Los Angeles Angels get screwed; Joc Pederson keeps his old commute
Originally, the Los Angeles Angels inadvertently won, but now they have been inadvertently screwed by the Mookie Betts deal.
The Dodgers/Red Sox/formerly Twins Mookie Betts deal has fascinated and confused the baseball world over the last few days. Another deal that was supposed to bring two upgrades to the other team in LA, the Los Angeles Angels, was contingent on the Betts trade going through has now fallen apart. OF Joc Pederson and RHP Ross Stripling will no longer be taking I-5 south to Angel Stadium.
Whether it was Arte Moreno’s ego or other reasons that have yet to be reported, the Angels have now become a big loser in the fallout from the Mookie Betts trade. Joc Pederson would have been a 2-3 win upgrade that would have solidified the corner OF until stud prospect Jo Adell was ready. Pederson could also chip in at 1B.
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Most importantly, Pederson could finally push away Albert Pujols who hasn’t had a positive WAR figure since 2017. Offensively, a lineup 1-6 looking like this would be a serious playoff contender and might even push the Astros for the division.
- Joc Pederson
- Anthony Rendon
- Mike Trout
- Shohei Ohtani
- Justin Upton
- Jo Adell
Now with those ABs no longer going to Joc and instead of going to a worse hitter whether it is Pujols or someone else, the offense (and defense) are going to suffer.
Ross Stripling is a huge loss for the Angels as well. Their pitching staff has struggled over the past several years for competence in the rotation with the worst starting pitching WAR in all of baseball. Stripling has never gotten the opportunity to be a traditional starter but has been a solid pitcher with intriguing upside. Borrowing from previous thoughts about the trade at the time, Stripling has sneaky upside.
In that 90 innings though he totaled 1.8 fWAR using a four-pitch FB, CB, CH, SL mix. Stripling has excellent command of his arsenal as he struck out 25% of hitters and only walked 5%. One aspect that should excite the Angels is Stripling does a great job of contact management. He had a 50% ground ball rate and a top 20 infield fly ball rate. So 88% of Stripling’s plate appearances end in a strikeout, groundball, or easy infield fly out. If he can put it together over a full season Stripling could be a top 20 pitchers in baseball.
This trade not happening cost the Angels potentially 5 wins and more if you think Stripling can be a top 20 pitcher over 200 innings. The Angels are in a make or break year with the signing of Anthony Rendon, a high-profile manager in Joe Maddon, and a roster that features MLB’s best player (Trout) and most interesting (Ohtani).
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The Los Angeles Angels need every upgrade they can get to pass the Astros, Athletics, and all the potential Wild Card contenders. This deal falling through puts a huge hit on those odds.