The June 1st, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including Scioscia can opt out after season, Pestano demoted and much more…
The Story: Mike Scioscia has an opt-out clause in his contract after this season.
The Monkey Says: This is big news. Scioscia can leverage this opt-out either to get another extension or to regain more control over personnel decisions. Basically, he can either walk or force Jerry Dipoto out if he really wants to. There is also speculation in the post that if Moreno wants to move on from Scioscia that Mike would opt out of the deal out of respect. The fact that Scioscia declined to comment on it is no surprise, but it also suggests that he isn’t in a frame of mind where opting out is completely off the table. With Jerry Dipoto’s option for 2016 not yet exercised (as far as we know) there could be a whole lot of drama in Anaheim this offseason, as per usual.
The Story: Vinnie Pestano was demoted to Triple-A with Efren Navarro promoted to take his place.
The Monkey Says: The Angels needed extra first base depth, but Pestano didn’t exactly have an iron grip on his roster spot either. He had struggled mightily of late and seems to be having some mechanical issues. The relief corps is stretched pretty thin right now, so if Vinnie can iron a few things out in the next two weeks or so, he could be right back up.
The Story: Albert Pujols will be limited to DH indefinitely.
The Monkey Says: This is why Navarro got called up. Pujols has been dealing with a nagging groin injury, so they have to keep him out of the field, but Grant Green was the only other option at first base on the roster and he has almost no actual experience there. This means the Angels are a man short in the bullpen, which has been taxed recently, so it is possible that we could see Marte demoted if they think they need to add another body to survive the next few days.
The Story: Marc Krauss cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake.
The Monkey Says: As expected. Rough timing for him though because the Angels could’ve used him as first base depth.
The Story: Chad Smith was claimed off waivers by the Marlins.
The Monkey Says: This is not a great loss other than the nominal amount of cash the Angels paid to the A’s for Smith originally was not repaid to the Angels by the Fish. I guess Arte is going to have to sell another billboard to make up for it.
The Story: A chat with Taylor Featherston on his experience as a Rule 5 pick.
The Monkey Says: Funnily enough, this interview makes reference to the idea of a fake injury landing Featherston landing on the DL so he can get some much needed development time in the minors. That might also be a prudent way to open up a spot on the active roster to add another reliever this week. Despite that need, this DL deal seems like a good idea because Featherston really needs the development work.
The Story: The Angels sure could use Josh Hamilton right now.
The Monkey Says: Let’s all just pump the breaks here for a minute. First off, Hamilton is just 26 plate appearances into the season. That’s a screamingly small sample size buoyed almost entirely by one big game for him and one pinch-hit heroics. He’s still striking out a ton and it might take a few weeks for the league to remember that you just shouldn’t ever throw him a fastball. The bigger point though is that Hamilton may not have been able to do this in Anaheim. He’s spoke a lot about needing the right support system and comfort zone and he clearly never felt he had that with the Angels.
The Story: Mike Trout should be the captain of the AL Home Run Derby team.
The Monkey Says: It would be a good marketing move, but I’d just as soon not have him in the event at all. The actual AL home run leader is Nelson Cruz, but I can’t imagine the league would let a well-known PED-abuser be the headliner of an event such as this.
The Story: Andrew Heaney is following the checklist to return to the majors.
The Monkey Says: Really the only thing he hasn’t done is have an opportunity. Matt Shoemaker is the only Angel pitcher with anything resembling a loose grip on his roster spot, so it is probably going to take an injury for Heaney to get called up.
The Story: An update on Andrew Heaney after his recent rough outing.
The Monkey Says: You can’t win ’em all. If anything, this is a silver lining outing because it shows how good he has been to limit PCL hitters to just two dingers all season long. That isn’t easy in those climates and ballparks.
The Story: The Big A will glow purple after each win in June for Alzheimer’s awareness.
The Monkey Says: I got a press release for this a few days ago and meant to post it, but I forgot.
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