The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will head into the season with numerous question marks and one of them being the state of their starting rotation. While there is potential with some of their young starters like Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, and Chase Silseth, it is interesting that the Halos haven’t considered being more aggressive signing left-handed free agent and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
Longtime MLB insider and senior writer for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal, recently appeared on “Foul Territory” podcast, and discussed the Snell situation with the Angels, and it appears it is a disconnect between GM Perry Minasian and team owner Arte Moreno.
“My understanding of where the Angels are is that Perry Minasian, their GM, has been lobbying Arte Moreno all winter to sign a Snell, maybe to sign a JD Martinez,” Rosenthal said. “Arte Moreno has held fast and said, ‘No, we’re not doing that…at least Blake Snell to this point.”
Rosenthal went on to say that the Angels are Snell’s preference, with numerous reports saying the two sides have been interested in striking a deal throughout the offseason, but one of the issues is Moreno’s hesitancy to give a long term contract to a starting pitcher.
This should tell you everything you need to know about the Angels and Moreno.
Depending on how you look at this situation, it shouldn’t be too surprising. Moreno just let Shohei Ohtani walk out the door to the waiting arms of the Los Angeles Dodgers a few months ago, because he wasn’t willing to match that offer despite Ohtani givingthe Angels an opportunity to make a competitive offer.
He let arguably one of the best players to ever play this game leave the OC for nothing after refusing to trade him last summer at the MLB trade deadline and at least getting some prospects or young talent for him.
The incompetence and stubbornness of this man is a big reason why the Angels have been in freefall the last decade and are probably going to have another below average season.
Now, one could argue what is the point of signing some of these star level talents if they aren’t going to elevate you to the playoffs? We’ve seen that movie in Anaheim plenty of times. Why dump more money on talented vets like Snell or Martinez or even Jordan Montgomery, a World Series champ with the 2023Texas Rangers, if they don’t help you win in the short term or long term.
Not to mention, Moreno is already committed to nearly $400 million to both Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, and it’s netted zero playoff appearances in the last nine seasons, so maybe this is a different approach for Moreno to cut down on the spending and try to develop talent internally.
If that is his mindset, then one could understand. In the case of Martinez, it makes a little more sense to hesitate, because he’s 36 years old, has been more injury prone, and can only DH at this stage of his career, despite proving he can still anchor a lineup offensively.
With Snell and Montgomery, the Angels could use established starters to lead this young rotation. Thesetwo have had the kind of success like they’ve had over the last year and proven they can deliver on the big stages. Even if it doesn’t lead to a ton of team success, both could still be trade chips down the road, especially if they’re on shorter team deals.
The conundrum and disconnect between with the Angels’ front office and ownership seems to be, because that they’re at a crossroads: try to win now or look toward the future.
Figuring out that aspect will ultimately decide whether they sign Snell or another free agent or lose out on another opportunity.
