LAS VEGAS — A recurring question that hangs over any rebuilding team is how much they should just let their young players take their lumps in the big leagues, as opposed to letting them marinate for longer in the minors.
Angels interim general manager John Mozeliak, who is expecting to be turning the keys over to a new regime within a matter of weeks, has some parting advice.
“Developing at the big league level is challenging,” Mozeliak said from MLB’s annual GM Meetings on Wednesday. “At a very high level, directionally speaking, that’s what I would encourage the Angels to start grabbing hold of. They’ve been very aggressive in the past getting players to the big leagues. And I just don’t think that’s in their best interest.
“Next year, how they play, what their record’s going to look like, it’s hard to imagine it’s going to be a massive turnaround. So really start thinking about this in a an incremental way of getting better.”
For practical purposes, if the new leadership takes Mozeliak’s advice, it would mean plugging in some fillers at the major league level until they are sure the next generation of players is ready.
That could mean a second baseman getting slotted ahead of Christian Moore or a third baseman moving ahead of Denzer Guzman, even if those young players still prove to be the long-term answers.
“We will need to augment a little bit of this roster just so we aren’t forced to play people that aren’t ready,” Mozeliak said.
It remains to be seen what perspective the Angels’ next leader of baseball operations brings to the job, because it’s unclear who that will be. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment officials have been at the GM Meetings conducting preliminary meetings this week.
They are working through a list so they’ll be ready to hire someone as quickly as possible after MLB owners vote to approve the sale from Arte Moreno to Stan Kroenke, which the sides hope happens sometime before the end of December.
DETMERS FINISHES 6TH
Left-hander Reid Detmers finished sixth in American League Cy Young Award voting. Detmers earned one fourth-place vote and seven fifth-place votes. New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler was the unanimous winner.
Detmers had a 3.36 ERA in 185 innings, with 211 strikeouts.
DECISIONS COMING
Although Mozeliak is simply collecting information for the next GM on most matters, he will have to be the one who makes the decisions on the Angels’ 11 arbitration-eligible players by the Nov. 20 deadline.
As expected, Mozeliak didn’t want to get into the various candidates individually, but he said they have some interest in keeping all 11, depending on the money.
Mozeliak said they could look to agree to salaries with some before the deadline. Typically, if a player doesn’t agree to a salary lower than his projected arbitration figure before the tender deadline, he would be non-tendered.
The two players most vulnerable to be non-tendered are outfielders José Siri (projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $2.3 million) and Josh Lowe ($3.6 million).
The other nine on the list are left-handers Detmers ($7.5 million) and Tayler Saucedo ($1.5 million); right-handers Grayson Rodriguez ($2.1 million), Ben Joyce ($1.1 million) and Sam Bachman ($1.1 million); infielders Zach Neto ($9.8 million), Nolan Schanuel ($3 million) and Oswald Peraza ($1.4 million); and catcher Tyler Heineman ($1.5 million).
GOOD IMPRESSION
Shortstop Arjun Nimmala, who became the Angels’ top prospect after he was acquired in the trade that sent José Soriano to the Toronto Blue Jays, has lived up to the hype after the deal.
He had a .966 OPS with eight home runs in 27 games with the Angels’ Double-A team. In the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League, he’s posted a .974 OPS in 20 games.
As excited as people have been over Nimmala, Mozeliak maintained his patient perspective.
“Just watching his development over the last two months was great to see,” Mozeliak said. “I think he has a really bright future. But the one thing I think the Angels need to do is really be patient with our players and take that approach because, it’s going to be hard to win right away. So just be patient and let that talent base in the minor leagues mature and then be ready.”
Mozeliak said he would expect Nimmala, 21, to begin next season at Triple-A.
PRAISE FOR PINAZZI
In one season, left-hander Nicolò Pinazzi went from being an independent league player to having a spot on the Angels’ 40-man roster.
A couple of weeks after the Angels added the 27-year-old to the roster, Mozeliak said his performance demanded it. Pinazzi was set to become a minor-league free agent.
“I feel very confident that if we had not put him on our 40-man, someone else would have,” Mozeliak said. “I do think we’re in the business of keeping talent, so it was definitely something that I didn’t think was a difficult decision.”
Pinazzi had an 0.84 ERA at four levels of the Angels’ system, with 103 strikeouts in 64 innings. He also walked 33.
“It’s an elite swing-and-miss skill, but finding the strike zone was challenging, so therein lies the challenge,” Mozeliak said.