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Angels Fire Billy Eppler

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The Los Angeles Angels have fired General Manager Billy Eppler, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Eppler had one year remaining on his deal after the Angels gave him a one-year extension this past summer, notes The Athletic’s Dabian Ardaya.

The Angels’ Twitter account announced the team’s decision with a statement from Angels’ President John Carpino: “The Angels Organization would like to thank Billy for his dedication and work ethic over the last five years. We wish him and his family all the best.”

Owner Arte Moreno signed a 40-year-old Eppler in October of 2015 from his executive role with the Yankees to be the 12th General Manager Angels’ history. Previous GM Jerry Dipoto had resigned in July of the previous season amid tension with then-manager Mike Scioscia. The Angels failed to make the playoffs over Eppler’s 5-year tenure, having last made the postseason in 2014. Over those five seasons from 2016 to 2020, the Angels went 332-375 for an overall .470 winning percentage. The team’s high-water mark during Eppler’s tenure was back-to-back 80-82 seasons in 2017 and 2018.

The organization made many positive strides in Eppler’s time – namely winning the bidding for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and signing all-time great Mike Trout to a long-term extension. He also steadily improved the organization’s farm system after years of ranking near the bottom of the league in that regard, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange-County Register. He brought Andrelton Simmons into the organization via trade and signed MVP-caliber third baseman Anthony Rendon to a free agent deal this past winter. The Angels also succeeded with under-the-radar success stories in recent seasons with the development of players like Tommy La Stella, Brian Goodwin, and Dylan Bundy.

With Trout already on the roster and big money committed to Albert Pujols, Eppler never got a clean slate in Los Angeles and had to do his best to rebuild the team on the fly. Still, five years of Trout’s prime without a playoff appearance colors his legacy with the club. Eppler’s Achilles heel would prove to be the building of a pitching staff worthy of contention. Since Eppler took over, Angels’ pitchers have accumulated the second-lowest fWAR in the majors (Marlins are last). A 4.49 team ERA ties with the Padres for 19th best over that span, while a 4.60 FIP ties with the Royals for the 24th-best mark overall. He made a number of trades that benefited the organization, but until the Bundy deal this past winter, it’s hard to find an impactful trade that brought pitching into the organization.

Angels Place Luis Rengifo On 10-Day Injured List

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Prior to tonight’s game, the Angels announced that infielder Luis Rengifo had been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain.  Righty Jaime Barria was also optioned to the team’s alternate training site, while the two open roster spots were filled by infielder Jahmai Jones and right-hander Luke Bard, both called up from the alternate site.

It’s been an altogether tough year for Rengifo, who hit only .156/.269/.200 over 106 PA and also had another IL stint due to hamstring problems at the start of the season.  Rengifo didn’t do much with quite a bit of regular playing time this year, as he was needed at second base since Tommy La Stella often played at first base and Andrelton Simmons’ injury meant David Fletcher moved over to shortstop.

This performance came after Rengifo was on the verge of being traded back in February, as the Angels walked away at the last moment from a deal that would have sent Rengifo to the Dodgers as part of a trade package for Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to Anaheim.  While Rengifo is only 23 and has less than two years of MLB service time to his name, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his name again surface in trade talks this winter.

Jones is back in the big leagues after a one-game cup of coffee earlier this season that saw him make his MLB debut as a pinch-runner but not actually take the field or receive an at-bat.  (Jones was in the Angels’ starting lineup and doubled in his first plate appearance tonight, however.)  A second-round pick for the Angels in the 2015 draft, Jones was a consensus top-100 prospect as recently as the 2017-18 offseason, though a pair of unimpressive years at Double-A lowered his stock.  The 23-year-old Jones has a career .258/.338/.386 slash line over 2159 PA in the minors, and has mostly played second base over the last two years but has plenty of experience in the outfield.

Andrelton Simmons Opts Out Of Remainder Of Season

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6:01pm: The Angels have placed Simmons on the restricted list and selected infielder Elliot Soto in a corresponding move. Soto, whom the Angels signed to a minor league contract last offseason, is a former Cubs, Marlins and Rockies farmhand who has batted .272/.346/.389 in 1,323 Triple-A plate appearances.

5:29pm: Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons announced Tuesday that he has opted out of the remainder of the season.

“At this moment, I feel this is the best decision for me and for my family,” Simmons said in part to Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times. “We don’t know what the future holds, but we would like to sincerely thank the Angels organization and Angels fans for welcoming and making us feel at home.”

Simmons’ decision comes amid ongoing COVID-19 concerns that have caused others to opt out, though the 31-year-old has played the majority of the 2020 campaign. He spent time on the injured list with a sprained left ankle but has otherwise appeared in 30 games and slashed a respectable .297/.346/.356 in 127 plate appearances. That represents a nice bounce-back effort by Simmons, who was unable to complement his superlative defense with a decent offensive showing during an injury-limited 2019.

Of course, considering he’s a pending free agent, Simmons’ time with the out-of-contention Angels may be over. He originally joined the Angels in a trade with the Braves prior to the 2016 season, and while Simmons has been quite successful since then (15.5 fWAR in 2,281 plate appearances), the Angels haven’t gone to the playoffs since they acquired him.

Going forward, the Angels could try to re-sign Simmons or even issue him a qualifying offer before potentially losing him in free agency during the upcoming offseason. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him reach the open market unfettered. Simmons is on track to join Marcus Semien and Didi Gregorius as the best shortstops available in free agency.

Multiple Reports Link Angels To Dave Dombrowski

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Angels general manager Billy Eppler is in the final season of his contract, and with the Angels assured of a fifth straight losing season, multiple reports have linked the team to veteran executive Dave Dombrowski as a potential replacement. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal calls the Halos the “most likely” team to make a switch at GM, adding that Dombrowski is the most frequently mentioned replacement option. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times writes that the “widely held belief” is that the Angels are in for yet another front-office regime change and that the “industry consensus” is that owner Arte Moreno will pursue Dombrowski.

It’s been five years since Eppler took over for Jerry Dipoto, who resigned from his post in the wake of a highly publicized rift with then-manager Mike Scioscia. Los Angeles has yet to return to the postseason or even put together a winning record in that time. Instead of postseason wins built around the game’s best player, Mike Trout, much of the focus has been on the Angels’ perennial struggles to keep an underachieving pitching staff healthy enough to take the mound.

Since Eppler took the helm, the Angels rank 23rd among MLB teams in rotation ERA (4.74), 27th in FIP (4.84) and 29th in overall innings pitched. Angels starters have tallied just 3490 1/3 innings over those five seasons — a mark trailed only by a Rays club that has used openers more aggressively than any team in the Majors. The trade to acquire Dylan Bundy looks superlative at the moment, but most of the other attempts to patch the rotation have fizzled. Free agents Julio Teheran, Matt Harvey, Trevor Cahill, Doug Fister and Tim Lincecum didn’t bear fruit. Landing Shohei Ohtani was a clear feather in Eppler’s cap, but Ohtani has been far more impactful at the plate than on the mound thanks to numerous injuries.

From acquiring Andrelton Simmons in his first winter on the job to Bundy this past offseason, Eppler has made his share of strong moves while controlling the Halos’ baseball ops outfit. However, the team is still in need of upgrades both in the rotation and bullpen. The salaries of Trout, Albert Pujols, Anthony Rendon and Justin Upton weigh down next year’s payroll already, though the Pujols deal will finally be off the books post-2021. Supplementing the many holes on the roster could prove difficult with $118MM already on the books and a sizable arbitration class. Whether Eppler will make those additions seems cloudy at best.

Hiring Dombrowski or any other experienced front office exec would be something of a departure from the norm, Shaikin points out. The Angels’ past three GMs have all been rookies — Eppler, Dipoto and Tony Reagins — and each had something less than 100 percent autonomy over baseball operations decisions. It is well documented that Moreno spearheaded the team’s acquisitions of Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Vernon Wells, and Shaikin adds that it was Moreno who made the decision to dump Brad Ausmus (Eppler’s chosen skipper) after just one season in order to pursue Joe Maddon.

Dombrowski, of course, knows plenty about putting together win-now rosters with an “at all costs” mentality, as evidenced by a lengthy run of contending Tigers clubs and his quick World Series win with the Red Sox. In both instances, Dombrowski had an owner who was willing to spend money and sacrifice young talent for short-term gains on the trade market. That seems likely to be the position in which the Angels find themselves this winter, as pressure to win will build considerably following a six-year playoff drought.

Franklin Barreto To Undergo Surgery Tuesday

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  • Los Angeles Angels infielder Franklin Barreto will undergo shoulder surgery on Tuesday, though it’s unclear as of right now what kind of recovery timeline Barreto will face, per Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). Barreto appeared in six games for the Halos after being acquired from the A’s for Tommy La Stella. It was a rough year on the whole for Barreto, who slashed .074/.107/.074, though he only had opportunity for 27 plate appearances between both clubs.

Andrelton Simmons Discusses Future

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Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons is on schedule to become one of baseball’s most prominent free agents during the upcoming offseason. The Angels could extend Simmons before he reaches the open market, but it doesn’t seem talks have occurred between the team and his agent.

“Maybe my agent heard something, but not me,” Simmons said of potential negotiations with the Angels, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

The Angels acquired Simmons from the Braves in a trade that sent Sean Newcomb to Atlanta prior to the 2016 season, but Los Angeles has underachieved since then. In fact, the team hasn’t clinched a single playoff berth with Simmons in its uniform, and that’s unlikely to change this year with the Angels holding a 20-28 record.

The Angels’ troubles haven’t come as a result of Simmons, a defensive whiz who has typically provided enough offense during his run with them to prove quite valuable. As a member of the Angels, the 31-year-old Simmons has slashed .280/.327/.394 with 36 home runs, 51 stolen bases and 15.3 fWAR in 2,255 plate appearances.

The problem for Simmons is that injuries, especially to his left ankle, have held him back over the past couple seasons. Simmons only played in 103 of a possible 162 regular-season games a year ago and sat out for a large portion of August 2020 on account of injury concerns, which could have a negative impact on his earning power on his next deal.

If Simmons does become a free agent for the first time in the next couple months, the Angels will have to decide whether to issue him a qualifying offer before he’s able to reach the open market. He would be an interesting case in that regard.

Angels Reinstate David Fletcher From Injured List

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The Angels have reinstated infielder David Fletcher from the 10-day injured list, the club announced.  Southpaw Jose Quijada was optioned to the Angels’ alternate training site to make space for Fletcher on the active roster.

Fletcher’s IL placement (due to a left ankle sprain) was retroactive to August 31, so he will return to the field after slightly more than a minimal amount of time missed.  Fletcher will now get to resume what had been the best of his three MLB seasons, as he was batting an impressive .313/.377/.438 over his first 162 plate appearances.

Mostly playing shortstop in Andrelton Simmons’ absence, Fletcher is playing second base in tonight’s Halos lineup, which will likely be his set position for the remainder of the year since Simmons is now healthy and Anthony Rendon is entrenched at third base.  Fletcher’s versatility comes in handy for lineup juggling and late-game defensive switches, as he also has some experience at both corner outfield positions.  This gives the Angels some flexibility in how they’ll operate with Fletcher going forward, as he could continue as a regular second baseman in 2021 or perhaps shift over to shortstop if Simmons leaves in free agency.

Angels Place Franklin Barreto On IL

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  • The Angels placed infielder Franklin Barreto on the injured list Tuesday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com tweets. They recalled infielder Matt Thaiss in a corresponding move. Barreto, whom the Angels acquired from the division-rival Athletics for fellow infielder Tommy La Stella before the trade deadline, has struggled in his time in the majors and hasn’t provided any value to LA so far. Since joining the Angels, Barreto has collected two hits in 18 trips to the plate.

Ryan Buchter Elects Free Agency

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Left-hander Ryan Buchter has opted to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Angels’ alternate training site, the team announced.  Buchter was designated for assignment earlier this week and then outrighted off the 40-man roster once he cleared waivers.

Buchter inked a minor league deal with the Halos in February and pitched in 10 games for the club this season, posting a 4.50 ERA and eight strikeouts over six innings pitched.  Uncharacteristically for the 33-year-old, control was an issue, as Buchter issued six walks over his six frames of work.

Over 214 career innings with the Braves, Padres, Royals, and A’s from 2014-19, Buchter has quietly posted some strong numbers, with a 2.86 ERA, 9.9 K/9, and 2.45 K/BB rate.  Home runs (1.1 HR/9) have been an issue, and ERA predictors have been less impressed by Buchter’s output — prior to the 2020 season, Buchter had a career 4.01 FIP, 4.74 xFIP, and 4.01 SIERA.

Given Buchter’s past track record and a history of good performance against both left-handed and right-handed batters, it is understandable why he’d bet on landing another contract with a big league team, rather than biding his time at the Angels’ alternate training site.

Angels Place David Fletcher On 10-Day Injured List

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The Angels announced that they have placed utility player David Fletcher on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Aug. 31, with a left ankle sprain. The club recalled outfielder Taylor Ward in a corresponding move.

Tied for an American League-worst 12-25, there’s not much left to play for over the final few weeks of the season for the Angels. Nevertheless, it’s unfortunate to see Fletcher go down. After breaking out last year with a 3.4-fWAR showing and a .290/.350/.384 line in 653 plate appearances, Fletcher has been even stronger on offense this season with a .313/.377/.438 slash and almost as many walks (16) as strikeouts (17) across 162 PA.

As was the case in 2019, the 26-year-old Fletcher has added to his value by performing capably at multiple positions. Most of Fletcher’s work has come at shortstop, but he has also played five-plus games at second and third. He has combined for seven Defensive Runs Saved among those three spots.

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