3 questions we'd ask LA Angels GM Perry Minasian if he was given truth serum

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Sometimes we just want to know what is really going on behind the scenes. General Managers and players always give the politically correct answer, but rarely seem to tell the full truth.

We saw a glimpse of it recently with Brian Cashman admitting that it was likely that the oft-injured Giancarlo Stanton was going to get injured again. It's not what anyone wants to hear, but it's the truth! Wouldn't it be a nice change of pace to hear Los Angeles Angels GM Perry Minasian say the same type of thing about Anthony Rendon, a player who has had even more injury woes than Stanton in recent years?

Minasian has always said the politically correct thing, but has rarely ever fully opens up and answers honestly. No, that's not his fault. That's what everyone does. But there are many questions Angels fans have for their GM that they'd love to see answered. Here are just three of those questions.

1) Just how hard is it working under Angels owner Arte Moreno?

Each and every day it feels like Arte Moreno finds a new way to outdo himself as the worst owner in the sport. Is he worse than John Fisher in Oakland? Probably not, but he's sure done a lot to tear down what was once a proud franchise.

Moreno seems to get a pass because of his relatively high payroll, but let's remind ourselves of something. Moreno has gone over the luxury tax twice in his tenure as Angels owner. Once came in his first season of owning the team. The other time came last season in a last-ditch effort to try and win with Shohei Ohtani. When that failed, he did everything in his power to squeeze under the luxury tax threshold. Now that Ohtani's gone, it's unlikely we see him get into the tax anytime soon. For a big market owner, that's not great.

It'd be more excusable if Moreno spent on player development. Or anything else. Turns out, he does not. Angels radio broadcasters don't even travel anymore. He's losing out on bench coaches his new managerial hire wants because he doesn't want to pay them fairly. The Angels still have one of the worst farms in the game because he doesn't want to spend money on players who aren't impacting the MLB team right now. Everything is a mess.

Moreno appeared to be selling the team last offseason, forcing the Angels to keep Phil Nevin around as the team's manager. Perry Minasian did not have a choice. Moreno then pulled the club off the market, shocking everyone, and remaining with the club for the foreseeable future. It's hard to know what Arte is ever thinking because he doesn't speak publicly. We know it's not ideal circumstances, but we just want to know what it's like.

2) Were the Angels seriously considered by Shohei Ohtani before he signed with the Dodgers?

Shohei Ohtani attempted to keep everything quiet when it came to his free agency process. He was extremely successful in doing so for the most part, but was far from perfect. Several things trickled out both before and after he signed with the Dodgers.

We know that the Blue Jays turned out to be major players. They met with him in Florida and were at least a team Ohtani seriously considered. We know that the Giants were willing to match the Dodgers' incredible offer in order to bring him to San Francisco. When it comes to the Angels, we know absolutely nothing. We know they were considered finalists, but heard nothing throughout the whole process.

Did the Angels ever meet with him? Did they ask and he said no? Did they ever get to make him an offer? Would they match the $700 million the Dodgers offered? There's so much we'd like to know that we just don't because Ohtani and the Angels love to keep things under wraps.

Whether the Angels actually stood a chance is something only Ohtani and the organization knows. My best guess is they'd be willing to match the Dodgers offer for Shohei, especially with the deferred payments. By the time Moreno would have to pay the ridiculous parts of Ohtani's deal, he likely would have the team sold. The question is if Ohtani would've considered them.

We know how much Ohtani values things like routine and comfort. We know he's loyal, at least to an extent. We also know that the Angels didn't win or even come close to winning anything with Ohtani here. With a weak farm system and a subpar MLB roster, it's hard to see this team winning anything anytime soon even with Ohtani. Still, the Angels must've done something right if they were "finalists", right?

3) If ownership stayed out of it, would you have traded Shohei Ohtani at some point?

The biggest failure of the Ohtani regime is not the franchise's inability to re-sign him. In fact, it can be argued that their money is better spent on multiple players instead of just Shohei. The biggest failure was the team not trading him.

The Angels had many chances to trade Ohtani when the team was not in a position to win. They could've moved him at the 2022 trade deadline for a historic haul. Yes, they would've gotten more than Washington got for Juan Soto even with one less year of control. They could've dealt him in the 2022 offseason with a full year of control. They could've dealt him at the 2023 trade deadline. Sure, the team was five games over .500, but were nowhere near a lock for the postseason and could've gotten a ton back even for a rental.

Trading Ohtani is something that was floated around a bit, but never seemed completely realistic unless the Angels were practically eliminated from contention at the 2023 trade deadline. The reason why is Arte Moreno. We know Moreno had no interest in parting from the cash cow that is Shohei Ohtani. Trading him meant there was no chance to re-sign him. That was a non-starter for Arte unless he absolutely had to.

If Perry didn't have to deal with a meddling owner, would he have traded Ohtani at any point? We know how poorly Minasian did at the trade deadline with the deals he made, but there's a good chance he would've gone in the other direction if Moreno hadn't given him a directive to win right now. Minasian has never been allowed to rebuild, but would he have wanted to if he had the chance?

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