The February 2, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes the team losing a recently acquired infielder back to the team they got him from, the announcement of 20 non-roster invitees to Tempe, and more…
The Story: Yankees claim Ronald Torreyes off waivers from the Halos
MWAH Says: Well, this is a weird one. The Angels claimed Torreyes from the Yankees last week when they dropped him off the roster to claim outfielder Lane Adams. Then the Halos had to bump Torreyes off the roster to make room for Jefry Marte. Now, New York has claimed Torreyes back and dropped … Lane Adams. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ It would have been nice had the Angels been able to stow Torreyes at Triple-A, but it’s not the end of the world that they don’t get that chance.
The Story: Angels announce names of 20 non-roster invitees to spring training
MWAH Says: Five names to keep an eye on are Taylor Ward (C), Nate Smith (LHP), Greg Mahle (LHP), Sherman Johnson (INF), and Chad Hinshaw (OF). None really have a chance of sneaking onto the Opening Day roster, but all probably have the biggest chance of making an impact in Anaheim down the line. If it’s potential Opening Day surprises you’re looking for, bullpen arms like Lucas Luetge (LHP) and A.J. Achter (RHP) are probably the best bets.
The Story: Nava/Gentry projected to be baseball’s eighth-worst platoon in 2016
MWAH Says: FanGraphs projects them to net just 1 WAR this coming season, placing them 32nd out of 39 potential MLB platoons. Thirteen spots ahead of them is the Texas left-field platoon of Josh Hamilton and Justin Ruggiano. Love too needlessly trade expensive contracts.
The Story: Angels among lowest spenders in free agency this winter
MWAH Says: The best free-agent class in years, and the Angels spent a whopping $8.65 million on the open market. That’s the seventh-lowest figure in the game. As to why this happened, see: above.
The Story: Bill Stoneman has no regrets about his run as Angels GM
MWAH Says: Stoneman gets a bad rap from some corners of the Internet, but I don’t see any reason he should have regrets, really. Of the few trades he made, the only one that maybe looks real bad in retrospect is the Jim Edmonds for Kent Bottenfield and Adam Kennedy trade. But there was no guarantee the team would re-sign Edmonds after 2000, and without Kennedy do the Angels win the 2002 World Series? Feel like it worked out in the end.
The Story: Kole Calhoun has number retired at Buckeye HS in Arizona
MWAH Says: This one is just a fuzzy :30 second clip of Calhoun talking on the field at his old high school. Pretty cool thing, though.
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