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The Los Angeles Angels are hoping to have two-way star Shohei Ohtani back on the mound as early as May after he didn’t pitch a single inning last season following Tommy John Surgery. If what we saw ahead of Sunday’s Spring Training game against the Chicago Cubs in Arizona is any indication, that is exactly what’s going to happen. Ohtani was seen throwing a bullpen session ahead of the game. He looked pretty darn good in the process. A potential major breakout star this season, Ohtani...
Shohei Ohtani is already a two-way sensation, and now he may be trying to become a bodybuilder as well. The Los Angeles Angels star told reporters on Wednesday that he had been swimming and shooting hoops this offseason as part of his training program, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The program appeared to be working just fine as Ohtani looked absolutely ripped during the media session at spring training. Ohtani, 25, will open the 2020 season on schedule as a designated hitter but is not...
Some may have scandal fatigue, but there are good reasons this one isn’t dying a quick death: the high level of anger from rival players and a still-running string of questionable statements and (non-)actions from those in positions of power. Monday’s comments from two prominent, respected players — Mike Trout and Justin Turner — served to highlight those points and ensure we’ll see further rounds in this controversy. Trout, the best player the game has seen in quite some time, is...
The Angels signed left-handed reliever Ryan Buchter to a minor league contract and invited him to major league camp this spring, tweets Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Buchter, who turned 33 earlier this week, is making the rounds in California. He’s also spent time with the Athletics and Padres in the past few seasons. The late-blooming southpaw didn’t even make his big league debut until he was 27 and didn’t pitch a full campaign in the majors until his age-28 season. However, Buchter...
Joe Maddon may have to get a little creative to start his first season as manager of the Los Angeles Angels. Speaking with reporters this weekend on the eve of the team’s first full-squad workout, Maddon hinted at some tinkering of their lineup, perhaps featuring Tommy La Stella at second base and David Fletcher in the outfield. “Obviously you want to get Tommy out there as often as you can against righties,” said Maddon, per Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register. “The challenge is I like...
Joe Maddon is known as an outside-the-box thinker who has incorporated analytics into his managerial style. But Maddon, now the manager of the Los Angeles Angels, thinks baseball has gotten too extreme in its focus on analytics and technology, to the point that it’s hurt the game. In an interesting feature by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez that you should read if you haven’t yet, Maddon says technology and analytics “are responsible for subtracting the passion from what we do, not only in...
Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Which Buttrey will we see in 2020?
It goes without saying that Ty Buttrey is one of the most crucial relievers for the Angels in 2020. Considering the Angels did not sign a big-name reliever during the offseason and will be returning many of the same pieces, the current pitchers have to hold up. Hansel Robles and Cam Bedrosian are pieces that will play critical roles, but the most important of them all is Buttrey.
Buttrey is interesting because we don’t know...
Shohei Ohtani will not make his 2020 debut on the hill until well into the season, but he believes that he could have been ready sooner. Speaking with reporters through his interpreter Wednesday, the Los Angeles Angels star addressed the team’s plans to delay his return to the mound. “I was getting prepared to start on Opening Day, but if that is what the team wants me to do, then I’ll be prepared to delay my debut,” said Ohtani, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “I...
As the cloud from the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal hangs over MLB with an investigation into the Boston Red Sox ongoing, many have wondered if it indicates a far greater issue across baseball. Count Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon among those who believe the issue is exclusive to the Astros. Speaking to reporters at the start of spring training, Maddon said he believes that the issue is “indigenous” to the Astros and does not reflect an issue across the sport. He also...
The Los Angeles Angels have a target date for Shohei Ohtani to return to the mound after Tommy John surgery. Angels GM Billy Eppler said that the team hopes to have Ohtani back on the mound by mid-May. He will continue to rehab until then while simultaneously DHing. Ohtani has not pitched since Sept. 2, 2018 and underwent the surgery less than a month later. He was able to DH for the majority of the 2019 season and hit .286 with 18 home runs. The two-way star has been taking his rehab in...
The second (or perhaps third) prong of the Mookie Betts blockbuster trade involved a cross-town swap between the Dodgers and Angels. But when the first iteration of the Betts agreement became bogged down in health concerns and re-negotiations, the intra-L.A. deal fell apart. Accordingly, as things stand, the Dodgers still employ outfielder Joc Pederson and pitcher Ross Stripling — two talented players — along with prospect Andy Pages, an outfielder. Intriguing young infielder Luis...
The Angels hope to turn Shohei Ohtani back into a two-way performer rather early in the 2020 season — just not quite as soon as might have been hoped. He’s presently on track to step back into the rotation in mid-May, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter link). It’s generally promising to hear that Ohtani has a course charted for polishing off his Tommy John surgery rehab. But it’s not an especially speedy track. Ohtani received his new ulnar collateral...
Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani did not pitch a single game last season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. While he was not on the hill, the Japanese sensation did pick up a bat. The 2018 Rookie of the Year hit .286 with 18 homers, 62 RBI and a robust .848 OPS in his second big-league season. There’s now good news on this front for Los Angeles. According to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, the Angels expect Ohtani to be back on the mound by mid-May. That has to...
The Los Angeles Angels seemingly had a deal in place to acquire star outfielder Joc Pederson and starting pitcher Ross Stripling from the cross-town rival Los Angeles Dodgers last week. This trade ultimately fell through due to the delay of the three-team deal that sent Mookie Betts and David Price from the Boston Red Sox to the Dodgers. Reports earlier on Monday indicated that Angels owner Arte Moreno is the one who pulled the plug on the trade. That’s somewhat surprising given that...
The Los Angeles Angels were what we’d call an innocent bystander in the entire Mookie Betts trade drama. It was reported last week that the Boston Red Sox had dealt the former AL MVP to the Los Angeles Dodgers with David Price in a three-team deal that also included the Minnesota Twins. Boston had issues with the medicals of top prospect Brusdar Graterol, delaying the trade from being finalized until Sunday. All the while, the Angels’ deal to acquire star outfielder Joc Pederson and Ross...
The Los Angeles Angels seemingly had a chance to pull off a trade to land two solid pieces without giving up much, but were the ones who backed out of that opportunity. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Angels, not the Los Angeles Dodgers, were the team that pulled the plug on a proposed deal that would have seen them acquire Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling for infielder Luis Rengifo. This apparently happened because Angels owner Arte Moreno grew impatient over the delay in the...
Ross Stripling is not heading to Anaheim after all, and he seems pretty pleased about it. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, who was slated to go to the Los Angeles Angels along with teammate Joc Pederson as part of the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts blockbuster, instead saw that part of the deal fall through on Sunday. In response, Stripling tweeted a GIF of himself making an excited gesture on the basepaths before promptly deleting the post. The former All-Star Stripling, who posted a 3.47 ERA last...
The Mookie Betts trade was supposed to be part of a series of deals, but one key one has fallen through after all. Earlier in the week, when it appeared that the Los Angeles Dodgers were poised to acquire Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox, they had a deal that would send Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to the Los Angeles Angels. On Sunday, the Dodgers completed a deal for Betts, but according to Ken Rosenthal, the trade with the Angels is off. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, it...
The Los Angeles Angels thought they had another middle-of-the-order bat. They had reportedly acquired star outfielder Joc Pederson in a trade with the cross-town rival Los Angeles Dodgers. That’s now fallen through. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Dodgers have pulled out of said trade. It was reportedly dependent on the original iteration of the Mookie Betts blockbuster deal to the Dodgers going through. That did not happen. Rather, the Dodgers worked out two separate deals...
While the Boston Red Sox remain focused on trading Mookie Betts and David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers, multiple MLB teams are starting to reach out to potentially spoil the blockbuster trade. According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, multiple organizations started reaching out to Boston when the three-team blockbuster trade encountered its first bump on Thursday. In the original deal, the Red Sox would have received Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo and Minnesota Twins pitcher Brusdar...