American League

Athletics

• Joe Boyle is adding a sweeper.

Focusing this offseason on translating that high-strikeout form to the big leagues, Boyle added a sweeper to his arsenal of pitches, which also includes a traditional slider and curveball.

Blue Jays

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dealt with full-body pain for most of last season.

The first baseman had documented issues with his left wrist and right knee last year — he missed a handful of games, but was never placed on the injured list — but he said his pain spanned “from head to toes.” That said, Guerrero didn’t want to use nagging injuries as an excuse for his performance, instead saying the onus was on him because he didn’t prepare as well as he could have.

“If I tell you that I didn’t play with pain in a lot of games, I would be lying,” he said. “But that’s not an excuse. It’s part of the game. Sometimes you got to go on the field and grind, even if everything hurts. Also, I probably won’t blame that because I didn’t have the best preparation in the offseason last year.”

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American League

Angels

• José Suarez will be stretched out as a starter and is out of options.

Like Adell, Suarez is out of Minor League options and will have to be exposed to waivers if he doesn’t make the team. Suarez, 26, is coming off an injury-plagued year that saw him post an 8.29 ERA with 28 strikeouts, 20 walks and 10 homers allowed in 33 2/3 innings. But he has had success in the past, including a 3.86 ERA in 207 1/3 innings from 2021-22.
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Suarez is currently stretched out to be a starter, giving the Angels some rotation depth. But his best chance of making the club is as a long reliever and potential spot starter.

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American League

Angels

• Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com still sees Carlos Estévez as the closer.

Estévez is expected to be the closer again this season, although he did struggle in the second half. Stephenson was the club’s biggest addition in the offseason, signing for three years and $33 million. He’ll be the club’s top setup reliever, and could take over as closer if Estévez falters.

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American League

Angels

• General manager Perry Minasian stated that Nolan Schanuel will have to earn his first base job.

[“]But Nolan’s earned the right to have the opportunity to come into camp and compete for the first-base job. He’s put a lot of work in this offseason.” Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Angels

• Contrary to initial reports, Aaron Hicks was NOT guaranteed to be an everyday outfielder.

Hicks said on Tuesday that he was told by Minasian and manager Ron Washington that he will be an everyday player, seeing action at all three outfield spots and occasional time at designated hitter. But he later clarified, he only met that he’s ready to play every day and hadn’t been given any assurances about regular playing time. Minasian also said Trout will remain the club’s center fielder and that there are no plans to move him off the position.

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American League

Angels

• Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak are both out of options.

Both Adell and Moniak no longer have options. That means the team will have to make a potentially tough decision. If they add an outfielder before the start of the season, it’s hard to envision Adell staying on the team. But with his tools, at just 24 years old, it’s hard to give up on him.

As of right now, the outfield will consist of Trout, Taylor Ward, Moniak and Adell.

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American League

Angels

• Nolan Schanuel is trying to get all buff because chicks dig the long ball.

Schanuel said he has been lifting weights and hitting in the cages four times a week this offseason in an effort to get stronger and develop more power. His average exit velocity was 85.4 mph, below the MLB average of 89 mph, per Baseball Savant. Schanuel also said he has been working on his speed. He ranked in the 36th percentile in sprint speed.

“That’s what this offseason was about for me,” Schanuel said. “I got my time in the big leagues, so now it’s about what I need to work on. I need to work on getting faster and unlocking that power with a wood bat. Just little things like that. But my time in the big leagues taught me what I need to get better at.”

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American League

Athletics

• Esteury Ruiz is working on getting to more power with his swing.

While Ruiz does not profile as a power hitter, nor do the A’s expect him to morph into one, they do believe there is a way to fine-tune his swing in order to unlock better contact. Those efforts have already gotten underway this offseason.

“I think the biggest thing, we can clean his mechanics up offensively,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “I think we can open up some more power for him and some bat speed, and we’re excited about that. It takes the player to engage and want to make those changes, and I think he does want to make those changes.

“It’s going to be a process that he’s got to go through, but we’ve identified the things that we feel can open him up and make him even more of an impact player. He’s impactful when he gets on base, but our goal is to increase that by providing some power behind that swing as well.”

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American League

Athletics

• Sean Newcomb had a second knee surgery since he last pitched.

A's announce LHP Sean Newcomb underwent right knee arthroscopic surgery with Dr. Will Workman today in San Ramon. This is separate from the left knee surgery Newcomb underwent in September. He's expected to be ready for Spring Training.

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) December 20, 2023

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• Free Agent Lucas Giolito made an adjustment with the Angels to regain some velocity.

Laurila: What about your fastball velocity?

Giolito: “That’s roughly the same, it’s still low- to mid-90s. My velo was kind of down earlier this year, but I made a mechanical adjustment while I was with the Angels [from July 26 to August 31] and got it to tick back up a little. A lot of that was getting back on top of the fastball, which also helped me get a little more ride and hop.”

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