ANAHEIM -- The continued development of the club’s young core is the biggest priority for the Angels going forward. But instead of adding to that mix by looking to sell veteran players at the Trade Deadline, general manager Perry Minasian opted to keep that group in place in hopes that they can learn what it’s like to be in contention in August and September. It’s a calculated risk, as the Angels could’ve received young players in return for veterans such as Kenley Jansen, Tyler Anderson, Luis Rengifo, Yoán Moncada, Kyle Hendricks or even Taylor Ward (who isn’t a free agent until after 2026). But instead, they’re hoping that the additions of relievers Andrew Chafin and Luis García and infielder Oswald Peraza will help keep the club afloat the rest of the way. But much like in 2023 when they went for it at the Trade Deadline, they’re off to a slow start in August after losing a series at home to the last-place White Sox. “The development of our core is obviously very, very important going forward, so we explored everything,” Minasian said Thursday. “We explored buying, we explored selling, all those things. But being competitive in August and September is really, really important for this group, not only for the now, but for the future. Playing meaningful games, understanding there's an expectation to win, showing up to the ballpark every day, feeling like you have a chance to win over a six-month period. It's hard to quantify, right? But I felt like it was very important for this group to go through that and to see what playing in August and what playing in September is like.” |
Things don’t get much easier for the Angels, however, as they host the Rays for three games, head to Detroit to face the first-place Tigers for three games and host the first-place Dodgers for a three-game set at Angel Stadium. But the Angels are trying not to think too far ahead and are embracing being in contention after being out of it early last season when they lost 99 games. “I think we’re taking every game day by day,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “We’ve talked about it in Spring Training. We’ve talked about it at the beginning of the season. Now we’re in August, which is kind of cool that we’re still talking about it. So my mentality to the guys and theirs back to me has always been, ‘Let’s just play today and let the outside noise be the outside noise.’” Hendricks, who won a World Series with the Cubs in 2016, echoed his manager’s sentiment, as he believes it’s a good experience for the club’s younger players, but that the focus is on taking it day by day. But he was pleased to see that Minasian didn’t tear down the club and said there’s a different feeling in the clubhouse playing games that matter down the stretch. “It’s right where you want to be,” Hendricks said. “You want to be playing meaningful games late in the season, going all the way through September, and that's where we're at. So obviously, we're not in must-win territory, but we're pretty much there. We need to win a lot of ballgames, and we know that. But if we play good fundamental baseball and don't make mistakes, we can beat anybody. So it's still just the one day at a time and no panic.” |
The Angels are 5.5 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot, which means they’re still hanging on to contention despite their recent scuffles. Minasian said it’s hard to project how the Angels will play the rest of the way, but that he’s hopeful the club can learn from their upcoming stretch. “I don't make predictions,” Minasian said. “I go day by day. Obviously, we're better today than we were yesterday. The ability to acquire a couple of relievers should help this club. And my goal and our goal is we worry about today. But being in a competitive environment, a lot of these players haven't experienced that. And to continue to experience that over the course of the season is really, really important to me and important to us as an organization.” |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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MOORE RETURNS FROM INJURED LIST |
Second baseman Christian Moore, ranked as the club’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 46 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, was activated from the injured list on Sunday, giving the Angels a boost. He had been out since July 2 with a sprained left thumb but was cleared to come back after going 5-for-11 with a homer and two doubles in four rehab games with Single-A Inland Empire. “It was a little longer than expected, but I think that was just part of the process and let it heal completely,” Moore said. “Just wanted to make sure I was 100 percent before I put my body on the line for these guys. But I'm super excited to be back. I missed these guys.” |
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Who was the last Angels pitcher to win an ERA title? A. Jered Weaver B. Garrett Richards C. Ervin Santana D. John Lackey |
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RAYS ON DECK AT ANGEL STADIUM |
The Angels traded series with the Rays, as they were initially scheduled to play in Tampa from Monday to Wednesday, but instead played the series in April. The Rays now come to Angel Stadium for three games to close a 13-game homestand. The Angels will also host Korean Heritage Night on Tuesday, following Japanese Heritage Night on Saturday and Vietnamese Heritage Day on Sunday. For ticket information, visit Angels.com/tickets. |
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D. Lackey, who led the AL with a 3.01 ERA in 2007. |
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