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Angels scapegoats: 1 to fire, 1 to put on the hot seat, 1 to be patient with

By Zachary Rotman |
Los Angeles Angels v New York Yankees
Los Angeles Angels v New York Yankees / Sarah Stier/GettyImages
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The Los Angeles Angels have done a nice job hovering around .500 this season, but have yet to play any brand of consistent baseball. It feels like on days they can pitch they can't hit, and when they can hit they can't pitch.

After losing their first three games in Houston the Halos sit at 30-30 on the season. That's good enough to not be a laughing stock but not good enough to be in any sort of playoff conversation They're currently eight games back in the division and 4.5 games back in the Wild Card.

All season long Angels fans have wanted an overhaul of the entire staff. Some of the complaints are justified, some of them, I believe, are not. Shake-ups likely won't happen mid-season, but if the Angels underperform and miss the playoffs once again, you can almost guarantee the Angels will make a slew of changes.

The LA Angels should fire manager Phil Nevin

Phil Nevin has been on the chopping block since the end of the 2022 season in the minds of many Angels fans. He got the job when Joe Maddon was fired, but didn't do anything to earn any rope from Angels fans.

Nevin wasn't let go because Arte Moreno decided last minute to not sell the team, and was given a shot for this season. Why that's the case I have no idea since this was really the Angels year to showcase whether they can be successful or not to Shohei Ohtani, but I digress.

Nevin has been here and while it does appear to have respect of players in the clubhouse, his in-game managing has left a lot to be desired.

Nevin's managing of the bullpen has been very subpar in my opinion, and his lineups have also raised some eyebrows.

The nail in the coffin for me has to come from the fundamentals or lack thereof. The Angels are one of the more undisciplined teams I've ever seen, which is hard to admit.

This team has a .500 record and is way more talented than that. They have two of the best players on the planet and have surrounded them with the best depth in the Trout-Ohtani era, yet the team doesn't even look close to a playoff team.

Nevin doesn't have this team playing near their potential and has done very little to make a positive impact. I'd be shocked if he's the manager in 2024.

LA Angels pitching coach Matt Wise should be on the hot seat

Matt Wise is another member of the Angels staff that fans want to go and it's easy to see why. The reason he should be on the hot seat is because of the fact that seemingly every Angels pitcher this season outside of Matt Moore, Carlos Estevez, Jaime Barria and Chris Devenski has regressed.

Even in what ended up being a lost season, the Angels were one of the better pitching teams in baseball in 2022. Their starting rotation was a young one and it felt like it was going to ascend in 2023. They added Tyler Anderson coming off of a great year.

The bullpen has over achieved in my eyes thanks to newcomers like Estevez, Moore, and Devenski, but the rotation has taken a massive step in the wrong direction.

Shohei Ohtani got off to an incredibly fast start this season but has struggled mightily of late, particularly with the home run ball. Ohtani keeps getting beaten by the same pitch, his sweeper, against left-handed hitters and Wise doesn't seem to be any help there.

Patrick Sandoval still has his issues getting deep into games consistently and has seen his strikeout rate plummet. Reid Detmers looks lights out for the first three or four innings before constantly getting blown up in the middle innings. Tyler Anderson looks like a shell of the pitcher he was last season and even in 2021. Jose Suarez had an ERA approaching 10.00 before landing on the Injured List.

A rotation that finished sixth in all of baseball in ERA last season is now 19th in 2023 and only trending downwards. Of course it's not all on Wise, but seeing pitchers struggle with the same things over and over again is incredibly frustrating.

His job should be a bit more secure than Nevin because he's had some success, but he should be on very thin ice. If things don't improve, I'd expect him gone as well.

LA Angels general manager Perry Minasian deserves more patience

Perry Minasian was given a very clear task. That task was making a playoff team while staying under the luxury tax. While the Angels are not in playoff positioning, I don't think Minasian is the reason why.

The Angels had a good rotation last season and brought in Tyler Anderson to fortify it. Anderson has been a massive disappointment, but anyone who predicted he'd have an ERA well over 5.00 through the month of May would be lying after the season he just had. He was given just $13 million annually which isn't a ton, so the Angels weren't expecting a repeat of his great season, but it was unrealistic to expect this steep of a drop-off.

Minasian has made the lineup deeper than it's been in years. Additions of Hunter Renfroe, Gio Urshela, and Brandon Drury have all paid dividends and have done wonders in lengthening the Angels lineup.

In the bullpen, after a horrific offseason in 2021, Minasian brought in both Carlos Estevez and Matt Moore who have been excellent. Even Chris Devenski and Jacob Webb on Minor League deals have made an impact.

When looking at the trades Minasian made at the 2022 trade deadline, two of the three have been massive successes. Logan O'Hoppe looks like the catcher of the future while Mickey Moniak has had some great moments this season.

When looking at draft picks Zach Neto looks like a franchise shortstop while arms like Ben Joyce, Chase Silseth, and Sam Bachman among others have made an impression.

Minasian has fielded what I believe should be a competitive ball club and has done a tremendous job drafting and developing young talent very quickly. He's far and away better than Billy Eppler and doesn't deserve to lose his job after building up what the Angels have from virtually nothing outside of Trout and Ohtani.

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