The Angels, they’re doing stuff! They’re active. By modern baseball offseason standards, they have been relatively refreshing in how they’ve gone about their business this winter.

They have hired a new general manager in Perry Minasian and are building out their new front office. They have torn their bullpen down to the studs and added a new closer in Raisel Iglesias. A stopgap is in place at shortstop in José Iglesias. They even took a flier in the Rule 5 draft on an arm in Jose Alberto Rivera, who could figure into the 2021 bullpen picture.

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But their biggest goals remain ahead, even if the path to accomplishing them remains unclear.

The Angels have not yet signed a major-league free agent, and their starting rotation remains incomplete. Their bullpen could use further additions. They should add at least one more 40-man-worthy catcher to the mix. Another left-handed bat could help.

While owner Arte Moreno has claimed that the payroll will not decrease in 2021, it’s not as if anyone should expect the Angels to spike their financial obligations to address all of these needs at the top of the market. (As it stands now, Roster-Resource on FanGraphs has the Angels’ payroll at approximately $163 million and their luxury tax number at around $177 million.) It will be interesting to see how Minasian navigates those challenges in his first winter running a baseball operations department.

There are a lot of questions. Welcome to the mailbag.

what day will you announce #BauerToAnaheim or #MárquezToAnaheim?

— nmbaseball (@nmbaseball) December 14, 2020

If anyone needs to feel attention from others this holiday season, it’s good to be a free-agent starting pitcher from UCLA. Angels fans will have you covered. That was the case last season during the Angels’ failed pursuit of Gerrit Cole, and it has continued into this winter’s hashtag-bombing for Trevor Bauer. It is funny to watch unfold on Twitter, unless, of course, you’re tagged in one of the threads.

To answer the question: no clue or news there. The Angels historically have been a club that avoids leaks and rumors when possible, and both Bauer and his agent, Rachel Luba, seem to want to control the information about his free agency in a manner that also promotes Bauer’s off-the-field ventures in content creation.

Bauer’s free agency, of course, is different than Cole’s for a multitude of reasons, even before accounting for the pandemic and current financial state of the sport.

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Cole had an extended run of dominance that commanded the richest contract ever given to a pitcher. Bauer was dominant in an abbreviated 2020 and now has a Cy Young Award to his name, but the 29-year-old likely doesn’t crack the elite of the elite when it comes to starters, like Cole does. Given the amount Bauer will surely command on the open market — and the fact that there are other holes on the roster — would it perhaps make sense for Minasian to see if a trade is out there for a comparable starter like Sonny Gray, Blake Snell or Germán Márquez? Ultimately, it comes down to finding equal value, and trades are hard to execute.

Is there a starting pitcher reasonably attainable that the Angels would be willing to trade Adell for? And if there isn't, should that stance be reconsidered with the status the starting pitching is in?

— David Mora (@david_mora10) December 14, 2020

Is there anyone in MLB that the Angels would trade both Jo Adell and Reid Detmers for in a 2 for 1 swap? Also, will #BauerToAnaheim be announced in December or January?

— Nate Darling (@natedarling) December 14, 2020

These play well off the last question.

I guess everyone’s definition of “attainable” is pretty fungible. You could make the case that Jacob deGrom is the best pitcher on the planet right now and that the Mets would not trade him, but does a scenario exist in which they would? Yes. But of the names that have been thrown out there on the trade market, I’m sure there are some that the Angels would be willing to trade Jo Adell for. Of course, a one-for-one trade of Adell for a starting pitcher is probably not enough, so factoring in another piece is also part of the equation.

Would the Angels trade a package of Adell and Reid Detmers for, say, Mookie Betts? Absolutely. The Dodgers wouldn’t take that deal. But would the Angels part with Detmers and Adell for, say, Snell? Besides the idea that it’s typically not smart to trade with the Rays, that’s one deal the Angels might be hesitant to accept.

Trades are hard! It’s hard for teams to line up just right, especially for big names and impactful pieces (which Adell very well still could be).

You are the Angels GM for a day. What is your offer for Trevor Bauer ? Who would you offer the Rays for Blake Snell?

— Michael Larrabee (@RamWearsaHalo) December 14, 2020

Let’s tie a bow on this for now.

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If I were hired as general manager of the Angels, I would first suffer from severe imposter syndrome for at least the duration of my contract. Next would depend on how much money I would get from ownership — something we still don’t fully know, and something that is hard to project since we do not know when and if fans will be back in the stands in 2021. But if money wasn’t an issue, I’d offer Bauer a higher average annual value over years, even if it meant giving another one-year contract to a starting pitcher.

As far as trades go, the Angels have a clear buildup of outfield prospects from which to deal, and Jordyn Adams is just the type of prospect who, if I feel my organization has evaluated him properly, could be the swing vote in who I move. If my organization is sold on his future, then I’d keep him and see what the rest of the farm system could get. If you’re not sure he will hit at his highest projection, then he’s the type of prospect other teams could dream on.

Those are the trades you have to win more often than not to be a successful GM, especially if your farm system isn’t the deepest.

After Eppler was let go, ownership conducted a survey throughout the organization, including asking Trout & Maddon, about what was “wrong” with the Angels. Any ideas to what the issues were? Or anything you saw?

— cuscus85 (@cuscus85) December 14, 2020

I could spend 2,000 words writing about this and hypothesizing about what went wrong, especially with the last regime. But the short of it, for right now, is that they did not pitch well enough. They did not develop well enough. They did not do as good of a job as some of their competition in using numbers, staff and resources to gain edges that their primary competition did (Astros and A’s in the AL West; Twins, Cleveland, Rays, Yankees, Boston, etc. for the wild card). The Angels also did not get lucky enough.

There is no singular answer to it, and there are a multitude of reasons why a club possessing the best player on the planet has, at its best, been mediocre for a half a decade. Those issues aren’t going away overnight, either.

Do you think we can actually start the season with a firm everyday lineup?
I feel like Scioscia and now Maddon last year are reluctant to start with clearly defined roles and end up platooning people for the first quarter of the season during which our record is always subpar

— Kevin Chambers (@ninthfalcon) December 14, 2020

I don’t believe there is a correlation between unique lineups and record or offensive production, let alone first-half record. For context, using just 2020 numbers: the Angels had 52 unique lineups in 60 games. The Dodgers had 57 unique batting orders and won the World Series. The Rays, their World Series opponent, had 59 unique batting orders.

Ultimately, the most important thing about a lineup is not having guys in certain roles but having as many good hitters in optimal matchups as possible over the course of a game.

Why are the Angels even wasting time looking at catchers, Stassi frames well, seems to be a good enough hitter, they need arms that throw well?

— Cherylhe (@cherylhe) December 14, 2020

This is in relation to the Angels’ pursuit of free agent James McCann and their interest in Kurt Suzuki (as reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal).

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Yes, the Angels have Max Stassi, who performed quite well offensively in an abbreviated 2020 and whose framing track record is strong. But they needed another catcher for their 40-man roster even before Stassi went in for his second hip surgery in as many years.

They have been bullish on Anthony Bemboom, and perhaps he could be a platoon option with Stassi when healthy if the Angels need him to be. But they would still need at least one more catcher, for depth, who they feel strong about.

Is Canning ready to take a step forward? Some of his peripherals seemed to go backwards overall (K/9, FB velo, etc) but he looked stronger to end the short season, and that spike curve you wrote about started to really show some life.

— Job Ang (@jobalexang) December 14, 2020

The peripherals weren’t as kind to Griffin Canning this year as they were when he was a rookie. I think those can be slightly excused as just part of the development process.

While he got hit harder than he did in 2019, Canning still managed to miss bats and look the part of a league-average starter. That’s someone the Angels can rely on in 2021, and there is still some room to work with or to make adjustments. My biggest concern for him next year is continuing to build up innings and staying healthy in doing so, since he’s the Angels’ primary starter under team control beyond next year.

What do you think the Angels plan for Adell is? AAA? Starting RF on Opening Day?

— Chris W (@ChrisW1212) December 14, 2020

This depends on who the Angels get this winter. Do I think the Angels could open 2021 with a platoon of Taylor Ward and Scott Schebler in right field? Maybe, even if it’s not the sexiest option. It’s important to remember, though, that Adell barely has more than 300 plate appearances above Double A in his career.

Joe Maddon alluded to Adell perhaps just not having enough reps before coming up. This is not ruling out Adell, but maybe it sets a starting point for expectations.

Who is your favorite Mandolorian secondary character?

— Chase (@Ckman1403) December 14, 2020

Cobb Vanth. Put Timothy Olyphant in everything.

Who wins in a fight between Mando and in-his-prime Boba Fett?

— Zac Pacleb (@ZacPacleb) December 14, 2020

Simply out of respect to the legend and reputation, I’m going Boba Fett. As much as Mando’s jetpack is a game-changer.

Evermore or Folklore?

— Smilodon (@Smilodon48) December 14, 2020

I’ve been listening to both as I write this. It is a difficult choice. The run of “the 1,” “cardigan,” “the last great american dynasty” and “exile” on folklore is among my favorites of 2020. But I will go with evermore, if anything for introducing me to the Taylor Swift-HAIM collaboration I didn’t know I needed.

What is your favorite song on evermore?

— Catherine Pulver (@cpulverize) December 14, 2020

I know I literally just gushed about “no body, no crime,” but I think either “happiness” or “ivy.”

Hello Fabs. First time caller, longtime listener. Top personal albums of 2020?

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) December 15, 2020

Ugh, this is tough. I’ll try to restrict this just to 2020 releases (with some exceptions), and some of this is predictable.

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For my imperfect personal list of albums most important to me this year, I’ll go with:

1. YHLQMDLG by Bad Bunny
2. The Slow Rush by Tame Impala
3. Limbo (Deluxe) by Aminé
4. EVERYTHING by Kota The Friend
5. EL ÚLTIMO TOUR DEL MUNDO by Bad Bunny
6. Women In Music Pt. III by HAIM
7. The New Abnormal by The Strokes
8. Circles by Mac Miller
9. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
10. evermore by Taylor Swift

Honorable mentions: folklore by Taylor Swift, Apolonio by Omar Apollo, LAS QUE NO IBAN A SALIR by Bad Bunny, What Could Possibly Go Wrong by Dominic Fike, American Love Call by Durand Jones & The Indications (2019), Pony by Rex Orange County (2019).

(Photo of Trevor Bauer: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)