AL West Notes: Gordon, Eppler, A’s, Beane, Forst, Astros

Here’s the latest from around the AL West…

• The Angels are “kicking all the options around” on adding an outfielder, GM Billy Eppler told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times).  Eppler also said he’s still “having conversations” with the agents of such players as Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes or Chris Davis.  DiGiovanna wonders, however, if Eppler’s other comments about the importance of “getting guys who make contact, who have an idea of the strike zone” and don’t rely on power could be a hint that the Angels may really be targeting Alex Gordon.  Gordon brings excellent defense, a high OBP and (unlike Upton or Cespedes) is a left-handed hitter that would help balance the Angels’ mostly right-handed lineup.
• Athletics executive VP of baseball ops Billy Beane and GM David Forst spoke to reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and CSNBayArea.com’s Joe Stiglich) about the team’s signing of John Axford.  Between Axford, Ryan Madson and Rich Hill, Beane said the A’s are pursuing a strategy of pursuing players who enjoyed comeback years in 2015 but whose poor recent track records could scare other clubs off.  “If we’re right, we’re gonna be smart.  If we’re wrong, you’ll know why we’re wrong — because we dealt with a small sample size,” Beane said.
• As for other potential A’s moves, Forst said “Starting pitching is something we’re still looking at.  We’re having those conversations, but I don’t have a great sense of how long they’ll take or if anything will come of it.”
• Astros GM Jeff Luhnow tells the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich that he thinks his club is “going to look at either bringing in another pitcher for the rotation or a bat of some sort” as the next item on the offseason to-do list.  As Drellich notes, the Astros have enough financial space and roster depth to make any number of moves to address their needs.