The March 30, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes Garrett Richards officially being named the Opening Day starter, the team acquiring some more pitching depth, and more…
The Story: Garrett Richards will take the mound on Opening Day
MWAH Says: The only surprise here is that Mike Scioscia didn’t wait three more days before making it official. Andrew Heaney will start the second game of the season, leaving the possibility open that Jered Weaver will spend the first turn through the rotation on the disabled list.
The Story: Angels acquire LHP Chris Jones in return for OF Natanael Delgado and SS Erick Salcedo
MWAH Says: This is an interesting one. Jones is a Triple-A guy who’s spent the last two years bouncing between the rotation and a bullpen role, posting a solid 3.12 ERA but not missing many bats (6.3 K/9). Given that the Angels already have five potential lefty arms for the rotation, I’d say it’s safe to assume they want to use him mostly in relief. To get Jones, the Angels gave up two of their lesser prospects: a young, toolsy outfielder in Delgado (our No. 13 prospect) and an all-glove shortstop in Salcedo.
The Story: Al Alburquerque optioned to Triple-A
MWAH Says: I guess the Angels decided they’d rather hang onto their ability to option Alburquerque later in the year than have him in the bullpen now. That leaves the last spot in the ‘pen to either Cam Bedrosian or Greg Mahle. My vote is for Mahle, but it’ll probably end up being either Bedrosian or both. If Weaver starts on the DL, the team will have an extra roster spot for at least a week.
The Story: Baseball’s latest recruit is an iPad
MWAH Says: MLB is lifting the ban on in-game smart devices and equipping each team with pre-programmed tablets to use in the dugout and bullpen. I love this move, and I hope the tablet include with a closed-network messaging system so they can finally stop using those absurd bullpen phones. It’s 2016: Stop using a damn landline.
The Story: What to watch for as Angels break from spring training (video)
MWAH Says: Well, there’s nothing to watch today but starting tomorrow we get to see how the roster holds up against one of the NL favorites, the Dodgers. Then comes to the tough part.
The Story: BP’s 2016 organizational rankings
MWAH Says: By “organizational” they mean farm system, so just keep on scrolling all the way to the bottom.
The Story: The Crowd: Angels have the riskiest roster in baseball
MWAH Says: This come back to the whole “If Mike Trout gets hurt, the Angels are screwed” thing. They are somewhat competitive with him, a complete disaster without him. Yeah, I’d call that risky. They’re also relying on bounceback/breakout seasons from at least six roster spots, which doesn’t help.
The Story: Deep Impact: Kevin Kiermaier’s extreme center-field positioning
MWAH Says: A really cool use of the new Statcast data. Mike Trout isn’t among the top five for deepest positioning in center, but he is apparently in the top 10. That makes a lot of sense, and could explain not only why he has trouble running down shallow pop-ups, but why the defensive metrics have been so hesitant about him lately. I imagine letting singles drop in that most other center fielders catch hurts one’s overall rating quite a bit, especially for something like UZR.
The Story: Brandon Wood begins his career as a manager
MWAH Says: Wood will manage the Padres’ Class-A affiliate this season. We wish him the best of luck.
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