Jerry Dipoto is going to be getting some play for Executive of the Year during awards season. By and large, he seemed to have a good season. But did he really? Or did it just seem that way because the Angels won 98 games? To make that determination, let’s take a look back at every move, and I do mean EVERY move*, that Jerry Dipoto made from the end of the 2013 season to the end of the 2014 season.
*OK, maybe not every move. Call ups and demotions were not included. Any move listed in Baseball-Reference’s transaction page was though. So, if I missed something, blame B-R.
Claimed Josh Wall off waivers
Initial reaction: Hey, he throws hard and showed some flashes in the minors. Why not give him a shot?
Hindsight reaction: 11 batters faced, five hits allowed, three walks issues, 6 runs allowed. That’s why not. Still, no real harm done.
Claimed Robert Carson off waivers
Initial reaction: He’s a lefty and the Angels sure need one. Let’s give him a shot.
Hindsight reaction: Didn’t work out, he got released. No skin off anyone’s back.
Let Jason Vargas go via free agency
Initial reaction: Vargas was a very solid pitcher for the Angels, but four-years for $32 million is just too much.
Hindsight reaction: Vargas ended up being as solid as expected for the Royals, but that four-year contract was just too long and the Angels really just didn’t have the budget space.
Signed Chris Volstad to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Volstad was a disaster with the Cubs and seems like he’s toast, but the Angels really needed starting pitching depth.
Hindsight reaction: Never mind, he decided to go play in Asia.
Signed Wade LeBlanc to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Oh, look! Another former Marlins starter with big league experience. Add him to the rotation depth pile.
Hindsight reaction: LeBlanc was solid in the minors and briefly got a call up to the Majors only to be DFA’d after a few days and claimed by the Yankees. Considering how thin their rotation was, exposing a potentially useful guy to waivers seemed like a mistake.
Signed Luis Martinez to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Salt Lake needs infield depth.
Hindsight reaction: You were right, they needed infield depth, but not that bad.
Signed Yoslan Herrera to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: There was no initial reaction because his signing was never actually reported. I honestly don’t know when it officially happened.
Hindsight reaction: Good find. Herrera isn’t going to be a high leverage reliever or anything, but he was good enough to log some time in the bigs, so that’s a pretty nice return on an investment of virtually nothing.
Traded Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk for David Freese and Fernando Salas
Initial reaction: Reviews were mixed. A lot of people were loathe to give up Bourjos and his upside and additional year of control, but Freese filled a more glaring need. Salas was a reasonable addition, but what pushed this move into “bad” territory was the inclusion of Randal Grichuk, one of the few decent upside prospects in a thin system.
Hindsight reaction: Freese got off to a slow start but ended up having a decent season for the Angels and Salas proved to be a useful middle reliever. In St. Louis, Bourjos couldn’t have tanked harder. This would have been a complete failure for the Cards had Grichuk not played well enough to join the team late in the season and even earn a playing time in the playoffs. The Angels took the safer bet here, which might not please people still, but they are getting a much better payoff thus far.
Signed Joe Smith to a three-year, $15.75 million contract
Initial reaction: Smith is a very good and very underrated reliever that the Angels desperately needed, but giving this kind of money to a reliever was antithetical to everything Dipoto ever said about how he values relief pitchers.
Hindsight reaction: Smith was absolutely terrific for the Halos and a major reason the bullpen turned around this year. Nobody complains about his contract anymore.
Non-tendered J.C. Gutierrez
Initial reaction: Gutierrez got more than ample opportunity to impress in 2013 with the Angels and he more than failed to impress. Non-tendering him was a no-brainer.
Hindsight reaction: Gutierrez actually ended up spending most of the season with the Giants and was not awful. He wasn’t good either. This is not a loss worth crying over.
Non-tendered Tommy Hanson
Initial reaction: There was never any chance whatsoever of Hanson being tendered a contract. Trading for him was a mistake, time to write him off as a loss.
Hindsight reaction: Hanson ended up landing with the Rangers but couldn’t even crack their injury-ravaged roster which tells you everything you need to know about him.
Non-tendered Chris Nelson
Initial reaction: After confirming that he still can’t hit or field in 2013, the Halos cut him loose.
Hindsight reaction: He spent part of the 2014 season with the Padres and re-confirmed that he still can’t hit or field.
Non-tendered Jerome Williams
Initial reaction: Williams was going to get a reasonable raise in arbitration over the $2 million he made in 2013, that’s just too much for someone who was going to be a middling swingman.
Hindsight reaction: Williams signed with Houston for $2.1 million, which might’ve been affordable for the Halos, but there just wasn’t any upside. Sure enough, Williams ended up being terrible and was released by Houston then later signed and released by Texas before finishing with the Phillies. He’s a great guy, but not the kind of talent a contending team like the Angels needed even with their lack of pitching depth.
Traded Mark Trumbo and A.J. Schugel for Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs
Initial reaction: This was part of a three-way deal and generally regarded as a heist for the Angels who got not one but two controllable starting pitchers for a slugger with big-time power but big-time OBP problems and a history of health problems.
Hindsight reaction: Angels fans loved Trumbo, but this trade worked out wonderfully for the Halos. Santiago had his ups and downs, but was ultimately a useful, though limited, rotation member. Skaggs showed flashes of being more than an average starter before succumbing to Tommy John surgery. Trumbo, meanwhile, got hurt yet again, missing several months of the season and performing quite poorly when in the lineup.
Signed Clay Rapada to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: A lefty with a pulse and a great mustache, certainly worth a flyer.
Hindsight reaction: His mustache wasn’t enough to justify him not being a very good pitcher, he was cut at the end of camp.
Signed Kyle Hudson to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Minor league outfield depth.
Hindsight reaction: He only played about half a season between injuries and getting release but whatever.
Signed Shawn O’Malley to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Literally no idea who he was.
Hindsight reaction: The Halos liked what they saw from him as a utilityman and gave him a September call-up which is a nice return on an investment of zero.
Signed Raul Ibanez to a one-year $2.75 million contract with incentives up to $5 million
Initial reaction: This seems like a bad idea. Ibanez was miserable in the second half of 2013 and looked done. The money isn’t much though, so it won’t hurt much if the Angels walk away.
Hindsight reaction: Yup, it was a bad idea. Ibanez couldn’t have been worse and was released by the end of June. Having an incentive-laden deal turned out to be a good idea, but not having a viable back-up plan turned out to be a bad idea. DH was a huge problem for the Angels all year. even had Ibanez worked out, the Halos made a huge oversight in not having a platoonmate readily available. Big opportunity cost loss here.
Signed Justin Thomas to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: A potential reclamation project after Thomas spent part of 2013 overseas.
Hindsight reaction: Reclamation failed, but at least the Halos gave it a go.
Signed Mark Mulder to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: That Mark Mulder? Yes, that Mark Mulder. He apparently rediscovered how to pitch without pain and signed on with the Angels for training camp.
Hindsight reaction: Initial reviews of his performance were strong and Mulder seemed like a frontrunner for the final rotation spot but blew out his Achilles in a fielding drill. /Sad trombone sound
Signed John McDonald to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: A curious but cheap signing since the Angels had a number of utility infielder alternatives.
Hindsight reaction: Johnny Mac made the team and provided little on-field value but many accolades for his contributions to team chemistry which turned out to be the real motivation behind many of these bottom-of-the-roster moves.
Signed Brennan Boesch to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: It doesn’t hurt to take a chance on a guy that had a few years of being a useful big leaguer and is still relatively young.
Hindsight reaction: Boesch destroyed the PCL but was rather pathetic in the majors. Even with him being sub-replacement, it was still a good, cheap gamble.
Signed Carlos Pena to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: He was signed and had a real shot to make the team as bench bat and clubhouse chemistry guy.
Hindsight reaction: Didn’t work out. No harm, no foul.
Signed Ian Stewart to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Another chance taken on a formerly decent and still young player.
Hindsight reaction: It isn’t clear even now what Stewart showed in camp to earn a bench spot on Opening Day, but he flamed out quickly so at least the Angels didn’t burn much value trying to get him to work out.
Signed Chad Tracy to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: A longshot to make the roster, but another veteran leader who could’ve been a nice bench bat.
Hindsight reaction: Tracy didn’t make the team and opted to retire.
Signed Yorvit Torrealba to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: A veteran insurance policy at catcher in case someone got hurt.
Hindsight reaction: Nobody got hurt, but having him around just in case was a savvy move.
Signed Brandon Lyon to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Dipoto likes having veterans on the staff and Lyon wasn’t far removed from being a viable big league reliever.
Hindsight reaction: He was far enough removed to not make the team and ultimately opt for retirement.
Signed Joe Martinez to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Who?
Hindsight reaction: No, seriously, who?
Signed Mike Trout to a six-year, $144.5 million contract extension
Initial reaction: What’s not not love about this? Yes, it will eventually pay Trout the highest annual salary in all of baseball, but with his talent, he’ll still look like a real bargain.
Hindsight reaction: This will be the best contract in baseball for the next six years. The only real complaint is that it is ONLY six years long, but that appears to be more on Trout’s agent who either wanted a six-year deal or a lifetime deal. As great as Trout is, a lifetime deal just isn’t a good idea for anyone ever.
Trade Andrew Romine for Jose Alvarez
Initial reaction: Romine lost the infield back-up gig to McDonald and was going to be DFA’d. Alvarez is a low ceiling young arm, but one with possibly enough talent to be a big league swingman coming off a year of strong minor league numbers. That’s a good return for a guy that was about to be let go for nothing.
Hindsight reaction: Romine stuck with the Tigers all year long and was basically replacement level. Alvarez ended up missing most of the year due to injury, but it is still better to have a young rotation arm in the minors than a extra all-glove, no-bat infielder.
Released Joe Blanton
Initial reaction: HOORAY!
Hindsight reaction: Honestly, I’m still in disbelief that Dipoto was so ready to admit he screwed up and didn’t try to make Blanton work as a longman in a futile attempt to salvage some value. It is commendable that he was willing to cop to the mistake.
Signed Dustin Richardson to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Minor league depth move.
Hindsight reaction: Blah.
Claimed Brooks Raley off waivers
Initial reaction: Another attempt at finding a cheap LOOGY.
Hindsight reaction: Not even close to working out, but also no damage done.
Signed Erik Komatsu to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Minor league depth move.
Hindsight reaction: Whatever.
Signed Anthony Lerew to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Minor league depth move.
Hindsight reaction: Nobody cares.
Signed Joel Pineiro to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: ‘Memba him?
Hindsight reaction: Well, you should forget about him because this didn’t work out at all. A nice, inexpensive blast from the past though.
Signed Fernando Nieve to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Minor league depth move.
Hindsight reaction: Meh.
Signed Wade LeBlanc to a minor league contract… again
Initial reaction: Mistake rectified! The Yankees waived LeBlanc themselves and the Halos wisely snatched him back up.
Hindsight reaction: This was mainly luck, but it worked out well as LeBlanc did some nice work down the stretch, though mostly in meaningless games.
Traded Ernesto Frieri for Jason Grilli
Initial reaction: A classic challenge trade that I still don’t know how to feel about. On one hand, Frieri is much younger and had team control years left. On the other hand, he was a total mess and Grilli seemed more salvageable. The reaction here, to the best of my recollection, was “what the hell, why not?”
Hindsight reaction: A HUGE win for Dipoto. Grilli almost immediately fixed himself and became a big part of the bullpen. In fact, he is probably going to get a big chunk of change to either close or set-up for another team this offseason. Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, Frieri somehow managed to get even worse and ultimately got DFA’d with no other team even willing to claim him, which is kind of staggering.
Purchased Rich Hill for $1
Initial reaction: This is literally as close as you can get to free.
Hindsight reaction: One last stab at finding a cheap LOOGY. Hill couldn’t get anyone out and was quickly released, but literally cost almost nothing.
Traded Zach Borenstein and Joey Krehbiel for Joe Thatcher and Tony Campana
Initial reaction: Finally a proven lefty, but a rental that the Angels mildly overpaid for.
Hindsight reaction: Maybe they didn’t overpay. Andrew Miller was traded a short while later for one of Baltimore’s top prospects. Miller is miles better than Thatcher, but that’s also a massive gap in prospect talent compared to two middling Angels prospects. What really sullies the deal though is that Thatcher was just awful in his time with the Halos, missing a big chunk of time to a stupid injury, then coming back and pitching so poorly that he got left off the ALDS roster. Campana was a nice throw-in, poised to be a pinch-running weapon in the playoffs had Scioscia not decided to carry an extra reliever instead, but that’s not really Dipoto’s fault.
Sold Nick Maronde to the Cleveland Indians
Initial reaction: I might have been one of the last holdout for Maronde, but clearly he was broken. It sucks to lose young talent, but he was too far gone.
Hindsight reaction: Maronde showed glimmers of hope in the minors for Cleveland, but not enough to cause any regret.
Signed Chris Volstad to a minor league contract… again
Initial reaction: He’s back! The Angels thought it was a good idea to sign him the first time, so I guess it still holds that signing him again a few months later is still a good idea.
Hindsight reaction: Volstad was only back because he was awful in Asia. A harmless move, but one with even less hope than when they first tried to make it back in the offseason.
Traded Taylor Lindsey, Jose Rondon, R.J. Alvarez and Elliot Morris for Huston Street and Trevor Gott
Initial reaction: Street is a great reliever, but the Angels paid a big price for a guy that was probably more of a luxury than a necessity.
Hindsight reaction: The reaction would’ve been better had this move been maid in March instead of July. Street worked out wonderfully for the Halos, but they gave up a lot of their top talent to get him. That price looked even more inflated when the Tigers were able to acquire Joakim Soria for two pitching prospects a short time later. One thing to consider though that didn’t get enough attention at the time is that Gott is actually a pretty good relief prospect, so that mitigates things a tiny bit.
Signed John Buck to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: Got to have that third catcher for September and Buck is better than anyone the Angels already had in the system.
Hindsight reaction: Buck got the call-up but wasn’t needed at all. Still nice to have around.
Signed Randy Wolf to a minor league contract
Initial reaction: A reaction to the Skaggs signing. Wolf is probably terrible, but a veteran so at least there was some comfort there should he be needed for the stretch run.
Hindsight reaction: Wolf wasn’t needed, but it was still a good idea.
Claimed Ryan Wheeler off waivers
Initial reaction: Another free addition, though I don’t know what the Angels saw in him.
Hindsight reaction: Obviously they didn’t see much because he was the lone member of the 40-man roster (who was healthy) that did NOT get a September call-up.
Traded Michael Clevinger for Vinnie Pestano
Initial reaction: A great buy low acquisition on a reliever that once carried a “future closer” label and is under team control through the 2017 season. Clevinger has a live arm, but flamed out as a starter. He’s headed for relief where his ceiling is probably less than what Pestano has already proven to be.
Hindsight reaction: Pestano had fallen out of favor in Cleveland, but after a few weeks at Salt Lake, the Halos seemed to have fixed him. Pestano looked terrific as a September call up and even worked his way onto the ALDS roster. Big thumbs up!
Lost Thomas Field off of waivers
Initial reaction: Not sure what everyone sees in Field, but he was a guy everyone was certain would not make it through waivers once the Halos DFA’d him.
Hindsight reaction: The Angels did, in fact, lose him on waivers, but utility infield depth is one area where the Angels have plenty of depth and can afford to lose a Quad-A talent like Field.
Traded a player to be named later or cash for Gordon Beckham
Initial reaction: What? Why would they do this? Beckham has been terrible for years in Chicago and it would seem there is very little that he could do to avoid being non-tendered.
Hindsight reaction: Jury is still out since we don’t know what the final compensation will be, but Beckham was a useful bench player that the Angels ended up needing since Grant Green‘s injury lingered longer than expected. Still, the non-tender decision looms and will greatly influence how smart this move was or was not.
Sold J.B. Shuck to the Cleveland Indians
Initial reaction: PARTY IN THE STREET!
Hindsight reaction: As much as I hate to admit it, I’m not so sure the Angels wouldn’t have been better off with Shuck on the bench than Efren Navarro. Neither of them are worth much with the bat, but at least Shuck could’ve been a solid pinch-runner. That’s just minor quibbling though and more an issue with the Angels’ general lack of bench options than with Shuck himself.
Michael Kohn designated for assignment
Initial reaction: After a great start to the season, Kohn completely lost the strike zone… again. Clearly he is a guy they just can’t seem to fix and he’s too far down the depth chart to keep trying to carry along.
Hindsight reaction: It is a shame to lose a live arm like his, but at some point you just have to cut bait.
David Carpenter designated for assignment
Initial reaction: Carpenter is a groundball specialist with a very low ceiling, the Angels just don’t need him.
Hindsight reaction: No complaints.
Dane De La Rosa designated for assignment
Initial reaction: Some not yet fully explained health issues were plaguing De La Rosa, so he got dumped to make room for more useful players on the roster.
Hindsight reaction: De La Rosa was great in 2013, but his myriad health problems in 2014 might have doomed him for good. The Angels know better than we do about that, so they get the benefit of the doubt.
Survey says… pretty good. The Mike Trout extension alone should earn Dipoto an extension of his own (nudge, nudge Arte Moreno) and he made a lot of nice moves around the margins to build out roster depth despite having a perilously thin farm system. His ability to rebuild the bullpen on the fly, in particular, was quite impressive. The big knocks on his year were that he generally overpaid in the trades that he made, though none of them were especially egregious and only the Thatcher deal didn’t work out. So, yes, good work, Jerry.
But he’s not getting off the hook that easily, not yet. Tomorrow we’ll come back and look at the other side of the coin: moves that Dipoto declined to make or failed to make. That’s a big part of the GM equation that’s typically overlooked. We won’t be making that mistake, so check back in tomorrow. I promise to keep it under 3,000 words… maybe.
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