The July 24th, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including Angels looking for bench depth, Tropeano likely to be recalled and much more…
The Story: The Angels were already looking for bench depth before David Freese got hurt.
The Monkey Says: There is a popular idea of the Angels pursuing Juan Uribe to fill in for Freese, but really, they could’ve used him or someone like him anyway. The Angels have had one bench spot all year long that they’ve been rotating several guys through. They also probably wouldn’t mind a guy that can replace Freese and Giavotella on a semi-regular basis. Someone like Uribe could even spend time at DH if C.J. Cron falls off a cliff again.
The Story: Grant Green was optioned to the minors in lieu of calling up Nick Tropeano to start today.
The Monkey Says: Once again, Green never got a chance. Tropeano will make the spot start on Friday and be sent down again since the rotation will be able to return to normal rest. The happy side effect to needing this spot start from Tropeano is it gives him a showcase for prospective trade partners, though I don’t get the feeling the Angels are particularly eager to deal him.
The Story: The Astros acquired Scott Kazmir from the A’s for three prospects.
The Monkey Says: This is actually good news. Kazmir helps the Astros, obviously, but it was inevitable that Houston was going to add a veteran starter. The fact that they ended up with Kazmir rather than Hamels or Cueto works in favor of the Angels. The fact that they did so without giving up a very good package of prospects is also nice since the A’s don’t get appreciably better too.
The Story: The Blue Jays were heavily scouting the Angels in recent days.
The Monkey Says: Toronto is looking at just about every starting pitcher in the Western hemisphere, so they could’ve been scouting anyone. Logic suggests their main focus would’ve been C.J. Wilson. The problem is that the Jays don’t appear to have anything the Angels would want, so any deal they attempt for Wilson would likely be in the form of a three-way trade.
The Story: Several teams were scouting Sean Newcomb last night.
The Monkey Says: The Angels aren’t going to trade him, but that isn’t going to stop teams from doing their due diligence in case they change their mind.
The Story: Kyle Kubitza tells how his flight to Anaheim yesterday got delayed.
The Monkey Says: That explains why Featherson got the start instead. Kubitza will likely get most of the playing time with Freese out, though he might sit against lefties or lose playing time should the Angels acquire another infielder like the aforementioned Uribe. For the record, the Angels reportedly gave no real thought to calling up Kaleb Cowart instead.
The Story: Mike Trout is seventh in jersey sales and Albert Pujols is eighteenth.
The Monkey Says: Seventh? What is wrong with you people?
The Story: Huston Street is the second-youngest player ever to record 300 saves.
The Monkey Says: That’s impressive given how much time he has spent on the DL in his career. It is less impressive when you realize how many years he spent racking up saves on lousy teams. It is further less impressive when you remember that saves are bullshit.
The Story: Comparing Trout and Pujols to the best slugging duos of all-time.
The Monkey Says: If they both hit 40+ this year, it would be pretty darn amazing considering the current offensive environment. If you adjust for era, I’d probably go so far as to say they will have a better homer-hitting year than the Griffey duos that were listed.
The Story: Five realistic trades we’d like to see happen, including C.J. Wilson for Andre Ethier.
The Monkey Says: Speak for yourself. I don’t mind the idea of trading C.J., but I really don’t like Ethier. He’s old, inconsistent and still can’t hit lefties to save his life.
The Story: Are these the Angels we were expecting?
The Monkey Says: Yes and no. Most people thought the Angels would challenge for the AL West title, but the thought was that they would do it with elite offense and slightly above average starting pitching. Instead, their starting pitching has been great and the offense has been average thus far (though it was poor to start and is now looking very good).
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