Angels GM breaks down state of franchise

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger's Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DETROIT -- The Angels started out their 10-game road trip through Detroit, Tampa Bay and Toronto with some good news, as superstar Mike Trout was reinstated from the injured list prior to Friday’s series opener against the Tigers.

General manager Perry Minasian said he woke up with a “bigger smile” on his face Friday, knowing that Trout would rejoin the Angels. But Minasian also knows it’s been a trying year for the Angels, who were coming off a sweep at the hands of the Mariners.

Minasian discussed a wide variety of topics regarding the Angels' season before Friday’s game. Here’s a lightly edited transcript of what he had to say:

Q: You have young lefties in your rotation such as Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval, José Suarez and Tucker Davidson. How important is the rest of this season for them?

A: I think it's important for everybody, not just the pitchers. Going through a full season -- playing in August, playing in September -- it's not easy. I think it's especially for the younger guys that might have not experienced it, going from wire to wire and doing those things. So I think it's really, really important. I've been very pleased with our starting pitching. That was a huge priority for us this offseason, improving that area. It's definitely got room to improve even more. But I think it’s a more talented rotation and there are really some bright spots.

Q: What have you thought about Luis Rengifo, and has he played his way into a job next year?

A: He’s played great. We’ve always liked the player. We had opportunities to move him the last couple of years, but we didn’t. A big reason why is we believe in the player and the talent. He’s opened some eyes. But nobody is surprised. If you asked anybody in that locker room how hard he works and what he puts into it. … We’ll see how it lasts. There’s a lot of time left, so let’s see how he finishes up and what presents itself in the offseason. But he’s obviously playing really well.

Q: Is this the real David Fletcher now that he’s healthy?

A: I think anybody that's had a chance to see Fletch play over the last couple of years knows that, when he's a healthy player, he helps teams win. And I think what we've seen over the last couple of weeks, I think day by day he's feeling better and better.

Q: How much concern do you have with Jared Walsh?

A: He's had an up-and-down year. Obviously, coming off of last year when he made the All-Star team. But the one thing I'll say about Jared is there's no excuses. He's out there every day and he works as hard as anybody on the club. He cares as much as anybody on the club. He's helped us win games. I expect him to continue to play and finish strong. I do think when a lineup thins out with injuries, there are expectations put on guys and people feel like they need to do more than they have to, and I think that's been the case with a lot of our lineup.