An Outlook for the 2024 Winter Meetings
December 8, 2024 - Written by Bryan Whitfield
Photo Credit : @MLBTradeRumors - X
It’s That Time of Year!
The busiest time of the year is here as the MLB Winter Meetings has officially arrived and it’s sure to bring a lot of jam-packed action all week long. Baseball fans everywhere crave their team making that big splash that can change the course of their franchise for years to come. Angel fans are no different, and while the Halos have been the most busy team of the offseason, that doesn’t mean they plan on stopping any time soon. In fact, they are just getting started. The Winter Meetings, for those that don’t know, is typically where the most moves are made both on the free agent market and the trade market. Executives across all 30 teams get to meet face to face with agents and other teams to discuss deals that could help their franchise for the now or for the future. This years meetings will run through December 8th all the way through the 12th, while we likely won’t see a ton of activity Sunday as reps, agents, players and reporters will be arriving in Dallas throughout the day, there could be a flurry of moves that we could see happen, however most activity should start Monday.
Insight into the Angels Plans
The Angels have a lot of needs they need to continue to fill including adding an infielder, outfielder (preferably a center-fielder), a couple of bullpen arms and possibly another starter. Angels GM Perry Minasian gave us a little insight on what the Angels wishlist could be entering the Winter Meetings and for the rest of the offseason. “We'd love to add more and we're not close-minded. We're going to keep following the trade market, following the free-agent market, and see where it goes. But rotation is still a spot that if we feel like there's an improvement out there, we'll look to do it.” After a 99-loss season, the Angels have cast a wide-net and are looking to improve this club any way they see fit. Angel fans want another starter and Perry seemingly left the door open to the possibility of acquiring another starter this offseason after the acquisitions of both Yusei Kikuchi and Kyle Hendricks. Most recently, MLB Insider, Jon Heyman of the NY Post, reported the Angels were seeking a big-time left-handed power bat. It’s unknown whether that will come in the form of an infielder or an outfielder but there are some names out there that could fit that description including outfielder Cody Bellinger and infielders like Nolan Gorman as well as a former highly touted prospect, Mets third baseman, Brett Baty.
The trade block is something that could turn heads this offseason. If the Angels add an outfielder, what would they do with 6 outfielders? The logical answer is to trade one or two of their current outfielders. The man with the most value that could be available is Taylor Ward. The Royals were a team with varying interest in the outfielder earlier this offseason. The Pirates are another team that were interested in Ward prior to the 2024 Trade Deadline. Ward still has 2 years left of control and the Angels reportedly have a big price tag attached to Ward. While the Angels are trying to compete for the now, there is a chance they opt to trade someone of lesser impact like Mickey Moniak or Jo Adell. Moniak and Adell should have less value on the trade market than Taylor Ward but still should command some good value. A couple of other names the Angels could deal this offseason is starting pitcher Tyler Anderson who has one year left of control on his contract, he is owed $13M but the pitching market has been fairly inflated that a team might be willing to take on Anderson’s contract to land a pitcher. If the Angels were to trade Anderson, this would open up a spot in the rotation and either allow them to acquire one via the trade or free agent market, or open up a spot for youngster in the Angels system. Of the most interesting names that could be floated around in trade talks is left-hander, Reid Detmers. Detmers was a first round pick by the Halos in 2020 and has shown some ace like stuff but last season was overall a nightmare for the left-hander. The Angels could look to give Detmers a change of scenery, but they should still hold a high price tag on him as he could be a huge part of the rotation. One final name on the Angels 26-man roster is infielder, Luis Rengifo who had his name floated around in trade discussions prior to the 2024 deadline. While I believe Rengifo is the most unlikely to get dealt this offseason between Ward, Anderson and himself. He is a name to keep an eye on as he has one year left of control on his deal as well.
The Angels should have some untouchables this offseason but Perry did say he believes for the first time since he’s been here that the Angels have the ability to compete in any trade talk regardless of the player this offseason. While that might be true, the Angels should still keep top prospects, Caden Dana, Christian Moore and George Klassen on the untouchable list as they are sure to bring impact as early as this season. It will be interesting to see what exactly Perry does this offseason in terms of the trade market and if any player is truly untouchable on his radar.
Important Events During the Winter Meetings
— Sunday, Dec. 8: Hall of Fame Classic Baseball Era Committee results released
— Tuesday, Dec. 10: MLB Draft Lottery
Lottery Odds:
[1] 22.45% Rockies (.377) [10] 1.50% Rays (.494)
[2] 22.45% Marlins (.383) [11] 1.22% Red Sox (.500)
[3] 17.96% Angels (.389) [12] 1.09% Twins (.506)
[4] 10.20% Nationals (.438) [13] 0.82% Cardinals (.512)
[5] 7.48% Blue Jays (.457) [14] 0.68% Cubs (.512)
[6] 5.31% Pirates (.469) [15] 0.53% Mariners (.525)
[7] 3.67% Reds (.475) [16] 0.27% D-backs (.549)
[8] 2.45% Rangers (.481) [17] 0.0% White Sox (.253 – ineligible for lottery pick)
[9] 1.90% Giants (.494) [18] 0.0% A’s (.426 – ineligible for lottery pick)
— Wednesday, Dec. 11: Rule 5 Draft
The most important of the three events being held in Dallas this year for the Angels is the MLB Draft Lottery. The Angels currently hold a 17.96% chance of receiving the number one pick in the draft that will be held during the 2025 All Star Break in July. Of the top prospects entering the draft this upcoming season Matt Holliday’s son, not named Jackson, soon to be 18-year-old Ethan Holliday, coming out of Stillwater High School. Another prospect atop the rankings is 21 year old outfielder, Jace LaViolette out of Texas A&M. These are just a couple names the Angels could be after if they win the Draft Lottery on Tuesday.
International Players of Interest
There are a couple of intriguing names the Angels have been linked to thus far this offseason, particularly on the international market both from Japan and Korea.
Tomoyuki Sugano
Sugano, 35, is a right-handed starter who will be coming from Japan’s NPB. Sugano is an 8-time All Star, back-to-back Sawamura Award Winner in both 2017 and 2018, Japan’s equivalent of the CY Young Award. He also is holds a pitching Triple-Crown, two strikeout league titles and a 3-time Central League MVP in 2014, 2020 and 2024. Coming off an incredible season with the Yomiuri Giants in which he had a 1.67 ERA across 156.2 innings with 111 strikeouts. The Angels were one of 5 times that had shown interest in signing Sugano just 2 weeks ago as reported by Jon Morosi on MLB’s Hot Stove. Sugano is seeking a major league contract this offseason and is likely to fetch around $12M in AAV according to MLB Trade Rumors. It should be noted the Angels were linked to Sugano prior to signing Yusei Kikuchi, so things could have changed. The pitching market also has been inflated, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Sugano gets more than that.
Shinnosuke Ogasawara
Ogasawara, 27, is a left-handed starting pitcher who also will be coming from Japan’s NPB. Ogasawara, posted a 3.12 ERA in 144.1 innings of work for the Chunichi Dragons of the NPB. He struck out 82 hitters and walked 22 for the Dragons in 2024 across 24 starts. While he had an incredibly low walk rate of 3.7% this season, which was his career best, he had a career worst 13.6% strikeout rate this past season. Per Yahoo Sports Japan on November 4th, the Angels are one of five teams that have shown interest in 27-year old left-hander, Shinnosuke Ogasawara. Ogasawara, aims to transfer to the United States using the posting system, revealed in an interview with U.S. baseball officials on the 4th. The Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays are of those five teams. Once again it should be noted that the Angels were linked to Ogasawara prior to landing Yusei Kikuchi on a 3-year deal. Media outlets expect Ogasawara to land a deal around the $8-12M range on a two-year deal.
Hyeseong Kim
The soon to be 26 year old, Kim, will be coming from South Korea’s KBO League. Kim is a 3-time KBO Fielding Award Winner, one at SS in 2021 and twice at 2B in both 2022 and 2023. Kim is an elite contact hitter as he has a career .304 average in part of 8 seasons in the KBO. Hyeseong, who has no relation to Padres free agent Ha-Seong Kim, could provide the Angels with a great leadoff hitter with decent speed and would be able to fill in at SS while Zach Neto recovers from his injury. In his career, Kim has shown off some defensive versatility which he’s shown with his most time at 2B with 657 games and 284 games at SS. He has also played 19 games at 3B, 44 games in LF, and 1 game in RF, so Kim could provide the Halos with some nice defensive versatility which the Angels could always certainly use. Per Sam Connon of Sports Illustrated, the Angels, Mariners, and White Sox are among teams that have been tied to infielder Hyeseong Kim thus far. Though he did mention the list of suitors could come into sharper focus given the time frame Kim will be working with, which is 30 days as he was posted earlier this week on Thursday, meaning Kim will have until 5pm PT to sign on January 3rd of 2025. Kim is expected to get around $8M per MLB Trade Rumors as they have him landing a three-year deal worth $24 million dollars.
Rōki Sasaki
Sasaki, 23, is expected to be posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines during the Winter Meetings. While the Angels haven’t been linked to him this offseason as of yet, Sasaki is the biggest international name coming over to the states this offseason. Sasaki for one plans to sign after Januaray 15th which would allow him to receive more money as teams will have to use their international bonus pool money to sign the phenom. The largest pool available at this current moment is $7.5M and the lowest currently sits at $5.1M. Sasaki, held a 2.35 ERA last season for the Marines across 111 innings of work with 129 strikeouts. He’s a career 2.10 ERA pitcher in his first four seasons of pro ball in Japan. The team that Sasaki signs with would get a player on a league minimum deal and 6 years of control. With him being 23 years old, he fits in perfectly with what the Angels are trying to build as a young core and he’d be able to join Logan O’Hoppe, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel. Rōki Sasaki likely would immediately be the Angels ace if the team can somehow land Sasaki. Every team likely has a chance and while some teams are currently favored, including the Dodgers and Padres, it’s really anyone’s game. The Angels proved that back in 2017 when they weren’t favored to sign a certain two-way player from Japan.
Let The Fun Begin!
It should be a fun week for baseball with the Winter Meetings officially starting tomorrow. The Angels have clear cut needs, while I don’t see them signing a player with a qualifying offer attached, I do see them making some impactful moves. I personally expect them to sign a couple of arms to add to the bullpen as well as add a position player or two via the trade market. One name that makes a lot of sense for the Angels and that would fit the left-handed power hitting profile as a center-fielder is Cubs outfielder, Cody Bellinger, who the Cubs have been aggressively trying to trade this offseason. We’ll see what the Angels end up doing, but one things for sure, they still have a lot of work to do, and they plan to continue to be aggressive this offseason.
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