The Los Angeles Angels made a few impactful moves this past week, inking Shohei Ohtani to a one-year deal, as well as making Phil Nevin the club’s manager for next season, the team announced Wednesday.
Nevin was dealt a difficult hand in the midst of the Angels’ franchise-record losing streak earlier in the season, and with a depleted roster around two of the greatest players in baseball history, he weathered the storm. Finishing the season with a 73-89 record, the Angels missed out on the playoffs, but there’s a sense next season could be key in their overall team building.
The pending sale of the Angels made Nevin a ‘stable’ decision that arose as a viable option, and his team-first attitude is something that made him a solid choice heading into next year, via Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register:
“I’m ecstatic,” Nevin said after the announcement Wednesday morning. “I thanked (Minasian), as well as Arte and the Moreno family, and (president) John Carpino and everybody involved with the Angels that have entrusted me with this. It certainly means a lot. It wasn’t exactly how I envisioned these things happening, but I know I’ve been given a heck of an opportunity with some special people that I created relationships with in the last six, seven months.”
The record might not indicate the impression Nevin has made in the clubhouse, but he’s become a steady presence for the Angels, reminiscent of Mike Scioscia, who was well-respected by the players he managed.
“It’s been great,” Trout said after Wednesday’s game. “I think the guys in this clubhouse trust him, rely on him. It’s been good these last few weeks or month and a half. Nev knows the game and work worked hard to get here. Means a lot to him. Means a lot to us.”
The team went 14-12 in September, their first calendar month this season playing over .500 baseball. With Nevin intact, and the noise surrounding Ohtani’s contract for next year in the rear-view, the franchise expects to use 2023 as a major building block season.
Phil Nevin is now guaranteed to have Shohei Ohtani, after signing one-year deal
The Angels announced that they had agreed to a one-year, $30 million contract with two-way star Ohtani for the 2023 season. This deal allows the two parties to avoid what would have been one of the most fascinating arbitration cases in the history of the system.
Ohtani was always going to be under contract with the Angels in 2023 if the team wanted him to be. However, agreeing to a deal now — as opposed to just before the arbitration deadline or forcing a hearing — allows both sides to get what they believe to be fair value.
It also gives the Angels a more concrete sense of their 2023 payroll before entering free agency and may give prospective buyers of the team a better view of what they are actually buying. Ohtani becomes the Angels’ third-highest-paid player in 2023, behind Anthony Rendon ($38.6M) and Mike Trout ($37.1M).
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