ANAHEIM -- After a tough two-week stretch that saw the Angels lose seven in a row and 11 of 12 before their walk-off win in 10 innings on Saturday, general manager Perry Minasian gave a state of the organization address before Sunday’s game against the Mets.
Minasian acknowledged it’s been challenging for the Angels recently, especially with the bullpen struggling to protect leads. But he said he believes in manager Kurt Suzuki and the coaching staff and thinks things will turn for the better. They entered Sunday's series finale with a 13-21 record but they've only been outscored by 11 runs on the season, which is more indicative of a team that's 16-18, per their Pythagorean winning percentage.
“Bullpens go through ups and downs just like lineups, just like rotations, just like anything else,” Minasian said. “For me, the biggest thing is the group and how we respond and how we play and if our guys are prepared. We’ve been in a majority of our games. Those are signs to me that we're maturing and growing as a group and our best baseball is in front of us. There's no doubt about that.”
Minasian also said he’s been pleased with the job that Suzuki has done in his first year as manager. Suzuki was hired to a one-year deal before the season, which matches Minasian’s contract, as he signed an extension in 2024 that ends after this season.
“I think he's been great,” Minasian said. “When you go through tough stretches, it's tough. Nobody wants to see it. You're living it, it's emotional. But you find out a lot about people in those types of situations and being on the road trip and in that room, and even in New York, picking up a couple of tough losses, you see the quality of people we have. Whether it's the manager, whether it's the coaching staff, whether it's the locker room.”
The rotation has been much less of an issue than the bullpen this year. Entering play on Sunday, Angels starters had combined for a 3.89 ERA that was tied for the 11th-best mark in the Majors compared to their relievers who combined to post a 5.53 ERA that ranks second-worst. But Minasian has been encouraged by some of the younger arms in the bullpen like Ryan Zeferjahn, Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman and said help is on the way with both Kirby Yates and Ben Joyce making rehab appearances with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday.
“When you look at good teams, offensively we're in a decent spot and starting pitcher-wise, we've been pretty productive,” Minasian said. “So those are two good indicators of what we could be. Now we've got to fine-tune the rest of it, and obviously the bullpen's been up and down. We've got some younger guys pitching in roles they haven't pitched in. We had some older guys that haven’t necessarily performed great so far. But that'll work itself out. We've got good arms, we've got good people, and we'll be fine.”
Offensively, the Angels have been better than last year, though they still strike out at a high clip. They entered Sunday with 157 runs scored, which was tied for the 11th-most in the Majors. Their walk rate of 10.5 percent was tied for the sixth-highest mark in the big leagues, but their 25.4 percent strikeout rate is the highest in baseball.
Last year, they led the Majors with a 27.1 percent strikeout rate but also walked 8.1 percent of the time, which ranked 21st and was a factor in them ranking 25th in runs scored (673) despite hitting the fourth-most homers (226). This year, they were tied for sixth in homers with 43 entering Sunday, so the power is still there.
“I don't look at one certain thing,” Minasian said of the strikeouts. “To me, it's overall production. Everybody gets production in different ways and score runs in different ways. So where we lack in one area, we might be really good in other areas, like walks. Our offense up to this point has been a top 10 offense in baseball. If you told me right now we'll finish in the top 10 in offense at the end of the year, I'd feel pretty good about it.”