The March 31, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes a Rule 5 pick returning to Anaheim, a veteran right-hander adding Triple-A pitching depth, and more…
The Story: LHP Chris O’Grady returned from Reds, assigned to Triple-A
MWAH Says: O’Grady was the one Angels prospect selected in the MLB phase of December’s Rule 5 draft. Had Cincinnati wanted to keep him, they would have had to keep him in their bullpen all year. The southpaw got knocked around in camp, though—9.31 ERA in 9.2 IP—so now the Halos get another lefty bullpen arm to add to their mix.
The Story: Angels sign Kyle Kendrick to minor-league deal
MWAH Says: Purely a depth acquisition. Someone’s gotta make a season’s worth of starts at Triple-A. If Kendrick ever gets a start in Anaheim, things have gone very, very wrong.
The Story: Angels conclude spring with answers to some of their most pressing questions
MWAH Says: This is good. Rather than dive in to individual numbers looking for camp takeaways, Jeff Fletcher has taken a step back to look at the big-picture questions. Is Albert healthy? Yes. Is left field a complete dumpster fire? It doesn’t appear to be, no.
The Story: Fox Sports experts predict the 2016 playoff teams
MWAH Says: The Angels didn’t get a single vote. Not even a wild-card berth. It’s all Astros and Rangers for the pundits this year, apparently. Excited for them to be wrong.
The Story: The home run is back and no one knows why
MWAH Says: This could spell bad news for the Angels’ staff of extreme flyball pitchers. Hopefully it’s just a small-sample blip.
The Story: Domestic violence charges against Jose Reyes to be dropped
MWAH Says: There was always a high probability of this happening. The victims of DV often recant their initial statements or go silent due to external pressures or fear of retribution. This does not mean the event did not happen as initially stated. Reyes will likely still face a lengthy extension from MLB.
The Story: Time Warner Cable sweetens deal again for Dodgers TV channel
MWAH Says: It’s becoming evident that TWC is tired of leaking money like a sieve, but it may still be a while before they can get DirecTV and others to sign on. The competitors have like 99% of the leverage in this scenario, so they’re going to hold out until they get all the concessions they want. Gotta wonder how much longer TWC can continue to leak tens of millions before it goes belly up like the Astros’ network did.
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