FOX’s Ken Rosenthal writes that a fresh start with the D-backs might do Jean Segura some good. While it’s well known that Segura played through a devastating personal tragedy in 2014 — the unexpected death of his infant son — Rosenthal notes that other issues were also likely weighing on Segura’s mind throughout his tenure with the Brewers. Namely, Segura rejected a seven-year, $40MM contract extension with an option for an eighth season attached to it in the spring of 2014, according to Rosenthal. The decision was driven in part by the fact that Andrelton Simmons, a fellow shortstop in the same service class, had recently signed a seven-year, $58MM contract extension with the Braves. Former Brewers manager Ron Roenicke tells Rosenthal that the contract situation weighed on Segura. “We talked a little about the contract,” said Roenicke. “He told me it was bothering him. After that, (he lost) his son and the rest of the year was really rough for him.” Roenicke is a Segura backer and believes he can succeed, but at this point, it’s worth noting that Segura simply hasn’t hit since June of 2013. After a torrid two-month stretch to open his first full season in Milwaukee, Segura has batted a collective .254/.287/.337 in 1540 plate appearances. Perhaps a change of scenery will do him some good, but that level of production isn’t any better than what Nick Ahmed brings to the table, and Ahmed rated as one of baseball’s premier defenders in 2015.
Here’s more from the game’s Western divisions…
- Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto tells Jim Bowden of ESPN (link) that new addition Dae-ho Lee, who signed a minor league deal with the team earlier today, will compete to be Adam Lind’s platoon partner at first base. (Jesus Montero and Gaby Sanchez are also in that mix.) Notably, Dipoto tells Bowden that Lee, who was listed at 6’4″ and 286 pounds last season in Japan, is down about 45 pounds. Stories of players being in good shape certainly abound this time of year, but size was a question among some pundits when writing about Lee. Bowden offers a scouting report based on conversations he’s had, writing that Lee has good hands at first but below average range. At the plate, he can draw walks and has power to right-center field, Bowden adds.
- “We are in the range of where we’ll end up payroll-wise,” Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News on Wednesday. As Grant explains, that’s a somewhat diplomatic way of stating that the team doesn’t have the financial flexibility to add a notable free agent such as Dexter Fowler or Yovani Gallardo at this point. Rather, Grant lists Tim Lincecum and Gavin Floyd as a pair of names that might make more sense for the Rangers to pursue as Spring Training approaches and the team looks for added depth. “The fact is,” according to Grant, that Daniels was given a budget and told to stick to it, so barring a late change of course among ownership, the Rangers will be relatively quiet for the remainder of the offseason.
- By steadfastly refusing to exceed the $189MM luxury tax threshold, Angels owner Arte Moreno is effectively wasting the best years of Mike Trout’s career, opines ESPN’s David Schoenfield. Trout has been worth an average of nine wins above replacement per season in each of his four years at the Major League level, but the Halos have been to the playoffs just once in that time and have zero postseason wins to show for it. Enormous commitments to a declining Albert Pujols and a since-traded Josh Hamilton have left the club with little flexibility, and Anaheim’s paper-thin farm system doesn’t lend much hope for better days in the near future. The Angels finished 12th in the AL in runs scored in 2015, Schoenfield points out, and they’ll be without David Freese and could see an aging Pujols miss time due to offseason foot surgery.
Rangers just make a trade or sing some
Lucroy. Make it happen
A Rangers deal for Lucroy right now doesn’t make sense. Maybe in mid season if Texas feels catching is a weakness and Lucroy is healthy and producing.
Angels really need to do something, Their team honestly isnt that great for the payroll that theyre spending. That rotation is a MASSIVE question mark as is there offence. Behind kalhoun, trout and pujols who is going to put runs on the board?
Daniel Nava 😀
PREACH! I share those exact same thoughts.
I feel like they got a steal on Simmons and he may have yet to reach his offensive ceiling. Maybe he hits in front of Trout and takes off. Anyways, I feel like Angels are and have been overrated. Outside of that insane 2014 2nd half, to me they are just an expensive, decent bunch. 2014 was the only non 3rd place Trout era finish, and even that year the Royals demolished them in playoffs. Impact FA are still out there that can really change things for Angels, along with Simmons trade
In no way did they get a steal on Simmons. They gave up two of their top prospects for a guy who is outstanding on defense but a dud on offense. Also, I don’t see his offense just taking off all of a sudden either.
For me trading Newcomb hurt, he would of been in the rotation next year for the angels.
In reality they didn’t give up what MLB considers as 2 high prospects. Newcomb was in the 50’s and Ellis didn’t crack the top 100. Yes they were Angels top but in the grand scheme they didn’t give up a lot. It did show how weak the Halos farm was(is) if THEIR #1 was soo low.
If you look at this trade blind of team names it’s a steal of a trade. A #50 and #100 prospect for Simmons for 6 yrs.
JMO
no way the Angels got a steal but I do see Simmons emerging in his offensive ability soon
I’m actually glad to see the Angels show some restrain in free agency this time around. The guys who’ve hamstrung the payroll today, Hamilton/Wilson/Pujols/Weaver, were all free agent (or “to be” in Weavers case) signings that were all about the present, ignoring the negative impact they may have on the future. Not saying they were all bad moves but after the iffy 1st few yrs of the Albert deal why compound the issue with contracts to aging players Hamilton/CJ?
Don’t get me wrong, I want them to get after Fowler, but let’s be payroll conscious. Trade a starter (CJ or Hector) for a bit of salary relief (maybe a lefty 2B) and sign Dex to a 3-4yr contract $9-12m AAV. He’s still fairly young and should solidify the OF for the foreseeable future.
I get what you are saying, but Weaver definitely doesnt deserve to be lumped in that group. He is a Boras client and actually took more money then he would have gotten on the open market to stay with the Angels.
Hell if he did. Weaver signed a 5/$85m deal and Boras was mad at him for settling for less to stay w/ the Angels.
I think you mean less money. Weave is a bulldog and I can see him again having a productive season 3.50 ERA, 15 wins. If that happens would be happy for him to sign on again maybe 3yrs 40mill.
Somebody Agrees with me
The problem with that is the rotation is definetly a weak point of the roster (but at this point, there aren’t many strong points outside of a few players). Not many, if any, teams are going to take CJ unless the Angels eat part of his contract (I’m guessing at least half to get something of ok value in return). In my opinion, if teams ask the Angels to eat half his contract as a salary dump, they’re better off keeping him and letting him walk at the end of the year.
I agree with you. I think we should trade Santiago to the twins for Brian dozer and Ryan Presley, I know dozer is a righty but he is still better than giavotella. Then we sign Fowler, but I think his price will be more like 4 yrs 40-50m
In what universe does Santiago get dozier
Are you being serious? Santiago for Dozier?
You can’t be serious about that trade proposal
The Twins wouldn’t do that deal in a million years. Dozier is an incredibly valuable asset; Santiago is a fourth starter.
Lol. No way that happens.
Lol
Dozier only batted .234 last year and has never batted over .250 in his career. He’s 29 and will probably start to regress, now I agree that Santiago may not be enough but add joe smith and kaleb cowart and some others and we could possibly make a run at a trade
If the Angels were to make a trade, could a deal with Arizona make sense? Some pitching to Arizona for younger players? Brito, owings, lamb, Drury etc.. I know Arizona has a bunch of options for the pen and rotation but you can never have enough pitching
It does seem like Ahmed is SS and Segura is 2B, with Owings as UT and that seems like a waste. Owings could be an interesting trade candidate and him playing 2B for Angels definitely makes sense. AZ could use some dominant relievers over a UT player so maybe something could happen there
I was thinking owings lamb and Brito in return for a pitcher or two fills all the holes the Angels have with relatively young players with good upside, something the Angels lack.
Brito, owings and lamb to the Angels in return for pitchers makes sense to me because the Angels get outfield depth, and help at second and third, all three are relatively young and are MLB ready. The Angels don’t have many young players at all so that could be a start
I think it’s wise for the Angels to put on the brakes and not let themselves get burned again by another big contract. They already have a core of Trout, Pujols, Calhoun, and Cron (if he can figure it out over a full season this time), and should really be pointing to supplementing that core, which they have done this offseason. The biggest issue last season was their inability to get enough runners on for Trout and Pujols. I’ve never seen a duo hit so many solo HR’s in a season. Calhoun was in front of them most of the season, but their leadoff spot was a gaping hole. It’s very likely Calhoun will lead off in 2016, and despite having LF shoved down our throats all offseason, adding Escobar and Simmons does give them more viable options to pair with Calhoun at the top of the lineup. They can even put Gentry up there when needed. So that issue was addressed. LF is obviously still a concern, but I think the Angels took care of a lot at the top of their order. The bottom of the order is where we’ll really have to just wait and see. But they’ll be in the thick of it. No one in the AL West did anything to put themselves ahead of the pack, so it’s very likely we’ll see the same race in the ALW in 2016 as we saw in 2015. Heck, if the Rangers can win the division with a pitching staff ranked 13th in the AL, anything is possible in that division. Lol
Cron? A core player?
Yeah…
There is no team in baseball that doesn’t have some “concerns” this time of year. The Rangers last year were an excellent example of what can happen when things fall into place. CJ & Weaver are in contract years….they could pitch lights out. Ya never know! 🙂
Out of those two im keeping weaver, he’s an angel for life.
not if he goes 4-13 with a 6.50 ERA.
I think weaver has a bounce back year like he did in 2014, won 18 games 3.59 era, thats pretty solid.
Wins don’t tell anything, someone could have a 1.00 era but go 0-20
yea well I think weaver has a better year in his walk year, but I have a feeling the angels keep him
and when has that happened?
Halos need to trade Santiago for outfield prospects. It’s the best thing to do. Gamble with young players and hope one pans out to be a good. Leftys with speed, obp and good fielding should be the priority when trading.
Santiago lead the AL in HR allowed last year and out up a 4.77 FIP and a 5.00 xFIP. What outfield prospects were you hoping to get for that?
At some point in time the Angels are probably going to find that they will be better off to trade Trout and move forward with the package they get from him. Either that, or spend like the Dodgers, which they don’t seem comfortable doing.
No way they trade Mike Trout, I see them spending money next season when Weaver and Wilson come off the books. Unless C.J Wilson shows he is healthy during the spring and they find a team to take him, I think the Marlins could be a fit for him or the o’s since they are looking for a pitcher.
This is the trap they are falling into though. “They will be able to make things better next year”. And then next year comes and they aren’t willing to spend the money, and they get outbit on the big Free Agents, or they sign past their prime guys who spend a lot of time injured. They’re likely a better team now and in the future if they can trade Trout for 3-4 good, young players. Like a Harvey-Syndergaard-Conforto-Lagaras package or something, but I doubt the Mets would be looking to make a move like that.
I agree to that, but imo they had a good chance to go deep into the playoffs in 2014, but they got swept by a red hot royals team and we were thin on starting pitching with richards and skaggs out. I think next year and 2018 they spend again, by the time trout’s contract is up there will be enough money to give him another extension.
That is the kind of package (swap out Syn for Matz though) it should take to move Mike Trout, but I as a die-hard Mets fan I wouldn’t want the Mets to move that kind of talent.
Angels ownership/leadership has really screwed the pooch. The farm is barren and they have a bunch of bloated contracts. It all started w. Pujols. I hate that STL was smart w. not re-signing him to a mega deal. I’m not sure the Angels will be able to dig out of the 70-80 win territory they are fast approaching w. their current roster.
“I’ll take bad baseball ideas for a thousand, Alex!” ……..”the answer is: trading away Mike Trout!”
Q: “What is the biggest thing the Angels will regret not doing”
At some point the Red Sox felt like they needed to sell Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
And the Red Sox got literally nothing back for the team. The owner got $100,000 to finance a play. I’m pretty sure trading Trout for a few good, young major league players is a little bit different.
Would you rather:
Watch Mike Trout in your outfield for the next 15-20 years,
or
Trade Mike Trout for some prospects and win 1 World Series championship within the next 15-20 years while watching Trout being the same player on another team?
mariners need to let montero play everyday, this guy us going to be a stud. He has learned his lesson, been in great shape for 2 years, give him a real chance
The Angels have Trout for 5 more years, and if they keep trotting out a pathetic supporting cast, there is no way he is re=signing with them long term. And nobody is saying trade Trout for prospects.
I’d rather watch a competitive team as opposed to a team with 1 superstar that finishes third or fourth every year (trust me on this one, I’m a Jays fan. As awesome as it was to watch Halladay for 10 years, last season was so much more fun)
Halladay was very fine pitcher who will get some votes for the Hall of Fame one day—just how many I don’t know but that’s another argument for another thread.
Trout is one of those rare 5 tool superstars who is showing he deserves to be put in a class with ARod, Bonds, Mantle, Aaron, Mays and Musial. YOU DON’T TRADE THOSE GUYS AWAY! Unless the Halos think they can’t resign him in a few years—THEN consider trading him. But this is a guy who could be THE face of the franchise like Stan in STL or Mantle in NYY, Mays with the Giants and Aaron with the Braves were. The Pirates and M’s didn’t have the $$$ to compete to keep Barry and Alex. But the Angels are supposed to be in the big leagues when it comes to money. (BTW, Aaron, Mays & Musial only got one WS ring. But their value was more than rings.)
Honestly.. Keep Trout. The Angels have no one in the HOF with an Angels hat on and outside of Vladimir Guerrero and Albert Pujols (both of whom I doubt go in with an Angels hat) Trout is the next best chance the way he is playing
It’s just the way the chips have fallen over Trout’s tenure. Then, it was exciting they accompanied him with Pujols (upgraded over Trumbo) and with Hamilton the following year (with Trout himself tweeting “WOW”). They ended up as the best record team after that, granted Hamilton hardly factored, but Kendrick greatly did. Since, Kendrick wasn’t kept, Weaver greatly declined, and Wilson hasn’t lived up to his contract but that first year, Shoemaker didn’t repeat of performance, and why Scioscia is probably the best manager in the game on how he plays off the way those chips fell. Now, they have leverage to trade for by one of the young arms up top but haven’t backed it up with a free agent arm that is keeping them from doing that, right now. The trade is prelude that they’re signing a free agent pitcher, which there are still some arms out there for.
Can’t do anything about how the chips have fallen already but how best to play them. Then, the moves for Pujols and Hamilton to accompany Mike’s contract were heralded, but they didn’t come up. Since, Kendrick wasn’t kept, Weaver has fallen off, Shoe didn’t repeat. Now, a trade is prelude to there signing a free agent starter with some still out there before going into ST
I see Wilson or Santiago being traded, and if they are in serious contention at the deadline, I look for them to make a move for maybe Jay Bruce.
Why would the Halo’s trade either Wilson or Santiago? Bother are capable of 12-14 wins and 180 innings if healthy. Who would replace them?. If the Angels are in serious contention sure….get Bruce and another player or two. But CJ and Hector were NOT the Angels problems last year.
What would you rather have a 3rd or 4th starter who could be replaced by Skaggs or Shoemaker or an actually 3rd outfielder instead of Nava and Gentry platoon