Last Updated on 09/02/2023 by てんしょく飯
The Angels “dismantled” their team before the end of the regular season. On August 29, the Angels waived starting right-hander Lucas Giolito, relief pitchers Matt Moore, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dominic Leone, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk.
The Angels had the illusion of continuing to play with Ohtani.
Then, on August 31, the five players, with the exception of Grichuk, were assigned to other teams. All of them are veterans who will become free agents this offseason, and as a result, the Angels succeeded in cutting more than $5 million (about ¥728 million) from the team’s total annual salary. This has increased the possibility of the team falling below the luxury tax line of $233 million (¥33.9 billion).
This is a logical measure for the future of the team. The Angels are certain to make a qualifying offer to Shohei Ohtani, who will become a FA this offseason, but if negotiations to retain him break down and he is assigned to another team, he will be eligible for a second-round draft compensation pick. However, if he falls below the tax line, his right to a compensatory pick would be in the fourth round or later. Considering the team’s situation, in which rebuilding is a must, that is a difference in the clouds.
It is true, however, that the move to release players acquired in the trade market this summer for free in just one month has had no small impact on the baseball world. Some media outlets have criticized the move.
The U.S. media outlet Dead Spin dismissed the move as “symbolic of how the Angels are in a hell of their own making,” and denounced this summer’s reinforcements that allowed Ohtani to stay.
It’s hard to blame the team for having the illusion of continuing to play with Ohtani,” he said. But somehow they went a step further, hollowing out a minor league organization that was on a winning streak in late July and acquiring Giolito and Lopez, who would later be released from the White Sox for free. As a result, they are on the verge of dropping out of postseason contention for the ninth straight year.”
The “Dead Spin” media outlet, which also called the Angels’ leadership, including owner Art Moreno, “incompetent,” wrote of Ohtani, who continues to struggle in the face of looming FA.
The Mets and Dodgers will probably acquire Ohtani,” the media outlet Dead Spin wrote. Even if they don’t, there is little reason for him to stay with the Angels, whose development organization has completely collapsed, as evidenced by their 28th overall ranking in MLB, and whose major league roster is a pile of rotting gold.
The Angels decided to dismantle the team early in anticipation of a “lost season” for Ohtani, who had been a mainstay of the team. The headwind is only getting stronger with this severe decision.
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