Angels News: Several players join the org; debunking Winter Meetings misinformation

The Angels are continuing to add depth pieces at the Winter Meetings, via free agency and the Rule-5 Draft. The minor league free agent pick-ups: 3B/1B Carter Kieboom and RHP Endrys Briceño. The MLB Rule-5 draft pick: LHP Garrett McDaniels. The MiLB Rule-5 draft picks: RHP Gustavo Rodriguez and C Josh Crouch. The Angels did not lose a single player in either portion of the Rule-5 Draft.

The Kieboom addition resembles a lesser version of the Scott Kingery trade. Kieboom did not play in MLB last season, despite former cache early in his career (Kingery has not played in MLB since 2022, despite a lot of previous hype). Kieboom was a late-first round pick by the Nationals in 2016 and was seen as a future face of the franchise-type talent in their post-Rendon era. The likelihood for full-redemption/reclamation in Anaheim is low, but Kieboom is entering his age-27 season (many view age-27 seasons as a player's athletic peak). Maybe a change-of-scenery and inflated Salt Lake stats can boost his confidence to the point where he can contribute in Anaheim down-the-road. Low-risk, some-reward signing that provides insurance at a position of need.

Endrys Briceño is a 32-year-old non-prospect reliever. He is a career journeyman who will likely eat innings in AAA Salt Lake.

The Angels grab a left-handed pitcher named Garrett

The Angels' have their 40th man on the 40-man roster via the Rule-5 Draft: Garrett McDaniels. The Angels grabbed the soon-to-be 25-year-old from the Dodgers organization. He finished last season at AA Tulsa, the first time he pitched at that level. He only made two appearances for Tulsa, but is on the Angels' 40-man nonetheless. A left-handed pitcher named Garrett who throws gas is a solid archetype.

Here are McDaniels' MLB.com scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 40 | Slider: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and he runs it up to the upper-90s, while flashing an impressive slider and loopy curveball coming from his over-the-top release point & 6'2 frame. He has some Mackenzie Gore-esque mechanics, and incredible minor league statistics at the lower levels. Unfortunately, The Athletic's Sam Blum reported that he needs to be an Angel all season or else he will be offered back to the Dodgers for $50,000. Hard to say the Dodgers wouldn't take him back for $50K given his elite SO/BB ratio, MiLB stats, and great arsenal. Can a pitcher with two AA appearances beat out Quijada or Suarez as a left-handed arm out of the bullpen...and keep his job all season? Stay tuned!

The Angels made two selections in the MiLB portion of the Rule-5 Draft: Gustavo Rodriguez and Josh Crouch. Rodriguez is a prototypical young bullpen arm who throws upper-90s, but has command and mechanical issues. The Angels are desperate for catching depth in the minor leagues, and Crouch got some high marks during his time with the Tigers. He has 20 career AA games, and has been lauded for his ability to receive baseballs and handle pitching staffs.

Let's talk about the fake report about an Angels trade

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand sent Angels' fans into a tizzy with a report that a trade was imminent involving one of their outfielders. Many believed that meant Taylor Ward. Despite being involved in trade talks for some time now, Ward's agent, Joel Wolfe, immediately called around and heard nothing about a trade involving his client. The Angels both can't and won't trade Mike Trout. They aren't flipping Jorge Soler. Perhaps they could have dealt Mickey Moniak or Jo Adell, but why would that have gotten leaked?

No trade happened the day Feinsand reported that. The next day, FanSided's Robert Murray came out and said that reporting was false. Now, the Angels could easily still trade Ward, Moniak, or Adell, but they are standing pat at the moment.

Friendly reminder: trust nobody and do not overreact to any one-off report. Even if the source has shown reliability, wait for a Passan, Rosenthal, or Murray to tweet something out.

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