MLBTR is publishing Offseason Outlooks for all 30 teams. Click here for the other entries in this series.
The Angels were almost the definition of a perfectly average team (80-82 record, 710 runs scored to 709 runs allowed) in 2017, and they stuck around the AL Wild Card race for most of the season. Much of the Angels’ offseason business will hinge on Justin Upton’s situation, though the team will have some money to spend in addressing several holes on the roster.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Albert Pujols, 1B/DH: $114MM through 2021
- Mike Trout, OF: $99.75MM through 2020
- Andrelton Simmons, SS: $39MM through 2020
- Kole Calhoun, OF: $19MM through 2019 ($14MM club option for 2020, $1MM buyout)
- Luis Valbuena, 1B/3B: $8MM through 2018 ($8.5MM mutual option for 2019, $500K buyout)
Arbitration Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Eric Young Jr. (5.163) – $1.1MM
- Martin Maldonado (5.156) – $2.8MM
- Garrett Richards (5.148) – $7.0MM
- Blake Wood (5.131) – $2.2MM
- Shane Robinson (5.002) – $600K
- Matt Shoemaker (3.166) – $4.4MM
- Tyler Skaggs (3.135) – $1.9MM
- Blake Parker (3.036) – $1.7MM
- Jose Alvarez (3.035) – $1.1MM
- C.J. Cron (3.010) – $2.8MM
- Cam Bedrosian (2.153) – $1.2MM
- Andrew Heaney (2.150) – $800K
- J.C. Ramirez (2.139) – $2.6MM
- Non-tender candidates: Young, Wood, Robinson
Contract Options
- Justin Upton, OF: $88.5MM through 2021 (Upton can exercise player option and become a free agent)
- Ricky Nolasco, SP: $13MM club option for 2018 ($1MM buyout)
- Huston Street, RP: $10MM club option for 2018 ($1MM buyout)
Free Agents
- Yunel Escobar, Brandon Phillips, Yusmeiro Petit, Bud Norris, Jesse Chavez, Ben Revere, Cliff Pennington, Andrew Bailey
Los Angeles Angels Depth Chart | Los Angeles Angels Payroll Information
Upton has been in talks with the club about his opt-out clause, which would allow him to test free agency and walk away from the four years and $88.5MM remaining on his contract. Upton just turned 30 last August, and coming off his big season, should be able to find a somewhat larger and longer-term deal on the open market. That said, the Angels could be floating the idea of extending his current contract by an extra year or two in order to keep the outfielder in Anaheim. Despite generally strong performance, Upton has played for five different franchises since the start of the 2012 season, so he could welcome the chance at simply staying put. For what it’s worth, Upton would be playing close to his offseason home in Arizona and he reportedly had an interest in the Angels two winters ago.
If Upton stays in the fold, that checks one major bit of business off GM Billy Eppler’s to-do list. Upton enjoyed one of the best seasons of his 11-year career, hitting .273/.361/.540 with 35 homers over 635 PA with the Angels and Tigers. He would both fill a big hole in left field and give the Halos a big bat to pair with the incomparable Mike Trout in the lineup.
If Upton opted out of his deal and left town, it would be a disappointment for the club, but the Angels accepted that risk when they surprisingly acquired Upton on the last day of August. The silver lining of Upton’s departure would be another big salary off the books, giving the Angels even more of what they haven’t had in several winters — financial flexibility.
Counting Upton’s deal and a projected $30.2MM in arbitration costs, the Angels have just over $142MM committed to 19 players next year. (Josh Hamilton’s contract is finally off the team’s books.) While the club has traditionally stopped short of the luxury tax threshold during Arte Moreno’s ownership, that still gives Eppler plenty of room to address the Halos’ many needs. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Angels will return to their old ways of splurging on big-ticket free agent deals, however, especially given how often those contracts failed to work out for the team. Still, there is room for one big salary to be added, and maybe two if Upton were to depart.
Looking around the diamond, Los Angeles is set in center field (Trout), right field (Kole Calhoun), shortstop (Andrelton Simmons), catcher (Martin Maldonado) and DH (Albert Pujols). “Set” is not really the right word in Pujols’ case, as the veteran’s -2.0 fWAR was the lowest of any qualified player in baseball last year, though the Halos have no choice but to ride out the final four seasons of Pujols’ contract and hope for a late career renaissance. Catcher could technically also be an area of need, though the Angels love Maldonado’s defense and they think his bat will improve now that he is more used to the rigors of regular catching duty. First base could also potentially use an upgrade, though the likeliest scenario is a platoon between C.J. Cron and Luis Valbuena.
Yunel Escobar and late-season trade acquisition Brandon Phillips are both free agents, leaving the Angels with holes to fill at third and second base. The latter position has been a long-standing problem area for the Halos, and I’d expect the team to try and finally make a solid fix by pursuing Neil Walker in free agency. Walker is the top second baseman on the market this winter, and L.A. has tried to land Walker in the past, falling short in trade talks with the Pirates two offseasons ago.
If Walker again can’t be acquired, the Angels could pursue a reunion with Phillips, or check in on other free agent options like Eduardo Nunez, Asdrubal Cabrera (if the Mets don’t pick up his club option), or Jose Reyes. On the trade front, the Angels had some interest in the Marlins’ Dee Gordon before the July deadline, plus the likes of Ian Kinsler, Josh Harrison, Cesar Hernandez, Scooter Gennett, Yangervis Solarte or Jed Lowrie could also be available in deals. The Angels’ much-maligned farm system still doesn’t have much in the way of prospects that would facilitate trades, though the team’s extra payroll space could help them in this regard.
A multi-positional player like Harrison or Nunez could also help out at third base. As per Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times, Escobar isn’t expected to be re-signed, leaving the Angels thin at the hot corner. The team could turn to Valbuena at third base in lieu of an external addition, as while Valbuena’s first season in Anaheim was underwhelming overall, he did hit quite well after the All-Star break. The big-ticket add, of course, would be signing Los Angeles native Mike Moustakas for a grand homecoming. Moustakas would fill a particular need for the Angels in adding a big left-handed bat to a heavily right-handed lineup — one would think that if the Halos do make a big acquisition for third, second or left field, that player would swing from the left side.
If left field does become a need with Upton gone, the Angels could aim for a splash like trading for Andrew McCutchen, signing J.D. Martinez or (again with a left-handed bat in mind) signing Jay Bruce. Alternatively, shorter-term options like Curtis Granderson, Jon Jay or Howie Kendrick could be explored. Teams like the Marlins and Cardinals have outfielders available in trades this offseason, so expect to see the Angels check in on those options if Upton is no longer in the picture. The club could also look for a backup outfielder, if the Angels aren’t satisfied with Eric Young Jr. and/or Shane Robinson.
Injuries have crushed the Angels’ pitching staff over the last two years, though the team finally appears to have things back on track, health-wise. Garrett Richards will headline the 2018 rotation, with Tyler Skaggs, Matt Shoemaker, JC Ramirez, Andrew Heaney, Parker Bridwell and Nick Tropeano all on hand as starting or depth options.
This is still a pretty unproven rotation even if everyone is healthy, so Anaheim is likely to explore adding at least one more arm. This is another area where Eppler could again splurge on a free agent, as a Yu Darvish or Jake Arrieta would go a long way towards stabilizing a staff with a lot of question marks. Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb are less expensive options, though either hurler would still come at a significant price. It could be that the Angels are okay with their current options and simply want a veteran to purely eat innings, which opens their search to any number of free agent arms available on short-term contracts. To this end, the team could look for a reunion with Jesse Chavez or Ricky Nolasco, though in Nolasco’s case, the Angels would decline their $13MM club option on his services and pursue a lesser deal.
Shohei Otani, of course, could be had at a league-minimum salary and for what’s left of the Angels’ $4.75MM international bonus pool, though the Halos will be competing with every other team in MLB for Otani’s services. While little is known about Otani’s decision-making process as he prepares to jump to North American baseball, the Angels (a big-market west coast team with Mike Trout on the roster) certainly have some selling points. On the other hand, Otani wants the opportunity to hit, and the Angels can’t offer regular DH at-bats thanks to Pujols’ presence. As much as the Angels or any other club may want Otani in the fold, it seems unlikely that a prized starter would be allowed to regularly play the outfield or at first base in between starts.
Turning to the bullpen, the Halos won’t be exercising their club option on Huston Street, thus ending the former closer’s injury-riddled stint in Anaheim. Even with Street out for virtually all of 2017, however, the Angels’ bullpen was quietly one of the game’s more effective relief corps. Yusmeiro Petit’s outstanding season was a big factor in the pen’s success, and with the Angels putting importance on the value of multi-inning relievers, it stands to reason that the team will look to re-sign the veteran righty. Other teams will surely also be interested, and Petit will have one of the more interesting free agent cases of any reliever on the market this winter, given such factors as his age (33 in November) and his value in this era of teams prioritizing bullpen depth.
Blake Parker is the current favorite to be the Angels’ closer next season, as his breakout year earned him save chances down the stretch in 2017. Parker’s potential makes it less likely that Los Angeles would go after one of the big-name experienced closers on the market (i.e. Greg Holland, Wade Davis) but I can see the team adding a veteran reliever to supplement the young bullpen corps of Parker, Keynan Middleton and Cam Bedrosian. One option might be old friend David Hernandez, who posted excellent numbers for the Angels before being dealt to the Diamondbacks at the July trade deadline.
The Angels will be a fascinating team to watch this offseason, as they have a lot of question marks to address but also several proven or intriguing building blocks. Eppler has been much more active in the trade market than in free agency in his first two offseasons as general manager, so more deals could be in the offing, or this could be the winter where Moreno again opens the checkbook for another big signing.
Giancarlo Stanton
Get it done Arte.
The angels have nothing the Marlins would be interested in. I highly doubt they even try to peruse Stanton because if they somehow manage to get him then they have nothing to look forward to in the future.
another pojul contract?
If they take the entire contract they won’t have to give up much for Stanton. Marlins are trying to get under $95m so they really have no leverage.
The Angels would not have to offer Miami much for Gordon. They are trying to drop salaries and every team knows that. Any team would be stupid to trade any decent prospect to acquire Gordon.
And you know this how? Keep in mind that a team team like the Angels are able to acquire such a player because they have the money to take on the entire contract. Everyone knows a team like the Marlins want to dump salary. So the rich team has the leverage before negotiations even begin.
Maybe if they had a good and deep farm system, but since they have the worst in the MLB, there’s a very high possibility they won’t get Stanton.
You haven’t checked in on the Angels lately. They have two very good outfield prospects. One of them with a couple of others from their weak Top Ten and take the contract.
Stanton is an excellent fit for the Angels.
Yea, but some teams that might be interested may have a better offer of prospects for him
Stanton has a no-trade. Ed Wade traded Curt Schilling to the Toronto Blue Jays for a very young Roy Halladay, Jose Cruz Jr. and another lesser player.
Schilling said no.
no thanks
It’s funny how since the Angels traded for Upton, I have saying even if he stays the Angels will still have around 50 million to spend before they hit the luxury tax. Where are the ones who said that I’m an idiot and don’t know what I’m talking about?
You’re an idiot and you don’t know what you’re talking about…Happy??!!
Who were the people? I’ve been saying the same thing because I actually looked at their payroll.
RyAn that’s because you and I actually pay attention.
Yep, and someone else further down the comments right here is saying the same thing again. Upton stays…something something…Angels will only have $15m to fill all the holes. I don’t know how those people are figuring their math.
The big asset this off-season is finally having $$ to spend. Heres to Eppler & co. using it wisely. I hope
1) We keep Upton in the fold. Likely need to extend his current deal by 2 yrs at a similar AAV.
2) Trade for Dee Gordon. Most estimations I’ve read think a nominal prospect and a portion of the contract would be enough.
Seems like the most logical solution for 2B.
3) Avoid Moustakas, sign Frazier. 2/$22m would easily fit on the books (unsure of his market). Jersey guy would probably love to play alongside his buddy Trout. Cron at 1B and Toddfather at 3B with Valbuena to spell either works for me.
4) Sign some affordable arms. Chatwood makes a lots of sense for the rotation. He’s familiar with the guys currently in the rotation and the organization in general so he may be favorable to a reunion. Jake McGee is another interesting piece that should be obtainable. Sign and shift Drew Hutchinson to the bullpen for an Eppler special deep dive and see if you can find a diamond.
Excited for the new season to begin.
Bring back Howie, or sign Eduardo Nunez makes more sense than Dee Gordon at second. Why trade prospects for a guy who won’t be able to hit at Angels stadium? Frazier is worse than Valbuena. And will cost more. Could sign Nunez to play third and be the lead off hitter. I would avoid Gordon, Bruce, Darvish and Frazier.
With what we gained in power in Upton, we lost in speed. Maybin and Revere helped the Angels be one of the top base stealing teams in the AL. I think their base running ability absence after Upton was acquired, led the Angels to stall offensively.
I think we need that presence in the line-up again with Dee Gordon. He’s under team control and wouldn’t cost too high in prospects because of his salary.
He’s also a high contact hitting that Eppler likes.
I think adding moustakas to the list to avoid is a good idea
Frazier is worse than valbuena? Not in this lifetime. You’d think after the season Luis Valbuena just came off of an angels fan could admit that.
Ya Frazier is a big step up from Valbuena
In what world do you think Todd Frazier will sign for 2 and 22? If you’re signing Frazier to a 2 year deal it’s going to be around 30-35mil. Probably closer to 35 if he would even entertain one. He doesn’t have to listen to anything other than 3-4 years because he’ll get that somewhere.
I think that you are overestimating Frazier’s potential AAV on a new contract. Of course only time will tell.
When Turner is making 4/$64 ($16AAV) and Kyle Seager is signed at 7/$100k ($14AAV)? 2/$22 Might be light but 2/$35 seems way excessive for a 31yr old journeyman. Don’t get me wrong I really like the player but 3B isn’t a position of great need for many contenders so I don’t see the contract being that big.
I was only saying that if he’s signing for 2 years. I was thinking More like a 3/45 or 4/55 is more like what he’s going to get offered. I’d imagine you’d have to overpay for him to only accept 2 years. Turner is definitely underpaid right now though. 2/35 might be a reach but I’d have a hard time believing he’d go anything under 2/30 if he’s taking a 2 year deal. He made 12 mil in arbitration this year.
I think you’re more bullish on his market than I am. 3/$39 is my max estimate. His true value probably lies somewhere in between.
I like how you’re thinking except for Moustakas. Low career OBP and a crappy agent. I’d like for them to explore a trade for Donaldson from Toronto if possible.
If being a Jersey guy plays into Frazier signing a two year deal it would be with the Yankees(if offered).
Not sure they’ll offer though. They have Headley under contract, Bird healthy and likely taking 1B, and Torres waiting in the wings.
Torres won’t be immediately ready(injury-plus time needed in AAA) and slots more at second. Headley should(I say with baited breath) be dealt. Bird is definitely the starting first baseman for the long haul.
I get that Otani is a far cry option for every MLB team, but I think it’s excessive to mention him in nearly every team’s offseason outlook.
It gets them more clicks to each article when Japanese fans are searching for “Otani”. As a result, they get a little more ad revenue as well. Tim Dierkes can’t afford to do this for free.
That is not remotely the motivation.
Actually, I agree with the prior poster that it is a bit excessive. But it is also difficult b/c so many teams have been tied in some regard to him — b/c every reporter has to ask — and since we have no idea at this point what he’s really looking for.
Actually, this sites mention of Otani in the Phillies offseason outlook is the only such connection of Otani to the Phillies.
Go search for such a connection by Todd Zolecki, Ryan Lawrence, Bob Brookover or any other Phillies beat writer/columnist you can think of.
What’s even more interesting is all of the Phillies beat writers writing how the Phillies need to pursue pitching, even elite pitching, but they never mention Otani or Yu Darvish. Arrietta? Yes, Darvish and Otani no.
That’s the Philly sports media and the Phillies.
Maybe not the sole motivation, but it’s definitely a key indirect benefit using keywords like “Otani” so it shows up more often in web searches.
Right, because there’s so few pages on the internet about him, that this obscure article will be on the front page of Google results for “Shohei Otani”. Please. /s
Sarcasm aside, Otani is such a significant player, that it’s totally appropriate for all 30 teams’ off-season outlook write-ups to at least address the probabilities of that team acquiring Otani.
All 30 teams will have extreme interest in getting Otani. Obviously not all will have a legit chance. For any MLBTR to completely ignore Otani for any team’s outlook would be silly.
This article correctly addresses the biggest difficulty for the Angels for getting Otani (Pujols blocking the DH spot).
As you surely know…Otani wants to hit and its pretty widely understood he’ll go to an AL team. Because of the spending rules its not like the Phils can outbid anyone either. Also, MacPhail, in practice and in word a few weeks ago reiterated his disinterest in signing 30+ year old pitchers to long deals. So, why would they bother writing about guys that certainly won’t be considered? Whether the strategy is right is debatable.
“Otani wants to hit and its pretty widely repeated in comments sections that he’ll go to an AL team. ”
There, fixed that for you.
People who repeat this think the DH is coming to the NL, when in fact the DH is on its way out in the AL. MLB has been trending younger and anti-DH for years now. Shohei Otani can be the ambassador of two-way play who kills the DH.
BTW, how old is Jake Arrieta vs Yu Darvish? Phillies beat writers have mentioned Arrieta, but never Darvish or Otani.
#Facts
I think the DH will be added to the National League before it’s removed from the American League, because of the MLB Players Union.
I doubt they’ll approve of essentially 15 jobs (DH) being gone, and adding a 26th roster spot won’t make up for the significant differential in salary between a designated hitter and a 26th man on the roster.
I have no preference when it comes to AL versus NL style of play, but I think the Player’s Union would require huge concessions to get rid of the DH.
With the value placed in starting pitching in today’s game, I’m sure even more NL owners would rather their pitchers not risk injury from batting and welcome the DH being added to the NL.
“Purity of the game” isn’t as important to the Players Union as losing roster spots or a decrease in average salaries lost from no DH roles would be.
Sign J.D. Martinez and Alex Cobb.
Trade Kalhoun and Jahmai Jones to the Rays for Odorizzi.
Sign Wade Davis.
Win the division.
So sign Cobb to keep Skaggs company on the DL? Chatwood makes more sense than Cobb. And will be cheaper. The Rays would want Cron over Calhoun, because the Rays already have a log jam in the outfield but no first baseman.
Calhoun would be their best corner OF.
Rays cant afford calhoun, and id bet souza and dickerson are better than calhoun
Not even the Angels “want” Cron. He is there by default. Not much trade value.
You forgot the pennant winning ‘stros being 20-25 games worse.
Angels are better than the astros with a staff of Richards Cobb and odorizzi? And an offense that consists of trout, JD and nobody else. Probably not.
This Angels offseason is interesting, they can go one of two ways.
A) Sign marginal pieces like Frazier/Cobb/Walker etc.
or
B) Go for broke, 3 more years for Trout, with the uncertainty of the superteams that 2018 may create, I can definitely see the Angels signing Arrieta or Darvish + Upton or J.D. (with contingency of Bruce/Moustakas) +Trading for Dee Gordon (Perhaps unloading young controllable pitching for salary relief)
I think they should try and pursue Eduardo Nunez. He’d solve either their 2nd base problem, or 3rd base problem.
Fill the holes with cheap, short term value deals. Accept mediocrity for one more year, and by that I mean contend for a WC spot, maybe get hot at the end of the season and make the playoffs.
Save money now and go for broke in 2019 and 2020. Those FA classes appear far superior to this year. Sadly, if they don’t go deep into the playoffs a couple of times in the next 3 years I don’t see Trout staying.
Since some of the Angels fans on here have been trolling every Dodgers article in recent memory I’ll just go ahead and say, enjoy watching game 1 of the World Series tonight, I know I will
And as far as the Angels outlook goes, they have some money to spend but big time free agent splashes and trades have hindered them in the past and they would be wise to spend and acquire carefully this offseason…teams have recently proved that having a healthy balance of developing prospects and shrewd free agent/trade acquisitions can turn things around quickly…I’m not a hater, hopefully they can get things turned around…despite the handful of classless fans they have (as do all teams) I know some Angels fans that deserve a good product on the field
The Andrelton Simmons trade helped a lot.
Indeed…started out looking like another failure but he definitely turned it on nicely
Respect. Good luck in the Series
Thanks brother
I hope the Angels don’t get caught up in adding extra years and $$$ onto Upton’s contract to keep him. Granted, he is a run producer they need in that lineup, but I’m not sure it’s a wise investment to have a $20M+ salary on the books for another 5-6 years when they can find similar pop on the open market on a shorter term and less money.
If Upton opts out let him go. A lot of power hitters out there that are cheaper. We saw how it went last year. And Upton had a crap 2016.
Go overpay for a more important position. 3rd or SP
I could see a possible reunion with Howie Kendrick. That’d solve 2B, or possibly LF, if they don’t bring Upton back.
The Angels don’t appear to have as much money available as people think. If Upton doesn’t opt out they $113 million committed to 6 players. Their arbitration eligible players will get another $40 million. Non-tendering Matt Shoemaker, C.J. Cron, or J.C. Ramirez would save them some money but none of those players will be that expensive compared to their production.
Looking at Cot’s the Angels haven’t gone above the high $160s before, so there’s no reason to think they’ll go above $170 million. That gives them $15-$20 million to spend. It’ll be $37-$42 million if Upton opts out. If he does they’ll have another hole. They could easily spend the entire $15-$20 million on Todd Frazier or Jake Arrieta and that’d be it.
Lol the Angels after trading for Upton and Phillips, went over the luxury tax. Which was set at 193 million.
That’d be true if the MLB luxury tax was calculated the way the NBA used to do their salary cap. They counted a player’s contract, not what the team paid the players. Upton and Phillips wouldn’t count $36 million+ against the tax. They’d count around $6 million, but only if the Angels paid those salaries. Both the Braves and Tigers sent the Angels cash to cover some or all of those contracts.
On the other hand, the Angels gave away Cameron Maybin when the Astros claimed him. So the Astros paid the remaining $1.5 million on his deal. If the Tigers and Braves paid more than $4.5 million of the remaining contract the Angels actually lowered their payroll for luxury tax considerations.
LOL
Chris Rodriguez and Jahmai Jones to Miami for Dee Gordon.
No way, massive overpay. If thats what it took I’d rather sign Walker
Is Miami paying his entire contract with that deal? If not that is way over paying
Resign David Hernandez
Cron is a non-tender candidate, he had a .741 OPS as a bat first player. I don’t think he has obvious value at $3m (ie I don’t think many if any other teams would want to trade for him at that number.) Could see them spending for an upgrade (Hosmer, Duda, Morrison) or a shake-up, lateral type move for similar cost to Cron (Napoli, Reynolds, Jaso, Moreland)
The 1B market will be so swelled that they should be able to get one of the last four for less than $3 million. Adam Lind and Tommy Joseph might also be on the market. The Angels need to be smarter with their payroll because Pujols and Trout make over $60 million.
I admire Trout for playing for the Angels. He put playing for the team that drafted him before attaining post season stats and a World Series before the age of 30. He’ll get his chance for championships as an addition to another club. It would not surprise me though if he just kept playing April through September for the next few years as he envisions life with Pujols salary off the books and in an Angel for life.
….and is an Angel for life.
Trout is a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan. He has season tickets, went hunting with Carson Wentz, and gave the whole team his signature shoes. Almost every Tweet in his feed is about the Eagles and 76ers. A guy who loves Philadelphia sports as much as Trout does might want to be part of Philadelphia sports.
It’s one thing for Wentz to possibly bring a championship to your friends. It’s even better when you do.
Get real. Trout is a good politician but the truth is that Arte the Farte would have to give him 25% of the club to keep him. That’s why the Angels have to seriously consider trading him in the biggest deal since the Babe became a Yankee.
If The Angels cannot reach terms with Upton. a possible short term LF possibility could be Granderson. He provides some pop, good corner defense, along with some good base running. and good clubhouse attitude, and leadership. The biggest downside though is, they’ll have to put up with his low average, and OBP.
The Angels need Stanton and Cesar Hernandez.
Hernandez is a good trade candidate to solve 2B. If they go the free-agent route, they could look into Eduardo Nunez. He would be a very good for his price tag.
Nunez is much more likely than Gordon or Kinsler. The Angels don’t need a $10 million+ contract, especially one as long as Gordon’s.
I think Stanton is beyond what the Angels could offer in talent, compared to other teams. Part of it depends on how accommodating Stanton will be with a trade, or if he’d refuse a trade to (say) Phillies.
Hernandez, on the other hand, might be available for as low a price as Bridwell or Baria. A controllable SP is high on the needs of the Phillies, and Hernandez has 3 years of arb remaining himself, keeping his escalating salary off the Phillies’ books.
Hernandez is no magician with the glove like Espinosa or Phillips, but he wouldn’t embarrass himself on defense and wouldn’t be the offensive black hole that everyone other than Phillips was in 2017. Eppler values strong D, but it is clear the offense needs a jolt even more.
From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, Hernandez > Walker.
Feel sorry for Trout. He’ll never get a chance at winning. 99.5 mil guaranteed for 3 more years he got shafted.
Money may be good but winning is also a big part……..I see trout walking to Yankees or Boston closer to jersey. Arte you final mortal mistake……….man
If the crux of your argument is that Trout would select his next team based on regionalism, no self-respecting kid from South Jersey would choose to wear a Red Sox uniform.
No self-respecting kid from South Jersey would wear a Yankee uniform.
Todd Fraizer would like a word about that lol.
True that, except for Trout’s well-reported affection for Jeter, which kinda sorta made him a Yankees fan. By 2021, Jeter will be a decade removed from the game and the Yankees thing won’t be a “thing”.
Trout will make ~$100M over next 3 seasons alone, which means if he wants to play for the Toledo Mud Hens in 2021, he can and will. It won’t be as simple as playing for the Yankees because they can write a big check—something Yankee fans haven’t observed about Trout.
Todd Frazier is from Tom’s River, a city that’s pretty much in the middle of the state geographically. But it’s also a city that gets New York TV and is considered North Jersey.
Trout is from Millville, a city in the most southern part of the state. Trout may have idolized Jeter, as noted below, but he wasn’t a Yankee fan. He was a Phillies fan. There aren’t Yankee fans in Millville.
Trout is an Eagles fan. Picture Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook.” He’s gone hunting with Carson Wentz and given everyon on the team sneakers. Trout wants to be standing on Broad Street watching an Eagles victory parade. The draw of being in the same parade himself has to be overwhelming. He also Tweets #trusttheprocess for the 76ers.
They could get Stanton for Calhoun and a mid level pitching prospect, Marlins are looking to cut payroll with Stanton not looking for a big return. I️ say go after Moustakas and bring Aybar back into the fold to play 2nd base. Low cost risk.