The November 25, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes the team signing a veteran catcher, an old friend returning to the organization, and more…
The Story: Geovany Soto agrees to one-year, $2.8 million deal
MWAH Says: Hard to hate this deal. The Angels get some insurance in the event that Carlos Perez can’t parlay his strong September into a solid sophomore season and don’t pay much to do it. Soto has been a 1.0-3.0 WAR player in every season he’s been healthy, so as long as he’s on the field the Halos should get their money’s worth.
The Story: Bud Black hired as several in front office change roles
MWAH Says: A few new names and lots of new titles in the Angels front office. Black and former director of player development Bobby Scales will be special assistants to the GM (alongside Eric Chavez), while Jonathan Strangio gets the expected bump up to assistant GM. Justin Hollander and Mike LaCassa also get new positions, moving to director of player personnel and director of minor league operations, respectively. I imagine all of these roles overlap somewhat.
The Story: Baseball Prospectus’ Angels Top 10 Prospects List
MWAH Says: The lede: “There are good systems, there are poor systems, then there’s 50 pounds of effluence, and then there’s the Marlins. Add another 50 pounds, and you’ve finally reached the Angels.” Yep. That bad.
The Story: Angels NOT among dozen teams showing interest in Ben Zobrist
MWAH Says: I’m choosing to look at this as positive development. Sure, it’s kinda weird to not even take a gander, but maybe that’s just because the team has its sights set on much larger fish. No reason to waste time on an older, mid-tier player when the goal is to sign one of the best. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
The Story: Korean 3B Jae-Gyun Hwang will be posted Wednesday
MWAH Says: Some good fortune for the Halos. Hwang wasn’t supposed to be posted this winter, but after teammate Ah-seop Son failed to get any bids Hwang now gets a chance. Hwang is no Jung-Ho Kang, but he is the best chance the Angels have of avoiding a situation where they have to settle for overpaying David Freese or Daniel Murphy. More on this later.
The Story: A’s reacquire Jed Lowrie from the Astros
MWAH Says: Yet another intra-division trade in the AL West. Houston had no need for Lowrie with Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve around, but the return of just Double-A reliever Brendan McCurry seems pretty light. McCurry’s numbers are great in the minors, but that’s the thing: it’s still the minors. Lowrie has no business playing shortstop anymore, but he’s still valuable at second or third.
The Story: Andrew Heaney among players on mission trip to Honduras
MWAH Says: Heaney, his wife Jordan, and others worked with a charity called Hearts 2 Honduras this week to bring backpacks and shoes to an orphanage in a small mountain village in Honduras. It’s apparently the second year in a row they’ve gone. Good on them.
The Story: Fantex projects Heaney to earn $84M in next nine years
MWAH Says: Ughhhhh. Still absolutely hate the idea of random people owning stock in professional athletes. I get why Andrew Heaney would want to hedge, being a pitcher and all, but why not just take out an insurance policy on his arm rather than invest in a shady company? Really hope Fanduel and Draftkings take this kind of thing down with them.
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