Halo Headlines: Angels thought they would trade for Utley, Shoemaker demoted to minors

The August 17th, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including Angels thought they would trade for Utley, Shoemaker demoted to minors and much more…

The Story: The Angels thought they would complete a trade for Chase Utley on Friday.
The Monkey Says: It isn’t clear why the deal didn’t happen, but it doesn’t sound like Utley rejected them with his no-trade clause. Reports still indicate that the Angels and Giants are the front-runners but the Giants can’t offer the playing time the Angels can. Perhaps Philly is just getting a better offer from the Giants and is trying to convince Utley to go their or for the Angels to up their offer. Utley might be washed up, but there are signs of hope that he could be useful. So long as the Angels don’t pay much for him, I don’t see how it could hurt to add him to the mix.

The Story: The Angels optioned Matt Shoemaker to Triple-A, placed Cory Rasmus and Taylor Featherston on the DL and called up Cam Bedrosian, Mike Morin and Ryan Jackson.
The Monkey Says: There is a lot to unpack here. First, Shoemaker getting demoted is both a response to two bad starts in a row and a need for a fresh arm in the bullpen. It could also just be that the team thinks Nick Tropeano will give them a better shot at winning right now. It is doubtful that Shoemaker stays down beyond September 1st though. The Rasmus injury is unfortunate as he has a forearm strain, which is often a precursor to Tommy John. He just never got a chance to establish himself this season. As for Featherston, his placement on the DL is more suspect. He was good enough to start while Aybar was out, but he now conveniently gets placed on the DL on a day that would allow him to get activated on September 1st. If the team really though Ryan Jackson was a better option, they would’ve made the move days ago as Featherston claimed he got hurt last week. More likely is the Angels wanted to shuffle him off the roster in lieu of a potential trade for Utley or another more established infielder.

The Story: Chris Iannetta hopes that he can finish his career with the Angels.
The Monkey Says: His down year might hurt that cause, though I suspect that if he lowers his price enough, the team will bring him back. A lot is really going to depend on who is manning the front office next year though. Personally, I’d like to see him get another three-year deal and just battle for playing time with Perez or even Jett Bandy as both of those players mature. Iannetta at least gives them a good safety net. The price has to be right though.

The Story: The Angels aren’t ruling out a September promotion for Sean Newcomb, but consider it unlikely.
The Monkey Says: Newcomb has been great, but he still has a lot of command issues to work out. He also has thrown a lot of innings, so this seems like it probably won’t be worth the risk.

The Story: Don Baylor is frustrated with the Angels offense.
The Monkey Says: Well, this is awkward, Don. You see, the thing is that a lot of folks seem to want to blame you for the struggling offense. With that in mind, I’m sure you can understand how you complaining about how frustrated you are might not exactly rub people the right away. I’m not saying it is your fault, but given the perception that it might be, you should probably just not talk for a bit.

The Story: Waiver deals Jim Bowden would like to see.
The Monkey Says: Bowden, you putz, if the Angels were going to trade for CarGo, they would’ve done it at the deadline. They certainly aren’t going to overpay now because he has gotten on a torrid streak. Also, that Reyes trade to the Mets is just the dumbest. Like, seriously, THE DUMBEST. That really says something because the Rockies are incredibly stupid and even that trade is something they would look at and be like, “Wow, that’s really dumb. What idiot suggested that?”

The Story: Jon Heyman suggests that the Angels could pursue Dayton Moore as their GM this offseason.
The Monkey Says: Speaking of dumb, going after Moore isn’t the worst idea, but the suggestion that Moore might want to join the Angels because he is buddies with Mike Butcher is a massive stretch. I can’t imagine a GM being lured to a club because of a passing relationship with a pitching coach that doesn’t have very good job security.

The Story: Matt Joyce reported to Triple-A Salt Lake on a rehab assignment.
The Monkey Says: It looks like he will avoid the DFA ax and get to hang out in the minors until rosters expand at which point he’ll rejoin the Angels and sit on the bench to remind us all of what disappointment looks like.

The Story: Ryan Madson wishes he had performed for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: So do the Angels.

The Story: Mike Trout is no longer attacking the first pitch as often.
The Monkey Says: My guess here would be that pitchers are adjusting to him being a bit more aggressive on the first pitch, so they are making better pitches now that they know they aren’t going to get a freebie anymore like they did last season.