ThisismineScios

1 minute ago, Erstad Grit said:

Soler and JD still sitting out there.

Just don't see how or why they "rotate" the DH. Even if you sit Rendon, Trout, and O'Hoppe once a week (which is a lot), that's still 3-4 games worth of ABs. Why would they think it's better to have Ward, Adell, Drury, and Rengifo fill that spot than 5 days of a Soler/JD type? Just weird. Plus those guys would have real value at the deadline. 

2 hours ago, Stradling said:

My work friend’s, friend and neighbor is as connected as you can possibly be to the Angels organization.  

Did the idea that they will add players come from him? I just feel this has been such a strange offseason for the team, and for Moreno considering what he's stated. 

3 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Rowen, Hinchcliffe and Tamin all had roles in this and now are all gone. 

While I have you, sir....

This has certainly been a strange offseason. It's not just that Perry felt the bullpen had holes, it's almost like he felt the bullpen had the *only* holes. Do you think the FO is fairly confident in this Ohtani-less lineup and rotation, enough to only add small depth pieces from this point forward? It's a huge gap in spending from '23 - '24 to simply believe that as well. 

I think they've botched Bachman, Adell, Canning and Suarez. They brought all of those guys up too early, in part due to pressure to win with Trout/Ohtani/Rendon in the lineup. Bachman is injury prone, but in reality he should have spent last year starting once a week in AA or AAA. Adell was brought up in '20 well before he was ready because Eppler needed something. Canning was fast-tracked despite having major injury questions. Suarez was brought up years too early. He came up at age 21 and gave up 23 HR in 81 IP (!!!). 2020 he had a solid 3 point percentage...oh shoot that was his ERA. It took him years to settle in, but who knows if his trajectory would have changed if 2021 was his first year. 

They continue to aggressively promote, but there's really only one reason I think the low ranking is a big deal: The lack of pitching talent. The system is extremely dry when it comes to pitching prospects. And this is where you really can have success, having young pitchers under control for 6 years. Free agent pitchers are incredibly unreliable. Other than that, they have C, SS, CF, and 1B pretty well covered for the next 5-6 years. Finding position players isn't as difficult, and even if it is you are more likely to hit on something in FA at OF or 2B than a SP. 

Was looking at the cap situation. Because as @Chuck pointed out, there are so many 1 year deals. They have about $40 million in expiring contracts after this year. Only real commitments in 2025 are Rendon, Trout, Anderson and Stephenson. So they are keeping their cap sheet pretty clean. I seriously doubt Arte was driving the "Sign 7 relievers for $30 million" train if he truly wants to stick around for years. Relievers have got to be the least profitable players on the team. 

I am looking for anything. 

Yeah he wasn’t at Washington’s presser. Or Ohtani’s Team MVP on field ceremony. Has made zero statements or appearances. As was said here or on Twitter, nothing about Anaheim or Tempe Diablo. 

It’s possible the new Orioles owners approached Arte first and balked at the price. 

A fair amount of smoke here and an absent owner we haven’t seen or heard from in months. Perry hired all his own coaching staff, except Hurdle. Add that to the really odd offseason of spending $30 mil on the bullpen and nothing else. When Arte missed Cole he went straight to Rendon. A lot of things aren’t adding up—the whole offseason has been very un-Arte like. 

Starting to wonder if the org is ok with Reid Detmers are our opening day starter. If there's more than I appreciate the patience, but I have this feeling that it's exactly what we're going to get. 

3 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Plenty of space for different opinions.  His swing isn’t my favorite because all I see is a guy with very deliberate, coached mechanics applying a technique, rather than a talented natural hitter with his own natural swing in the batters box naturally squaring off against a pitcher.

If it works, that’s fine.  But I couldn’t say “I like his swing.”

I get why. I think the 2022 version where his eye was great and he was hitting for power made me like his swing choices. I do think its gets long and robotic at times, but I think when he's going he's making tons of contact. 

6 hours ago, Hubs said:

I didn't say much yesterday about Hicks but after reading his video call press conference comments, I just have to say this is a terrible fucking move. The only thing that saves it is that they don't have to pay him more than the minimum for whatever games he is active for us.

The Angels are not trying to win in 2024, nor are they trying to lose. They are in hope-ium mode signing expensive bullpen pieces and stockpiling washed up veterans in the minors while doing little to improve the hitting or starting pitching... 

When I thought about this offseason during the collapse of August, I thought they'll try to keep Ohtani 100% and if they don't they will pivot and sign someone else elite to be on the staff at least, but they really ought to look at the hitting side.

Hicks talked about playing every day which is what the Angels told him he would do. (which has since been amended) Why on earth does anyone think he can play every day? The most games he has started in a a season is 129, the most he's played is 137. 

As an elite defensive CF who won't be playing CF...Great job. He averages 77 games a year as a mean average, 

Didn't you sign Jake Marisnick for this same role? Which I also hated but thats because he is a cheater and should've been banned from baseball with the rest of the 2017 Astros.

Hicks had one outlier year and a half (2017-2018) where he was All-Star Caliber and the rest of the time he's been borderline awful. Last year with the Orioles, in limited duty he admittedly hit well. But he struggled in the Bronx, below replacement level from 2021 and into 2023.  Which Hicks are we getting? 

He's 34 years old.

He did kill lefties last year in limited AB's. .970 OPS. Though this is not something he's always done and been pressed into being a full time hitter for his defense, this is a one year anomaly. He did this kind of split in only one season before, 2017. 

Mind you, there is a elite legit defensive CF who hits left handed (something this club needs) as opposed to being a bad switch hitter, who also killed lefties last year, and did it before slumping the last few years as well. He's also only 28. That's the guy you sign when you lose out on Ohtani, not Aaron fucking Hicks.

 

You do realize they didn't sign him to replace Ohtani? They most likely signed him to platoon with Moniak (career OPS+ of 100 vs. LHP in over 1000 ABs) and fill in as needed. For the league minimum. Which is extremely easy to waive if you find a better option or he has a really bad spring. I think it also motivates Adell. 

It was fairly obvious it was a misquote also. He said initially he planned to play every day and that the team said he'd play across the OF and DH some. Them clearing it up was because of how it was interpreted, not what he said. 

4 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

Yikes.  I hate his swing.

Ward? I know it gets long at times but I think it's smooth. I thought he got away from his best stuff in the first half. But in '22 I thought it looked great. 

I said this awhile ago but I think Ward has a lot of value to other teams. I picture him as the guy the scouting department goes to the FO and talks up. He has an elite eye, a really good looking swing, and is athletic enough to play the corners or possibly 1B. I get the injury, but all it takes is 1 team that badly needs OF help. 

He has value to us also, and if our rotation was better I'd love to keep him. But he's one of our only valuable commodities and I think they'll need to find the best value they can get for him. 

Like the move from depth perspective, but not really understanding the 5th OF thing. And if they keep all 5 of these guys...I'd be pretty frustrated. OF seems to be the easiest position for the Angels to replace/fill in for. They have Rengifo, Marisnick, Adams, Calhoun, and then some AAAA guys. I think you have to use this depth to find a way to get a better SP. Otherwise, they're going to platoon Moniak and Hicks? Give Adell DH at bats? I feel that using Adell as a DH is a waste of his full ability, as he has the potential to be a plus OF defender. I do not like the idea of carrying 5 OF, and Hicks' situation means if he got put on waivers, somebody would claim him. So you can't send any of your 5 OF down. Has to be a trade coming soon. 

The thing that I thought got Canning in trouble last year was elevating his slider, especially with 2 strikes. The 2-strike approach as a whole was problematic, but I saw too many sliders elevated in the zone. It's too good of a pitch for him to be dropping it in the same spot you'd put a heater. 

7 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

Clevenger 2 years 24 mill  Tim Anderson 1 year 7 mill Justin Turner 1 year 12 mill

I don't know that I'd give Clev 2 years. His K's have kind of tanked since 2019, although he's a solid pitcher. That essentially means you're paying $25 million this year and next for Tyler Anderson and Clevinger. I'd definitely sign him for 1 year. Next year's SP group is pretty strong, and you can easily trade Anderson with 1 year left on his deal. 

I've waffled on Anderson. Part of me would rather have Drury/Rengifo at 2nd. Anderson hit the ball on the ground way more last year, and his fly balls went way down. I do think there's an easy angle adjustment there--I think that's an adjustment Ward made, although I could be wrong. 

I am a big Turner guy. He's just a pro hitter, and can platoon with Schanuel a bit and cover 3rd if absolutely necessary. He can also be your DH 75% of the time. I think one thing that's gotten misunderstood is "leaving the DH open". A guy like Turner leaves it open because he can play in the field. JDM/Soler will occupy that spot almost all the time. 

If you make these three moves, what do you do with Suarez, Drury, Rengifo, and Adell? I don't think you can keep all 4 of them if you sign these 3. 

10 hours ago, OhtaniSan said:

I don’t understand why so many are on the trade Ward bandwagon. 

If fans of the team he plays for are worried about his performance moving forward, why would any other team be willing to trade a solid SP for him? 

We’ve seen glimpses of what Ward is capable of - all star level production. 
 

I think he’ll have far more value to us seeing if he can sustain that production over a full year than he would have trade value for another team. It’d be the wrong time to trade him at all, unless you want to sell low. 

And I could be wrong on this, but wasn’t the HBP a cheek bone fracture vs eye socket damage? I think it’ll come down to Ward’s ability to regain confidence and comfort at the plate, which I think he  has the work ethic and mentality to do.

To clarify, I really like Ward. This is just based on signing Bellinger, in which case we'd have Bellinger in CF, Trout, Ward and Moniak/Adell. To me it's a choice between trading Moniak or Ward, and I'd rather keep Moniak for a few reasons. He is younger and more likely to improve, he's a better fielder, he's a lefty, and he has more years of control. Ward is already 30, and while he has 3 years of control, he's 33 at that point and then what? Moniak starts this year at 25. 

I think signing Bellinger is one of the only avenues left where we can truly improve the team in a meaningful way. It helps the lineup because as it is right now, I feel like Moniak bats 6th. With Bellinger in the lineup, he can move down a spot and have less pressure to hit. 

I don't think they'll get Snell. I think the purpose of the bullpen being beefed up is to support their "young" starters, although they're not so much young as they are still inexperienced. I don't know that they want to count on Canning or Silseth to throw 150 innings because it almost certainly won't happen. So I think they will sign a guy like Clevinger or Ryu. What I'd prefer they do is sign Bellinger, move Trout to LF, and trade Ward+ for a solid starter. They also should absolutely trade Drury because he's expiring. 

Also, what the heck will they do with Suarez? As the pen gets deeper, he has less and less innings available. And he's out of options. And he's not one of their top 8 starters at this point. 

10 hours ago, Ochocinco! said:

Hoskins bats right handed bud 

Cool. I'll be disappearing into the hedges for a little while. 

I’ve been critical of Perry but if there’s anything giving 3/33 to a non-closer RP says, it’s that they are not done. You don’t do that if you are rebuilding and unless you plan to build the team. It’s a pretty low roster priority overall. 

One thing I’ve thought lately is that I’m not 100% sure Schanuel starts OD. He showed great signs and got on base, but if you’re trying to win, even just kind of trying, you need more power from 1B. Definitely wouldn’t mind Hoskins or Turner. Hoskins fits better as a LHB. 

Also don’t see how/why they keep both Rengifo and Drury. But maybe they will. 

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

So who is the next “big” free agent to sign?  I have a feeling it is Bellinger.  I feel like we will see the Angels sign one of the three big free agents remaining, Bellinger, Snell or Montgomery.  Just a hunch.  I could see us finishing the off season with a signing of one of the outfielders (Bellinger, Soler)

I really do want Bellinger or Snell but I feel like the Angels need a year to bring in some top draft talent. They’d have 4 picks in the top 85 for the first time in a long time. I don’t think I’m going to be upset either way. 

Id prefer to sign an OF and trade Ward+ for a pitcher. I like Ward but he’s already 30 and I don’t know how much he’s going to improve. I was going through Fangraphs trying to find a good comp and kept coming across Arozarena and S Suzuki. Similar K, BB, Offense/Def, OBP, and hitting profile. Unfortunately he’s 30 and we have 2 young OF without options; he doesn’t fit our timeline. I think he has a ton of trade value, and maybe more to other teams than us. 

14 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Trust me, I'm not a fan of giving relievers multi-year contracts. But this guy is apparently legit so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

I’m being sarcastic, I like the move a lot. I don’t care about his extension off the mound. 

2 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

The reason to believe, the new pitch unlocked it all.  The reason not to believe, his career. 

The nice thing is its not a pitch that requires command, so it shouldn't be a pitch that he needs to throw for strikes for it to be a weapon.

Also, relievers are flakes 

And, this is quite often how relievers turn the corner in their career. Develop a new pitch or convert from a starter to a reliever. RP career trajectory is incredibly random. 

If Matt Wise was being asked to continue his development, I'd be quite skeptical. Like we were last year with Anderson. But I feel a lot better with Enright and Co. working with him to keep that momentum. 

2 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

His Savant page is admittedly boner worthy.

Yeah but do you see his extension? Such a stupid move, it's Tepera all over again. 

Bunch of idiots, can't believe they signed the second best reliever on the market with a top 5 K% and 3rd lowest WHIP of any qualified reliever for 50% less than Hader. Thanks for nothing Arte. 

6 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Finally!  Buckle your seatbelts.  This should finally be the domino that falls to allow the market to move now for the Angels to sign some minor leaguers with invitations to spring training.

I think without a doubt it opens the floodgates for the Angels to sign Fujinami and keep those Japanese ads in place. 

1 minute ago, Erstad Grit said:

Is it possible Arte communicated to Ron and Perry his commitment to win, and then after losing Ohtani he's now going to sell after the smoke of the tv stuff dissipates? 

I would be ecstatic to get rid of the an owner as terrible as him. I can only hope so.