QUICK CORRECTION: The A's *added* 2.0 fWAR, not lost 0.5 as mentioned in the video. We'll have the corrected graphics on social media for your perusal today!
@@LockedOnAngels Re-do after this 3 team trade proposal: Angels Receive: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. & Nolan Arenado Blue Jays Receive: Nolan Schanuel, Michael McGreevy (from Cardinals), Caden Dana, Christian Moore, Nelson Rada, & Anthony Rendon Cardinals Receive: Yariel Rodriguez All contracts are taken in full. Vlad signs extension with Angels 13 yr. $365mm Jon what do you think about this trade?
Hi Mike & Jon !! Thank you !! Watching Tues & Wed shows back to back Wed afternoon. Personally for me we have made some really good additions so far in this off season with I believe a couple more to come. Another huge addition is our Angels getting the #2 pick next June/July in the draft. I'm just gonna wait till spring training starts to fully evaluate our off season, it is a good start. Tale good care everyone Time for Wednesday's show !! Go Angels !!!!
Angels are still a below 500 team, but I do think we're heading in the right direction. I still think Moreno selling the team would send us back to the playoffs. Moreno will never make up for not only Ohtani but getting nil for him...... Think we're we be today if he traded Ohtani for prospects
We are still not winning 85 to 90 games with current roster. We need some additional starting pitching help and bullpen help. The longer we wait to sign free agents the more it is going to cost us in payroll.
I agree but baseball is very unpredictable. Saying we’re still not winning is an understatement. There record was bad yes but I’ve seen this team play amazing baseball also in 2024 with no trout or ohtani so. And the young core is consistently developing
When you lose 99 games, it doesn't touch much to say a team is going to be improved. If Trout is healthy this season, the team will be improved. It Detmers find his stuff, the team will improved. If Rendon can actually contribute for more than 58 games, the team will be improved. As far as additions, the Angels added a starter that (if he can pitch the way he did in Houston) can be a legit #2. If Kikuchi regresses back to his means (4.57 career ERA), he will be just another body that fits some between 3-5.) On the contrary, if Hendricks can regain his form (career ERA 3.68) he could be a legit #3, but if he pitches the way he did last season, He'll be a #4-5 along the same lines as Canning (who actually put up better numbers than Hendricks in most categories last season) Using a project WAR is basically just throwing darts at a dartboard. Depending on which versions of the Kikuchi and Hendricks we get, this staff could be markedly better, or just more of the same. (Or most likely, somewhere in between). I do think the team will better overall than last season. I like the additions. That said, I'm not sure about MOST improved. At least, not yet.
I like the idea of Walker Bueller, also add one to two bullpen arms, and I would be cool with one of them being Hunter Strickland coming back I still don’t see a need for an infielder taking at bats away from Rengifo or blocking Christian Moore. if by seasons end your infield is Schanuel, Moore, Neto, and Rengifo, with Rendon backing up 1st and 3rd, and Newman backing up SS and 2nd… I would be happy with that if they are looking to spend money on the infield, give year deal to Rengifo a 7 year and lock him up. I hate to be that guy, but I was making the same argument about Ohtani for about four years that instead of just looking outside at where to spend money they should be offering him a 10 year deal.
I think that you let rengifo walk and allocate that extension money to Neto. He’s a true building block and rengifos value can easily be replicated in free agency
@@je9237 basically. I think they definitely have raised the floor for the team, but as far as actual improvements and needle movers go, I really only see Kikuchi (maybe soler?) contributing to a better year in 2025
Ah, good point. Sometimes the correct words escape us when we’re recording (like when we try to think of players’ names off the top of our heads 😅). Having said that, even league-average players are a significant improvement for this team. They’ve run out too many below-average guys in the last ten years, and it’s cost them.
Everybody always looking at the negatives smh and never the positives. They are so used to this team being bad that’s all they can think of 😂 great podcast guys and I have faith in our team.
I am excited that the team is improving, however, I do not believe this is a playoff roster (as it currently stands) nor is it even a .500 roster. I think they are currently at about 72 wins and have a ceiling of 77 or so wins. Adding another starter, bullpen piece and bat should push them to 80ish wins. Fangraphs currently has the Angels projecting to be a bottom 10 team even with these additions.
another player I think they’re gonna get more war from is Taylor Ward. Well, he didn’t really deal with a lot of injuries. He was still obviously dealing with Shell shock from getting hit in the face, especially when he got hit in the head two or three more times during the season, but he seem to navigate his way through that by seasons end if we get a Taylor Ward not bailing out of the box next year. We might see something special from him as well.
We lost 99 games. Before we get too self congratulatory, we have some serious problems. 1B .250 singles hitter with no power, no speed, below average fielder. 2B: No one at the moment SS: Injured. Will not start the season 3B: No one at the moment C: Solid two man tandem CF: Moniak hit .219 with a .266 on base and had a negative WAR (-.01) RF: Adell hit .207 with a .280 On base and 20HRs and a (.09 WAR) LF : Trout-- it's a new position and he hasn't played a full season in five years DH: Upgrade with Soler Current Starting Rotation 1. Kikuchi:(33) Career ERA 4.56 Last year 9-10 -- 4.06 ERA 2. Anderson: (35) Last Year: 10-15 -- 3.81ERA 3. Kyle Hendricks (35) Last year 4-12 - 5.92 ERA 4. Soriano: Two prior TJ surgeries and was shut down for shoulder fatigue. Last year 7-10 -- 3.48 ERA 5. Detmers: Sent to the minors. 4-9 with a 6.70 ERA (Minor leagues he was 6-6 with a 5.40ERA) 6. Kohanowicz: 2-6 with a 3.99. Pitched in 11 games 7. Jose Suarez: 1-2 with a 6.02 ERA 8. Silseth injured -- spent season rehabbing in minors 9. Bachman injured-- spent season rehabbing. 10. Caden Dana: Not ready for majors. BULLPEN Joyce: Can he stay healthy for the year? Stephenson: They don't know at what point in the season he'll be ready. The rest? Bench: Upgraded with Newman and Regnifo is solid. Added some minor league depth. This is currently a 90 loss team unless they make serious upgrades to the rotation and upgrade the offense dramatically.
Spot on. Even if this team managed to win ten more games in 2025 over 2024, it would certainly be an improvement, but it would leave the Angels with a season record of 73 - 89. Yea, the same record they had in 2023 and still pathetic. More work improving this team is clearly needed.
Great show! Seeing our added fWAR against the other numbers has me hyped and I want to keep riding that high. Make it happen, Perry! Side note: seeing Drury's number had me flashing back to watching him in the batter's box this year and it was...not fun.
I can’t say this enough. So pumped to have a podcast that actually researches and presents amazing stats and takes. Great show. Also. Can’t say this enough. We need to sign Trevor Bauer. Maybe if I compliment you guys hard enough you’ll get behind this idea? Nah. Haha. JK. I 100% believe you guys are the best podcast on the entire locked on network.
You guys are right about the Astros they have lost a huge amount of talent. The Astros were dismal at the start of the season this year . That would give us a big confidence boost if they repeat that performance
If we dont get an ace and get a bullpen that actually holds and save games were not going to contend. I'm pretty sure they're done signing for players that dont come out of the dumpster.
Also have the factor in that Jeffrey Springs was coming off Tommy John. And only pitched him seven games last year. So you can expect his war to be higher, giving athletics war number a bigger boost
You guys have been mentioning Alec Bohm a ton recently. I personally don’t think he is that great, and one month carried his whole season. I think if we’re trading at the MLB level, Jake McCarthy is our best option for what we can afford. 4 years of control. Not much of a threat offensively, but he puts the ball in play and uses his speed to his advantage. He’s a guy who can cover tons of ground in the outfield and give trout days off in center. Would slot great in the 9 spot imo
McCarthy is an interesting choice! Seems like he got a lot more playing time with Arizona last year with great results. Wonder if they'd be willing to part with him?
@@savdad7250 Just an additional thought on this regarding Bohm: he did have a monster first month, but he also hit .284 in June, .278 in July, and .270 in August. His one down month was .243 in May, and only got into 12 games in September with the .170 average.
@ yeah that’s kind of what we’ve come to expect from Bohm. High average, low walk % , low k %, below average slug. I personally don’t think there much of a reason to trade for him when he’s only got 2 years of control and the angels won’t be very good in that time. I would rather take a chance on Brett Baty for much cheaper and use an asset like Ward to set us up for 2027+
just found out that A's just made $70 million for staying under the luxury tax. If you where the owner of the Angels would you go over the luxury tax(forfeiting $70 million)? I truly dislike Arte Moreno, I believe he is to poor to be an owner of a professional sport franchise, i also believe he uses shady practices with the medical staff to place non injured players on IR to safe money on Insurance claims, but I do understand why he would not go over the tax limit. Would you?
I’d want to know what you’re referring to about the A’s. Was it an article somewhere you could link? Our first thought that comes to mind is that it is likely a revenue sharing thing that got them that money, something that the Angels do not get from the league.
@@savdad7250 Yes, that’s a fact, but these articles make it sound like the Angels are shopping him quietly. I’m kind of shocked if they are cause that would be a death blow to the fan base at this time.
I will say this one time and one time only, Mike trout has a no trade clause, and he wants to stay there, Mike trout has to waive that no trade clause to let the angels know that he wants out, he literally wants to stay here. It’s very wishful thinking by the baseball media, and some random rumors about some fake news about trout.
I feel like the team that could surprise many people could be the Astros, let me explain. I know the offseason isn’t over, and yes they did trade Kyle Tucker, but they got a Minute Maid park merchant in Isaac Paredes, so im assuming he’ll probably be really good, because Astros. Also they have some interesting options in the rotation in Hunter brown, framber Valdez, Ronel blanco, Spencer arrighetti, and they have some guys looming down in AAA for them that could split time, and the bullpen is still as solid as ever, they had like 7 guys with an era under 3.8 within guys who played 20 games for them. So overall, I still think the Astros could still find ways to make people in the system better, and I think all the rumors of the Astros downfall is baseball media praying the Astros will find a way to suck without Kyle Tucker.
The angels, I would say that they definitely improved, but it’s all about if they can stay ON the field. I think it’s all about using that DH spot as you guys said, because it could help a guy like trout or O’Hoppe get some time off their legs. But sadly I think the injury is gonna come back again, because they have Jorge Soler occupying that role, and it sucks because he’s making too much money to be a DH on a team where they don’t need a DH. I think it’ll be worth it if Soler is good, just need to share the role, prevent injuries, give guys some rest.
They still need to figure out what’s going on the rotation because 1 they have to figure out what their gonna do with Reid Detmers, they can’t trade him or send him down, and they got Jack Kochanowicz who looked really good but is probably out of the rotation which sucks, and I don’t think another adding another arm would really help either, it’s like they’re one arm away from blocking Reid Detmers and Jack Kochanowicz from the rotation, but if they don’t add a starter, their at risk for more injuries and depleted depth.
I see everyone saying the rangers are gonna win the division, I think otherwise, the rangers have no bullpen, a few players in the lineup regressed hard, and Corey Seager is very injury prone now. The rangers could be middling around .500 if not lower.
The mariners kinda have the best shot at winning the division along with the Astros. The mariners pitching has proven they can pump out quality starting pitchers and good relievers. I don’t think the mariners are done yet with the offseason, they still need to add a bigger bat to keep their offense afloat.
I don’t really see the hype with the athletics, yes they had great seasons from rooker and miller, but they need more of a cast. Their defense is awful last year which kinda hurt the pitching, and adding Luis Severino and Jeffrey springs doesn’t really help all that much. They do have some good outfield prospects in AAA, but aside from all that they’re just relying on their core players to sustain their good offense then add onto it with proven players. Plus their new stadium doesn’t really have the best playing environment.
Getting rid of Brandon Drury was a mistake based on his history. It's been a few months since I looked at his MLB career and he had a solid uphill offensive output with two seasons of 25+ he's and then his first injury which is when the Angels got him and he went from 16 post injury to 26 in 23. Now in 24 he gets hurt and put on the shelf. His history says he's going to hit somewhere around 25 he's and put in more than 120 games around the infield. Believe me, follow him this season and see what happens.
Good insight, John! Thing is, they didn’t necessarily get rid of him; his contract expired, and we imagine he’ll land somewhere, perhaps at a discount coming off the season he had.
QUICK CORRECTION: The A's *added* 2.0 fWAR, not lost 0.5 as mentioned in the video. We'll have the corrected graphics on social media for your perusal today!
Glad you posted this note. I was going crazy trying to do the math 😂
@@jtaylorstudios Too many numbers from too many players and teams, even for us! 😂
You guys HAVE to re-do this episode before the season starts once us and the rest of our division finishes shopping
Definitely!
@@LockedOnAngels Re-do after this 3 team trade proposal:
Angels Receive: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. & Nolan Arenado
Blue Jays Receive: Nolan Schanuel, Michael McGreevy (from Cardinals), Caden Dana, Christian Moore, Nelson Rada, & Anthony Rendon
Cardinals Receive: Yariel Rodriguez
All contracts are taken in full. Vlad signs extension with Angels 13 yr. $365mm
Jon what do you think about this trade?
No
@@scottbrewer8671 that’s a very cheap deal for vladdy
Hi Mike & Jon !! Thank you !!
Watching Tues & Wed shows back to back Wed afternoon.
Personally for me we have made some really good additions so far in
this off season with I believe a couple more to come.
Another huge addition is our Angels getting the #2 pick next June/July
in the draft.
I'm just gonna wait till spring training starts to fully evaluate our off season,
it is a good start.
Tale good care everyone
Time for Wednesday's show !!
Go Angels !!!!
Angels are still a below 500 team, but I do think we're heading in the right direction. I still think Moreno selling the team would send us back to the playoffs. Moreno will never make up for not only Ohtani but getting nil for him...... Think we're we be today if he traded Ohtani for prospects
We are still not winning 85 to 90 games with current roster. We need some additional starting pitching help and bullpen help. The longer we wait to sign free agents the more it is going to cost us in payroll.
I agree. Pitching is the most important to address.
I agree but baseball is very unpredictable. Saying we’re still not winning is an understatement. There record was bad yes but I’ve seen this team play amazing baseball also in 2024 with no trout or ohtani so. And the young core is consistently developing
When are these rumors about trading Trout going to die? It’s driving me nuts!
When we start winning
When you lose 99 games, it doesn't touch much to say a team is going to be improved. If Trout is healthy this season, the team will be improved. It Detmers find his stuff, the team will improved. If Rendon can actually contribute for more than 58 games, the team will be improved.
As far as additions, the Angels added a starter that (if he can pitch the way he did in Houston) can be a legit #2. If Kikuchi regresses back to his means (4.57 career ERA), he will be just another body that fits some between 3-5.) On the contrary, if Hendricks can regain his form (career ERA 3.68) he could be a legit #3, but if he pitches the way he did last season, He'll be a #4-5 along the same lines as Canning (who actually put up better numbers than Hendricks in most categories last season)
Using a project WAR is basically just throwing darts at a dartboard. Depending on which versions of the Kikuchi and Hendricks we get, this staff could be markedly better, or just more of the same. (Or most likely, somewhere in between).
I do think the team will better overall than last season. I like the additions. That said, I'm not sure about MOST improved. At least, not yet.
Very interesting. Good job. Can we do this again in the spring after all the rosters are settled? Cool exercise.
Yeah definitely! It’ll be cool to see where everyone lands before the season starts!
Thank you for the graphics here on TH-cam
Glad they were helpful, Richard! We'll be posting them later today!
I like the idea of Walker Bueller, also add one to two bullpen arms, and I would be cool with one of them being Hunter Strickland coming back
I still don’t see a need for an infielder taking at bats away from Rengifo or blocking Christian Moore. if by seasons end your infield is Schanuel, Moore, Neto, and Rengifo, with Rendon backing up 1st and 3rd, and Newman backing up SS and 2nd… I would be happy with that
if they are looking to spend money on the infield, give year deal to Rengifo a 7 year and lock him up.
I hate to be that guy, but I was making the same argument about Ohtani for about four years that instead of just looking outside at where to spend money they should be offering him a 10 year deal.
I think that you let rengifo walk and allocate that extension money to Neto. He’s a true building block and rengifos value can easily be replicated in free agency
Just wanted to point out that 0 war is not an average player like you said regarding Hector Neris. 1.5-2 war is considered a league average MLB player
So they added only one player with an above average player this offseason. That should be good for two more wins.
@@je9237 basically. I think they definitely have raised the floor for the team, but as far as actual improvements and needle movers go, I really only see Kikuchi (maybe soler?) contributing to a better year in 2025
Ah, good point. Sometimes the correct words escape us when we’re recording (like when we try to think of players’ names off the top of our heads 😅). Having said that, even league-average players are a significant improvement for this team. They’ve run out too many below-average guys in the last ten years, and it’s cost them.
I think it’s time for all of us to accept that we are going to be 5th place this next season
Everybody always looking at the negatives smh and never the positives. They are so used to this team being bad that’s all they can think of 😂 great podcast guys and I have faith in our team.
I am excited that the team is improving, however, I do not believe this is a playoff roster (as it currently stands) nor is it even a .500 roster.
I think they are currently at about 72 wins and have a ceiling of 77 or so wins.
Adding another starter, bullpen piece and bat should push them to 80ish wins.
Fangraphs currently has the Angels projecting to be a bottom 10 team even with these additions.
Sugano to the Orioles. Arte blowing another offseason.
another player I think they’re gonna get more war from is Taylor Ward. Well, he didn’t really deal with a lot of injuries. He was still obviously dealing with Shell shock from getting hit in the face, especially when he got hit in the head two or three more times during the season, but he seem to navigate his way through that by seasons end if we get a Taylor Ward not bailing out of the box next year. We might see something special from him as well.
We lost 99 games. Before we get too self congratulatory, we have some serious problems.
1B .250 singles hitter with no power, no speed, below average fielder.
2B: No one at the moment
SS: Injured. Will not start the season
3B: No one at the moment
C: Solid two man tandem
CF: Moniak hit .219 with a .266 on base and had a negative WAR (-.01)
RF: Adell hit .207 with a .280 On base and 20HRs and a (.09 WAR)
LF : Trout-- it's a new position and he hasn't played a full season in five years
DH: Upgrade with Soler
Current Starting Rotation
1. Kikuchi:(33) Career ERA 4.56 Last year 9-10 -- 4.06 ERA
2. Anderson: (35) Last Year: 10-15 -- 3.81ERA
3. Kyle Hendricks (35) Last year 4-12 - 5.92 ERA
4. Soriano: Two prior TJ surgeries and was shut down for shoulder fatigue. Last year 7-10 -- 3.48 ERA
5. Detmers: Sent to the minors. 4-9 with a 6.70 ERA (Minor leagues he was 6-6 with a 5.40ERA)
6. Kohanowicz: 2-6 with a 3.99. Pitched in 11 games
7. Jose Suarez: 1-2 with a 6.02 ERA
8. Silseth injured -- spent season rehabbing in minors
9. Bachman injured-- spent season rehabbing.
10. Caden Dana: Not ready for majors.
BULLPEN
Joyce: Can he stay healthy for the year?
Stephenson: They don't know at what point in the season he'll be ready.
The rest?
Bench: Upgraded with Newman and Regnifo is solid. Added some minor league depth.
This is currently a 90 loss team unless they make serious upgrades to the rotation and upgrade the offense dramatically.
Spot on. Even if this team managed to win ten more games in 2025 over 2024, it would certainly be an improvement, but it would leave the Angels with a season record of 73 - 89. Yea, the same record they had in 2023 and still pathetic. More work improving this team is clearly needed.
@@Kwolfx Yes. Our top three starters are in their mid-30s. How is that going to play out?
That's why they are known as the discount Angels.
Great show! Seeing our added fWAR against the other numbers has me hyped and I want to keep riding that high. Make it happen, Perry! Side note: seeing Drury's number had me flashing back to watching him in the batter's box this year and it was...not fun.
Feels like he was never fully healthy. His falloff was way too dramatic from having been a 26-homer guy in 2023!
@LockedOnAngels Definitely. I hope he's able to bring it back wherever he lands in 2025.
I can’t say this enough. So pumped to have a podcast that actually researches and presents amazing stats and takes. Great show.
Also. Can’t say this enough. We need to sign Trevor Bauer. Maybe if I compliment you guys hard enough you’ll get behind this idea? Nah. Haha. JK. I 100% believe you guys are the best podcast on the entire locked on network.
You guys are right about the Astros they have lost a huge amount of talent. The Astros were dismal at the start of the season this year . That would give us a big confidence boost if they repeat that performance
They can improve the most by just DFA Jose Suarez. His WAR is probably -99.
I saw a trade proposal in a different video of Detmers, Ward and Joswa Lugo for Dylan Cease. I'd hate to give up Lugo, but I would do that trade
Oooff. That's a lot for one year of Cease. Kind of goes against what they're trying to do in Anaheim and have future success.
@LockedOnAngels for some reason I thought Cease had 2 years of control remaining. But you're right, for 1 year of Cease I wouldn't do it either
@@willpina Ah, that makes sense! Yeah just checked to be sure and it's one more year
We should use our trade pieces for young good prospects. The gialitto trade was an example of a trade screwup
If we dont get an ace and get a bullpen that actually holds and save games were not going to contend. I'm pretty sure they're done signing for players that dont come out of the dumpster.
How about rolling the dice and signing Charlie Morton for 1 year?
Why do we hate the Mariners ?
I personally haven't been impressed. With our off-season moves thus far. Travis was a good pickup. Kyle for the price is an OK move.
Anderson to Cubs for Bellinger, sign Flaherty, Detmers to Reds for Diaz.
Also have the factor in that Jeffrey Springs was coming off Tommy John. And only pitched him seven games last year. So you can expect his war to be higher, giving athletics war number a bigger boost
Definitely, Daniel! That's a big factor across a lot of this too: Springs for the A's deGrom for the Rangers, Trout for the Angels, etc.
Who had the second best batting average on the Angels in 2024?
Wite sox had the worst record but the angels were the worst team .
You guys have been mentioning Alec Bohm a ton recently. I personally don’t think he is that great, and one month carried his whole season. I think if we’re trading at the MLB level, Jake McCarthy is our best option for what we can afford. 4 years of control. Not much of a threat offensively, but he puts the ball in play and uses his speed to his advantage. He’s a guy who can cover tons of ground in the outfield and give trout days off in center. Would slot great in the 9 spot imo
McCarthy is an interesting choice! Seems like he got a lot more playing time with Arizona last year with great results. Wonder if they'd be willing to part with him?
@ Arizona already said they’re open to moving McCarthy and Thomas, thought McCarthy will be a much steeper price
@@savdad7250 Just an additional thought on this regarding Bohm: he did have a monster first month, but he also hit .284 in June, .278 in July, and .270 in August. His one down month was .243 in May, and only got into 12 games in September with the .170 average.
@ yeah that’s kind of what we’ve come to expect from Bohm. High average, low walk % , low k %, below average slug. I personally don’t think there much of a reason to trade for him when he’s only got 2 years of control and the angels won’t be very good in that time. I would rather take a chance on Brett Baty for much cheaper and use an asset like Ward to set us up for 2027+
I'm not excited about the Angels, more disappointed. They are not building a winner.
We added more trash to the dump pile and now we’re trying to say “most improved”😂 yeah right
All of the additions are improvements so far.
just found out that A's just made $70 million for staying under the luxury tax. If you where the owner of the Angels would you go over the luxury tax(forfeiting $70 million)? I truly dislike Arte Moreno, I believe he is to poor to be an owner of a professional sport franchise, i also believe he uses shady practices with the medical staff to place non injured players on IR to safe money on Insurance claims, but I do understand why he would not go over the tax limit. Would you?
I’d want to know what you’re referring to about the A’s. Was it an article somewhere you could link? Our first thought that comes to mind is that it is likely a revenue sharing thing that got them that money, something that the Angels do not get from the league.
I get that you guys are paid to be positive but come on you sound like used car salesmen at the point. The Angels are a 70 win team at best.
Lol, paid by who, exactly? Arte Moreno? Rodger Lodge? If you have an issue with what we shared, take it up with FanGraphs, I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What’s with all these sudden rumors about Mike Trout getting traded????
They're in your head
@ No, there are articles as of recent. Maybe wishful thinking on the part of the writers, but one mention that he was on the trading block.
Anyone could be moved for the right price
@@savdad7250 Yes, that’s a fact, but these articles make it sound like the Angels are shopping him quietly. I’m kind of shocked if they are cause that would be a death blow to the fan base at this time.
I will say this one time and one time only, Mike trout has a no trade clause, and he wants to stay there, Mike trout has to waive that no trade clause to let the angels know that he wants out, he literally wants to stay here. It’s very wishful thinking by the baseball media, and some random rumors about some fake news about trout.
I feel like the team that could surprise many people could be the Astros, let me explain.
I know the offseason isn’t over, and yes they did trade Kyle Tucker, but they got a Minute Maid park merchant in Isaac Paredes, so im assuming he’ll probably be really good, because Astros. Also they have some interesting options in the rotation in Hunter brown, framber Valdez, Ronel blanco, Spencer arrighetti, and they have some guys looming down in AAA for them that could split time, and the bullpen is still as solid as ever, they had like 7 guys with an era under 3.8 within guys who played 20 games for them. So overall, I still think the Astros could still find ways to make people in the system better, and I think all the rumors of the Astros downfall is baseball media praying the Astros will find a way to suck without Kyle Tucker.
The angels, I would say that they definitely improved, but it’s all about if they can stay ON the field. I think it’s all about using that DH spot as you guys said, because it could help a guy like trout or O’Hoppe get some time off their legs. But sadly I think the injury is gonna come back again, because they have Jorge Soler occupying that role, and it sucks because he’s making too much money to be a DH on a team where they don’t need a DH. I think it’ll be worth it if Soler is good, just need to share the role, prevent injuries, give guys some rest.
They still need to figure out what’s going on the rotation because 1 they have to figure out what their gonna do with Reid Detmers, they can’t trade him or send him down, and they got Jack Kochanowicz who looked really good but is probably out of the rotation which sucks, and I don’t think another adding another arm would really help either, it’s like they’re one arm away from blocking Reid Detmers and Jack Kochanowicz from the rotation, but if they don’t add a starter, their at risk for more injuries and depleted depth.
I see everyone saying the rangers are gonna win the division, I think otherwise, the rangers have no bullpen, a few players in the lineup regressed hard, and Corey Seager is very injury prone now. The rangers could be middling around .500 if not lower.
The mariners kinda have the best shot at winning the division along with the Astros. The mariners pitching has proven they can pump out quality starting pitchers and good relievers. I don’t think the mariners are done yet with the offseason, they still need to add a bigger bat to keep their offense afloat.
I don’t really see the hype with the athletics, yes they had great seasons from rooker and miller, but they need more of a cast. Their defense is awful last year which kinda hurt the pitching, and adding Luis Severino and Jeffrey springs doesn’t really help all that much. They do have some good outfield prospects in AAA, but aside from all that they’re just relying on their core players to sustain their good offense then add onto it with proven players. Plus their new stadium doesn’t really have the best playing environment.
What kind of WAR do your Locked on Angels fans have?😅
eWAR = Everydayer WAR!
Getting rid of Brandon Drury was a mistake based on his history. It's been a few months since I looked at his MLB career and he had a solid uphill offensive output with two seasons of 25+ he's and then his first injury which is when the Angels got him and he went from 16 post injury to 26 in 23. Now in 24 he gets hurt and put on the shelf. His history says he's going to hit somewhere around 25 he's and put in more than 120 games around the infield. Believe me, follow him this season and see what happens.
Good insight, John! Thing is, they didn’t necessarily get rid of him; his contract expired, and we imagine he’ll land somewhere, perhaps at a discount coming off the season he had.