We wouldn’t want the biggest news of the day — that the Rangers won the bidding for Yu Darvish — to completely overshadow some secondary notes from around MLB. Here are some quick hits from around the league, starting in Texas:
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told fans at MLB.com that Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Carlos Lee are “very good players” who could help the Astros going forward. “We will look for any opportunity to improve our team in the medium and long term,” Luhnow explained, “so if there were a trade that made sense, we would consider it.”
- Brian Bixler cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Oklahoma City, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Astros designated the infielder for assignment last week to create roster space for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland.
- The Cubs and Red Sox have agreed that former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein won't be able to hire anyone from the Red Sox for three years, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter).
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto likes the depth in his team's starting rotation, but doesn't yet know whether his bullpen is a strength or a weakness, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times. Ideally, the Angels would like to add a late-inning reliever and make the lineup a little more left-handed, Dipoto says.
- There's a consensus among international MLB people that the Yankees are "BIG" on Yoenis Cespedes, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter).
- Cespedes is close to establishing residency in the Dominican Republic, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The Cuban outfielder still needs to secure a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control since his residency is not permanent. The process could take two weeks, but he should be cleared to sign sometime in January.
Ahahahahahaha that “compensation.”
They get Pujols, but want to make the lineup more left-handed. They get CJ and are worried about the bullpen. C’mon now.
Everyone say’s were not a championship team or that were not even capable of beating Texas for the West..So Jerry wants to give Angels a lot of Depth and make the lineup as strong as possibility as he can..Also give the Angels a very good chance of taking the West and winning it all..So i’m glad we have people that hate..It puts Angel fans in the need for more and makes Jerry realize a lot of things that can still upgrade and help this team..
Angels are definitely a championship caliber team. The rotation is great, very similar to Phillies rotation. What sets the Angels apart is the lineup. Albert, Hunter, Morales(bounce-back), Wells(bounce-back), Kendrick, Iannetta(huge upgrade from Mathis), Peter B. That’s a great lineup. You’d have to think Wells can only improve, and Morales, if healthy, will produce. They’re my pick to win the WS.
But last year I picked the Red Sox. Preseason predictions don’t mean much.
Ya you say that but there’s still a lot of people that say that Angels aren’t and that just makes Angel fans feel unsatisfied which i really hate.. Because then people talk smack on Angel fans for being unsatisfied..Like if it’s our fault..Haters out there put it in our heads to want more.. That said i do believe that the pen can use another guy
Not sure how you can get the top hitter AND top pitcher on the market and still be unsatisfied. What exactly are you striving for? Recognition as a good team? Because when y’all win the West you ‘ll be recognized. Until then the Rangers are top dog. But like I said, I believe the Angels are set for a run of division crowns.
I don’t see crowns or championships yet..and no Angel should be expecting one, until it happens..I’m happy and i’m satisfied with the team we have now..I’m super excited that we got the best hitter on our team..I’m excited to have Cj on our rotation..but the pen won’t do it for October.. I think that’s all we need to give the team a lot more depth.. Because Angels won’t win the division due to offense..There going to win it because of pitching..and Jerry knows that
Walden, Downs, Hawkins is a very good late inning trio. Maybe Kerry Wood or Rodney.
Rodney? HA..Walden Downs, Hawkins is good but Angels rely on players to do stuff to much..One more guy wouldn’t hurt.. If its via trade or through F/A..or even through the farm system..Jerry has mentioned signing D.Oliver and now he addressed this..I believe another signing or trade will happen that will benefit Angels pen…
Oliver would certainly be a great piece.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if the Angels win the WS with Wells starting and doing well. I can see this happening if Dipoto can make a few more trades for Abreu or Morales and pick up some relief help. Wells is a better player than what was sent to the Angels, but the contract is what everyone keeps talking about. With the new TV contract the Angels increased their revenue 100 million a year. Right now the West is where its at.
The Angels could use a few of the pieces the Red Sox have–
Ellsbury, Bard,Youk and Beckett– experienced playoff /WS participants(except Bard). I think Beckett would solidify your rotation against the Rangers who are stacked with pitching with Yu just added. The Angels could sign Ells long term and Youk could be the extra power bat at third.
The Sox could use a few of the Angel pieces–Trumbo, Peter B.,Santana, Callaspo,Walden and Tori.
Don’t count on Boston having a selloff of pieces like Haywood Sullivan did when he “gave” away fred Lynn and Rick Burleson to the Angels in seperate deals in 80-81 for scrap pieces, as in the washed up Frank Tananna, couldn’t find home plate mark Clear,well past his prime Joe Rudi, ex Sox “Ram” Miller and sole decent player Carney Lansford..
No… Boston IMO has a GM with a head, rather than a “do boy” like Haywood Sullivan was who stole the sox from Mrs Yawkey, along with Buddy LeRoux and had no clue as to how to run anything.
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The Angels could use a few of the pieces the Red Sox have”
And the Sox could use those pieces too. If we get rid of ANY of those guys, our playoff hopes are greatly diminished. Shipping out all of them, however, would make us a fourth place team.
That is a lot of bounce backs…. don’t see it happening. Rangers win the AL West.
Wells is old and washed up. Why would anybody think he can only improve? He is what he is.
Toronto was actually better with Wells in the line up 2 years ago than last year. Check the record. Its not Wells who is bad its his contract.
what position do you play on the Angels? I just figured since you said We a lot, you must be a player, manager, front office guy…… something.
As Angels fans we support our team and make it our own…
I play a fan on section 113. I go so often that i’m actually part of that seat
as a yankee fan im glad the yanks are trying to go after the cuban. with swisher on his final year, this guy could be decent in the OF.
I hope…and I really mean this sincerely, maybe it’s the hard liquor talking though…that Theo not being allowed to hire any Sox personnel for three years is actually the compensation….as lame as that sounds, I’d take it at this point…
I LOL when I read that. who cares if he can hire any Red Sox staff. He already created an “all-star” front office…… so to speak.
They don’t want to lose all of their scouts and scouting reports right now.
I don’t think it works like that.
It works however the teams decide it works; they are the parties to the negotiation. Even if Selig needs to sign off, has he ever done or said anything to make you think he would not agree to something that clearly de-values executives? He has outright stated he wants to lower their value, which is probably why the Cubs have been dragging their feet in the process, hoping he’ll step in because they know he’ll help them give up as little as possible.
I don’t think this is the sole compensation for Epstein by any means, but I do think it is part of it (otherwise why would the Cubs agree?) — and it probably means that the actual return is going to be negligible.
Where would Dipoto put a left handed bat? Going on the assumption that Morales is healthy and Trumbo plays 3b…
The only possible trade players would be Kendrick and Aybar… Aybar is a switch hitter and I don’t know of too many left handed 2nd basemen out there that would be an upgrade from Kendrick… Wells and Torii are locked up via their payroll, plus I think that management wants them there, Bourjos is already off the table, Iannetta just got picked up, 1b is obviously taken…. Morales is a Switch hitter with great power from the left at DH… Trumbo will have 30+ HR’s next year and hopefully can play 3b- as a former 96mph pitcher he has the arm for it….
Where would you fit a left handed bat in there? Abreu is an obvious choice but if Kendrys is healthy enough to play everyday I just don’t see Bobby playing too often…
Trumbo is not going to start many, if any, Angels games at third. There’s a reason he hasn’t played there yet.
Well the most glaring reason is because he was a pitcher with a 96mph fastball… Scioscia is going to give him a chance to do it, I think you sacrifice a little defense at 3rd for 30+ HR’s especially with GGer Aybar at SS helping to make the hot corner a little smaller. If Morales can play we will have 4 30+ HR talent guys in our lineup next year to help make up whatever runs Trumbo may or may not be responsible for at 3b. – The guy had some pretty good metrics at 1b range-wise this last year.
He’ll be 26 when spring training starts and he’s never played third in pro ball, and he’s not terribly athletic. And a guy who put up a .291 OBP isn’t someone for whom you should sacrifice defense at a corner position.
It’s his rookie season… obp will improve- Reynolds who strikes out more than 200 times per year and had 8 more errors than the next guy at 3rd last season is a pretty good example… As for him being athletic he was 1st in the AL for
Range Factor/9Inn as 1B last year, 5th in Total Zone Runs as 1B
3rd in assists as 1B and led the league in putouts… and he can play the corner outfield positions
I don’t put much stock in defensive metrics for first base, but especially don’t see how first base putouts and assists translate to third base defense.
I’d also hesitate to say he can really play the corner outfield positions. He didn’t play a game away from first base until his age 23 season, and hasn’t done it a whole lot since then. Again, the Angels haven’t exactly had a run of titans at third base. If Trumbo could play third, they’d have probably already given it a real try long ago.
As for his OBP, the only time in his pro career he’s ever put up an OBP over .335 was as a 24-year old in Salt Lake, which is an amazing hitters park. Reynolds put up terrific OBPs in the minors in his age 22-23 seasons and put up a reasonable OBP right out of the gate in the majors. Reynolds has a lot of swing and miss in his game, but Trumbo has too much swing at everything in his game.
Most 1bmen don’t play 3rd that well. The easier move is from SS to third.
I wouldn’t argue that. Most first basemen don’t play anything very well defensively.
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It’s his rookie season… obp will improve”
His career OBP in the minors was .330, it’ll improve, but probably not by much. The kid’s effectively allergic to walks. Adrian Beltre can get by on a .330 because he’s an elite defender, Trumbo will not be an elite defender at third.
Sure.. Trumbo is going to be given the chance to play at 3B by Mike Scioscia. Afterall, Mike has a history of letting younger players and rookies get starting spots in positions they haven’t played before..
Watch what he does. (Hello?..Jeff Mathis.) not what he says…Trumbo ain’t playin no third base any time soon for teh Angels… unless it’s for the Salt Lake Bees or Inland Empire 66’ers..
Scioscia will figure it out, it is a nice problem to have at this point in time. Morales is a big if at this point. Dipoto will continue searching for improvements until the season starts.
Anyone that posts this picture several times a day is a troll!
Hey.
What up?
Hate to say it but Safeco would turn Prince into Richie Sexson or is it Beltre? No Sexson works better- that place devours would be HR balls… Imagine though- the AL west with Pujols, Wilson, Darvish and Prince? What an offseason
How many is several?
LOL,Anything more than once if you add when the Mariners sign this guy…..
Then I can’t stop until after the M’s sign…
wait for it…..
wait for it……….
THIS GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hmmm
What is Edes talking about? The Cubs just signed Sox scout, Matt Dorey. And where’s the compensation for Theo. Is Selig still alive or is he in a home? Let’s get to steppin.
Looks like the Yanks think Cepedes can take Swicher’s place next year. They will make him the 4th OFer this year and work him in slowly. In the past the Yanks had their eye on Kemp but since he signed with the Dodgers they are going in a different direction. They also have Mason Williams who looks to be 2 years away.
I don’t think that Carols Lee or Wandy Rodriguez moves this off-season. However, next off-season, I expect both to likely be shopped (Lee is a free agent after 2012, and Wandy Rodriguez is signed for 3 more seasons with a 2014 option).
The Astros are likely going to have to pay someone to take Lee off their hands. I’m not even sure what the market is for Wandy Rodriguez. He seems to be a basic back-up option for alot of teams looking for pitching.