Grading Perry Minasian and the Los Angeles Angels front office for 2023 impact
By Bill Felber
Acquired or traded
The Los Angeles Angels have adopted a passive, almost somnolent approach to their interactions with other teams since the end of the 2022 season. Minasian made only two acquisitions of major league talent, and only traded away, waived or sold four fringe players or prospects that to date have made a major league contribution to other teams.
He seemed largely content to play with the holdover group from 2022. It was not an illogical position to take given that the holdovers included Trout, Ohtani and Rendon.
The two big trade acquisitions were outfielder Hunter Renfroe and infielder Gio Urshela.
The Angels got Renfroe from Milwaukee for Janson Junk, Elvis Peguero and a minor leaguer. He’s been a disappointment, hitting .254 and generating -0.9 WAA to the Los Angeles cause.
Urshela, acquired from Minnesota last November in a trade that cost L.A. a minor leaguer, had been an infield fixture before an injury that will likely cost him the rest of the season. He’s batting .299 in 218 plate appearances, although with only two home runs. That absence of power is a big part of the reason why despite a solid average his contributions work out to -0.1 WAA.
None of the four departures have hurt in the short term, although either Junk and/or Peguero have the potential to change that assessment over time.