LA Angels, and San Diego Padres Tales of Caution

[Trov]

I read an interesting ESPN article about the Angels and the last 20 years, most last 10, of failing as a team.  They highlighted big name free agent signings that failed, failed drafts, even worse over last decade.  It got me thinking about the Padres of recent years too and how both teams have tried to build through big trades, and big signings that have not paid off yet, and how some fans have begged for us to be like them.  

The Angels have spent the last decade trying to build around Trout(played his first full season 2012 at age 20, getting second in MVP and 8.7bwar) and recently Otani have been touted as best players of generations and possibly ever.  However, the Angels have failed to build around them.  Trout has been injured much of recent years, noting he is now on the bottom half of his prime, but when healthy still puts up great numbers.  However, the team would go out and sign big name after big name in hopes of winning it all.  Pitching was always their main downfall.  They were never afraid of signing big money deals, but for whatever reason they never were able to get over the hump. They also were never willing to go full all in rebuild like Houston did. 

Looking at Padres, they were a bottom payroll team and losing team for several years. Going back to 2014 they were a team in a pitchers park with no real direction of a team.  A mix of vets and young guys with some decent pitching but little offense. In 2015 they decided to jumpstart their team with some trades of big game James Sheilds, the upton brothers and signing Matt Kemp.  The Upton brothers and Kemp did fine, but pitching failed them.  More moves come, trades and signings but more losses mount. Two years of more loses and then out of no where Padres spend huge on Hosmer.  Many questioned the deal at the time, and it never paid off, but showed things to come.  Many trades were being made as well. 

2019 Manny Machado signs a huge deal, but pitching is still lacking. Tatis Junior is all the talk of the team 20 year old that put up bwar of 4.6 as a rookie.  They got him for James Shields from White Sox, always love throwing that in when talking about trading top prospects for aging pitchers.  2020 comes they make moves for Mike Clevenger, and finally things look up for team in the short 2020 season. 2021 they bring in new pitching, Snell, Musgrove, and Darvish, but overall the team fails. 2022 their pitching comes around and they make trade for Soto, but fall in playoffs, but things look up they were built to win now. Coming into 2023 they are getting Tatis back, all the pitching is returning, they sign Bogaerts to huge deal, they sign Wacha who had great start to season.  However, they are 6 games below .500 and no real chance of making playoffs. They have huge money invested for years, and does not appear to be much farm system to speak of. 

Padres may bounce back next year as health to pitching may help, but with not much farm system they are been grabbing at scraps.  They sold everything to win now, and risked it all on every one having career years.  Their bullpen is overall bad, outside of free agent to be Hader.  They can go out and sign more guys, but trades will be hard to do now.  

Both teams have tried to win with making trades and free agent signings only to have little results with at best 1 good year.  It is a way to build a team, but neither team, the Angels even more so, have shown much direction.  The Padres in last 3 years have said we are all in and we do not care, but as each year passes they farm system is depleted, and their contracts will start to look worse and worse.  

It is a caution that spending big money and making big trades will not always equal success.  Even brining in young stars that are best in the world does not mean you will win long term.  Building a team, in my opinion requires depth at the farm system, something the Twins have shown this year.  As injuries set in this year, or poor play of some others, we had guys to turn to, and now we are facing too many guys that deserve at bats, which is a good thing. Any fans that want the Twins to trade off all top prospects and buy all top free agents should look at these teams of what could go wrong.  There are other teams that have made big signing that go no where too, but these teams have had interesting attempts over last 10 years. 

[Mike Sixel]

The angels are an example of why a meddling owner is a bad idea, especially when combined with terrible drafting. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Trov, with all due respect, I see the Twins in the same mold as the Padres. Lots of good players obtained through costly trades, and one big huge free agent signing last offseason. 

If the Twins make it to the league championship series this year like the Padres did last year, they will be called an unqualified, resounding success. No one will be saying the Twins “fell in the playoffs” if they make it to the ALCS. 

[Rik19753]

Teams definitely need to learn from the Padres' and Angels' mistakes. I would throw the White Sox in that bin as well.

IMO the single biggest reason these teams flopped weren't that they spent big money or that they made splashy trades; it's that they failed to supplement the stars that they had/got with role players. They didn't have, and probably didn't have the organizational ability to find, the Brock Stewarts and Willi Castros of the world that stepped up when called upon. That is what separates these teams from the likes of the Astros, Dodgers and Rays that don't need to find help from outside the organization to get league-average production.

So yes, while some big contracts from the Angels, Padres and White Sox didn't work out well, they were doomed to fail either way because they have a weak foundation. The question is, which group does the Twins and the Falvine regime fall into?