Halo Headlines: Angels add Nieuwenhuis, DFA Chad Smith, Pujols searching for his swing

The May 28th, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including Angels add Nieuwenhuis, DFA Chad Smith, Pujols searching for his swing and much more…

The Story: The Angels acquired Kirk Nieuwenhuis from the Mets in exchange for cash considerations.
The Monkey Says: This is a pretty strong sign that they aren’t close on any other outfield deals, but it also doesn’t mean that they are done shopping. Nieuwenhuis was virtually free to acquire, so they could easily DFA him if he doesn’t perform over the next month. It is presumed that Marc Krauss will be optioned once Nieuwenhuis reports to the team and starts to platoon with Collin Cowgill in left field.

The Story: Chad Smith was designated for assignment.
The Monkey Says: He was dumped to make room for Nieuwenhuis. He could stick with the team as he was recently DFA’d by the A’s and slid all the way to the Angels on waivers then.

The Story: Collin Cowgill might have to go on the DL due to his injured hand.
The Monkey Says: That would potentially save Marc Krauss from falling off the roster but would also leave the team short a righty bat, meaning either Nieuwenhuis, Joyce or Krauss would be forced to play against lefties. Those aren’t good ideas.

The Story: Albert Pujols is still searching for his swing.
The Monkey Says: He might want to build a time machine then. He’s become too groundball and pull-heavy, so he’s getting murdered by the shift. There isn’t anything he needs to find in his swing. It is the approach that needs changing.

The Story: All the close games are taking their toll on the Angels players.
The Monkey Says: Great. I’m sure players being stressed, frustrated and exhausted is only going to help matters.

The Story: Other Angels “home remedies” inspired by Matt Shoemaker’s wife’s tweet.
The Monkey Says: Right now the Angels offense is inspiring more ailments than remedies.

The Story: The Angels paid tribute to Dick Enberg on Tuesday night.
The Monkey Says: I’m glad they honored Enberg, but I couldn’t help but snicker at the headline of “paid tribute to Dick.”