The Angels have designated second baseman Danny Espinosa for assignment, the team announced on Twitter. Right-hander Parker Bridwell was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
[Updated Angels depth chart at Roster Resource]
Espinosa was acquired from the Nationals last offseason as a possible answer to their long-standing hole at second base, though 2017 has been a disastrous year for the 30-year-old. Espinosa has hit just .162/.237/.276 over 254 plate appearances for Los Angeles, owning both the lowest wRC+ (40) and the sixth-highest strikeout rate (35.8%) of any player with at least 250 PA this season. While his defensive numbers have still been solid-to-average depending on the metric (+3.4 UZR/150, zero Defensive Runs Saved), Espinosa’s offensive futility has made him a below-replacement level player.
While Espinosa has never been much of a hitter over his career, there were signs that he had turned a corner at the plate last season, hitting 24 homers and posting strong numbers against left-handed pitching. Between that offensive promise and his excellent defensive track record, the Angels thought they were obtaining good value for a second baseman, at Espinosa’s $5.425MM price tag after avoiding arbitration.
Now, unless another team works out a trade with the Angels or claims Espinosa on waivers, the Halos will be on the hook for the roughly $2MM remaining on Espinosa’s contract. The infielder is a free agent this winter and may be hard-pressed to find a guaranteed Major League deal, barring a turn-around with another team in the second half of the season.
Nick Franklin and Cliff Pennington will form a platoon at second base for the time being in Los Angeles, though the position is a clear target area for the Halos if they choose to be buyers at the trade deadline. The Angels just got Mike Trout back from the disabled list, though with a 45-49 record and a four-game deficit in the wild card hunt, they’ll need to get on track quickly to justify making a purchase before July 31. Not many teams are looking for second base help this summer, so the Angels could enjoy a wide berth in the market, and they’ve already been linked to one long-term asset in Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon.
jays
you don’t want him… trust me
Because of Half a season really ? Great defense with a strong arm
this isn’t the first half of a season were he couldn’t hit…
probably better than either going or barney
goins i mean
You must be a fan of a different AL East team.
Idiot
I exspected this to happen, .162 AVG after the all star break bye bye
inevitable, the dude just could not hit. And now that the angels are planning to platoon franklin and pennington apparently, please trade for a 2B at the deadline. I do not want to have to watch that platoon
Maybe Dee Gordon could be a fit for the Angels?
i would love dee on the angels, especially if they eat some of his salary. And the prophecy cost won’t be as high as people on here are saying i believe.
Yea the prophecy cost is for locusts and toads.
I’m thinking Dee to the Angels for Jaime Barria and maybe Nonie Williams. Angels eat the salary. If anything, that’s too much from the halos but i think that should get it done
Dee Gordon with the angels would be a perfect fit, would be a perfect leadoff hitter and the defense would be pretty good with simmons at short, maybe next year they make a run at moustakus
i don’t see the angels moving barria
I see Sanchez from the White Sox being more likely. Younger under team control. And won’t cost as much in prospects. And since Sanchez already knows the pitchers in the AL. Less of a learning curve.
I do. but only for the right guy. And given how awful 2b is, gordon seems like the right guy
I do not not not want the angels to go after moustakas. He would be way too pricey for his future production. I’d rather see them give Kaleb Cowart a full season’s chance
Yes and no. Gordon is definitely not the “right guy” but i do see them giving cowart a shot. That would be the smart move.
I don’t know what has Angels fans so weird about platoons. They had more platoons when they were making the playoffs year after year. Remember Figgins? Izturis? Kendrick and Aybar had to platoon up the middle for 4 years before they were full time starters. Platoons offer the opportunity to not only utilize players’ strengths in specific roles, but also to add depth that is guaranteed to be used without being forced to because of injury. It’s not wise to rely on a full lineup of just one full time starter per position because of situations like Espinosa. And if a good player gets hurt there’s likely not much depth because the bench would be full of players who can’t play every day in any capacity.
so your comfortable with a platoon of pennington and franklin? stop it. Neither of them are even close to what figgins, howie, and aybar were
That has nothing to do with what I’m talking about. It’s not ideal but it’s still a vast statistical upgrade over Espinosa. Platoons have been used for over 100 years for a reason. And the Angels used them more 10 years ago when they were a perennial playoff team than they do now.
platoons are great when they have people that can add up to be a good player. But a platoon of franklin and pennington just simply is not the answer at second base
Who could they trade for Yolmer Sanchez? (not a top prospect just a fair 1 for 1 guy)
Trout
Cron and probably a outfield prospect.
Cron has no value at this point. He will most likely be non-tendered for 2018 and he’ll have to sign MiLB deal with some other team. After this much time the team expected to see an emergence, and he could have had starting 1B on a platter.
Unfortunately I’d have to agree that Crons value is 0 right now. I still have faith though, some how. I think the Angels should give him the rest of the season to try to build any value and then go from there. However, I would support the idea of parting ways with CJ after this season
He’s had a remarkably long career for a guy who can’t hit at all. I know he plays great defense but eventually you gotta get on base more than 25 percent of the time.
Maybe a Howie Kendrick reunion within the near future? Phillies probably wouldn’t ask for much, and it would be a good fit.
Ian Kinsler could be a trade candidate for the Angels.
That could work given his down year could lower his price tag. But I feel like Avila is going to be asking for a crap ton for him.
Doesn’t Kinsler have a no-trade clause?
yes but Kinsler wouldn’t mind a change of scenery and moving to Socal i believe
Moving back to SoCal where he went to college. I’d rather see David Fletcher come up.
SAME. Finally somebody acknowledges my boy fletch
That would be a big “no, thank you” on Kinsler.
He’s owed about $4M this year and has option 2018 for $12M vs $5M buyout. There isn’t $9M worth of value in him for remainder of 2017, and it doesn’t seem the Angels would want a 36 year old 2B next year taking $12M of salary space.
If he was still productive offensively it might be different, but 35-36 and declining skill set at a premium price isn’t an attractive look.
Back to Washington…..
Package deal C Hernandez and T Joseph from the Phils. Might cost one top 10 prospect for both and a B prospect .
That would be perfect. Kill two birds with one stone. Maybe Marsh and Campos could get it done?
NOT Marsh…… nonononono
marsh isn’t going anywhere imo
The Angels are an awful organization. Terribly mismanaged.
based off the last 2 years? look at our records since 2002 if your new to baseball before you say their an awful organization
and since i know someone will say it, they’re*
Don’t forget about *you’re
i didn’t even say “your” though haha
“…if —-your— new to baseball…”
Maybe it was your evil twin who said it?
wow, how did i miss that :/
Not a very intelligent comment when we’re seeing teams with higher payrolls going from the playoffs to sinking in the standings overnight. It can happen to any team.
I agree 101% Rock!
I’m starting to think Dipoto was better than Eppler who is terribly overrated by the people on places such as Halosheaven
don’t start to think that. Epplers done a fantastic job as gm
Agreed
Also agree. DiP was terrible and abrasive
You must be blind to think that eppler has done worse than dipoto. He’s slowly giving the franchise more respect throughout the league as opposed to this sh*t hole that dipoto left us in
Dipsnot is the reason why the Angels have no farm system. Traded good players for guys who are no longer even playing baseball. And then replaced them with below average minor league players. Hell Dipsnot traded the guy who led the majors in homers last year. And he didn’t just trade him once. He traded him twice.
It was Arte/Sosh infiltrating the baseball operations. Dipoto was a smart GM who made only one really dumb trade (Freese for Grichuck) and it is clear Sosh made the decisions or had final say as you can look back at the Dipoto/Sosh situation and see why. But Eppler is only an average GM guys
An average GM? what are you basing this off of? The fact that he’s kept this team afloat with guys like norris, blake parker, parker bridwell, alex meyer, martin maldonado, and more. Not to mention the fact that our farm system is much improved?? You really need to stop saying dipoto was a smart gm please… The dude put us in the penalty for signing roberto baldaqain (spelt wrong) and drafted taylor ward in the first round. Please stop
You have no idea what you’re talking about. Dipoto tried to strip the organization of its philosophy. Did you even happen to notice how the Angels stopped playing aggressive baseball and started sitting around waiting for the HR and not stealing anymore? Did you not see the catcher who couldn’t frame or throw to save his life? How about how much the bullpen was neglected? That’s not Angels baseball. That’s Jerry Dipoto baseball. He’s a Billy Beane wannabe. He alienated not only his coaching staff but the players as well. Albert called him out on it. And then he quit on his team halfway through the season. The Angels should’ve hired Eppler instead of Dipoto when they had the chance.
Hard to say that Freese for Grichuk was a bad trade, since the Angels had a need at 3B and Grichuk still had time to spend in the minors. As it is, the Cardinals demoted him this season to single-A because of bad habits and bad attitude.
Freese had poor health and luck and couldn’t stay off the DL, but it was a risk worth taking and didn’t really do much for either team ultimately.
The farm system was a result of Dipoto (Barria, Jones, Rodriguez). If you actually realized that he was limited by ownership and Sosh and the fact that he’s done great in the draft for Seattle picking up guys such as Kyle Lewis, Joe Rizzo, and Dylan Carlson then you would probably know that Dipoto is a good GM if he’s given an actually opportunity
Yes, I forgot Eppler took Maldonado on Roenecke’s recommendation, and Dipoto put the team in the international draft penalty box for years with the massive bust that is Roberto Baldoquin.
Dipoto should have gotten some better international scouts instead of going by the word of the coaching staff who should not EVER get to evualate talent
ryan krowl said it best gmflores… you have no idea what your talking about here
Yeah, um…you really don’t know how this works, do you?
Dipoto’s international scouts are the ones who advised him to grossly overpay for Baldoquin. The coaching staff wouldn’t have anything meaningful to say in the initial evaluations of a Cuban player. It was Dipoto’s staff in DR who had scouted Baldoquin and advised him to spend the farm to sign, which in this case meant an $8M signing bonus.
BTW, the guy in charge of international player development, which was the department involved in scouting and signing Baldoquin, was Scott Servais, who is Dipoto’s pal and current manager of the Mariners.
The money wasted on Baldoquin put the Angels in a two year penalty, which left them unable to bid on other international players in amounts greater than $300k. The $8M bonus plus the luxury penalty meant the whole international scouting group was operating on limited budget, and scouting was reduced.
The decision to sign Baldoquin rests with Dipoto, and a significant part of the Angels farm system problems stems from their inability to scout and sign players from Latin America and Asia for those two years.
Dipoto wasn’t limited by anything except his own need to force his philosophy down the organization’s throats when their franchise history has shown time and again that station to station baseball has never worked at the Big A. Another example is the 2012 trade deadline. He wasted his entire deadline budget on Zack Greinke when the obvious need was a shut down setup man and closer. He ignored that, and his baby Ernesto Frieri blew key saves down the stretch that a good closer would’ve held down and gotten them at least a WC spot. And of course, Dipoto was proven wrong again in 2014 when he finally acquired Grilli and Street to go along with Joe Smith, resulting in a dominant bullpen down the stretch that was finally able to put teams away and close out a division title. That alone should be enough to understand that Scioscia’s philosophy should still be the foundation of the Angels approach, even if it might be time to move on from Sosh.
DiP was clueless
Actually, Artie fired a lot of the long-term scouts years ago, including the scout who recommended Trout be signed.
That guy is responsible for Pujols/Hamilton/Wilson
no, arte was the one who pushed for those signings. Your just guessing at this point
Actually, Artie fired a lot of the long-term scouts years ago, including the scout who recommended Trout be signed. That contributed to the downfall of this organization
Eddie Bane
Are you jaded??? Eppler is worlds better than dipoto, the same guy who we blew through the international spending with a no namer. Eppler has been sneaky good with his acquisitions and put the angels in competition with no farm or international spending. Another top pick next year, and josh Hamilton off the books. Great gm.
Dipoto built up some solid pitching depth out of Trumbo, Howie, and Conger. Dipotos trades were fantastic besides like one or two of them. The little prospects in the system are a result of Dipoto and no, Thaiss is not a true prospect. Eppler is an average to above average GM and the Halos circle jerk is all over this guy SMH
Kind of hard to see Conger trade as a win at this point. Conger turned out to be the journeyman backup we were seeing, but Perez is in SLC breaking bad habits and behind Graterol on the depth chart. Meanwhile, we will have to see if Tropeano returns to form and pitches as a 3-5 rotation piece. Right now, the trade is a push.
On the other hand, Eppler got Meyer (and Nolasco) for Santiago, and this could be a huge deal as soon as 2018. Meyer has mechanics to work out (always tough for someone 6’13”), but what he has shown is jaw-dropping at times. I am old enough to recall the early Ryan years, and there is a lot in common. As the mechanics get repeated, success follows.
And where is this pitching depth you speak of? Oh, Tommy John Surgery for two and the third was so bad at controlling his pitch count that he’s not even with them anymore. FYI, scouts were scared of Andrew Heaney as a possible injury concern because of his delivery. He looks like he’s about to bail out at the last second. That’s why he didn’t open the 2015 season in the Angels rotation. He had to control that delivery and learn to keep his shoulder in better so he could follow through. When I first saw him pitch, and saw his delivery, I immediately thought this kid is going to have some kind of arm surgery within his first 5 years in the big leagues. Sure enough. That’s why the Angels got a supposed top pitching prospect for an aging Howie Kendrick.
Eppler is substantially better than Dipoto in the area of player evaluation. Dipoto is the guy who signed the triumvirate of Blanton/Madson/Burnett. Madson never threw a pitch that year, and you wish to hell the same could have been said about Blanton.
It’s interesting to watch Mariners from afar, because he was supposed to build a winner to support the huge investments in Cano, Cruz and Felix, not to mention to get to the playoffs before Felix started to break down. The Mariners have been mediocre all season, and since Dipoto’s buddy Servais is the manager, there isn’t any front office/field feud to blame.
Eppler has had to walk a tightrope between not trading away what remains of the future and drafting smartly. The trade for Simmons was outright theft (even if Newcomb turns into Roger Clemens Jr, Simmons helps the team NOW while Trout is under contract), but otherwise trades like Gott for Escobar have helped the team without causing another weakness. Likewise, pickups like Parker and Norris have been very valuable at minimal cost, and I do think Meyer pays off in the long run.
The Simmons trade is not theft by any stretch of the imagination. Newcomb looks to be a very good starter in the league and while Simmons is a extraordinary defensive SS, he is by no means a superstar. I like the Meyer trade but Escobar is an extremely one-sided player and Parker and Norris aren’t pickups that would make Eppler look like a legend
Don’t forget the great Tony Reagins. He made many trades that benefitted the organization.
And he got rid of Bane not Moreno. He clashed with Bane and his ego couldn’t handle someone knowing how to do his job. Losing Bane was what led to the downward spiral. Just now are they beginning to make progress. Eppler has done well with what he has had. Please don’t trade away the limited talent they do have. The playoffs aren’t happening so trade away what you can and preoare for 2018 when there is no more hamilton contract.
Best joke I’ve heard all day! Lol
If Newcomb becomes the next Kershaw you guys would still defend the Simmons trade
No, and I think any Angels fan wishes the best for Newcomb. The fact remains Newcomb wouldn’t have been ready to make the team last year, and wasn’t expected to open with the team this year (and he didn’t).
On the other hand, Simmons radically upgraded the up-the-middle defense, solved the “what to do after Aybar’s gone?” problem, and put a dependable player on the roster through 2020. The benefits of Simmons’ defense are felt by the pitching staff, too.
The Angels received value from this trade from Opening Day 2016, while the Braves are only now getting anything from Newcomb.
Please take Yolmer Sanchez
I don’t understand how the Angels can feel that a Franklin and Pennington platoon is better than Espinosa, who is also an Orange County product.
Actually, I feel far more optimistic about franklin than i do w Espinosa. It seems to me that Franklin does the little things better. Baserunning, working counts, and getting walks
Franklin would be a 4A player everywhere else. This is why the Angels will consistently be mediocre
Just a .230 BA from Pennington is a major upgrade from .160 by default. What are the Angels supposed to do any way? You lose your starting second baseman because of a terrible season, you get the bench platoon. They’re still looking at the market though.
All you Angel clowns jumping on me over the off season how GREAT this guy is….. Where you at now wanna be tough guy? Lolzzzzzzzz I love it!!!
Nobody said this guy was a super star. But you seem like a closeted Stros fan to me
How on earth did Anaheim consider him worth the 5 million dollars?
That is because the people running the Angels are kakabrainiacs…