The February 24th, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including Angels not in the market for a bat, Richards has ‘outstanding’ bullpen session and much more…
The Story: Jerry Dipoto says the Angels aren’t in the market for another bat.
The Monkey Says: With Hamilton likely to miss at least a month, it is an understandable question. However, Dipoto doesn’t look like he is going to overreact to losing a guy for one month. The Halos could really use a lefty bat on the bench with Joyce in the outfield full-time, most likely. Dan Robertson and Marc Krauss should get long looks in training camp, but if neither impresses, Dipoto could revisit the idea of making an acquisition, especially since there is always a few guys floating around on the roster bubble with other teams that could be a better fit in Anaheim.
The Story: Garrett Richards had an “outstanding” bullpen session.
The Monkey Says: He threw 40 pitches from the stretch and mixed up his variety of fastballs. Things continue to look good for Richards being ready not long after Opening Day.
The Story: Cory Rasmus will work as a starter in spring training but likely convert to relief if he doesn’t win a rotation spot.
The Monkey Says: The team can carry eight relievers early in the season since they won’t need a fifth starter for a bit. That gives them an opportunity to carry Rasmus as a swingman. If Heaney wins the spot and Santiago slides to the bullpen, keeping Rasmus up all season gets a lot more complicated. It is hard to see him winning a rotation spot though, so he’ll most likely spend all season in relief in the majors or Triple-A.
The Story: Hector Santiago enters camp fighting for a roster spot.
The Monkey Says: Somehow Santiago has options left, at least I think. He is a guy the Halos might want to keep stretched out if he doesn’t win a rotation spot, but he also has the potential to be a very good lefty reliever. Cesar Ramos is already in the pen, but Santiago figures to be an upgrade over him. Either way, Santiago is going to have an interesting spring.
The Story: Grant Green spent his offseason mostly working out at third base and shortstop.
The Monkey Says: Not so smart if he really wants to win the starting second base job. Smart if he really has his eye on becoming a utilityman. It is quite possible Green realized that Josh Rutledge will likely win the starting gig so he instead chose to focus on winning the consolation prize of getting a spot on the bench. Or maybe I am giving him way too much credit.
The Story: Fernando Salas has been working on his sinker so he isn’t such an extreme flyball pitcher.
The Monkey Says: Mark it down, we have our first “working on a new pitch” story of the spring. I really hate when guys do this. I’d much rather they focus on maximizing their quality pitches rather than trying to work a bad pitch into being just well below average.
The Story: The Angels intend to increase their level of defensive shifting this season.
The Monkey Says: At least until Commissioner Manfred figures out how to outlaw shifting.
The Story: ESPN ranked the analytics levels of every team in the four major sports.
The Monkey Says: They ranked the Angels pretty low, which surprised me. They have only started heavily delving into analytics under Dipoto, but Reagins had an analytics department during his time. Dipoto does blend scouting in his front office, but he is plenty invested in sabermetrics and routinely attends SABR events. I’m not saying the Halos are the Moneyball A’s, but they are definitely more than “one foot in.”
The Story: The biggest question for each team entering camp.
The Monkey Says: I’m sure you’ll be surprised to learn the Angels’ biggest question is their rotation. I’m putting together the preseason projection series now and it is easy to see how the rotation could be very good, but it is even easier to see how the rotation could be an outright disaster.
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