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The Angels released 39 minor league players in the last week or so, part of a massive release of players across baseball into the hundreds. The combination of some transactions that probably would have happened after spring training and the coronavirus pandemic casting doubt on the viability of even having a minor league season in 2020.
A perusal of MiLB.com transaction logs, and confirmation from J.J. Cooper at Baseball America gives us the full list of Angels minor leaguers released:
Angels minor leaguers released
| RHP | LHP | IF | OF |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | LHP | IF | OF |
| Luis Peña | Luiz Gohara | Joey Curletta | Dustin Peterson |
| Jeremy Rhoades | Matt Bower | Devin Davis | Bo Way |
| Yelmison Peralta | Nate Bertness | David Clawson | |
| Ryan McKay | Max Herrmann | Zane Gurwitz | |
| Adam Hofacket | Yoel De Leon | Keaton Weisz | |
| Daniel Procopio | Kelvin Moncion | D.C. Arendas | |
| Mayky Perez | Kendy Moya | ||
| Zack Kelly | Ryne Birk | ||
| Yeyson Velez | Luis Aviles Jr. | ||
| Austin Krzeminski | Morgan McCullough | ||
| Matthew Woods | Jose Quezada | ||
| Juan Contreras | Jean Puntiel | ||
| James Varela | Cristian Gomez | ||
| Galvi Agramonte | |||
| Elian Peña | |||
| Dazon Cole | |||
| Darrien Williams | |||
| Andrew Bash |
Among the notable minor leaguers released by the Angels was pitcher Luiz Gohara, who was a non-roster invitee in major league camp in Tempe. He was among the first roster cuts during spring training, assigned to minor league camp on March 10. The 23-year-old left-hander missed all of 2019 with a shoulder injury, but just two years ago was a top-100 prospect in baseball, and has 49 strikeouts in 49 major league innings to go with his 5.33 ERA.
Infielder Morgan McCullough, drafted by the Angels just last year in the 22nd round out of Alabama, was among the players released as well. “I did not envision getting let go of less than a year after I signed my first professional contract but a lot of my life has been unexpected so I feel ready to take on this new challenge,” he tweeted on Saturday.
Some news.... pic.twitter.com/SEj0d8fN5R
— Morgan McCullough (@_morgan5) May 30, 2020
As for the minor leaguers who remain employed by the Angels, it is unknown whether they will continue to be paid a $400 weekly stipend. So far, the A’s are the only major league team to discontinue these payments to minor leaguers after May 31.
Links
- Rhett Bollinger at MLB.com pondered the best left-handed pitcher in Angels franchise history, among the choices of Chuck Finley, Mark Langston, Frank Tanana, and Jarrod Washburn.
- Major League Baseball is pondering a shorter schedule for the 2020 season, perhaps as short as 50 games, with players getting pro-rated salaries, per Jeff Passan at ESPN.
- Major League Baseball is mulling an expanded format for the Arizona Fall League, per Josh Norris and J.J. Cooper at Baseball America.