Grading Perry Minasian and the Los Angeles Angels front office for 2023 impact
By Bill Felber
Free agency
Unable to come to terms with Ohtani on an extension, the Los Angeles Angels focused their free agency efforts on a host of second-tier additions. They signed or extended 11 interchangeable pieces, the net impact to date turning out to be modestly harmful.
From a performance standpoint, easily the most impactful move was the signing of former Dodger starter Tyler Anderson for three years at $39 million. Half a season into that deal, it’s not looking good for Minasian or his Angels.
Anderson is 4-2 in 14 starts, but with a problematic 5.54 ERA. The only thing that’s saved Anderson is an offense averaging nearly six runs per game when he takes the mound. His pitching line translates to a -1.0 WAA.
In sum, Minasian made 11 free agent-related moves fleshing out the Angels roster, and they have virtually broken even: Five were positive, five negative, one neutral and the net impact is -0.3 WAA.
On the other hand, eight members of the 2022 Angels roster were released or lost to free agency only to catch on with other teams. But again, the impact has been at the margins. As measured by WAA, none of the eight impacted their new clubs by more than half a game, the total impact being -0.5. That negative score on free agent losses is a good thing for MInasian and the Angels.