MLB: Assessing the AL West GMs at the midway point
Houston Astros, Jim Click, +2.1 games
The Astros may be everybody’s least favorite MLB team, but it’s hard to knock that 54-33 record. Click owes some of that performance to the talent he inherited from disgraced former GM Jeff Luhnow. That holdover talent base includes Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, Yuli Gurriel, Jose Altuve and Zack Greinke.
Given what he already had under contract, Click worked cautiously this winter. Still, two personnel moves stand out and mark Click’s season to date among the most successful of any MLB general manager.
His most important move was the retention of free agent outfielder Michael Brantley (+1.3), who has given the Astros a stellar .340 average with an .885 OPS.
Click has worked Houston’s farm system hard. Most of those callups have played bit roles, but Luis Garcia (+1.2), who got a brief introduction to the majors in 2020, is 6-5 with a 3.14 ERA in his 14 starts. He’s got a 1.12 WHIP.
Most of the rest of Click’s personnel additions have not moved the needle much, if at all. Here’s a synopsis of some of the more noteworthy ones.
- He signed veteran starter Jake Odorizzi (+0.2) and veteran reliever Ryan Stanek (-0.2) to free agent deals. Net impact to the Astros: zero.
- He picked up backup infielder Robel Garcia (-0.1) as a waiver claim from the Los Angeles Angels.
- Aside from Luis Garcia, he promoted a dozen first-year players, notably rookie outfielder Charles McCormick (+0.3) and rookie reliever Bryan Abreu (-0.3). The net impact of those dozen callups (not counting Garcia) on the Astros: -0.3 games.
- He lost outfielder George Springer to free agency, but Springer (0.0) has done little for his new team, Toronto, being largely sidelined by injuries.
Texas Rangers, Chris Young, -4.2 games
Young, a former major league pitcher, assumed the position formerly held by Jon Daniels, who retains his role as team president, in October.
From a headline standpoint, his most visible move was the trade of damaged goods with Oakland. Young sent Elvis Andrus (-1.1), a costly shortstop in whom the Rangers no longer had interest, to Oakland for Khris Davis (-0.4), the A’s’ used-up slugger.
Since the Rangers had used Davis only sparingly before releasing him, whereas Andrus has been a consistent and oft-used millstone around the A’s’ necks, the performance advantage probably goes to Texas so far.
Inheriting a roster widely decried as non-competitive, Young has worked hard at the task of importing personnel in the hope that some of it would work out. He’s already acquired six new Rangers by trade, purchase, or waiver claim, signed 10 free agents, and utilized a half dozen more first-year players.
Among the more impactful of those arrivals:
- Young signed several veteran free agents, among them outfielder David Dahl (-1.3), infielders Charley Culberson (+0.5) and Brock Holt (-0.7), and pitchers Mike Foltyniewicz (-0.1) and Ian Kennedy (+0.7). Net impact of those five signings of veterans: -0.9 games.
- He traded veteran pitcher Lance Lynn (+2.3) to the White Sox for pitching prospect Dane Dunning (+0.4) and a minor leaguer. Net short-term impact on the Rangers: -1.9 games.
Los Angeles Angels, Perry Minasian, -4.4 games
Like Young, Minasian is a first-year GM, hired when the Angels parted ways with Billy Eppler following the end of the 2020 season.
Also like Young, he undertook a large scale reconstruction of the roster he inherited. Since Minasian took over, eight players have come over by trade, waiver claim or purchase, another dozen on the open market and three have come up from the farm system.
Conversely, more than one-quarter of the players who were on the Angels roster when Minasian was hired are with a different MLB team today.
The move that garnered the most attention was Minasian’s decision to release veteran star Albert Pujols from the final year of his contract. Given that Pujols had a -1.0 WAA when he was released, and has a -0.4 WAA for his new team, the Dodgers, that decision cannot be criticized.
The other move of note was the signing of free agent pitcher Jose Quintana, formerly of the Cubs. But Quintana (-0.9) has been a disaster, sitting at 0-3 with a 6.92 ERA in nine starts.
Probably Minasian’s most productive move was his decision to swing a deal with the Reds that included closer Raisel Iglesias (+0.6). He’s 6-3 with a 3.52 ERA and 16 saves to date. All Iglesias cost Minasian was a minor leaguer plus sometime pitcher Noe Ramirez, who was released, flunked a re-try with the Angels and eventually wound up in Arizona. Net impact on the Angels: (+0.4).
Other moves of significance:
- He landed pitcher Alex Cobb (+0.2) from the Orioles for a minor leaguer, and purchased pitcher Hunter Strickland (-0.5) from Tampa Bay. Strickland was subsequently sold to the Brewers. Net impact on the Angels: -0.3 games.
- He acquired infielder Jose Iglesias (-0.5) from the Orioles for two minor leaguers.
- He signed veteran outfielders Scotty Schebler (-0.4) and Juan Lagares (-1.2), the latter to be the team’s regular center fielder. Net impact on the Angels: -1.6 games.
Seattle Mariners, Jerry DiPoto, -5.8
Always one of the more frenetic MLB executives, DiPoto maintained that approach during the buildup to 2021. He acquired nine players in trade who have performed for the Mariners, signed or extended 11 others, and called up a half dozen rookies.
Judging solely by their record, the Mariners – three games over .500 – are indeed better. As it happens, that has more to do with the contributions of players already on hand than many of DiPoto’s new faces. The five most productive Mariners to date – J.P. Crawford, Yusei Kikuchi, Ty France, Jake Fraley, and Kendall Graveman – all fit into that classification.
What did DiPoto do? His most visible move was the signing of free agent pitcher (and former Mariner) James Paxton. But injuries have limited Paxton (0.0) to exactly one appearance to date.
His callup of heralded rookie Jarred Kelenic (-1.0) got plenty of ink. But Kelenic managed just eight hits in 92 plate appearances and has since been sent down.
He also signed a brace of arms, some of whom have worked out. Those moves brought in reliever Drew Steckenrider (+0.6), starter Chris Flexen (+0.3), and relievers Paul Sewald (+0.6), and J.T. Chargois (+0.3). Net impact of those signings on the Mariners: +1.8 games.
DiPoto was less effective in his dealings with other teams. The eight players he brought in via trade, purchase or waiver claim include relievers Rafael Montero (-1.1) from Texas for a minor leaguer and Will Vest (-1.0), drafted from the Detroit organization. Net impact of all eight personnel acquisitions on the Mariners: -3.5 games.
Oakland Athletics, David Forst, -6.5 games
Forst took a major chance this winter, hoping he could replace free agent shortstop Marcus Semien with Rangers castoff Elvis Andrus. The latter cost only Khris Davis, a high-dollar player the A’s were delighted to part with, and also brought backup catcher Aramis Garcia (-0.8).
Not every plan works out, and this one certainly hasn’t. Semien (+3.2) is an All Star with Toronto, while Andrus (-1.1) is batting .228 for the A’s. That may not be the only reason why Forst’s A’s find themselves looking up at the Astros, but it’s one significant reason.
The reality is the Athletics are getting by this season on leftovers. Forst signed or re-signed eight players on the open market, the most productive of whom has been reliever Yusmeiro Petit (+0.5), who was released and then re-signed.
Most of the rest – Reymin Guduan (-0.4), Cam Bedrosian (+0.2), Domingo Acevedo (-0.2), Deolis Guerra (-0.3) and Sergio Romo (-0.1) – hurt the cause. The net impact of those five has been -0.8 games.
dark. Next. Assessing the NL Central GMs
The Athletics may survive this less-than-stellar off-season because they have a strong holdover cast including Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, and Mark Canha. But for Forst to be a contributor to any such success, Andrus, Garcia and a few other recent arrivals are going to have to turn things around quickly and abruptly.