The Thursday, May 12, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes the team acquiring Jhoulys Chacin to bolster the rotation, looking into adding Tim Lincecum as well, and more…
The Story: Angels acquire RHP Jhoulys Chacin from the Atlanta Braves
MWAH Says: Wrote a bit about this deal yesterday, here. The nice thing about this acquisition, other than it costing close to nothing, is that Chacin actually possesses some real upside. The most likely scenario is that he’ll be a serviceable back-end arm, but there’s also a non-zero chance he’ll be more than that. He’s a free agent at season’s end, so no matter what his time in Anaheim will likely be brief.
The Story: Angels one of three teams “most interested” in Tim Lincecum
MWAH Says: Among the Halos, Giants, and White Sox, the Angels are probably the best bet to give Big Time Timmy Jim a chance in the rotation. Chicago recently DFA-ed John Danks, so they too have a rotation opening, but they have Miguel Gonzalez and Erik Johnson around to compete with Lincecum. The Angels have… Nate Smith? Matt Shoemaker? C.J. Wilson, maybe? Would be surprised if he doesn’t end up in Orange County on a minor-league deal.
The Story: Ji-Man Choi designated for assignment
MWAH Says: Goodness gracious this took long enough. Choi was finally DFA-ed Wednesday to make room on the roster for Matt Shoemaker to get blasted by the Cardinals. Given how poorly Choi fared for the Angels through the first month, there seems a pretty good chance he’ll get through waivers unclaimed. Whether that’ll be accompanied by him electing free agency and re-signing with the Angels or returning to the Orioles remains to be seen. My bet is for the former.
The Story: Craig Gentry begins baseball activities, is a ways from returning
MWAH Says: Gentry was eligible to return from his back injury on Wednesday, but is just now getting back to doing anything resembling baseball. He’s got some history of back woes, so this may be a while. Shane Robinson is up and playing well in Gentry’s stead, so his roster spot might not be his anymore by the time he’s healthy.
The Story: Pujols frustrated with hits hard to find
MWAH Says: You’re not alone, Albert. Part of me still wants to believe that his BABIP will eventually regress positively because science, but the other part of me thinks maybe he’s really that slow now, and that this is just normal for him when in conjunction with his increasingly poor pitch recognition.
The Story: The jerk’s guide to being a jerk
MWAH Says: Things are so bad for the Angels right now that national publications are writing about how they deserve pity rather than scorn from the fans of rival teams. I agree with much of the sentiment in the article—rooting for other teams and players to fail is weird and often discomfiting—but pity may be worse.
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