Angels Scapegoats: 1 who deserved his fate, 1 who didn't, 1 person we should blame more

Perry Minasian should not have been given another year after his deadline failures

As much as Angels fans want to blame Perry Minasian for keeping Shohei Ohtani around and buying at the trade deadline, that's on Arte Moreno. We know that the Angels GM had absolutely no say regarding what he was allowed to do with Shohei. In fact, we'd like to believe if Perry had the chance, Ohtani would've been dealt at the 2022 trade deadline when the Angels could've gotten a historic haul in return.

While Minasian is blameless with choosing the team's direction, he deserves a whole lot of blame for the players he traded for. Every single one of them with one real exception was dreadful. The team objectively got worse post-deadline, and injuries weren't the only reason why.

The Angels acquired Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Dominic Leone, Randal Grichuk, and C.J. Cron at or around the deadline in exchange for some of their best prospects. These were all rentals who were having strong seasons, and all seemed to take a step back with the Angels.

Again, nobody blames Minasian for buying. That was Moreno-mandated. However, Moreno did not force Minasian to trade for these players. He did not force Minasian to only target rentals. That was his doing, and something he does not deserve the chance to better. The Angels haven't sniffed the playoffs with Minasian in control, and with Shohei Ohtani gone, chances are that won't change anytime soon.