada will probably be stashed in AAA as depth.
Bonus Question: Any last-minute trades?
While the roster seems complete, it also includes quite a few stray ends, as well as areas of potential upgrade. While it seems unlikely, there is still the off chance that the Angels upgrade their rotation or bullpen with a trade.

This statement couldn’t be any further from the truth.

I have arrived!

Obviously she got fired from LAT for leaking info.

Best news all winter.  I have zero tolerance/respect for any male who strikes a woman.  The Callaspo situation was annoying enough and the accounts of that one were kinda funny...  

For the record, I don't ever want guys like this on a team I support. I must've missed the Callaspo thing - dunno if I was following the Angels close when he started. Other teams can do what they want. I wouldn't want Chapman either.
Any man who hits a woman can never be a real man, IMO. 

There are lots of pieces of shit who play professional sports. They aren’t role models, they are people doing a job. If the league didn’t want asshats like this representing their league they would make it a bannable offense. 
 
personally I think he’s a shitbag, but if he really is “changed” and he actually signs with the angels I hope he does his job well. If he signs with another team I hope he gets aids. 

Trade for Fowler and Cobb.
Sign Osuna
Me:

Without the walks. 

Brought in other front office evaluators that have had great success. 

Haven't read through this all -- not sure if it's been said.  But I'm guessing Minasian came in the situation aware of what his needs were, and then given a dollar figure he had to work with.  I'd also venture to guess that he's got a long term plan and possibly felt it would be wise to get a better grasp of everything in the system rather than possibly trading away extra value.  

We will get a better idea of who Minasian is and what he values 12 months from now.  

I know I forget this a lot, but this is really important for team building. Why could the Dodgers pay Bauer? Because their ace (sorry, it's not Kershaw) is still in Arbitration year 1. They won't have to pay Buehler for 3 years. Urias for 4. If you can fill out your rotation with internal options, you are set up to build a top notch rotation by spending or trading. 

Ok hear me out guys..... How about we let Rosenthal have the title of closer, but have Iglesias close out games? Everyone wins. They'll all get a participation trophy. Rosenthal's says best closer, and Iglesias' says most saves. It's the millennial way of doing things. Yes, I'm a millennial.

There's been a lot of head-scratching at Perry Minasian's moves this offseason as he has eschewed multi-year deals and added minimal if any premier talent (depending upon how you consider Raisel Iglesias).
Now while I don't like the Cobb trade (as the Angels could have found similar talent on the free agent market without giving up Jahmai Jones), I am starting to see a bigger picture that could explain his thinking. I'm not saying that I have definitive proof that this is what Minasian has in mind, but kind of like the hypothetical Planet X, there's lots of secondary evidence that supports my theory, even if the plan (or planet) hasn't been directly seen.
After acquiring Jose Quintana and Alex Cobb, the Angels now have, along with Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney, four veteran starters who will be free agents after 2021. So too will be their new closer, Raisel Iglesias, as well as their two position player acquisitions, Dexter Fowler and Kurt Suzuki.
Now consider the farm system. It has a lot of projectable, but largely unproven, talent. Of especial interest to the near future, the team has two very good outfielders in Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh who should be ready sometime this season, and two starters in Reid Detmers and Chris Rodriguez, who also have a chance of major league readiness; if not in 2021, then as possible starters in 2022. 
After those four, they have several starters who could either be #4-5 starters or solid relievers in Hector Yan, Aaron Hernandez, Oliver Ortega, Pack Naughton, etc, as well as a third stud outfielder in Jordyn Adams who could be ready sometime in 2022. The bulk of the rest of the talent is very inexperienced, but with some upside.
In other words, Minasian has inherited a very interesting farm system, but also a very inexperienced one.
Back to the central thesis (of which the farm system will support in a moment): What can we say about Perry's offseason moves? Well, one thing we can say that he's done is raise the floor on the team's performance. He hasn't turned what looked like an 85-win team a couple months ago into a 90 or 95 win team, but he has increased its likelihood that it will reach 85 wins (plus or minus), and perhaps slightly upped the chances of 90.
But of relevance to my thesis, he's done it without adding future payroll considerations. As mentioned, Iglesias, Quintana, Cobb, Fowler, and Suzuki are only paid through 2021, joining Pujols, Bundy, and Heaney, and followed by Upton after 2022.
So what is my thesis? Minasian is trying to both improve the team, but without adding long-term commitments. Why? Because he wants to take a year to assess the internal talent, so he can make choices that will positively impact the long-term health and strength of the organization. And he's doing so in a way that may actually add talent via trades. To illustrate, let me offer two possibilities for the 2021 season, from the perspective of where we might be at in July:
One, more has gone right than wrong and the Angels are in contention. They keep their players, and maybe use excess minor league talent to improve the team for the stretch run.
Two, the Angels are falling out of contention, or out all together. All of a sudden they have four veteran starters and a reliever that could bring in significant minor league talent. They can move aside veterans to give young players like Adell, Marsh, Detmers, etc, a shot.
Meaning, Perry has made his various acquisitions with an eye for both minimizing long-term investments and/or, if the team is not in contention, possibly trading them.
By July we should have the answers to some very important questions for the future: Can Shohei Ohtani be a pitcher, or should the Angels start thinking about him converting to hitting only? How close are Detmers and Rodriguez to being major leaguers? How good is Griffin Canning? Was Dylan Bundy's breakout in 2020 real? Who are Jaime Barria and Patrick Sandoval, really? Are either of Luis Rengifo or Franklin Barreto good enough to be regulars? Are Adell and/or Marsh ready for the Show?
I get the frustration of yet another year of waiting. But given that this is Perry's first year, and the question marks surrounding the Angels farm system and many of their major leaguers, I think it is necessary and that it should pay huge dividends in 2022 and beyond. And who knows, with a weakened AL West, he might have done just enough for the Angels to at least be borderline contenders and, if not, they'll have some trade chips come late July.

Aim lower...Alex Cobb will be a FA next offseason...

You can see the future!!!

You can see the future!!!