The November 11, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes Kole Calhoun taking home some hardware, Mike Trout being named an MVP finalist (again), the first real rumor of the winter, and more…
The Story: Kole Calhoun wins first Gold Glove
MWAH Says: Unless Jason Heyward makes his way to the AL this winter, I see this being the first of many Gold Gloves for Calhoun. He passes both the eye test and the advanced metrics’ parameters with flying colors, and only seems to getting better over time. With his first chance at salary arbitration upcoming, gotta wonder if the Angels try signing him to a multi-year extension.
The Story: Mike Trout an MVP finalist for the fourth straight year
MWAH Says: Trout isn’t going to repeat as MVP, but he will likely finish in the top two for the fourth consecutive season. That’s not a record, but it’s close. Barry Bonds had a stretch of five straight seasons of top-two finishes, coming away with four (consecutive) in that span. He also had another stretch of four seasons nearly a decade earlier, coming away with three there. Your annual reminder that Barry Bonds was incredible.
The Story: Angels would be interested in Trevor Plouffe if Freese doesn’t come back
MWAH Says: I’m am all-in on the Angels trying to acquire Trevor Plouffe. There’s no guarantee the Twins will make him available if they sign Byung-ho Park—maybe they try Miguel Sano in left field—but he’s definitely the most likely of the lot to be dealt. Plouffe will be 30, two years from free agency, and owed about $7.7 million next year. He’s never going to anchor a lineup, but he’s at least got the pop and defensive chops to be a reliable stop gap at the hot corner. In my opinion, a much better investment than the older, more expensive Freese.
The Story: Angels did NOT exceed luxury tax in 2015
MWAH Says: The only reason this non-story is a story is that Joel Sherman apparently reported Monday in the NY Post that the Angels did exceed the luxury tax. I’m fairly positive the 2015 figures aren’t final until December, so it seems someone forgot to carry a one in their estimate of the Angels’ final payroll figure. Would be pretty embarrassing if it ends up being the Halos who mis-calculated.
The Story: More Angels minor leaguers become free agents
MWAH Says: These are guys you’ve heard of: Drew Rucinski, Grant Green, Alex Sanabia, Adam Wilk, Jeremy McBryde, Roger Kieschnick. None of these losses is going to heavily impact the team going forward (I hope), but Billy Eppler is going to have to rebuild the org’s depth in the upper minors a bit.
The Story: Angels should consider trading Trout if they want long-term success
MWAH Says: Hoo boy, this is a hot one. Be sure to put your oven mitts on before clicking. Also, no, they shouldn’t.
The Story: Solar Sox get crushed again
MWAH Says: Worst AFL team of all time? Maybe. Mesa is now 5-18, and the team ERA is still over 7.00. The silver lining is that Angels right-hander Harrison Cooney didn’t implode in his 1⅔ innings, and now owns a 1.17 ERA in his last five appearances (7⅔ IP). He’s the only Halo with an ERA under 9.00.
The Story: Do GMs really target players they’ve acquired before?
MWAH Says: Spoiler Alert: Sometimes, but it’s most often the players who are on the margins of the roster (see: Robertson, Daniel). Perhaps the most interesting note is that GMs don’t always bring their old players to their new org, they do frequently seem to take a right-hand man with them for the front office. Funnily, Erik Chavez checks both the former player and right-hand man boxes for Billy Eppler.
The Story: Why Rich Hill is going to get a guaranteed deal
MWAH Says: The crux of this one, from the always reliable Mike Petriello, is to look at the mechanical changes Hill and others made to resurrect their careers. But my takeaway was: “boy, it sure seems like a significant number of Angels pitching castoffs—Hill, Scott Kazmir, Joe Blanton, etc.—are going on to find success elsewhere.” Will have to investigate this further another day. Probably just a selective attention thing, but worth looking into.
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