The Angels have been looking for a rotating ace for years. All attempts to attract one in previous seasons have been rejected, forcing them to take year-long risks on pitchers who ended up providing negative value on the mound.
The arrival of a new general manager a few months ago should have signaled a change in approach to initiate pitch acquisitions. Still, it didn’t happen.
With a few weeks left until the scheduled start of spring training, the Angels have yet to get a frontline holder. Unless there is a significant philosophical change, they will not do so. And that means that the likelihood of hiring the main owner of the free agent Trevor Bauer is practically zero.
The Angels were mentioned as pretending to Bauer, winner of last season’s Cy Young Award in the National League, throughout the winter. A union makes sense on some levels. He is 29 and is coming out of a season in which he posted a sterling ERA (1.73) and improved the elimination rate by nine entries (12.3) while wielding one of the sport’s most polished arsenals. He is a native of Southern California. Bauer would change the appearance of an Angels rotation that ended last year with an ERA 5.52.
But he doesn’t fit very well in Anaheim, according to people with knowledge of the Angels’ thinking, even if the team were to offer him the record annual value (more than $ 36 million) he is supposed to be looking for.
Finances are a factor. The Angels’ payroll for luxury tax stood at $ 186.5 million after the addition of incumbent José Quintana last week. It is unclear how close owner Arte Moreno is willing to reach the $ 210 million luxury tax limit, but he never spent more than the $ 194 million he committed to the 2020 opening list.
Another disconnect between Bauer and the Angels is the coaching staff. Bauer previously worked with Angels’ current pitching coach, Mickey Callaway, while in Cleveland from 2013 to 2017. They didn’t get along. Bauer has long adopted a progressive approach to shooting; he was one of the first to adopt techniques such as throwing heavy balls, long throwing and using cameras to improve pitches. Callaway’s style is more traditional; he uses analytical tools sparingly. Last year, he said he prefers to use them “to give a little push”.
Bauer publicly alluded to the tension between them in a Sports Illustrated cover story that ran in 2019.
“I will try to find all the ways to do better and I probably did more research than you did,” said Bauer in reference to a disagreement over the use of the pitch he had with Callaway. “Don’t tell me what I do and I don’t know without some good data behind it.”
The relationship between Bauer and Callaway is reportedly eroded beyond repair, according to a person with knowledge of Bauer’s current negotiations.
This leaves first-year general manager Perry Minasian buying in a market similar to that frequented by predecessor Billy Eppler.
This may not be a desperate scenario. Minasian still needs to know the talent he has. He and his colleagues at Angels are encouraged by the potential of young people Jaime Barria, Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval. They are confident that Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney, both in the final seasons of their contracts, will continue to make progress. They feel comfortable giving the bidirectional player Shohei Ohtani the opportunity to launch like the star he was when healthy in 2018. And Quintana is a proven commodity.
The group of free second-tier agents is not limited to unfortunate options. Here are some pitchers available on the free agent market:
Initial pitchers in the free agent market with a winning substitution above at least 1.5 in the past two seasons:
Name, HR / LH, AGE, WAR 2019-20, full season salary in 2020
Jake Odorizzi, RH, 31, 4.3, $ 17.8 million
Masahiro Tanaka, RH, 32, 4.1, $ 23 million
James Paxton, LH, 32, 3.8, $ 12.5 million
Rick Porcello, RH, 32, 3.4, $ 10 million
Homer Bailey, RH, 35, 3.0, $ 5 million
Anibal Sanchez, RH, 37, 2.7, $ 7 million
Brett Anderson, LH, 33, 2,6, $ 5M
Cole Hamels, LH, 37, 2,6, $ 18M
Mike Fiers, RH, 36, 2.3, $ 8.1 million
Jake Arrieta, RH, 36, 1.6, $ 20 million
Rich Hill, LH, 41, 1.6, $ 3M
Chase Anderson, RH, 33, 1.1, $ 8.5 million
Mike Leake, RH, 33, 1.0, $ 15M
Taijuan Walker, RH, 0.7, $ 2 million