The August 8th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Angels acquire Vinnie Pestano, looking to trade for rotation help and much more…
The Story: The Angels acquired RHP Vinnie Pestano from Cleveland for RHP Michael Clevinger.
The Monkey Says: Pestano was once considered the closer of the future in Cleveland, but flamed out in 2013 and is trying to work his way back now. He’s a sidearmer who has been death on righties even when he has struggled, so he should have a specialist role with the Halos, likely once rosters expand in September. Clevinger has a live arm, but has really struggled in the rotation this year. He is likely bound for the bullpen himself, but he’s also coming off TJ surgery, so he might just be ruined. This is a nice buy low move by Dipoto as Pestano has three arbitration years remaining.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto is trying to find starting pitching help via the waiver trade process.
The Monkey Says: He isn’t likely to find a front-end starting pitcher even though I know the name Mat Latos has been thrown out there. He just isn’t likely to make it to the Halos on waivers. John Danks might be their best bet, but he’s a risky endeavor.
The Story: Mike Scioscia says C.J. Wilson needs to “get back on the beam.”
The Monkey Says: I’m writing this before Thursday’s game, so I’ll let you comment about whether or not he is “on the beam” again or not. Either way, it sounds like Scioscia is getting impatient with Wilson and suggesting perhaps that Wilson might be up in his own head.
The Story: The Angels will honor Jim Fregosi prior to Tuesday’s game.
The Monkey Says: Fregosi passed away in February, but doing the ceremony while the Phillies (where Fregosi manager for several years) in town makes up a bit for the delay in getting around to honor him.
The Story: The Angels lead the majors in first inning production.
The Monkey Says: Confirming what many of probably already suspected. It is funny though that they lead in first inning scoring but also in comeback wins. Basically, it means they score a lot, I guess.
The Story: Mike Trout turned 23 yesterday and is still younger than your favorite prospect.
The Monkey Says: OK, not every prospect, but a few of the good ones. The point is he is young.
The Story: Chris Iannetta blames the new plate-blocking rule for dropping the throw to home on Tuesday night.
The Monkey Says: Looked to me like he just dropped it, but the dumb rule does provide convenient cover.
The Story: Tommy Field has been designated for assignment.
The Monkey Says: He was DFA’d to make room for Pestano on the 40-man roster. Field has been nice minor league depth, but wasn’t really going to get a shot in the majors. There’s a decent chance that he’ll get claimed. He might even refuse the assignment and become a free agent so he can get a head start on finding a team that will give him a chance at a big league job in 2015.
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