Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian has been active this offseason with a focused approach to strengthen the roster depth with versatile, veteran players. But with so much movement on the free agent front and the coronavirus still lingering, meetings often take place online.
The Angels have added Carlos Estévez and Tyler Anderson in free agency while trading for Gio Urshela and Hunter Renfroe. They also added Justin Garza on a one-year split contract that was announced on Monday.
However, Minasian has needed to lean on virtual meetings when coordinating deals, and he isn’t particularly fond of that, via Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
Angels general manager Perry Minasian views Zoom as an option, though he finds the sessions stressful at times.
“There’s an anxiety with Zoom, too,” Minasian said. “Especially when it’s something really, really important. How many times do you check your sound? I do it eight, nine, 10 times. Then I look at myself and say, ‘What is wrong with me?’ Check your battery, make sure you’re charged. I’m at 100% and I still have it plugged in. That’s how nuts I am.”
The impersonality of Zoom calls isn’t Minasian’s first option and he would still prefer to hope on a phone call with the player. He still prefers meeting in person with a player over everything, though:
Minasian still prefers the conventional telephone call — he hopped on one with reliever Carlos Estévez before the sides agreed Tuesday on a two-year, $13.5-million deal — because he can “hear it in their voice.” Ultimately, though, nothing beats meeting with someone in person.
“You see body language and tone and all those types of things,” Minasian said.
2023 continues to appear as if it will one of the most important seasons in recent history for the Angels, but Minasian will need to continue constructing the roster by mostly meeting with players on Zoom.
Perry Minasian isn’t viewing luxury tax threshold as hard cap
The Angels have a pre-arbitration payroll of roughly $153 million, which ranks fifth-highest in Major League Baseball. With a projected payroll north of $210 million, Minasian doesn’t view the approaching $233 million Collective Bargaining Tax Threshold as a hard cap.
The Angels have flown under the radar with a generally high payroll, but their on-field production hasn’t matched the contracts they’ve handed out in the past, which causes concern that it may happen again. However, that doesn’t seem to have stopped Minasian from being open to more additions.
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