The AL West may not be the best division in baseball, but it could be the most interesting to watch at the trade deadline. At the bottom of the division, the Athletics could be one of the biggest sellers — or could still conceivably buy if they make a run. The Mariners have just declared themselves all-in (as if that needed emphasizing) by adding Mark Trumbo, while the Angels are in a similar boat and have both money and needs. And then there’s the Astros, who could take advantage of their surprising six-game lead by adding arms, and the streaking Rangers.
We’ll talk Texas later today on the podcast with Dallas Morning News beat reporter Evan Grant; for now, here’s the latest from the division:
- Adding Trumbo is something of a sign of desperation from the Mariners, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Some around the league think they got him for a nice price, says Rosenthal, but the club obviously has quite a deep hole to dig out of at this juncture.
- While the slugging Trumbo is obviously not going to provide good on-base numbers to a team that already lacks in that department, that doesn’t mean that the Mariners did not add productivity to their lineup, Dave Cameron writes at Fangraphs. Research shows that, for a team that is already filled with low-OBP/high-slugging bats, a similar player is actually more valuable than an equivalently productive but oppositely-skilled hitter. Meanwhile, Jeff Sullivan tackles the deal from all sides, explaining that the deal is not all that impactful for either club.
- Trumbo’s former club, the Angels, never seriously pursued a reunion, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. While the team could use a bat in left field, and the club would consider adding a truly impactful right-handed hitter, it prefers to add a lefty swinger to the middle of the order. All said, per Shaikin, the Halos felt they are better off waiting to see who else becomes available over the summer.
- There could be more Rangers prospects coming behind Joey Gallo and Chi Chi Gonzalez, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. He suggests that backstop Tomas Telis could get a call, particularly with Robinson Chirinos nursing a sore hand after being hit by a pitch. Fortunately, as Grant also reports, the 30-year-old seems to have avoided a DL stint (or worse). He’s off to a great start, hitting .208/.328/.465 in 124 plate appearances.
- Mariners lefty Mike Montgomery finally made his debut, putting up six quality innings, as Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. Now 25, Montgomery was once considered a top-100 prospect with the Royals, though his star has faded in recent years. Since coming to Seattle in exchange for Erasmo Ramirez this spring, however, Montgomery has produced an encouraging 3.74 ERA over 53 Tripe-A innings while posting a strong 8.0 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 — all much better than he’s shown recently in the upper minors.
Chi Chi Gonzales, not Rodriguez.
Chi Chi Rodriguez was the guy that used to throw his hat over the hole after he sunk a putt.
Oh, wow, I spent too much time watching marginal golf tournaments as a kid. Fixed.
Jeff, always consult Les Nessman about this name.
The problem with Trumbo for the mariners is they are going to play him in the OF.
No he can dh.
This is the fear, yes. Jack Z has come out and said he will primarily play 1B/DH. Jack has also mentioned that DH-ing will help prevent the return of his plantar fasciitis so I think the plan really is to DH him mostly. I bet we see more of Smith / Ruggiano and less of Ackley / Weeks. Cruz will now be the everyday RF…which he pretty much is.
Lefty swinger for the middle of the order, that will be easy for the Angels to find.
“He’s off to a great start, hitting .208/.328/.465 in 124 plate appearances.”
Still good for an OPS+ of 120
That’s good for the 7th-best wRC+ among catchers (min. 100 PA). So, yeah.
The slash line just doesn’t back up “great.” OPS+ and wRC+ may, if greatness stoops to 7th-bests.
Sorry, semantics.
“Great” is a relative term. For him, it’s pretty darned great in my opinion. I’m not saying he’s Johnny Bench.
And the slash feeds directly to those other metrics (with some tweaks) — except in extreme circumstances (having lots of PAs at Coors Field, for example), if the slash is good, so are the OPS+/wRC+.
Fair enough. And I get that the slash (well, two parts of it) dictate those metrics. I guess I was just pointing out that it’s odd to read “great start” and then see a .208 batting average, which dampens the point, even if a .465 SLG follows.
I don’t think it would have caught my eye if the claim was backed up with other metrics. Even a .793 OPS is third among AL catchers.
Don’t mean to nitpick, sorry. Thanks for responding.
Also not bad for a place holder until Alfaro is ready in a year or so.
All good. I can see your point, but I suspect, looking back, both he and the club will think of it that way, ha.
It probably would have been better if you stated the advanced stats, because his triple slash line doesn’t look good at all.
Why is that really necessary? I’m talking about early results, and he’s got a solid OBP and excellent power. The “advanced stats” reflect that as well.
The only part of that line that doesn’t look good is the least-important part (the average). And actually, he is doing that with just a .232 BABIP (though he’s a low-BABIP guy). But his walk rate and ISO are way up — have to give him credit for what he’s done.
Needless to say, though, neither I nor anyone else expects him to keep hitting at ~15% above league average … which is precisely why that line looks so good (speaking relatively).
8th among all catchers in WAR with over 40 PA less than anyone in the top 11. Doing well
I don’t love the fit of Trumbo in SEA to begin with, but I suppose when your offense is under performing to that degree, you’ve got to try something. I just hope for that team’s sake that both he and Cruz are never in the OF at the same time, otherwise the season is only going to feel longer.
I see it as a potential acknowledgment that the M’s might not have the pieces to add a starting pitcher. There’s some bounce back in the offense, but the rotation after Hernandez could use a boost.
Trumbo has the AL benefit of the DH. He plays adequate LF but his best position is probably 1B. Not gonna see much playing time in AZ at 1B with all star Goldsmitz (or however you spell it!)
He’s better than Cruz in the field, but that’s not saying much at all.
Although I think he’ll DH mostly, it’s bound to happen at some point that Cruz and Trumbo are in the two corners at the same time. Hopefully not as starters, but just for an inning or two out of desperation.
Angels better off waiting?? waiting to catch the Astros? waiting to get passed by streaking Rangers? Lite hitting wiff expert Matt Joyce just isn’t gonna cut it. We need a left handed bat and we need it NOW! Arte has the money and some solid young pitching prospects to pull something off.
Yes sell of the future for new left fielder when the entire offense is slumping. The Angels are 14th in the AL in OBP, 11th in wRC+ and 10th in runs scored. Their problems run a lot deeper than Matt Joyce.
Sell their future? Throw someone ONE of their young, unproven pitching prospects and maybe a CJ Cron to someone like the Dodgers for Andre Eithier? How is that selling their future. They won MORE games last year than any other team. Good left handed bat in left field batting 100 points higher than Joyce might be the missing piece
Cron has DH all over him. Angels didn’t even like exposing him to the field as a minor leaguer
Not if Pujols continues to hit below a 250 clip, and Mike Trout keeps doing his best to swing at everything. Like he said, the Angels need more than just a better left fielder. Also, somehow doubt that any NL team would want Cron like others have pointed out.
I mean if a team wants a first basemen , I said how about the pirates could use cron if pedro alverez does not pan out and they have josh bell waiting in the wings.
A lot of people are saying how about cj wilson and a prospect for andre ethier?
Arte does have money… Even enough to pay for Hamilton to play against them in the standings.
Maybe the M’s will turn around and flip Trumbo or Logan Morrison to St. Louis for an arm
thats exactly what theyre thinking, buy him low, sell some bats at the deadline if theyre out of playoff race to restock a pathetic farm system
I’m not sure they wait until the deadline. Mariners need another starter. Part of the system is that a few players are contributing at the mlb level now.
How about to the pirates? Trumbo for Worley/Lock plus?
M’s have question marks behind Hernandez in the rotation. Teams will want prospects for Lind and players like that. Mariners need.an arm in the rotation. A guy like Worley would be decent.I’m wondering if they aren’t trying to deal Logan Morrison though
Mariners are also hedging against the league totally avoiding pitching to Nelson Cruz…they’ve gotten little from down in the lineup.
I don’t know — can Jack Z keep his job if they’re selling at the deadline? After spending big on guys who are likely only to go downhill over the years? Kind of feel like he has to do everything he can to put the team in playoff position.
If Cano doesnt hit, M’s not going to win…and Jack Z will be immune from any wrong doing…how can u blame a GM for a superstars regression at plate, especially when said GM protects him with Cruz and Trumbo?
Cano’s gonna be the guy to get hammerred in SEA, GM is safe.
the angels need a lefty bat not another right handed power bat , a lot of people are saying they should trade cj wilson to the dodgers for ethier