I think what’s happening is that Minasian and the Angels FO want to rebuild, but Arte Moreno wants to win. So Minasian is bringing in veterans who are going help with developing the Netos, Schanuels, Sorianos, O’Hoppes and similar younger guys, while also trying to do something similar to what the royals did last year. In other words, Minasian is both trying to please ownership but also really focus on the young players and doing whatever he can to build for the future
I don’t get it either but from their perspective, they don’t need to do a small market tear down because they have a lot of money. As long as they don’t ship out young talent and try to grow them, it’s ok to spend on free agents who won’t get in the way. I still think they are far from competing but whatever, it’s their call.
Idk if this video is gonna do as well as others but love this kind of content. Just talking ball in an easily digestible format and nerding out on a specific subject. Please keep doing this sort of thing
The Angels are a couple years away from being a couple years away. They finally have promising talent in Neto, O’hoppe, Joyce, Dana, Moore and couple other recent picks and signings. This last year one of the angels biggest flaws was not being able to field major league talent when starters got hurt. This has been a common theme for the last couple years actually. A lot of these signings are meant to change the culture of the squad and add people with experience that are either at replacement level or better. This team had Brandon Drury, who in 97 games had a wRC+ of 34 w/ -2.1 WAR. On top of the countless AAA guys that had extended runs in the majors. Soler- Powerbat that’ll be the 3rd/4th OF Hendricks- 4/5 vet starter Kikuchi- quality not quite Ace level starter D’Arnaud- vet backup C w/ pop Newman- infield utility that can actually hit somewhat These guys are pretty much replacing Willie Calhoun, Brandon Drury,Thais, Canning and the revolving door of AAA talent. Injuries happen all the time but the main roster was lacking, talent and experience. Rendon has two more years on the books. If the team can continue to have success with draft picks and develop the guys in the organization, hopefully they can turn it around.
As an angels fan, brining Kikuchi does not bring depth to their starting rotation but he can also show detmers where to throw a curve ball or any pitch to make left handed pitchers better. I’m from japan, and believe it or not, there are still angels fans out here (90% bandwagon to the dodgers though lol) so Kikuchi coming is a great addition. Sugano also, a great pitcher from Japan, may want to join the angels as there is a Japanese player here. I know Sugano is older as well, but we can also now may able to trade Anderson and get a bat or couple of bullpen pieces. Excited to see what more is to come. I’m liking that the angels are the one making noise this off season
I think our starting rotation is already better than last years already. So o think adding Kikuchi is a pretty decent sign, specially with the point you bring about showing detmers how to pitch. I assumed that 100% of Japanese Angels fans were dodger fans now lol
@ believe it or not, when I watch the angels here in Japan, on an app. There is about an average of 1000 people watching the same game. When ohtani was with the angels it used to be like 5-6000 lol. Detmers is a good pitcher and I want him to succeed. He is an on and off pitcher which I hate about him lol
Blue Jays signed Kikuchi for 13M per year I believe few years back, coming off some terrible stats in Seattle. At the time, everyone including myself as a Jays fan thought that was a terrible contract for a pitcher who doesn't have MLB stuff. He struggled for one year, but over the next offseason something happened and Yusei dominated spring training, then put together an incredibly solid season with the Jays. He became a fan favourite. He has a cute wife. Next season he has some ups and downs with the Jays with consistency (the reason his ERA is in the 4's for Toronto is thanks to a couple of tough outings at the end) but still put up respectable numbers before being traded to Houston. Of course then, he improved even more and got those K's up. If the Angels put the right people around Kikuchi, I'm sure he'll be fine. But I don't know how much I trust the Angels on their development, they are known for signing veterans to big deals and those veterans having a drastic decline in production. Kikuchi is a warrior who works hard even when everyone was bashing him for poor pitching. He should, and very likely will get massive ovations when he returns to both Toronto and Houston.
Saw people say the Angels couldn't repeat the Royals' 2024 improvement because they dont have a Bobby Witt Jr. They do have MIKE TROUT. I don't necessarily believe, but I can hope for them
Arte is delusional. You’re so right about him being a crazy person lol The whole front office is delusional, they truly believe they can contend. And that’s the worst part. Being a fan of this team is rough lately
You nailed it on the explanation. I do think that he will definitely have a higher era than this season, maybe like .3 or .4 higher. I think that they run a half season more on Trout and if he sucks, ship him off for a nice young core or whatever they can get out of him. Trout would rake in Cinci but doubt they could give the package for him.
Makes sense, not to Arte tho. That man has ruined this organization, look what he did to ohtani he wouldn’t even trade him at the deadline, then never even made an offer for him in the offseason.
This year kikuchi had 1 bad stretch that ruined his season numbers. His first 14 starts he had a 3.25 era, and his last 10 starts a sub 3 era. He’s a very good pitcher
That's what I'm saying, people think he wasn't good with Toronto and only with Houston but a couple of rough starts at the end of the 2024 Toronto tenure ballooned the ERA a bit. Yusei has his comeback season in 2023, with Toronto. He was great. He got even better in Houston.
honestly, on paper the angels are solid. They have their young guys in moore, neto, schanuel, ohoppe, and their young pitchers. they also have their older guys in trout, rendon and ward. They had adell who had an amazing year(for his standards) every good playoff team has their young guys, stars and spend money. thats what the angels have, its all about staying healthy
As a Mariners fan, I watched him pitch for a few years in Seattle, and he was always inconsistent, but clearly had good stuff. If he can stay consistent he’ll be great.
Kikuchi was the best pitcher in 2nd half, lights out for Houston. Angels stole a gem. Verlander got 45M pitched like shiit. Monty got 25M for a 7.00 era LOL
Verlander was rushed off of two injuries, i don’t really blame it on him. Hes old too. he got better his last three starts. you could tell he was still healing
You do realize he’s been bad everywhere he’s been but Houston? He only has value in a Astros uniform. He’s not doing what he did in Houston with the Angels lol
@ literally has an all star appearance but that doesn’t matter lol. you missed the entire point of this video. its about who he is now, not on the blue jays and mariners, learn to listen before leaving a stupid comment
We have a 97% chance to get a top 6 draft pick so tanking this year would be kinda counterproductive, I think minisan is trying to raise the floor of this team so that in 2 - 3 years when perhaps dana, moore & some other prospects will be ready they will be able to compete , I see this as a move more towards the future then right now & as far as signing vets I think he signs them just as much for their knowledge in addition to their talent
I've watched him over the last couple of seasons as a Yankee fan and I Can say Kikuchi at times Can be unhitable. He has definitely improved and has a great feel for his pitches at this point in his career.
Kikuchi isn't just any pitcher from Japan. People of Iwate Prefecture still remember KIKUCHI Yusei from highschool. He was the star pitcher carrying Hanamaki-Higashi highschool to KOSHIEN tournament. (6 out of 12 NPB teams chose KIKUCHI as their number 1 draft in 2009.) And OHTANI chose the same school because of Kikuchi's extraordinary performance during highschool. In some strange twist, now they're in the same city/area in a foreign country. And Darvish's social media comment was that his wife is really excited that Kikuchi is joining the Angels and moving to LA. Apparently, the wives of Darivish and Kikuchi are really good friends.
To get a haul for him at the deadline pretty smart tbh kinda weird he signed with them over a playoff contender but he will end up on one at some point
how i see it is with the angels new routine of sending guys to the majors quick, they want those guys to team up with veterans and hope that the chemistry boosts the team and brings out a fire from the young guys. i think our development sucks too much for that plan to get far but they think our young guys can make enough of an impact to bring in vets
When you have no consistently reliable starting pitchers, anyone half way decent is an improvement. In the era of the six inning starter, they have a bunch of four inning starters.
I've seen a ton of Angels fans mad about the deal with Kikuchi but as a jays fan, his numbers do not reflect how good he actually is. He's an electric pitcher when he gets going, and if you want proof of that just look at what he did for the astro's when he got traded for them. He gets lit up every once in a while but so does literally every other pitcher. He'll be great for you guys as long as your pitching coaches dont literally try to kill him.
Kikuchi was an effective pitcher for the Astros. Look at his record. The Astros were 11-1 with him pitching. He has found a winning formula with his pitch selection and variety. The Angels mada a good move in acquiring Kikucki. What his record in the 2025 season.
You are valuing a 10 start stretch over everything else the guy has ever done. Kikuchi had hot stretches with the Mariners. It’s what the guy does, gives you a third of a season being dominant a third of the season being ok and a third of the season being terrible. He has done it multiple times.
Lifelong Angels fan here. This is a great move for them. A lot of the issues you are describing were from old management (specifically Billy Eppler). Guys like Canning, Detmers, Sandoval and Silseth have not panned out but if you look at the young pitching talent they've gathered under Perry like Dana, Jose Soriano, Clausen, Kochanowicz, and even younger guys like Trey Gregory Alford, there is a lot to look forward to. Combine that with guys like Neto, O'hoppe and veterans like Trout, Kikuchi, and Soler there's a lot to be excited about as Angels fans that we haven't had in the last few years. As far as Ward goes, I don't think he's part of the future plans and I'd love to see them trade him for pitching of some sort. The big bottleneck is the Rendon contract. $38 million over the next two years is a huge problem. I see good improvement this year with the likelihood of them being competitive in 2026/2027 once the payroll opens up more.
Indeed! 🆙 💯 ⚾️ Perry Minasian has actually done a very good job of acquiring ➡️ a good young core of position players. Moore, Neto, O’Hoppe, and Schanuel represent a good young core of position players that should lead the Angels back to postseason play in the next couple of years. Minasian has also done a very good job of acquiring good young pitching prospects. Aldegheri, Dana, Klassen, etc. are future starting pitchers for the Angels ➡️ with Dana being a future number one starter. Minasian is “raising the floor” of the Angels while acquiring good young talent so ➡️ in a couple of years, the Angels can contend for postseason play. 2025 is a key year for major improvement from all of their young players and then 2026 is the year that the Angels expect to contend… maybe for a wildcard. 🙏 🤔
The Angels will probably get a top-six pick in the 2025 draft, which means the best pick they can get in 2026, no matter how bad they play, is 10th overall. So I think their plan might be to push for the playoffs in 2025 (even though that seems unlikely). If they miss, they could trade away their veterans and tank again in 2026. Hopefully, by then, guys like Neto, O'Hoppe, Moore, and Dana will have developed into solid players. Plus, with Rendon’s contract finally done after 2026, they can spend big on free agents and maybe start being a real contender by 2027.
They signed him to get better. They never invest in pitching and when the media does, they shit all over them. A good move is a good move even no one will give them credit
I think it all depends on how much is Arte actually willing to spend. Say, if he will go right up to the tax, I can see a move to get Max Freid, trade away Ward and Anderson and get that Bellinger contract off of the Cubs for basically little compensation. With that, Trout rotates with Soler as a full time DH/LF. All of the sudden, you are looking at Fried, Kikuchi, Soriano, Detmers and Hendricks as a good rotation, with guys like Dana, Kochanowicz, Aldegheri and Silseth as depth. And as for the lineup, it's great with Trout, and bad without Trout. And that's a problem. But if Trout is healthy, then yes, that team might be good enough to win like 85-90 games. That's so so so many if's though.
I don’t think much of the Angels, but this was a great pickup by them. They are bringing in veterans to bolster these young dudes who are crazy talented but lost in the sauce leadership/experience wise. I’d never say the Angels are making themselves into perennial playoff contenders, they’ve ruined or wasted too many careers of HoF’s for that, but that lineup is starting to look fleshed out!
On paper this angels sluggers are not bad. The problem really is their pitching, they need more than this. Fix Reid Detmers, so that's an extra good starter and they have Anderson and Soriano and Kikuchi they need 1-2 good starters and add some decent bullpen guys.
There are a lot of concerning peripherals with Kikuchi. When you listed his stats over the last two years, what immediately jumped out to me is the high ERA and WHIP for a pitcher who consider to be a good pickup. I might be proven wrong, but his high home run rate and career ERA still leave something left to be desired. And yes, career stats still matter because they show a player has been in their career and how they could regress. Kikuchi being on the older side is concerning due to likely drop in velocity and break on his pitches. Not to mention the Angels are not very good at handling their pitching.
As an angels fan we were so close to seeing new ownership and as an Orange County Native I was hoping the scandal with him and the ex mayor of Anaheim Harry sidhu would help push him out. We just gotta wait till this man decides he’s too old to own a team 😅🙃
AA is gearing up for something big. He declined d’arnaud’s option traded Soler as fast as possible. He’s clearing the books of as much as he can. Something big is coming.
Hey marc could you tell me what players the cubs will get this offseason I have been thinking like an ace pitcher ex. Blake snell and some utility ex. Kevin pilliar
Surprisingly, the Angels have quite a bit of money to use over the next few years. I think, if they improve and get around .500 this year, someone like Vladdy Jr. could definitely be in play. Nolan isn’t that great of a 1B and they could just put vladdy at DH. His father also had some really good years with the Angels too. Trade for someone like a Brent Rooker maybe, focus on improving the bullpen, and you can get somewhere.
Marc, im a lifelong angels fan and im just as confused as you are with direction. This lack of direction stems solely on moreno not letting his front office properly rebuild and just my input this is how I see it. They are adding to the young building core they have but use the term “contend” to fill seats at the stadium. But in reality they are just filling some holes and will continue to let the core develop and bring up more young dudes and to weed out veteran players. Do i think this is the right direction? Nope, but they are still handicapped by two albatross contracts and moreno still has not shown he will invest in the minors like he should. My honest prediction, we come in fourth place but improve slightly and we wont sniff playoffs till they either release rendon or his contract expires
as an angels fan, i don't love it. but with the way the draft works now i see no point in tanking. so im guessing our front office just is hoping for the best? trading away the taylor ward and maybe even tyler anderson would get us some prospects but are they even enough to move the needle? 😭 idk we are lost
@GiraffeNeckMarc I’m going to address your concerns of things “making sense”…First & foremost this is professional baseball. One year a club can lose 106 games and the next be playing in the ALDS (Royals) or The richest owner in baseball can publicly state we’re planning to contend in 2025 and next be playing in the NLCS in 2024 (Mets). Point being any roster carrying a HOF player like Mike Trout has the potential to come out and contend for a Championship. Eg. Francisco Lindor for Mets. Secondly, Perry Minasian understands owner Arte Moreno wants to compete for a championship and is willing to extend the pocket book this offseason to improve the club. Perry will take advantage of this characteristic especially with Perrys last contract year for himself and Ron W. Looking to get extended. Perry knows the floor must be raised in each department of the club. Now the situation calls for value. How can Perry spread the money around enough while still getting high quality talent. Perry is evaluating upward trending players who from a cost perspective can be acquired at minimal cost. Angels have acquired 2 SP (Yusei Kukuchi, Kyle Hendricks); DH (Jorge Soler); C (Travis D’arnaud); SS (Kevin Newman) for an annual cost of $45mm while shedding $15mm (Patrick Sandoval, Griffin Canning, Matt Thaiss)…A difference of $30mm of added payroll and Perry improved our DH, 5 Starter mix, INF, and catching. All this before the offseason has really taken shape. 👍👍Awesome work! Lastly, with what Perry has done thus far I expect his focus to pivot to building out the bullpen. Finding value in the market for low cost relievers with high octane and diverse looks out of the pen: different arm angles, lefties, back end & high leverage situation experience. 👊
Well, Kikuchi will eat well in LA. Never know, real Japanese soul food could elevate his play? It's easier for his fan base from Japan to see him play. Bring some yen to Amaheim? My one wish is they trade Trout to a winning team. He's so humble. Most would be whining.
As a first hand watcher, the tigers sort of did the same in 2021 free agency. Gave big deals to E-Rod and Javy, and ended up sucking. All though they did good this year, e rod ain't even with them any more and Javy sucks
They say they will be competive but we had 63 wins last year - we need to be 85-90 just to be competitive for a wildcard. Bottom line, do i think thesr changes move the needle 20 more wins? No. I like Kukuchi but his addition to me only makes sense if you back it up with a more significant signing- the Angels dont have an Ace.
At the point where a rebuilding team like the Angels is gonna spend big money on a free agent, why not sign a younger player with more name recognition to build around? For example, get Bregman for 6 years. At least then, if nothing else, you'll put butts in seats. Signing a decent starter for big money does nothing for them.
Why they signed a #3 or 4th starter at best…….they need couples aces like Snell or Corbin Burnes to compete otherwise will finished 4th placed as usual.
@@ZeldathemillennialNo ones claiming he’s going to give them a winning record, but this and all the other supplemental moves they’ve made should pay dividends, if only slightly
@ still don’t think it is a good move if they got that money might as well go after the big fish instead. Hell after the WS I would take a shot a Buehler instead.
Top prospects r off limits. A ward trade wouldn’t get back prospects. It would be for an alec bohm type of guy. Especially since we have an overcrowded outfield. Our farm system isn’t bad. We just have our top 100 prospects in the mlb already bc we don’t keep players down to manipulate their club control. Also u gotta stop looking at record. We have like 5 20 homer guys on our squad. Right now. It’s just a matter of we haven’t seen them all play together in the last few years.
Using career stats fits a narrative as opposed to using 10 starts? Are you serious? Could he be good going forward sure, but I dont know any profession where you salary is based on a handful of your best working days.
Right now how there rotation sits he is the number one, he isnt a number one in my opinion, good pick up dont get me wrong but now go get an actual ace or number one like a M Fried or B.Snell and then the rotation looks somewhat better be
Why, you ask? Because Arte Moreno is an impulsive, meddlesome fool. This is the same garbage they’ve been doing for the last 15 years now. And I’m a Mariners fan.
I disagree completely. Sigh him sure but 21m a year based on a 10 start sample size? That is crazy talk. I do hope the Astros fixed him but that is way too rich with way too little proof he can sustain.
this potentially makes it possible for them to sign Roki since all these Japanese players like to play on the west coast and with other Japanese players
I think what’s happening is that Minasian and the Angels FO want to rebuild, but Arte Moreno wants to win. So Minasian is bringing in veterans who are going help with developing the Netos, Schanuels, Sorianos, O’Hoppes and similar younger guys, while also trying to do something similar to what the royals did last year.
In other words, Minasian is both trying to please ownership but also really focus on the young players and doing whatever he can to build for the future
Sounds about right but arte has also been a penny pincher until this offseason.
First on point assessment 💪🏻
I don’t understand why Moreno has a job still
I don’t get it either but from their perspective, they don’t need to do a small market tear down because they have a lot of money. As long as they don’t ship out young talent and try to grow them, it’s ok to spend on free agents who won’t get in the way. I still think they are far from competing but whatever, it’s their call.
@@Zeldathemillennial brother, Moreno owns the team😭
Idk if this video is gonna do as well as others but love this kind of content. Just talking ball in an easily digestible format and nerding out on a specific subject. Please keep doing this sort of thing
The Angels are a couple years away from being a couple years away. They finally have promising talent in Neto, O’hoppe, Joyce, Dana, Moore and couple other recent picks and signings. This last year one of the angels biggest flaws was not being able to field major league talent when starters got hurt. This has been a common theme for the last couple years actually.
A lot of these signings are meant to change the culture of the squad and add people with experience that are either at replacement level or better. This team had Brandon Drury, who in 97 games had a wRC+ of 34 w/ -2.1 WAR. On top of the countless AAA guys that had extended runs in the majors.
Soler- Powerbat that’ll be the 3rd/4th OF
Hendricks- 4/5 vet starter
Kikuchi- quality not quite Ace level starter
D’Arnaud- vet backup C w/ pop
Newman- infield utility that can actually hit somewhat
These guys are pretty much replacing Willie Calhoun, Brandon Drury,Thais, Canning and the revolving door of AAA talent. Injuries happen all the time but the main roster was lacking, talent and experience. Rendon has two more years on the books. If the team can continue to have success with draft picks and develop the guys in the organization, hopefully they can turn it around.
As an angels fan, brining Kikuchi does not bring depth to their starting rotation but he can also show detmers where to throw a curve ball or any pitch to make left handed pitchers better.
I’m from japan, and believe it or not, there are still angels fans out here (90% bandwagon to the dodgers though lol) so Kikuchi coming is a great addition.
Sugano also, a great pitcher from Japan, may want to join the angels as there is a Japanese player here. I know Sugano is older as well, but we can also now may able to trade Anderson and get a bat or couple of bullpen pieces. Excited to see what more is to come. I’m liking that the angels are the one making noise this off season
I think our starting rotation is already better than last years already. So o think adding Kikuchi is a pretty decent sign, specially with the point you bring about showing detmers how to pitch.
I assumed that 100% of Japanese Angels fans were dodger fans now lol
@ believe it or not, when I watch the angels here in Japan, on an app. There is about an average of 1000 people watching the same game. When ohtani was with the angels it used to be like 5-6000 lol.
Detmers is a good pitcher and I want him to succeed. He is an on and off pitcher which I hate about him lol
So early there aren’t any “And that’s why the Mets..” comments
Ikr
Blue Jays signed Kikuchi for 13M per year I believe few years back, coming off some terrible stats in Seattle. At the time, everyone including myself as a Jays fan thought that was a terrible contract for a pitcher who doesn't have MLB stuff. He struggled for one year, but over the next offseason something happened and Yusei dominated spring training, then put together an incredibly solid season with the Jays. He became a fan favourite. He has a cute wife. Next season he has some ups and downs with the Jays with consistency (the reason his ERA is in the 4's for Toronto is thanks to a couple of tough outings at the end) but still put up respectable numbers before being traded to Houston. Of course then, he improved even more and got those K's up. If the Angels put the right people around Kikuchi, I'm sure he'll be fine. But I don't know how much I trust the Angels on their development, they are known for signing veterans to big deals and those veterans having a drastic decline in production. Kikuchi is a warrior who works hard even when everyone was bashing him for poor pitching. He should, and very likely will get massive ovations when he returns to both Toronto and Houston.
“He has a cute wife.” 😂😂😂
Saw people say the Angels couldn't repeat the Royals' 2024 improvement because they dont have a Bobby Witt Jr. They do have MIKE TROUT. I don't necessarily believe, but I can hope for them
Arte is delusional. You’re so right about him being a crazy person lol
The whole front office is delusional, they truly believe they can contend. And that’s the worst part. Being a fan of this team is rough lately
I miss these videos! So glad that they are back.
You nailed it on the explanation. I do think that he will definitely have a higher era than this season, maybe like .3 or .4 higher. I think that they run a half season more on Trout and if he sucks, ship him off for a nice young core or whatever they can get out of him. Trout would rake in Cinci but doubt they could give the package for him.
Makes sense, not to Arte tho. That man has ruined this organization, look what he did to ohtani he wouldn’t even trade him at the deadline, then never even made an offer for him in the offseason.
Utility players tier list
This year kikuchi had 1 bad stretch that ruined his season numbers. His first 14 starts he had a 3.25 era, and his last 10 starts a sub 3 era. He’s a very good pitcher
I am a jays fan and I agree the only thing about Kuch is that he is sometime inconsistent but still a good starter
That's what I'm saying, people think he wasn't good with Toronto and only with Houston but a couple of rough starts at the end of the 2024 Toronto tenure ballooned the ERA a bit. Yusei has his comeback season in 2023, with Toronto. He was great. He got even better in Houston.
honestly, on paper the angels are solid. They have their young guys in moore, neto, schanuel, ohoppe, and their young pitchers. they also have their older guys in trout, rendon and ward. They had adell who had an amazing year(for his standards) every good playoff team has their young guys, stars and spend money. thats what the angels have, its all about staying healthy
Staying healthy and the angels should not be in the same sentace
@@Guywithnolimbs exactly
Joyce
Bro said rendon
@@Zach_82he’s an older guy on the team right?
As a Mariners fan, I watched him pitch for a few years in Seattle, and he was always inconsistent, but clearly had good stuff. If he can stay consistent he’ll be great.
and this is why kikuchi will get traded to the mets at the deadline and will carry the mets to the world series 🗣🗣🗣
Bias af.
@@jakekallail1119 fr
Kikuchi ain't even that good
Fr
Muts ain’t winning shit
Kikuchi was the best pitcher in 2nd half, lights out for Houston. Angels stole a gem. Verlander got 45M pitched like shiit. Monty got 25M for a 7.00 era LOL
Agreed
Verlander was rushed off of two injuries, i don’t really blame it on him. Hes old too. he got better his last three starts. you could tell he was still healing
You do realize he’s been bad everywhere he’s been but Houston? He only has value in a Astros uniform. He’s not doing what he did in Houston with the Angels lol
@ literally has an all star appearance but that doesn’t matter lol. you missed the entire point of this video. its about who he is now, not on the blue jays and mariners, learn to listen before leaving a stupid comment
We have a 97% chance to get a top 6 draft pick so tanking this year would be kinda counterproductive, I think minisan is trying to raise the floor of this team so that in 2 - 3 years when perhaps dana, moore & some other prospects will be ready they will be able to compete , I see this as a move more towards the future then right now & as far as signing vets I think he signs them just as much for their knowledge in addition to their talent
Yup. Anyone saying otherwise is a casual
I've watched him over the last couple of seasons as a Yankee fan and I Can say Kikuchi at times Can be unhitable. He has definitely improved and has a great feel for his pitches at this point in his career.
This was a solid signing, an upgrade from Sandoval. But they need to keep going.
Kikuchi isn't just any pitcher from Japan. People of Iwate Prefecture still remember KIKUCHI Yusei from highschool. He was the star pitcher carrying Hanamaki-Higashi highschool to KOSHIEN tournament. (6 out of 12 NPB teams chose KIKUCHI as their number 1 draft in 2009.)
And OHTANI chose the same school because of Kikuchi's extraordinary performance during highschool. In some strange twist, now they're in the same city/area in a foreign country. And Darvish's social media comment was that his wife is really excited that Kikuchi is joining the Angels and moving to LA. Apparently, the wives of Darivish and Kikuchi are really good friends.
We changed pitching coaches last year and the pitching coach came from the dbacks and seems really good give him time to cook.
To get a haul for him at the deadline pretty smart tbh kinda weird he signed with them over a playoff contender but he will end up on one at some point
how i see it is with the angels new routine of sending guys to the majors quick, they want those guys to team up with veterans and hope that the chemistry boosts the team and brings out a fire from the young guys. i think our development sucks too much for that plan to get far but they think our young guys can make enough of an impact to bring in vets
As a giants fan idk why I picked the angels as my backup team but hey let’s go angels id love to see them go all the way
Anaheim are simply looking to get to .500 soon and after that do a KC or Detroit...methinks 🤔
When you have no consistently reliable starting pitchers, anyone half way decent is an improvement. In the era of the six inning starter, they have a bunch of four inning starters.
Just my angels being the angels
Solid move for the angels!
I've seen a ton of Angels fans mad about the deal with Kikuchi but as a jays fan, his numbers do not reflect how good he actually is. He's an electric pitcher when he gets going, and if you want proof of that just look at what he did for the astro's when he got traded for them. He gets lit up every once in a while but so does literally every other pitcher. He'll be great for you guys as long as your pitching coaches dont literally try to kill him.
We finally got a good pitcher
Kikuchi was an effective pitcher for the Astros. Look at his record. The Astros were 11-1 with him pitching. He has found a winning formula with his pitch selection and variety. The Angels mada a good move in acquiring Kikucki. What his record in the 2025 season.
The Angels do not have the pitching staff to help this player improve period.
You are valuing a 10 start stretch over everything else the guy has ever done. Kikuchi had hot stretches with the Mariners. It’s what the guy does, gives you a third of a season being dominant a third of the season being ok and a third of the season being terrible. He has done it multiple times.
Jays fan here: feels bad to watch him get shipped out to the angels, but he’ll probably put up great numbers
bro none of us angels fans can help you out because everything you’re saying is spot on. none of us agree with the moves either
Their farm system is ranked around 20th now after moves theyve made. Its rebuilding. Me thinks people are not up to date
If u have mike trout on the roster u can’t rebuild
So better pitching coach, a better stadium, or self awareness?
As an Angels fan my fingers are crossed it's the last!
Lifelong Angels fan here. This is a great move for them. A lot of the issues you are describing were from old management (specifically Billy Eppler). Guys like Canning, Detmers, Sandoval and Silseth have not panned out but if you look at the young pitching talent they've gathered under Perry like Dana, Jose Soriano, Clausen, Kochanowicz, and even younger guys like Trey Gregory Alford, there is a lot to look forward to. Combine that with guys like Neto, O'hoppe and veterans like Trout, Kikuchi, and Soler there's a lot to be excited about as Angels fans that we haven't had in the last few years. As far as Ward goes, I don't think he's part of the future plans and I'd love to see them trade him for pitching of some sort. The big bottleneck is the Rendon contract. $38 million over the next two years is a huge problem. I see good improvement this year with the likelihood of them being competitive in 2026/2027 once the payroll opens up more.
Indeed! 🆙 💯 ⚾️
Perry Minasian has actually done a very good job of acquiring ➡️ a good young core of position players.
Moore, Neto, O’Hoppe, and Schanuel represent a good young core of position players that should lead the Angels back to postseason play in the next couple of years.
Minasian has also done a very good job of acquiring good young pitching prospects.
Aldegheri, Dana, Klassen, etc. are future starting pitchers for the Angels ➡️ with Dana being a future number one starter.
Minasian is “raising the floor” of the Angels while acquiring good young talent so ➡️ in a couple of years, the Angels can contend for postseason play.
2025 is a key year for major improvement from all of their young players and then 2026 is the year that the Angels expect to contend… maybe for a wildcard. 🙏 🤔
Right there with you man. I have a feeling we are going to surprise people
People are worried about the contract thing 😂 Average starters get paid like 10-15 million, so the deal is not bad if you ask me.
How about advertisements from Japan?
The Angels will probably get a top-six pick in the 2025 draft, which means the best pick they can get in 2026, no matter how bad they play, is 10th overall. So I think their plan might be to push for the playoffs in 2025 (even though that seems unlikely). If they miss, they could trade away their veterans and tank again in 2026. Hopefully, by then, guys like Neto, O'Hoppe, Moore, and Dana will have developed into solid players. Plus, with Rendon’s contract finally done after 2026, they can spend big on free agents and maybe start being a real contender by 2027.
They signed him to get better. They never invest in pitching and when the media does, they shit all over them. A good move is a good move even no one will give them credit
Before watching: Praying this isn't the same as the Soler video.
I think it all depends on how much is Arte actually willing to spend.
Say, if he will go right up to the tax, I can see a move to get Max Freid, trade away Ward and Anderson and get that Bellinger contract off of the Cubs for basically little compensation. With that, Trout rotates with Soler as a full time DH/LF.
All of the sudden, you are looking at Fried, Kikuchi, Soriano, Detmers and Hendricks as a good rotation, with guys like Dana, Kochanowicz, Aldegheri and Silseth as depth.
And as for the lineup, it's great with Trout, and bad without Trout. And that's a problem. But if Trout is healthy, then yes, that team might be good enough to win like 85-90 games.
That's so so so many if's though.
Always ifs with the angels
Props to Marc for keeping up with his trend of making a terrible prediction that won’t age well
I will argue to the death that Houston trading the package they did and then letting him walk like that is the definition of poor asset management.
Agreed
The world may never know
I don’t think much of the Angels, but this was a great pickup by them. They are bringing in veterans to bolster these young dudes who are crazy talented but lost in the sauce leadership/experience wise. I’d never say the Angels are making themselves into perennial playoff contenders, they’ve ruined or wasted too many careers of HoF’s for that, but that lineup is starting to look fleshed out!
we need pitching hopefully he can help out
as an angel fan we got guys, and we will probably start the year good then one guy gets hurt and we crumble lol no depth
Ward is a FA next year and need to move trout to a corner they need a CF
On paper this angels sluggers are not bad. The problem really is their pitching, they need more than this. Fix Reid Detmers, so that's an extra good starter and they have Anderson and Soriano and Kikuchi they need 1-2 good starters and add some decent bullpen guys.
There are a lot of concerning peripherals with Kikuchi. When you listed his stats over the last two years, what immediately jumped out to me is the high ERA and WHIP for a pitcher who consider to be a good pickup. I might be proven wrong, but his high home run rate and career ERA still leave something left to be desired. And yes, career stats still matter because they show a player has been in their career and how they could regress. Kikuchi being on the older side is concerning due to likely drop in velocity and break on his pitches. Not to mention the Angels are not very good at handling their pitching.
As an angels fan we were so close to seeing new ownership and as an Orange County Native I was hoping the scandal with him and the ex mayor of Anaheim Harry sidhu would help push him out. We just gotta wait till this man decides he’s too old to own a team 😅🙃
AA is gearing up for something big. He declined d’arnaud’s option traded Soler as fast as possible. He’s clearing the books of as much as he can. Something big is coming.
No playoffs
@ For which team?
@@gregdiamond6023 angels
Koogs will be happy
hes not i just talked to Cug
Hey marc could you tell me what players the cubs will get this offseason I have been thinking like an ace pitcher ex. Blake snell and some utility ex. Kevin pilliar
Surprisingly, the Angels have quite a bit of money to use over the next few years. I think, if they improve and get around .500 this year, someone like Vladdy Jr. could definitely be in play. Nolan isn’t that great of a 1B and they could just put vladdy at DH. His father also had some really good years with the Angels too. Trade for someone like a Brent Rooker maybe, focus on improving the bullpen, and you can get somewhere.
nowdays every player from japan smelling like ohtani to these owners. back in the day angels refused to pay n.ryan even $1 million, told him adios
Marc, im a lifelong angels fan and im just as confused as you are with direction. This lack of direction stems solely on moreno not letting his front office properly rebuild and just my input this is how I see it. They are adding to the young building core they have but use the term “contend” to fill seats at the stadium. But in reality they are just filling some holes and will continue to let the core develop and bring up more young dudes and to weed out veteran players.
Do i think this is the right direction? Nope, but they are still handicapped by two albatross contracts and moreno still has not shown he will invest in the minors like he should.
My honest prediction, we come in fourth place but improve slightly and we wont sniff playoffs till they either release rendon or his contract expires
Hold me accountable for after the mlb season, THE ANGLES MAKE THE WILDCARD GAME
They'll be lucky to get out of the cellar.
hope i'm wrong and you are right
Yeah your on crack buddy
lmfao as a lifelong angels fan there’s a zero percent chance we make the playoffs or even have a winning season anytime soon
i’ll hold you accountable and i’ll throw out another guess: 73-89 4th place finish.
They loading up on trade deadline baits to replenish their farm.
😂
Angels have it, but they way far behind yeah way far.
Blue jays fan here. Jays are the team that fixed kikuchi look at 2023 stats. He’s good but was good before the astros .
as an angels fan, i don't love it. but with the way the draft works now i see no point in tanking. so im guessing our front office just is hoping for the best? trading away the taylor ward and maybe even tyler anderson would get us some prospects but are they even enough to move the needle? 😭 idk we are lost
@GiraffeNeckMarc I’m going to address your concerns of things “making sense”…First & foremost this is professional baseball. One year a club can lose 106 games and the next be playing in the ALDS (Royals) or The richest owner in baseball can publicly state we’re planning to contend in 2025 and next be playing in the NLCS in 2024 (Mets). Point being any roster carrying a HOF player like Mike Trout has the potential to come out and contend for a Championship. Eg. Francisco Lindor for Mets.
Secondly, Perry Minasian understands owner Arte Moreno wants to compete for a championship and is willing to extend the pocket book this offseason to improve the club. Perry will take advantage of this characteristic especially with Perrys last contract year for himself and Ron W. Looking to get extended. Perry knows the floor must be raised in each department of the club. Now the situation calls for value. How can Perry spread the money around enough while still getting high quality talent. Perry is evaluating upward trending players who from a cost perspective can be acquired at minimal cost. Angels have acquired 2 SP (Yusei Kukuchi, Kyle Hendricks); DH (Jorge Soler); C (Travis D’arnaud); SS (Kevin Newman) for an annual cost of $45mm while shedding $15mm (Patrick Sandoval, Griffin Canning, Matt Thaiss)…A difference of $30mm of added payroll and Perry improved our DH, 5 Starter mix, INF, and catching. All this before the offseason has really taken shape. 👍👍Awesome work!
Lastly, with what Perry has done thus far I expect his focus to pivot to building out the bullpen. Finding value in the market for low cost relievers with high octane and diverse looks out of the pen: different arm angles, lefties, back end & high leverage situation experience. 👊
they brought him so he can make a home in la then go play with ohtani in a few years
Well, Kikuchi will eat well in LA. Never know, real Japanese soul food could elevate his play? It's easier for his fan base from Japan to see him play. Bring some yen to Amaheim? My one wish is they trade Trout to a winning team. He's so humble. Most would be whining.
As a first hand watcher, the tigers sort of did the same in 2021 free agency. Gave big deals to E-Rod and Javy, and ended up sucking. All though they did good this year, e rod ain't even with them any more and Javy sucks
Wtf i swear i thought kikuchi was like 28-29 😂😂
They say they will be competive but we had 63 wins last year - we need to be 85-90 just to be competitive for a wildcard. Bottom line, do i think thesr changes move the needle 20 more wins? No. I like Kukuchi but his addition to me only makes sense if you back it up with a more significant signing- the Angels dont have an Ace.
why does the sun rise on the east
They are bridging with the weak spots in their farm. They need depth as the youngsters develop. They have easily dominated the IL payroll list.
As a jays fan he’s good but this is a overpay
You are like the average angel hater hate when we do things hate when we don’t
Angels weak team
I'll cry if we trade Taylor Ward
At the point where a rebuilding team like the Angels is gonna spend big money on a free agent, why not sign a younger player with more name recognition to build around? For example, get Bregman for 6 years. At least then, if nothing else, you'll put butts in seats. Signing a decent starter for big money does nothing for them.
Why they signed a #3 or 4th starter at best…….they need couples aces like Snell or Corbin Burnes to compete otherwise will finished 4th placed as usual.
Doesnt matter. Its the angels.
As an angels fan. Idk bro.
All this to be a below 500 team
how original lil man 😭😭😭
@@DarthRich200 I know, but Kikuchi isn’t going to magically make this team better
@@ZeldathemillennialNo ones claiming he’s going to give them a winning record, but this and all the other supplemental moves they’ve made should pay dividends, if only slightly
Chill with the hate. You can’t hate a team for trying to
@@Benvyious Sorry for that I just can’t not hate on the Angels
So his argument is to ignore his career stats and to just look at his time in Houston
and last year in toronto
@ still don’t think it is a good move if they got that money might as well go after the big fish instead. Hell after the WS I would take a shot a Buehler instead.
@@GiraffeNeckMarcFr
Top prospects r off limits. A ward trade wouldn’t get back prospects. It would be for an alec bohm type of guy. Especially since we have an overcrowded outfield. Our farm system isn’t bad. We just have our top 100 prospects in the mlb already bc we don’t keep players down to manipulate their club control. Also u gotta stop looking at record. We have like 5 20 homer guys on our squad. Right now. It’s just a matter of we haven’t seen them all play together in the last few years.
Using career stats fits a narrative as opposed to using 10 starts? Are you serious? Could he be good going forward sure, but I dont know any profession where you salary is based on a handful of your best working days.
Him and trout will be traded to the dodgers by the deadline
Clearly you don’t follow the angels. They have a rebuild going even if Arte says they want to compete.
I dont understand why the majoritiy hate the Angel's. Like if theyre not a threat than why so much hate
Right now how there rotation sits he is the number one, he isnt a number one in my opinion, good pick up dont get me wrong but now go get an actual ace or number one like a M Fried or B.Snell and then the rotation looks somewhat better be
Kikuchi has shown himself to be an excellent pitcher during extended stretches. I bet Kikuchi ends up being a better value than Soto.
rinse and repeat every offseason for the angels. pick up league average depth to supplement a roster they think is better than it actually is.
Finally getting Ohtani some help
Knowing the Angels he won’t do well probably. When they get there so called “big pitcher or pitchers” they do not do well at all.
Why, you ask? Because Arte Moreno is an impulsive, meddlesome fool. This is the same garbage they’ve been doing for the last 15 years now. And I’m a Mariners fan.
ANGELS WILL FINISH 4th of 5th place with less than 75 wins next season!!!!! I WILL BET ALL THE MONEY IVE EVER MADE
4.00 ERA is high no matter how you look at it. For 63Mill... Probably could get a better ERA pitcher for that much.
astros better resign breggy now!
Listing off bad pitching contracts does not make this one good. Just because teams have overpaid for crap does not mean they should.
I disagree completely. Sigh him sure but 21m a year based on a 10 start sample size? That is crazy talk. I do hope the Astros fixed him but that is way too rich with way too little proof he can sustain.
Absolutely.
He is 34 YEARS OLD.
This is going to be a catastrophic. contract
this potentially makes it possible for them to sign Roki since all these Japanese players like to play on the west coast and with other Japanese players
Here within 30 minutes