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.