The Angels have already been fairly active in the early stages of the offseason, acquiring outfielder Cameron Maybin from the Tigers last week and re-signing Andrew Bailey to a one-year deal earlier today. There’s still plenty of work left for GM Billy Eppler and his staff, however. Here’s the latest on the Halos…
- Eppler feels that adding a catcher this offseason would be more of a “luxury” than a priority, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. On paper, catching help certainly looks like an area of potential need for the Angels, who will enter the 2017 season with the inexperienced Jett Bandy as their primary backstop. Eppler’s comments seem to downplay the possibility of a notable addition, though perhaps later in the offseason, the Halos will be able to snatch up a veteran as a backup option and as a means of pushing Bandy in camp next year. As it stands, Carlos Perez is poised to serve as the backup.
- Also via Fletcher, Eppler said he plans to pursue some additional help for the starting rotation. Beyond the current starting group of Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker, Tyler Skaggs and Ricky Nolasco, the Halos have an opening in the fifth spot in the rotation. “I think we’ll be presented an opportunity to add to that group, add to that population,” said Eppler. “Unless it completely falls apart we will be able to supplement that.” The GM went on to state that the ideal candidate would be both durable and flexible, prompting Fletcher to speculate on the possibility of adding someone such as Doug Fister, who has started and relieved in recent years. Fletcher also notes that free agent Ivan Nova has strong ties to Eppler, having come up through the Yankees’ system while Eppler was in their front office.
- Another option in the rotation could be right-hander J.C. Ramirez, who posted a 2.91 ERA in 46 1/3 innings of relief for the Angels in 2016 but will be tried out as a starting pitcher in Spring Training, tweets Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times. Ramirez doesn’t come with much of a track record and has been primarily a two-pitch pitcher (fastball, slider), though he showed good control (2.5 BB/9) and impressive ground-ball tendencies (54.1 percent) with the Halos in 2016. Ramirez also started 127 games as a minor leaguer, so he’s handled the workload of a starter in the past, averaging 143 innings per season from 2009-11.
Darwin Barney at 2nd anyone
No
Why
He doesn’t add much on the offense. Cesar Hernandez is better. Young, can hit, gets on base, adds speed, switch hitter.
He doesn’t fit the mold of what eppler likes. I think eppler would rather stay with the in house guys instead of getting Barney. If they get somebody it seems to either to be walker utley or Cesar Hernandez
Or even Howie Kendrick
I concur Ryan.
No.
Simmons and Barney up the middle doesn’t sound awful
Ugh i don’t agree with Eppler. I think the a catcher is more important to second base right now. we need a veteran backstop to help guide this young pitching staff
I agree. There’s plenty of catchers on the market that are capable of helping this team. I hope we get one of these guys.
Miguel Montero? Or maybe to ATL?
Alex Meyer? Why wasn’t he even mentioned?
He will be competing for the 5th spot with JC, Campos, Smith, wright and Banuelos
ik i think he’s way to talented for us not to give him a chance. it should be his job to lose
Angels need another starter or two. They may have to “baby” Richards and limit his innings.
They don’t exactly know how Shoemaker will bounce back after the season ending cracked skull injury.
Nolasco is better than Santiago was but he’s a decent #5.
Sign Weaver with incentives and get an innings-eater. Maybe Fister.
Nova would be the best, especially in Anaheim–but the competition for him may be over whelming.
Second base: Derek Dietrich, Scooter Gennett, Cesar Hernandez, Neil Walker, Chase Utley.
Catcher: Jason Castro, Ryan Hanigan, Nick Hundley, Donier Navarro, Wilson Ramos.
Starting Pitcher: Doug Fister, Gio Gonzalez, Ivan Nova, and the list of affordable mid and back end arms goes on.
Lots of relievers.
There are so many options the Angels can go after to fill holes. But I think they should get 2B and C out of the way ASAP and then just dive into adding as much pitching depth as they can through the rest of the offseason.
I concur Ryan.
Are we finally standing together and not blocking the 110 in protest?
At Ryan “Yessir”.
i don’t think catcher should be a priority. are any of those guys that much better than bandy? maybe perez but i still pitching is more important
i like Nick Hundley. we can’t really afford Ramos and the other guys wouldn’t b worth signing any more than for a 1 or 2 year deal
I think its one year deals until either of Bandy or Perez is developed enough to handle the starting job on a regular basis. Or until (if it happens) Taylor Ward is ready to take the helm.
You could be right. The kid showed some pop as well as some decent plate discipline for his age, and even hit around .250. But his numbers were falling off around late August/early September. Probably signs of young age and immaturity. I think the fact that time ran out before he had a chance to get on a hot streak again makes it hard to see him being able to handle the starting job over a full season. That of course is where the free agents come in. And they’re all pretty much clones of Geovany Soto. Take your pick. They’re all serviceable and affordable.
I know it’d be a terrible move from a business perspective, but I think, from a purely baseball standpoint, that the Angels should shop Trout. They’ve got a lot of holes, and I don’t think Neil Walker or Matt Wieters will push them into the postseason
No.
Go away, insincere fan of one of the other 29 teams. We aren’t trading Trout to your team.
couldn’t be more on point
FWIW, it’s a Diamondback fan, and fully aware that their farm is nowhere near strong enough to acquire Trout. Never pretended to be an Angels’ fan. I just don’t see any reasonable way that the Angels can contend with holes at catcher, second base, third base, a weak starting rotation with heavy injury history, an awful bullpen, and no farm system. They have an elite outfield, and a good shortstop, and a high-risk, high-reward starting rotation. They’re nowhere near the Astros’ talent level IMO
Are the Astros really that talented? They haven’t been able to win much with all with that ‘talent’, and are losing key players to free agency that totaled 5 WAR after being an 84 win team.
And then there’s the Rangers and their +8 run differential, and 13th in the AL in ERA in 2016. And they’re losing a bunch of players.
The AL West is very winnable. All 5 teams in the division have gaping holes all over the place, and the Angels are the one team out of the five that have the resources add a ton of depth no matter what condition their farm system is in.
Just imagine if Josh Hamilton’s contract was coming off the books as well. That’s the benefit of having a filthy rich owner willing to go up against the luxury tax.
I’m with you on Texas. They could hang around, but I think they’re more of a .500 team moving forward. Houston, though, is getting a full year from Bregman, Correa should only get better, they have a better bullpen, arguably better rotation, and a true superstar in his own right in Altuve. The Maybin deal makes it look like the Angels are going to try to plug holes with some average players and make a go at it, and it could probably work if they get good health and steps forward from Bandy/Cron or something, but I could see this turning into a White Sox situation if they try to do this every year.
And just to clarify, by “shop,” I just meant change from “no way” to “if someone offers us 4 or 5 young talented players, including 1 or 2 that have already shown that they can play at the major league level, we should consider it.”
He’s not going to your team. But a guy can dream right?
Trout is not going to AZ. And Ryan is correct, the AL West is wide open.
Right. That’s my point. Arizona has literally zero chance of acquiring Trout, so it’s not about me being “an insincere fan” wanting a trade to my team. I just personally believe it’s in the best baseball interest of the Angels
Right again, Ryan. Rangers don’t figure to repeat 2016 with fluke differentials to duplicate. Astros were the AL team to beat, until the AL beat the Astros. Mariners were supposed to be a powerhouse, then learned how much they counted on Felix shutting down other team every 5th game.
Angels are still AL West competitive in 2017, and can be primed for 2018.
I like jason castro he always homered against us when Houston came in town….
Too many holes on this team. Look at that rotation. Yikes. If Richards has a setback or Shoe goes down there’s nobody decent available to fill in.
Too many holes on in all 5 AL West teams. Your’s most of all. It’s going to be up for grabs in 2017.