ThisismineScios

I actually think finding a taker for those guys might not be incredibly difficult. Fans know how bad and disappointing they were, but their final [newspaper] numbers weren't actually horrendous. But if they Angels offer to pay some of their salary, they could actually get some depth pieces back in return. Teams are always looking for bullpen arms, and every year they get overpaid. Tepera at $5 million (Angels pay 2) is going to appeal to someone. Loup--who I think is better than Tepera--at 5 or 5.5 has appeal as a LRP. Will ownership approve of this? Who knows. But I think they could find a taker.

I think it's likely a good thing Moniak and Adell were relatively average down the stretch (Adell all year really). In fact, I think it was perfect. Both showed positive signs, but showed they clearly aren't there yet. They are young enough to still develop. But it solidifies the hole in LF. We're not going to hand the job to either of them and pretend they'll run with it. I think Adell can be in a trade, possibly with Rengifo and Barria/Canning/Suarez for a solid upgrade at 1B, LF, SP, or SS. Moniak can be a perfect 4th OF and still has some upside to become more. If I'm another FO, I look at what Marsh has done and think there's still a lot of upside to Adell that the Angels can't tap into. Otherwise, start him in AAA and sign a LF.

I think we should sign him and Joc. Then Arte should take them, Rengifo, and Ward to dinner to make amends.

I can't see how the Angels would knowingly pitch Bachman with an injury that could jeopardize him long-term. For instance, he had a bicep and back issue. Asking him to throw dealing with either of those, or really anything could damage his body worse. How could you be dumb enough to handle your injury-prone 1st Round pick like that? I think it's more likely he was working on something, easing up, or learning new mechanics/new pitch. Based on how well they did with a lot of their pitchers this year, I really don't think they would do something that dumb.

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I actually think he has made some not-insignificant improvements the last 3 weeks. He's made regular defensive plays as well as a few highlight ones. He's striking out way too much, but has had good at bats mixed in. He's also tearing the cover off the ball when he puts it in play, which just shows. His Hard Hit % is right around guys like Ward, Arenado, and Kyle Tucker in a much smaller sample. But you can see how reducing the K% and putting more balls in play is going to result in really good things with him. That said, I put "Traded" up top. I really like Adell--probably more than most--but I think unless he takes hold of the LF spot this last month, the Angels need an upgrade to be good in 2023. The best thing to do might be to package him with a young pitcher and young SS and see what that gets you--a good SP or a really good LF/SS. However, I think the best course for the team is to sign a better LF, let Moniak be the 4th OF, and put Adell in AAA until his K% goes way down, BB% goes up, his defense looks great, and his BA creeps up to .300. That will show he is making consistent contact--and that's all he needs to do because the power is elite.

It's hard not to like what O'Hoppe is doing because he's showing offensive and defensive skills. When you consider that the scouting reports talk a lot about his staff management and personality--something we can't see on Twitter--it's good all over. The power is especially intriguing, because I would definitely take a catcher that has an .800+ OPS and plays above average-very good defense. You just can't find that anywhere really. Pitching-wise, I love C-Rod. Nobody in the system has the stuff he does--and really nobody in the organization besides Ohtani. I really hope he can come back. Bonus--Neto. The guy is a legitimate shortstop showing he has decent power and a good bat. Love it.

I think Silseth has more upside because if he can turn his slider to an average/above average offering, he would have a better overall arsenal than Bush with the higher velo and the splitter. Bush is much more reliable, steadier, has better control, and stamina. I only mean to say Silseth becoming a starter by way of better control and a third pitch would put him at a slightly higher level than Bush, whose path seems pretty straightforward.

People do understand that Joe Maddon was extremely overrated, right? I mean even in Chicago. That roster was killer, built by Theo. His contributions to this team were a loose, fun environment and and old school way of thinking (1985!). Except our fundamentals were and continue to be bad. The affects of 2 1/2 years of coaching are still showing themselves. Our base stealing was and is awful, our defense was really bad until this year, and it has now reverted to being awful (after Rendon got hurt, granted), and our base running is terrible. We still cannot bunt in necessary situations, and still cannot advance runners in extra innings effectively. Maddon spent more time complaining about both extra innings and the 3-batter rule than he did adjusting his strategy and practice to meet the need. Do people still think Maddon was doing a good job? He was not only doing a bad job but very clearly using his influence with Arte to affect roster decisions that were mostly really bad.

Lol what? This franchise is not where it is because it didn't sell its players. Development and creating positional depth will do much more to help the franchise than not trading Ohtani will do to hurt it. And it's not really close. By your logic, trading Ohtani alone will set the franchise up for success for many years to come. That's silly. I heard if we would have traded Rendon, ate all his money, and traded Loup and Tepera and paid their entire 2023 salaries we could have gotten good prospects back in return. Thanks Arte.

They aren't going to rebuild. The Nationals did this because they had already lost Rendon, Scherzer, Trea, Zimmerman, et al and were clearly in a bad place. Arte will try and pump up the value as much as possible. The appeal will be Trout, Ohtani, and probably a team designed to be competitive. I think it is much more likely Arte spends to upgrade the team next year than he trades away Ohtani or rebuilds in any way.

Arte knowing he was selling the team and making it known he wasn't going to approve an Ohtani trade is pretty significant. It means he either wants Ohtani on the team for 2023 and to try and create a competitive team while the team is sold. Or, he wants to extend Ohtani and have that as part of the appeal for a new owner. The one thing I think is pretty obvious is that they most likely are not going to trade Ohtani this offseason.

He's a much better pitching prospect than Silseth. Which makes me think part of why they brought up Silseth is to determine if he's going to be a bullpen guy or a starter. Bush has had a better year and has a better future as a starter.

I think a few things I think matter for next year. Moniak—viable 4th OF? Rengifo—Perry didn’t sound committed to him, which I actually like. He said they’ve had a lot of interest in him. I actually think he can be part of a bigger package if he finishes the year around .275, .800+ OPS. Trout—Does he still have some it? Ward—Can he be our RF, hitting 6th-ish? Adell—any progress? Then the minors. I want the top 10 guys to continue to thrive so, for once, A- studs become A+ studs, A+ To AA, and the AA guys can give us actual, real life prospects in AAA.

This is even less than he pitched his last year at Miami, so it almost feels intentional. And I would think if there was an injury concern, they’d shut him down. The change is the key to giving him a starter’s arsenal; so maybe that’s all they care about.

Eppler used to say that Adell would tell him (with his play) when he was ready. Then he got desperate for his job and promoted him before he was ready (and because there was no minors for Jo to spend the year at). O’Hoppe will make it clear when he’s ready to come up. He needs to have a run of sustained success at multiple levels. That’s why I think the Angels need to sign a 1B catcher next year. O’Hoppe shouldn’t be the plan for next year.

He did one in November 2020, after the season. Said something about the bullpen stinking, payroll not going down, blah blah. That was the last one.

Confirmed. The Angels need to train in the Russian mountains this off-season.

“I don’t know what scouts ever saw in him.” What? Scouts are looking at tools, athleticism, and potential. His max exit velo was elite in 2020. The power is real, as is the speed. He’s an elite athlete. That’s what scouts do. Imagine a 6-6 high flying college / HS kid that could also drain 3s, scoring 40 points a game against high schoolers or low level colleges. If they get to the NBA and struggled mightily, or at least couldn’t perform to that level, no sentient person would question what scouts saw in him. They’d question the coaching or the mental focus of the kid.

My point is he's not hurt.

Adell hit two homers against Lorenzen in the sim game.

He has obviously shown signs of improving both in the field and at the plate the last few weeks. What I can’t figure out is why, after trading Marsh and having Moniak hurt, they are still not playing him every day. Duggar is playing over him. Duggar has 1 hit with the Angels so far. From an organizational standpoint, how does it benefit you to play Duggar over Adell right now?

I know catchers aren’t easy to come by, but Stassi seems to be following the same path as Walsh—having a really bad year, necessitating a decision about whether there’s a void or he will bounce back. He’s known for being solid defensively, but his framing is below average this year (47th percentile), his DRS is 1, and he’s thrown out 21% of potential base stealers. He’s also 63rd in pop time (12th percentile). And I haven’t even gotten to his bat yet. The barely .600 OPS wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t striking out at such an ungodly rate. His whiff % (9th percentile) and K% (10th percentile) are among the worst in the league. His xBA actually might be worst at 1st percentile. His sprint speed is 14th percentile, but which has turned him into a DP machine. So a catcher that can’t hold runners, is below average at framing (soon to be unnecessary anyways), has a terrible pop time, is incredibly slow, strikes out a ton, doesn’t hit for power, or at all. Is he really our guy in 2023? And yes, I’m still in shock at what I saw tonight. Stassi made 4 consecutive bad plays.

Haircut? Whose haircut?

@Inside Pitch you called this months ago. He's been doing well.