Uncustomed Heroes of 2022: Braves

 

It is insanely hard, in this current playoff climate, for there to be repeat World Series winners. The playoffs now last so long that it's impossible for the 'best teams' to hold onto momentum the entire way through. The era of the Yankees or Braves winning every year may be behind us.

That being said, if anybody was gonna go back-to-back, I thought it was gonna be the Braves.

The 2021 team was a feel good come to prominence that no one expected, and it was a season I knew they'd be able to build on. Sure enough, the Braves outdo the Mets in the 11th hour for the division, make smarter decisions, call up killer pieces like Spencer Strider and Michael Harris, and look like a more confident, more pronounced team. 

...and then they got trounced in the playoffs by the Phillies of all people. I sure do know how to call 'em.

The Braves have a lot to be proud of, though, and still probably have the strongest team in the NL East [sorry, Mets]. As much as some pieces are leaving in free agency, the big guns that make this team can't-miss baseball are tied up for most of the decade. 

Adam Duvall, fortunately, is one of the aforementioned free agents. Not that his season was bad, as he did nearly make the All-Star team, and he hit 12 homers, but in a shortened 86-game season he still struck out 101 times and hit .213. Duvall is still very much a one-dimensional power hitter who is good to you when he's surging, and this year he really wasn't surging. Then he got injured, missed the playoffs and spent the rest of his contract at home. As much as he helped the team in 2021, I doubt he'll be missed. 

2023 Prediction: A middle of the road team signs him to a 1-year deal, he does okay. The big years may be over.

Then you have Marcell Ozuna. After the battery charges, the Braves haven't really decided what to think about Ozuna, even if he did have a monstrous 2020 season as a DH. With the team growing up and more outfielders and power hitters settling in, there's less of a place on this team for someone like Ozuna, and despite that he's still signed until 2024. This season, in 124 games he hit 56 RBIs and 23 homers while still being phased out as much as the Braves could.

2023 Prediction: Similar numbers. I don't even think the Braves WANT Ozuna to have anymore good seasons. If he does, he'll likely be trade bait for somebody. 

After being a respectable, consistent closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers for 10 seasons, Kenley Jansen took the free agency period to find a new place to play, and landed in Atlanta, who...moved Will Smith over to make room. Jansen, despite a 3.38 ERA, is a rock in the ninth, and led the NL in saves with 41, bringing his career total to 391, bringing him within 10 of 400 overall, and bringing him to 8th overall on  the all-time saves list, and three under former Braves closer Craig Kimbrel. It's clear that Jansen is etching his name in the history books as a closer, and while he wasn't perfect for the Braves, he did exactly what they signed him to do- dominate the ninth by any means necessary.

2023 Prediction: Similar to this year, somebody signs him, he gives them the traditional Jansen material with another 30-40 saves, and we might be doing this for a bit. I dunno if anyone wants to give him a long-term deal.

A few favorable bullpen heroes for the Braves this year. First, Collin McHugh, former Astros starter, has become a pretty efficient bullpen arm since stints with the Red Sox and Rays. In 58 appearances he sported a 2.60 ERA and 75 strikeouts, in addition to notching a considerable amount more innings than most relievers due to his starting experience. McHugh was a much-needed long-man presence for a varied relief squad.

2023 Prediction: I'm not sure who is on the Braves' shortlist to close, or if they're getting anybody, but...guys, Collin McHugh might be working the ninth for some spots this year, and that's alright with me.

 

A.J. Minter, the perennial Braves bullpen favorite, had another strong year this year, with a 2.06 ERA, 94 Ks and 5 wins in 75 games. Minter is a workhorse and a club favorite, and the Braves are lucky to have him.

2023 Prediction: The way Minter has swung recently, 2023 is looking like a down season, but I still see big postseason moments coming his way.

Even with a packed rotation, the Braves gave a few starts to rookie Bryce Elder, who already looks like he's been living in the woods for some time. Elder impressed for the most part, with a 3.17 ERA and 47 Ks in 10 games, 9 of them starts. Ultimately I think he was just low on the depth chart, and once Anderson came back he was back down in the minors.

2023 Prediction: Either there is room for him, and he has a Kyle Wright-esque breakout, or there isn't and he's a big piece in a trade deadline deal. It kinda depends on whether or not Mike Soroka is gonna be a thing in 2023, and I'm honestly not sure if he will be.

This story you've already heard, but...for the purposes of this post. So Ozzie Albies gets injured, right? The Braves do what they did when Acuna was injured and bring up a rookie who's ready to take on MLB work to take his place for a bit. Like Michael Harris before him, Vaughn Grissom took to the majors like a trout to water, and hit .291 with 18 RBIs and 5 homers in 41 games. Mind you, the man is 21 years old. Yes, Albies eventually rejoined the Braves lineup and Grissom became a bench man, but ooooh boy is this kid valuable. The good news for Braves fans is he can play shortstop, and might have to considering who might be leaving town.

2023 Prediction: Vaughn Grissom will be the next Brave to be locked up for the foreseeable future. 

Onto the trade deadline acquisitions. Robbie Grossman was the most useful guy they got, as he'd been a durable, contact-hitting favorite in Detroit, and Oakland now that you mention it, for the last few years. Just a guy that's good to have around. In Atlanta, Grossman improved on a slow 2022 start and hit .217 with 30 hits and 22 RBIs in 46 games. He also posted some of his best defensive numbers since his 20s. 

2023 Prediction: Back to what he was doing before, signing with non-competitive teams and having great seasons for them.

In a very interesting move, the Braves traded Will Smith to Houston for Jake Odorizzi, as they were better off with rotation security than bullpen security. Now, we know how this went, considering Smith got his second consecutive World Series ring with the Astros, but Odo was no slouch either, striking out 40 in 10 games, despite an ERA over 5, and giving up 2 runs in 3 playoff innings. He's still a reliable depth piece at this point in his career.

2023 Prediction: Well, he's at the back half of a rotation led by Jacob deGrom. The odds are, if he stays healthy, and he probably will, he will get a ton of starts next year. I'd love for deGrom to stay healthy, we all would, but...I feel like Odo is gonna get a lot of work next year in Texas. A lot like Jordan Lyles and Kyle Gibson once Kluber got hurt.

And in the second baffling trade the Braves made this July, they shipped Jesse Chavez and Tucker Davidson over to LA to have Raisel Iglesias work the eighth...which is odd, because working the ninth is more his thing. I think it was just in case Jansen fell apart. Still, Iglesias was excellent as a Brave, allowing only 1 earned run in 36 innings, and striking out 30/100 batters. Iglesias is still scary when he's on, and his back half numbers gave the Braves some good feelings about their long term bullpen security.

2023 Predictions: I'm thinking Iglesias is just the Braves' new closer, so he's gonna be really good at that for a couple years.

Tomorrow, a few members of a Brewers team that were so close to a playoff run.

2023 Hall of Fame Veterans Committee Results: Crime Pays

 I didn't have time this week to do a probability post for the Veterans Committee vote that was scheduled for this week. Purely because it would be a can of worms no matter how I opened it.

Sixteen baseball personnel had a list of eight former players from the 80s, 90s and 00s to potentially induct into the baseball Hall of Fame. Three of those names, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro, were admitted steroid abusers. One more was Curt Schilling, who, as qualified as he is, is genuinely detestable as a human being. Then you have Albert Belle, which is the quintessential lay-person's 'HOW IS HE NOT IN', two great players with savage second half drop-offs in Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy and...Fred McGriff.

Looking at this field, and knowing what I would do, as opposed to baseball writers and personnel, I just figured it wouldn't go well for me. I take the Howard Bryant approach of thinking no one who cheated and took steroids should be allowed in the Baseball Hall of Fame. And yet so many baseball fans don't want to think about that and go 'Bonds should be in', etc. 

And I feel like this argument keeps gestating and gestating and the people who want him and Clemens in are never gonna see the immoral part of the steroids thing like I have. As a baseball person, yeah, sure, Barry Bonds is an all-time figure. But at a certain point, his production became more about the artificial advantage and less about god-given right. Same with Clemens. Whereas Murphy and Mattingly are proponents of the pre-steroid era, where great players would just slow down as they hit their 30s and there wouldn't be any trainer with a syringe going 'play for 10 more years'. 

The only players I liked on this ballot, and had any real want of entry for, were McGriff, Mattingly and Murphy, and I was just convinced that because of the steroids guys, none of them would get in. I'd made the McGriff argument for about 10 years on my HOF ballot posts, that McGriff was one of the best pure hitters of the 90s, that he should be in if Baines, Bagwell and Alomar are all in, and that if the 1994 season was a full year, he'd have 500 homers and this wouldn't be a question. It's just none of the sportswriters seemed to agree with me, despite...obvious signs that he was a HOF-caliber hitter for 16 years. 

And so going into today, I was...dreading the outcome. Because I knew there were enough steroid-faithfuls in the voting committee, and I knew that something would seep through. I was at a friend's place doing other shit when the news broke, and I felt scared to even check.

The results of this ballot was the strangest thing. Like, I did not expect the one guy who deserved to get in to actually get in. With all the hubbub about the other guys, all the years that they've put up electable people only to vote in either no one or just some executives, I...wasn't thinking it'd be like this.

But yeah...Fred McGriff is a Hall of Famer. And NO ONE ELSE IS. I was...shocked. Overjoyed, but shocked.

My favorite stat from this ballot was that none of the steroids guys got more than 3 votes of 16. Which means even some of the balloters that would have a bias, like Frank Thomas, Lee Smith and Ken Williams, didn't go for Bonds even then. The next-most votes-getter was Mattingly with a 50% tally, which is kinda fitting I suppose. Maybe Mattingly gets in eventually. But...for McGriff, like Smith and Baines before him, to get in for being a great player and a great guy who didn't come near steroids with a ten foot pole...that is healthy as hell, and a righting of a potential wrong.

I am overjoyed with the results of this ballot. If anybody out there is saddened that 2 or 3 people that genuinely cheated to get ahead in the game didn't get into the Hall of Fame, don't worry, as Carlos Beltran will probably be getting in a month from now.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2022: Blue Jays

 

Saying the 2022 Toronto Blue Jays did better than their predecessors isn't saying much. They had a better regular season than the 2020 Jays, made it to the playoffs unlike the 2021 Jays, but, as they did in 2020, the Jays lost in the first rung of the playoffs. This is a more confident Jays team, having fired Charlie Montoyo and settling, at least for the moment, on John Schneider, and having added a few more crucial pieces in Matt Chapman, Kevin Gausman and, in his first full season, Alejandro Kirk. Going forward, even without Teoscar Hernandez, I expect the Jays to compete and go beyond their 2022 mark. But considering that what stopped them in both playoff campaigns was essentially not being as experienced as the bigger, badder teams, I wonder how much further they need to progress.

A good start would be a rebound season from Jose Berrios. While the former Twins standout did make all 32 of his starts this season, and struck out 149 with a 12-7 record, the core numbers were weaker, as Berrios came away with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.419 WHIP, in addition to giving up 100 earned runs this year. The Jays expected a lot from Berrios after signing him to a longer-term deal, and while he's still an innings-eater, he needs to have a quality season befitting of his Minnesota days.

2023 Prediction: Berrios is going to get off to a tremendous start in May and June and get an ASG nod out of it, but his second half will pale in comparison.

Although the Jays employed Hyun-Jin Ryu and Yusei Kikuchi this year, they didn't have full campaigns, which led to middleman Ross Stripling having a more productive rotation year this year. The former Dodger went 10-4 with a 3.01 ERA and a 1.020 WHIP in 32 appearances, 24 of them starts. It was undoubtedly one of Stripling's fullest campaigns since his 2018 breakout in LA, and it's a good sign for teams needing a free agent arm.

2023 Prediction: A really good team signs him as a low-rotation part and he surprises them with a full season of production. 

The Jays' sneakiest bullpen asset was sidearmer Adam Cimber, whose funky windup brought him some more success in Toronto in 2022. Cimber made a club-high 77 appearances in relief, and wound up with a 10-4 record, a 2.80 ERA, and 4 saves behind Jordan Romano. The man has made between 68 and 77 appearances every season that wasn't the 2020 one, and looks to continue his incredible production in 2023.

2023 Prediction: Maybe wishful thinking, but can we get this guy an ASG nomination? He friggin deserves one. I think he'll have more of the same production levels for the Jays, even if his ERA does go over 3 a bit.

One of the most puzzling moves of the trade deadline was the Jays dealing for Whit Merrifield. They had an everyday third baseman in Matt Chapman, they had an everyday second baseman in Santiago Espinal. The thought was that they needed a utility infield piece with bat perks, despite Merrifield's numbers not being what they used to be. In 44 Toronto games, Merrifield hit .281 with 34 hits, 16 RBIs and 5 home runs. The Jays have Merrifield contracted for one more season, and could platoon him with Espinal at 2nd

2023 Prediction: Will have decent first half numbers, but I see Merrifield being bait for the Jays netting a BIG piece at the trade deadline, much like how the Padres used Luke Voit and Eric Hosmer. 

Tomorrow, some dispatches from a Braves team I genuinely thought would repeat.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2022: Athletics

 

It's a pretty clear chain of events. The 2021 Oakland Athletics bought hard at the trade deadline, cratered in late August and early September and missed the playoffs. Then they didn't re-sign any of the deadline acquisitions, traded their big pieces away and started over. Therefore, the 2022 Oakland Athletics were the worst team in the AL. Simple cause and effect.

I don't have a ton for Uncustomed Heroes this year, because there weren't a ton of great players on this team, so here are the highlights. 

Stephen Vogt returned to Oakland and played his final season in A's green, as one of the few draws for diehard fans. In 70 games he hit 23 RBIs and 7 home runs, including a classic one in his final game, announced by his kids. What a way to end a career. Vogt was awesome, one of those guys that was always fun in any uniform.

In exchange for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino, the A's received, amongst other things, two pitchers from the Yankees. One was J.P. Sears, and he came off pretty well in early starts. The other was the more-touted prospect, Ken Waldichuk, who was called up in September and had a 4.93 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 7 starts.

2023 Prediction: Won't be a shoo-in for an opening day starting rotation spot, but will start 20 days and will look like an answer going into 2024.

Speaking of former Yankee farmhands, Dermis Garcia spent about 7 years in the Yanks' system, was let go after the 2021 season and picked up by Oakland on a flier. Garcia, a 24-year-old, was coming off a 2021 where he hit 31 home runs as a member of the Somerset Patriots, and was already hitting .264 with 15 homers by the time the A's called him up. As a 1B-DH type, Garcia hit 20 RBIs and 5 home runs, and came off as a nice power bat going forward for Oakland.

2023 Prediction: 25-homer year easily. With Sean Murphy likely headed somewhere in trades, Garcia might be a holdover bat til the A's figure out who they're gonna be.

While the big addition at the time for the A's after trading Matt Olson was Cristian Pache, the Braves were also willing to part with their 2019 1st rounder Shea Langeliers. Upon a promotion in 2022, Langeliers' bat was very quickly the key piece, with 22 RBIs and 6 homers in 40 games. A lot of his numbers do speak to rookie inexperience, but a full season picture of the catching prospect might be a bit clearer.

2023 Prediction: Again, thinking Murphy's not an A next year, but if this happens, Langeliers isn't gonna be relied upon to start behind the plate immediately, and they'll get a veteran to phase out as the year goes on, like Robinson Chirinos in Baltimore this year. Once Langeliers figures out the majors he'll be THE star for the A's.

Tomorrow, a surprisingly small amount of Blue Jays.

deWorks

How can someone be Tom Seaver and Jon Matlack at the same time?

Jacob deGrom has been, undoubtedly, one of the best pitchers in baseball since his debut in 2014, he's won a Rookie of the Year and two Cy Youngs, got the Mets to a World Series in his sophomore year and was the centerpiece of countless rotations. The one thing he hasn't been the last few years is healthy. You throw as hard as Jacob deGrom does, you're gonna miss some time. 

The last three seasons, deGrom has thrown incomplete campaigns. The first two of those, A.) there was a shortened season anyway, and B.) both of them featured ERAs lower than 3, with deGrom having a 1.08 ERA in 2021 before getting injured. deGrom also had a lower ERA in the back half of the 2022 season, but many people noticed a sudden spike in people getting the better of him, and in those 11 starts he went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA. More human. More touchable.

In the year directly before a free agency, Jacob deGrom was potentially getting to the peak of his success, and possibly heading towards a career downslope. On one hand, someone would inevitably be giving him money, and lots of it. On the other hand, would they be getting the better end of the deal in terms of pitching quality? 

And that's why I've been so vexed by the Texas Rangers signing deGrom for 5 more years. I am vexed by a long-term deal for someone who's been so injury prone, and is heading into his mid-30s. I am vexed by the confidence that deGrom will deliver the way he has in New York, especially after that spike in earned runs, and especially home runs. And I am most vexed by the Texas Rangers deciding once again to put the cart before the horse and sign a large contract and get results that way.

The Rangers, much like the Diamondbacks of the mid-2010s and the Angels of the early-2010s, are trying this because they can, but don't realize that in order to build a proper competitor, they need to develop one, and not just rely on a big contract to make them a thing. It didn't work with Corey Seager or Marcus Semien, and while this is still a 3rd or 4th place team, adding deGrom will only do so much. Remember, the Mets had deGrom during their 'no run support' years. This may be another case of that, and I can't imagine deGrom just hoping somebody like Sam Huff or Jonah Heim or Ezequiel Duran will save the day for them.

And plus, again, deGrom is still technically a liability because at any point he could get injured again. Hopefully the big stuff with his throwing arm is done, but you also have him going into his mid-30s, and various other stuff could pop up there. I am not sure if they're gonna get 200 innings from deGrom in 2023. They very well could, and they could be 200 stellar innings, but...are we okay with a talent like deGrom throwing fire for 200 innings? Is that a sustainable solution anymore? Do we just need to be alright with the fact that if he does that, he'll be out for a year afterwards?

There is a possibility that this deal works and deGrom becomes a Rangers legend, but there's so many facets of this that don't add up for me, and it could be yet another regrettable spending spree from this organization. Yes, people will come, yes games will be exciting, but...I dunno if this is the way back to the playoffs, and that's if he does stay healthy for the majority of this.

Even still, the big piece is off the board. Let the real fun begin.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2022: Astros

 

Well...the Astros certainly did win a World Series this year.

I'm not saying this as if they weren't the best team. No, they WERE the best team for it. Typically, though, in recent history, the really good regular season teams have hysterical comeuppances, a lot like the Mets and Dodgers did this year. So the Astros being the best all year and waltzing to the end, over much more deserving teams like the Mariners and Phillies...yeah, kinda anticlimactic. They had a hell of a team, so many assets, so many heroes...but yeah, storywise it wasn't a great ending. 

Aledmys Diaz has been the Astros' chief utility man for the last few years, and he had another nice season filling multiple roles for the team well into the playoffs. Diaz hit .243 this year with 12 homers, 38 RBIs and 74 hits. I'm glad he's come into his own in Houston, as he struggled to really find a niche after leaving the Cardinals. 

2023 Prediction: A less-competitive team is gonna sign him and let him start again. 

Luis Garcia might be THE unsung hero of the Astros' rotation at this point. If you've got Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Lance McCullers, Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy, the idea is you really don't need anyone else. And yes, by the postseason Garcia was being used as a long reliever. But...Garcia still had some nice stuff for his sophomore season, with a 15-8 record, a 3.72 ERA and 157 Ks. Maybe not as flashy as Valdez or Verlander, but insanely efficient.

2023 Prediction: In a slightly less populous rotation, Garcia will have a true standout season and get an ASG nod. This year was Valdez' turn to emerge, now it's Garcia's.

Martin Maldonado exists solely for his defense at this point, and I think that's fine with the Astros. They got Christian Vazquez as an offensive catcher for the postseason, and they're chasing somebody like Willson Contreras for the long term, but Machete's defense was one of the edges the Astros had during the postseason. That and Machete's tendency to lean all the way over the base, get hit by a pitch and bring up the guy that'll win the Series for them. 

At the plate, though, business as usual for late-career Maldonado. .186 average, a team-low 64 hits, 15 homers and 116 Ks. You don't get him for his offense, though, and Machete earned his ring as a defensive machine, so I've gotta give him that.

2023 Prediction: I'm really thinking they're gonna use Maldy as a backup. If not, they reeeeally should.

The Astros' best relief performance this year came from former Tampa Bay opener Ryne Stanek, who's transitioned admirably from the 1st inning to the eighth. Stanek was rock-solid in 59 appearances, with a shockingly low 1.15 ERA, 62 strikeouts and only 8 runs allowed. While not the comeback that Hector Neris was or the ninth inning year Ryan Pressly had, Stanek was the picture of consistency for a completely unhittable bullpen.

2023 Prediction: Probably won't compare to his 2022, but will still make some crucial postseason appearances for the 'Stros. 

I already documented Christian Vazquez during the regular season, so here's the Astros' other deadline acquisition, Orioles hero Trey Mancini, whose presence on this Astros team at least added a slight silver lining. Mancini, himself truly a holdover at first in between peak Gurriel and the Abreu deal starting next year, did a lackluster job in Houston, hitting below .200 during the regular season and only mustering one hit during the postseason. It could be chalked up to a new team and a new city, but the bottom line is that Mancini finally got to play in the postseason. Hopefully not the last time.

2023 Prediction: Somebody'll sign him as an everyday DH, and he'll hopefully have enough time to get back to his Baltimore-era production. 

Tomorrow, we discuss a few stragglers from the forgettable 2022 A's.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2022: Angels

 

It is time once again for Uncustomed Heroes, the part of the year where I spend all of December tackling notable players from each team that I couldn't make a custom card of during the regular season, as a way of tying up all the loose ends of the season.

As usual, since we go alphabetically, we start with the Los Angeles Angels. In May, they looked to be the victors of the AL West, had a phenomenal start on the heels of Taylor Ward and Michael Lorenzen, and then...they lost all the momentum and the Astros won the division anyway. And it's not that there weren't highlights for the Angels after that, it's just that if you're that good for the first month and a half and then you just...decide not to be, it's gonna be hard to get eyes back on you. So the rest of the season for the Angels consisted of a lot of mediocre baseball, in addition to Ohtani and Trout doing incredible things. Like usual. 

I did, actually, do a Shohei Ohtani custom this season, because how could I not, but it's the kind of thing where when Ryan Cracknell of Beckett says, in the middle of the night, 'hey can anybody do a 89 Upper Deck custom of this Ohtani photo', and you have all the photoshop ability that I have, ya kinda can't not. 

Alright, onto the actual Uncustomed Heroes. Anthony Rendon, who, you'll remember, was signed by the Angels in 2020 with the hope that he'd bring his contact and five-tool abilities to the 3rd base position for the foreseeable future in Anaheim. It, uh, hasn't exactly gone as planned. Rendon's only full season has been the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, and he's only played 40 or 50 games in the other two seasons. This season he had a decent start, and played some solid defensive 3rd base only to hit .229 and not make any impact at the plate. Then he got injured and only resurfaced around October. 

2023 Prediction: 2023 will likely be Rendon's best year of the Angels contract, and the closest to his Washington numbers.

Jared Walsh's power numbers were helpful when the Angels were surging, but his strikeouts stood out more when the team tanked. Walsh hit .215, and led all non-Trout/Ohtani Angels in strikeouts with 138. Walsh also only hit 15 homers, 2 less than Luis Rengifo. It was a down year for the once-trusted 1st baseman.

2023 Prediction: Walsh will definitely hit more than 15 home runs next year. I'm not certain that all of them will be for the Angels, though.

Another year, another patient wait til Jo Adell starts hitting like the prospectors said he would. Adell is still an excellent defender, as this photo should tell you, and reached career marks in home runs and RBIs this year, but...once again, his lack of offensive production is making him less and less of a choice to start, and this year he managed 107 strikeouts in 88 games. Jo Adell is a lot like Jarred Kelenic, in that something is bound to happen eventually, but it's a matter of whether or not the team is willing to wait for it.

2023 Prediction: One absolutely incredible month in the majors. 

Archie Bradley is a world away from where he was in Arizona. I think he was better off as a middle relief man, and that's what he's been doing in LA and Philly, but he's also not quite as consistent as he was for the D-Backs, and the cracks have begun to show. He's also a ton more injury-prone, and he only played 21 games this year, with a 4.82 ERA and only 15 Ks. I assume he'll keep playing somewhere, but at this point teams might be chasing the dragon with him.

2023 Prediction: Non-competitive team signs him to a 1-year deal, finishes the season with a competitor.

The big relief weapon for the Angels, especially in Raisel Iglesias' absence, was Jimmy Herget, the former Rangers arm. Herget impressed in 49 appearances this season, with a 2.48 ERA, 63 Ks and 9 saves. Herget brought a level of consistency that even hired relievers Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera couldn't muster, and it didn't go unnoticed.

2023 Prediction: A comparative down year, and one that may result in a change in teams.

Kurt Suzuki has been playing since 2007, the year I got into the hobby, and he retired as a member of the Angels. While Zuk was mostly backing up Max Stassi, he pulled some decent enough numbers, and had 4 homers and 15 RBIs, though a lot of his stats were very befitting of a guy who's about to retire. I'm glad he got to play for 16 years, that's a long career for a journeyman catcher, and I'm glad he got a ring out of it with Washington. 

As per usual, the set Angels rotation at the top of the season faltered, so Jose Suarez had to come in late in the season and take on a ton of innings. This year he did a ton of work, with a 3.96 ERA and 103 Ks in 22 appearances, 20 of them starts. Suarez proved himself a useful innings-eater and holdover for the departures of Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen.

2023 Prediction: If there's a just deity in play, Suarez makes the rotation out of camp, stays in their all year, eats innings and boosts a free agency/trade case for better teams.

And finally, the Angels' most intriguing trade deadline acquisition, coming in exchange for Noah Syndergaard, Mickey Moniak was...well, yet another blown high draft pick by the Phils. Moniak was supposed to start the season in center field after a scorching spring training, but then he got hurt, lost the gig to Odubel Herrera, Matt Vierling and, eventually, Brandon Marsh. Moniak's Angels numbers were similar to his Philly ones, as he hit .200 with 3 homers and 6 RBIs in 19 games. Not exactly a #1 overall pick season, but as a 24-year-old, Moniak still has time.

2023 Prediction: Either he makes his mark early or he's off the team by July.

Tomorrow, some rare 2022 Astros I didn't get to customize.