Tuesday, the Los Angeles Angels officially announced Perry Minasian as their new GM, replacing Billy Eppler who was let go at the end of the 2020 season.
Minasian has serious baseball roots as his father Zack Minasian was the Manager of the Texas Rangers clubhouse for two decades. He has had interactions with Nolan Ryan and Bo Jackson, amongst others, so we can assume the baseball pedigree runs deep.
He has worked within the Rangers’ organization and was linked to Alex Anthopolous, the former Toronto Blue Jays GM, from their time together in Toronto and later with the Atlanta Braves.
Does Hiring Perry Minasian Matter?
For all that his baseball resume boasts, Perry Minasian has his work cut out for him, given the Angels’ regular and postseason records.
They have not won the World Series since 2002, haven’t won a playoff series since 2009, and have not made a postseason appearance since 2014.
They have, arguably, the best player in baseball in Mike Trout, but their pitching has been so bad (particularly the last few seasons) that any mention of Perry Minasian’s name alludes to pitching.
There are big names out there, particularly Trevor Bauer, but the Angels failed to land Gerrit Cole last year and blew it on one-year deals for lesser pitchers like Julio Teheran. Can Perry Minasian find another Dylan Bundy the way Eppler did? That can help a rotation, but Bundy would be a better number two.
For Perry Minasian, Pitching Should Still Remain The Number One Priority
We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again, but the pitching simply has to be addressed. Perry Minasian acknowledged Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney, but fans will have to wait to hear a bit about what his plans are for the starting rotation.
The Angels’ 5.09 ERA last season was the third-worst in the AL, while the combined ERA of the Halos’ starters was the second-worst in baseball (5.52) and ranked 21st in combined fWAR at 2.9.
The Shohei Ohtani pitching experiment hasn’t yielded any serious results despite his star potential and his 2018 Rookie of the Year win. The Angels did not get to Marcus Stroman or Kevin Gausman who have accepted one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offers from the Mets and Giants.
That could play into the Angels plans next year when they are working through what to do with Albert Pujols if these two pitchers become available again.
Charlie Morton, Jake Odorizzi, Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton are all options for the Angels.
What Will Perry Minasian Do With The Rest Of the Lineup
We can assume Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are the untouchables so what will Perry Minasian do about the rest of the Angels lineup?
Andrelton Simmons is a lights-out defensive player, but as a free agent and someone who has missed 60 games in two seasons with the same ankle being hurt, the Angels could be out for an upgrade.
Didi Gregorius had a great season for the Phillies. He was 284/.339/.488 with 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, and an .827 OPS for the Phillies. Gregorius’ OPS is low and that is among many reasons why Lindor would be an upgrade.
Francisco Lindor would be the ultimate prize for the Angels, but what would he cost them? You may salivate at the prospect of Rendon, Trout, and Lindor in the same lineup, but the Angels need pitchers more than anything else.
Will Payroll Be A Problem for Perry Minasian?
The Angels payroll isn’t going to be a challenge when owner Arte Moreno declared recently that the team’s budget will not shrink. We know that Moreno likes to buy big free agents like Rendon. He also paid the $194-million payroll luxury tax before the season was supposed to start in March.
COVID 19 doesn’t seem to have concerned Moreno, whose Opening Day payroll in July was $71.2 million, the second-highest figure in the American League West.
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