Thanks in part to a host of injuries – including to right-hander Shohei Ohtani – the Angels’ pitching staff turned in a below-average performance in 2018, ranking 18th in the majors in ERA (4.15) and 22nd in fWAR (11.0). Now, with the offseason around the corner, the Angels are turning their focus to improving their pitching, general manager Billy Eppler revealed Monday (via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register).
“We are going to be in the pitching market, both in the starting and relief market,” Eppler said. “What that’s going to yield, that’s hard to predict, but we’re going to have a lot of conversations.”
The Halos already know their staff will go without Ohtani next year after he underwent Tommy John surgery Monday. Realistically, the Angels may not be able to replace Ohtani’s per-inning production, as the two-way star put up a 3.31 ERA/3.57 FIP with 10.97 K/9 and 3.83 BB/9 in 2018, though injuries limited him to 10 starts and 51 2/3 frames. He was among several Angels starters who endured injury-shortened seasons, with Tyler Skaggs, Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker, Parker Bridwell, Nick Tropeano, Alex Meyer and J.C. Ramirez also among the team’s rotation possibilities who were shelved for most or all of the campaign.
Looking ahead to 2019, Eppler said the Ohtani-less Angels have three “locks” for their starting staff, according to Fletcher, who writes that Skaggs and fellow southpaw Andrew Heaney are surely among them. The other choice could be one of three righties – Shoemaker, Jaime Barria or Felix Pena – though each member of that trio comes with concerns. Injuries weighed down Shoemaker from 2017-18; Barria posted a 3.41 ERA in his 129 1/3-inning rookie year, but uninspiring peripherals accompanied his quality run prevention; and Pena, 28, carries a limited track record of major league success.
With multiple question marks in their rotation and, in Fletcher’s estimation, around $30MM to spend, the Angels could dip into free agency to augment the group. Richards will be among the league’s free agents, and there’s no word on whether the Angels want him back. Even if they do, he underwent TJ surgery in July and may miss most or all of 2019. Richards won’t be part of the Angels’ season-opening plans no matter what, then, though they could look to other free agents for help. The top options available are expected to be Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who seems likely to opt out of the remaining two years and $65MM on his contract, as well as fellow southpaws Patrick Corbin and Dallas Keuchel. There will be several other capable, less expensive arms out there, too – including Hyun-Jin Ryu, J.A. Happ, Gio Gonzalez, Nathan Eovaldi and Matt Harvey, to name just a few. There’s also C.C. Sabathia, a California native whom the Angels pursued last winter and whom Eppler knows from his time as an executive with the Yankees.
Sabathia and some of the other hurlers named above would likely improve the Halos’ rotation without coming at premium prices, which would give them room to upgrade elsewhere. That includes their bullpen, which Eppler cited as an area of interest. With the exception of free agent-to-be Jim Johnson, all of the Angels’ innings leaders from their 2018 relief corps are under control heading into next season. Further, all of Blake Parker, Cam Bedrosian, Jose Alvarez, Justin Anderson, Hansel Robles, Taylor Cole and Ty Buttrey performed at least reasonably well this season, and the club could welcome back Keynan Middleton – yet another TJ patient – sometime next year. It’s not a dire-looking situation in the Halos’ bullpen, then; however, considering the group only turned in a middling statistical performance this year, it could stand to improve.
Like the Angels’ bullpen, their position player group was more decent than great in 2018, as it finished 11th in wRC+, 12th in fWAR and 15th in runs. Those rankings factor in yet another otherworldly performance from center fielder Mike Trout, who’s sure to lead the group again in 2019. The rest of the Angels’ outfield may also be set, with Justin Upton a lock to continue in left and right fielder Kole Calhoun having bounced back in the season’s second half after a dreadful first few months. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons figures to continue starring in the Angels’ infield, meanwhile, though the rest of it looks decidedly less promising. Zack Cozart – signed to a three-year, $38MM contract last winter – endured an injury-shortened, down season, and Eppler said Monday he should spend the winter preparing to play either second or third. That means the Angels could shop for a help at either spot in free agency, where there will be quite a few veteran infielders looking for jobs, or turn one of those positions over to another player who’s already in the organization.
At first base, the club will continue to be stuck with the soon-to-be 39-year-old Albert Pujols, an all-time great who’s amid a sharp decline and who’s still due $87MM over the next three seasons. Pujols may once again see the majority of time at the position in 2019, though Jose Fernandez, Matt Thaiss and Jared Walsh could also get some action there, per Fletcher, who writes that Eppler hasn’t ruled out adding external help at first or behind the plate.
Eppler mentioned Fernandez, Thaiss, Walsh, fellow infielders David Fletcher, Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo, outfielder Michael Hermosillo, and catchers Jose Briceno and Francisco Arcia as in-house options who could help the Angels’ offense in 2019. Aside from Thaiss, Walsh and Rengifo, each of those players saw action with the Angels in 2018, though none registered eye-popping production. There is clear promise in at least some of those cases, however. The 24-year-old Fletcher dominated at Triple-A Salt Lake before earning a promotion to the majors in June, where he racked up 1.9 fWAR in 307 plate appearances on the strength of a combined nine Defensive Runs Saved and a 10.2 Ultimate Zone Rating between second and third. Briceno, 26, is also a well-regarded defender, and he managed a respectable 91 wRC+ in his 128-PA audition in Anaheim this year. And Baseball America (subscription required) has Thaiss, Rengifo and Ward among the Angels’ top 10 prospects in a system that has taken significant steps forward under Eppler.
All things considered, Eppler believes the Angels “have a lot of answers internally” with respect to their position player group. Consequently, it seems the lion’s share of Eppler’s offseason attention will go to the Angels’ pitching staff as he works to snap the team’s four-year playoff drought in 2019.
Trade Ohtani. It’s actually interesting to see what they could get for him. If they use him for a Degrom deal they immediately become contenders.
This is very dumb.
Ohtani isn’t going anywhere in 2019. Angels are win now. They gotta use him as trade bait because they need to contend to maintain Trout.
There is no certainty that Ohtani wont be able to DH in 2019. the mets won’t part with degrom for someone that won’t contribute to them in 2019. you don’t sign a guy like ohtani just to trade him after one year. I can go on and on why you’re so far off base here
Ok so the angels would be stupid for giving Ohtani away for a “rental” like DeGrom and the Mets would be stupid for giving away a stud ace like degrom for an unproven injured former #1 overall prospect. Which one is it? Because both “theories” of why the trade isnt good contradict themselves.
And why does it matter to the Mets if Ohtani contributes in 2019? My point was that one team is in win-now mode and one is not. One stud superstar is cost controlled, but won’t contribute in a win-now year. One stud superstar isn’t controlled, but will contribute in a win-now year at a position the team deeply needs improvement on. The Angels need pitching, and the Mets could use a young prospect such as Ohtani to spark a rebuild. I don’t see where I’m wrong here, please elaborate and give me more feedback that isn’t just “you’re wrong”
Dumbest idea ever. If you really think this go watch another sport.
I think they have a better chance of retaining Trout with Ohtani, than 2 years of deGrom.
“Win now” doesnt mean bet the house and give up Ohtani, generational talent (in his limited sample size) for two years of deGrom. Newsflash: Nothing in life is guaranteed.
This shortsighted trade doesn’t guarantee WS. Who’s to say deGrom doesnt get injured? Then you lose Trout anyway. At least with Ohtani, you control a young 24 year old stud, 6+ years thru 2024 and in 1% chance Trout leaves (Sorry Phills’ fans) LAA still has Ohtani.
These are the type of shortsighted moves that gets GMs fired.
Except that the Mets are in win now mode. That’s why they didn’t trade DeGrom, Thor, or Wheeler.
Trash take. These have to stop, theyre not even creative.
Ohtani is going to play next season
I’ll be your huckleberry….I’ll agree with you on dealing Ohtani (even though I’m not), but here’s why.
Albert Pujols.
Because Anaheim still owes a ton of money to Albert, he’s your DH the next two years (eat his 3rd year most likely). To keep Trout, you need to win. To win, you need to fill holes. To fill holes, you need to make a bold move. Nothing is bolder than trading Ohtani unless you trade Trout. The point is to keep Trout with a winning team. You can’t win with a bunch of DH’s on your team.
Obviously you want to keep Ohtani. Ohtani wasn’t the best fit for this particular team due to the massive contract to an aging superstar. I think the Angels need to either consider dealing Ohtani, deal Trout, or carry the highest payroll by signing Harper or Machado along with an arm.
The “soon-to-be 41-year-old Albert Pujols?” MLBTR has to give his official age, but we don’t, of course.
Baseball doesn’t work like other sports, but I wonder if the MLBPA would allow Pujols to extend the contract by a year (no, really), in exchange for that extra year being at a nominal, say $5M, to reduce his AAV by $5M a year or more.
At one time in the CBA, adding a year to a contract was considered an “improvement” to the player. A benefit, if you will. Not sure if that’s still the case today.
The Mets aren’t THAT stupid….DeGrom will become the face of their franchise going forward now that Wright is gone.
LOL, De Grom will be gone very soon.
I haven’t seen the ball jump off anyone’s bat quite like that of Jared Walsh. He will be pushed to the outfield/DH though as the Angels vastly prefer Thaiss and his first round pedigree. Ward will be able to handle the hot corner after another winter/spring of growth. Rengifo is a very interesting piece. Won’t be able to overtake Simmons next year, but certainly is the spark plug type player the Angels have missed in recent years. Similar to Fletcher but with a more rounded offensive profile with blazing speed. Outside of the starting rotation, I believe catching is their biggest need. They should target Grandal this winter
Halos need to be active in the trade market this winter. Ward may be used to fortify staff depth, along with a few other mid lvl minor leaugers. Maybe a Chen/Kyle Bearclaw package with Miami paying down most of Chens deal?
One of corbin or kuechel should be atop the list. Also signing a machado or harper would be huge to show trout you are trying to compete. Harper could slot in right field or machado could slot in at 3rd nicely. In addition kimbrel or miller should headline to closer position for angels. I believe wilson ramos or yasmani grandal should be considered as a mentor/starter for briceno. I also hope that they dont sign chavez as his small sample size is underwhelming. All of this is just my opinion however.
Lol so where’s the money for Harper or Machado
Angels have a payroll of 125 million so 75 million to spend should be enough this is also with pujols bloated deal.
Holy crap you have no clue, do you?
LOL…more of a “clue” than you know.
Also, Trout will not be accepting an extension. The Angels know it.
Corbin would be great. I can’t see Kuechel going to LA knowing first hand what that Houston lineup offers. I also don’t think they have the funds to pursue either of the marquee players you mentioned. They have to address from within for many of their needs. The farm has come a long way under Eppler
They have roughly 75 million in cap space. Do people not look these things up they just condem the angels to saying trade trout lol
I was going off the $30mm figure presented in this post. i never said anything about trading Trout. I’m starkly against it
“Do people not look these things up….”
Est. Total Payroll w/o Options (Guaranteed + Arb + Other) 2019…..$164.7M 2020…..$187.6M
baseball-reference.com/teams/ANA/los-angeles-angel…
Says 125 on sportstrak. spotrac.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels-of-anaheim/payr…
Also what you linked was 2018 richards isnt on roster next year as he is a free agent. Like i said people dont look this stuff up lol
That does not include estimated arb. signing players to replace FA’s etc.
Like i said in part of opinion above, that will factor in to who angels sign in fa assuming we resign richards for 9 million even though he wont play isnt accurate. 75 million to spend on low end pieces to arbitration to high end pieces. They have enough. Also says 100 million for 2020.
That is for 7 players (Trout, Pujols, Upton, Simmons, Calhoun, Cozart, and valbuena).
Do you notice the zeros in the column next to all of the pre-arb and arb eligible players on sportrac? That $125 million is for the 7 players under guaranteed deals. Yes they technically have $75 million to spend but that needs to pay for 18 players (more if you include the 40 man) and benefits/insurance. I think that $30 million in the article is wishful thinking as well. Most teams like to save $10m-$15m for the trading deadline in case they are in the hunt and need to add players.
I got a good laugh out of you chastising others for not doing research and you looked at one website and skipped down to the bottom line.
Yeah but in addition to the arb for some players are only on 500k contracts 15-20 of those dont even count 10 million. Players like fletcher and ward also didnt play full seasons so i am not sure how pricing works. Also factoring in subtracting richards, valbuena and others creates more space.
imindless…..I’m sorry….of course BB Ref who have been doing this for years is wrong and you are right. The Angel will clearly have $75M and then $100M to spend. What was I thinking? /s
Like i said above what you linked was this year current roster with cap holds that wont be there in 2019
You really need to stop saying we have 75M to spend, it’s making you sound dumb. The link you stated says we have 125M taken for 7 PLAYERS. Rosters are 40. When we get to FA’s we will have 30M if we are lucky. And if Arte even wants to pay that much.
“imindless
“Also what you linked was 2018 richards isnt on roster next year as he is a free agent. Like i said people dont look this stuff up lol”
You really are not very observant are you?
What I linked was LAA team future payrolls which clearly shows him listed as FA. Get a clue.
Don’t bother arguing with him, just look at his name. He spent the entire last offseason telling me why the Angels were so much better than the Mariners.
There were when healthy and you were no where to be found. Came out of witness protection after the season lol
@imindless
Take the L and move on. This thread was irritating
Corbin is going to be paid off this years performance. A performance he’s done exactly ONCE!!!
Thats a big negative
Signing Harper will be another Pujolsian fail, because of the terms of the contract, and to be honest, aside from one amazing season, he’s not particularly great or otherworldly, Sure, he hits “THE DINGERZ” but ….talk about pedestrian numbers in a walk year.
I don’t really believe the hype around him anymore. Machado is a different story, and would fit a natural need for the Angels at 3b, but that may have all sorts of other stories and I don’t think it will be worth the hype, either.
Angel fans should PRAY Pujols retires or slips and rolls his ankle in late feb and decides to just hang ’em up. Thats the only way they’ll have the payroll and positional flexibility to get any other real offensive impact player.
I would be inclined to agree with Eppler, though, that positionally, the Angels appear to be set. (outside of 1B). Cozart, healthy, should normalize a bit and Fletcher is at least heir apparent at 2b for now. Not major contributors or big threats offensively, but serviceable.
Then Angels need legit Ace and #2 Starting pitchers NOT names Garrett Richards. One of Keuchel and Corbin, and a Happ or Harvey as a project, maybe Gio Gonzales, and another depth starting swing man are hopefully their priority right now.
I’d still love to see Machado, but only if it means Trout signs a lifetime deal simultaneously, an Albert is gone.
Rebuild. Angels have proven you can’t just sign free agents and be contenders. Awful organization. Best player in baseball and you can’t win. So many failed free agent contracts. Every pitcher gets injured. What a joke. They’re the fourth best team in their division, no one in their right mind can think they’ll be playoff contenders.
What does this opinion offer besides pessimism?
Not like your opinions are usually far from that, imindless. “Braves won’t have a chance against any NL team”
Braves gonna get smoked by dodgers lol. Rockies are much better than braves and dodgers just whomped them. Nice try though troll
Braves may surprise. I agree Rockies and Dodgers are better. I also agree baseball1600 is clueless; but I watched the Braves more than I wanted and they somehow win. They are the worst of the postseason teams, but I don’t count them out. I don’t care how good any NL team is playing. All of them have a chance.
I agree as someone on this forum said nl is much tighter that everyone has a chance. I think while talented braves are 2/3 years away from being viewed as a true contender.
2-3 years? While they aren’t the number one team in the playoffs they made it, and even if you discount this year what makes them not “true contenders” next year? A lack of Trout? Pretty sure you’re either a complete troll or 10 because you have no idea what your talking about. (not that I know a ton)
Braves lack pitching depth outside of foltz. The dodgers will display the lack of being a true competitor, the division was below average they played in. Both the central and west are far superior.
The Kia Tigers of the KBO beg to differ sir!!
Theyre gonna have a Farm System around “10,” up from what was called the worst system of all-time three years ago. They have the two most electrifying players in the baseal, potentially the best ss in baseball, 3 good starting pitchers and a ton of young players and money. The future looks far brighter than the past does with this squad.
Trout for Gleyber and Andujar.
Get it done, Cashman.
two mediocre players don’t equal an all time great one.
That would need to be the start of an offer from the Yankees, it would take a lot more. Seems like nail is correct in that they must be a troll. But saying that both those players are mediocre is equally as dumb.
Andujar will finish 2nd in the RoY voting, Gleyber should be 3rd or 4th.
That’s more than mediocre or decent.
If you’re referring to Gleyber and Andujar as “mediocre players”then you have about as much sense as that imindless guy!
I agree it would take much more to get Trout, but if he bothered to look at both of their stats, they would immediately start and probably hit in the middle of the Angels order for years to come. And Andujar is in line to win ROY!
What an idiot!
Andujar’s defense is abysmal. Nice bat, but there are multiple parts of the game. And in no way does he deserve ROY over Ohtani, who is actually better with the bat and pitches.
Gleyber is definitely above mediocre. He’d be a nice addition to any team. I’ll walk that one back
Shohei Ohtani is going to win ROY by a mile. We wouldn’t be talking about this if Andujar played for a different team
Those are a start for Trout. Keep going. When you hit 7 decent players in the Yankees organization, I will read.
Everybody needs to realize that Judge Judy is a Boston troll. He is one of the best though. Usually gets at least 3 of you to take him serious.
Could definitely see Happ in Anaheim.
He’d lower the average age on the team.
Just a bad organization with very little direction. The consistency of being 20 games out, under .500, and not making the playoffs year after year after year has got to get old to a player like Trout. Unfortunately, the scoreboard and the standings do not lie.
I kind of agree with this. Not an Angels fan, but a lot of criticism of Scioscia. He was a strong manager and a great professional. He was undermined the last 5 or so years, by terrible front office management and ownership didn’t help. The Hamilton and Pujols signings were atrocious. I think Eppler can patch it up on the fly, however. They would be wise not to spend any big dollars. Just be thrifty and find solid players, aka. Happ, Sonny Gray, Gio Gonzales, etc.
Scioccia was horrible. Sorry but he manages like its a little league team
Betting Sonny Gray ends up in Anaheim. He’s a kid in a contract year and cheap. Was never Yankee material, but I could see him pitching well out West again. I expect him to be traded (not for a heck of a lot) and peg him to go to the Dodgers or Angels (just a gut feeling). Also factoring Corbin signs with the Yanks since there is strong mutual interest and if the Yanks present an offer, all other teams would have to overpay a bit, so is it worth it for the Angels then? Probably not. If the Yanks offer $100M for 5 then Angels would need to offer $125M for 6 (or something close to that). Sabathia likely retires even if the Yanks make another 1 year offer. I don’t see CC making wholesale change for a 1 year deal, which is basically all he has left.
I think the pitching market will be more active via trade this offseason as more team reposition. There was greater parity for a few years, somewhat stifling the trade market, but seems like there was less this year, so hopefully it’s a more active trade season.
I appreciate this context and idealogy. Could be very accurate!
I also expect Greg Bird to be traded and again, I could see the Angels being a nice fit. He would be a solid lefty compliment to Pujols. And a relatively high upside player. His time is up with the Yanks I feel and he is a change of scenery type. He’ll hit well I feel. So I guess I’m making my first trade prediction of the offseason, Greg Bird and Sonny Gray to the Angels for?
Thats a good question. Maybe for a brandon marsh + 1. Gives them a long term high ceiling project to take over when there outfield problem thins out in a few years.
Honestly, Brandon Marsh is spot on for those two. Plus a guy like Chris Rodriguez.
Sonny Gray May have been one of many players who wilted in the pressure of playing for the Yankees, but it’s worth noting that Gray hasn’t been the same pitcher he was in 2014 and 2015 with Oakland. He regressed (yes, I know he was also injured in 2016), and neither Oakland nor Yankees pitching coaches were able to fix. Feels like Scott Kazmir all over again: Rookie pitcher dominates on second-tier team for a couple of seasons, then loses his feel and can’t “fix” himself.
Maybe Gray should go straight to the Sugarland Skeeters in 2019 and start on Kazmir’s journey already.
Greg Bird is a possible left handed Cron. Better than what we have, maybe, but not something that gets me excited unless you get him cheap. Sonny Gray is interesting, but his velocity falloff and command problems are a serious issue. Would not give up much for these two.
On the other hand and I know darts will be thrown as this is way off the cuff, but why not offer Trout to the Mets for Degrom, Wheeler, Comforto, 1b Peter Alonzo, their 11th pick and 1/2 of Pooholes salary. Maybe even throw in Skaggs. . You then trade that 11th and existing 15th pick with someone like Jam Jones to the Marlins for Realmuto. The money they free up on the Pooholes contract can be used to fill weaknesses in the infield and bullpen.
Look, It’s likely Trout going to test the market in 2 years. I know you will get Degrom for 2 years and Wheeler for 1 year, but this will answer your top of the rotation problem for a couple of years. Conforto can play a respectable CF for the next 4 years. This deal help you land a prize in Realmuto as the marlins are interested in top 15 draft picks more than ever and the 1b Alonzo is a high ceiling #2 rated prospect in the Mets system. The Mets get the prize which is Trout as well as a better chance to attact a guy like Machado who wants to go east, but the Yanks have Didi and Anduhar on the left side.
No and no
Greg Bird doesn’t really seem like a fit at all. Angels have 3-4 solid 1B prospects. It would most likely have to be a killer 1B in my mind.
Plus Greg Bird is a scrub.
err, you don’t follow baseball much do you?
The Mets are more dysfunctional than the Angels. The NL East is there for the taking. DeGrom, Thor, and Wheeler is a solid rotation foundation. The Mets are not that far off from bring a contender. With the he right moves the Mets could win the East next season. Of course Wilpon stands in the way of accomplishing that.
Bird is a AAAA
Wouldn’t doubt that Gray might get traded out West, but I don’t think the Angels have much to offer in a trade, as their farm. system isn’t very highly ranked and there’s nothing on the major league roster that is intriguing…..certainly the Dodgers do and that might be where he ends up. Cashman isn’t going to give him away….that was the Yankees of old, not today’s Yankees…
He’ll wait until he gets fair and equal value for a young starter that probably will pitch better in a different market than the NY fishbowl.
According to Baseball America, Angels farm is #10
No pitching in their (Angels) farm system which is what the Yankees most likely, outside of catching, would be most interested in.
All the Yankees former prospects are playing for the club with the next wave at the minor league level.
The Angels farm system is up to number 11. Sonny Gray and Greg Bird would not get even top 15 prospects right now. Selling low on players is not the ideal situation. The Angels need to negotiate a buyout with Pujols so they can move forward. The problem for the Angels is the division they play in. Houston isn’t going anywhere in the next few years and Oakland is loaded with minor league pitching talent along with their key position players under club control. Seattle had their chance this year I expect a drop off next season. Add in the fact that the Red Sox and Yankees are both loaded for the next few years that really leaves inly one playoff spot up for grabs in the future.
Beg to differ on Gray…..every team is looking for young controllable pitching which is pretty much what Gray is….he certainly would bring back a top 10 protect.
Bird,,,,you can have him for a bag of balls,,,,no not really, he has the potential to bounce back but I fear he has worn out his welcome in NY and needs a fresh start away from the lights of Broadway!
Every team IS looking for young controllable pitching. Sonny Gray is a pitcher who will be 29 next year, will be a free agent in 2020, and who after a bit of a bounce-back ’17, ended this season with an ERA near 5, a WHIP kissing 1.5, and has been left off the Yankees Wild Card roster. You’re not getting a top-10 anything for Sonny Gray.
The shoot list seems to get a little smaller each year and the farm continues to improve.
Eppler still has no margin for error and is light on depth, but he’s making good strides.
I’m really curious in Hamels as a lower cost back end option. He’d be playing close to home and still eats innings. Him and Familia would greatly improve the staff without breaking the bank.
I like the Hamels idea. He could probably sign on a 1 year deal (maybe 2) for $10M-$24M and sounding like a broken record, trade for a guy like Gray and now you have two guys who make for a couple nice options to round out the rotation for between $16M-$30M (depending on Hamels contract). Instead of dropping $$$$$ which is definitely not what this team needs to do right now. They are precariously close to either pulling through and being a legit competitor or going through a rebuild IMO. 2019 is an important season for the Angels. I’m intrigued by what they will do as they’re a bit of an unknown to me at the moment.
Have a feeling Hamels will still end up getting over paid and a multi year deal to boot. he could very well turn out to be the winter’s upcoming Alex Cobb.
Not to say there are not back end guys who are not capable of eating innings available who should be cheap, because there are as FA.. Wade Miley did pretty well in a comeback season. Doug Fister was hurt last season, but probably won’t have his 4m option picked up and may sign for less. Even the ancient Colon can give starts.
I see Hamels costing northward of 10+ m aav over 3y. Probably 40m total and it ending up as a disaster.
While the leagues have balanced back out a bit more this year — extreme winners and losers – which if I may say, is actually better for baseball, we’ll see much more trade activity I think. So that could undermine B- or C+ type players getting overpaid like the last offseason or two. There is a great deal of apprehension to spend big still.
I also weirdly have a premonition of DeGrom going to the White Sox for a ridiculous trade package. Don’t know why I feel that. But I do.
I think if kershaw leaves which i think he might head to houston. I think degrom trade to dodgers would benefit both sides as dodgers have players like verdugo and stripling vying for play time.
????. That makes no sense at all. Houston is going to have to start paying guys and is not going to burden themselves with a substantial Kersh contract when he’s on the backswing. Although it’s basically the same adjustment many aging pitchers go through as they lose velocity. Add onto that the Dodgers are not going to part with Ruiz. None of it makes sense at all and is essentially further away for the mo of the front office. The only portion of that makes sense is the Dodgers willingness to trade Verdugo for a controllable talent. I didn’t think Kersh is going anywhere. There will be a nice extension added, probably nothing crazy more like 120/4 with an opt or 150/5 with an opt out. The Dodgers rotation still sets up extremely nicely.
In your jumbled response you state ruiz being traded which i never proposed. Also houston is most likely to let kuechel walk as he doesnt project to age well. I think kershaw would be reujuvinated there like most that go there. Also he wouldnt be counted on as the go to guy like he is with dodgers he could slot in behind verlander and extend stros window. As a dodger fan i dont think they want to invest 30+ million in a pitcher that sucks in playoffs, those funds can be allocated in more areas of need like the bullpen.
No it’s pretty clear. Any trade thought concerning DeGrom is essentially going to cost your three best prospects. The Dodgers are not going to trade Ruiz. And that’s probably where the conversation ends. Especially with graduation essentially voiding the system of elite prospects.
If you’re the Astros it’s pretty clear the upside play is already on their team in Cole. So what your essentially suggesting is the Astros make a huge money play for Kersh while understanding that Verlander is under team control for 1 more year and so is Cole. Which could potentially hamstring them on the offensive side. And yes they definitely are going to need to pay guys soon.
Kasten has already made it ample clear if he has it his way there’s no way Kersh is leaving which definitely isn’t shocking as the only time this FO has paid top market price has been for franchise corner stones. Furthermore what you’re suggesting is not even close to reasonably assume additions to the pen. The FO doesn’t value RPs that way. And in response to being the go to guy, is he really now with Buehler’s emergence?
It feels like this is more opinion based without any depth of research or understanding of how this management/FO operates or basic understanding of the Astros.
Nvm the fact that Kersh had to constantly shoulder a substantial load, before last year. Let’s not mention him never having a pen that could be trusted or the sheer number of times he had to throw on short days rest all, because they couldn’t surround him with a passable 4th starter. In reality I see them extending or signing one big contract this offseason, Kersh legacy play, and that’s really it.
HalosHeavenJJ….Hamels grew up in SD but he doesn’t live there. Their family home is in PA unless they sold it recently.
I hear Josh Hamilton is available…
They should pull a Chapman with Trout. Trade him for a haul then bring him back in two years when they should be right on the cusp of contending.
You understand how full no-trade clauses work, right?
The team can’t just trade Trout without his complete buy-in, and the list of teams he’d figure to be interested in playing for is probably very short. Any team making such a deal would have to drain the best players from its minors, and young talent currently on the team. The Venn Diagram of those two groups is empty.
That’s pretty easy. He can “agree to be traded.” He wants to win and that isn’t going to happen in Anaheim for the duration of his contract.
Eppler is rightfully suspicious of FA pitcher deals (RP or SP), because they’re often a huge overpay for a player who may have his best years behind him. For every Scherzer or Verlander (extension), there are a dozen pitchers who didn’t live up to the expectations. If a pitcher like Hamels is available on a 1-2 year deal, then fine, but 4-5 year guaranteed deals for pitching is payroll suicide.
I’d be expecting Eppler to acquire pitching via trade (NOT deGrom), where the acquisition costs are lower and the contractual obligations are shorter than with FA.
I know its not a sexy trade but I could see Ivan Nova as an Angel next year. He’s on the last year of his contract for about 10 million I think and would provide league average or slightly better production at the back of the rotation. Angels could even sweeten the package to Pittsburgh a little to have the Pirates pay a few million of his salary and pair him with a free agent for the rotation too. Most importantly though for the Angels, he’s pretty durable and you can generally pencil him in for 25+ starts.
I know Pujlos is going to be in the hall of fame, and he fills the sets with just his name. His time is over though. Front office has to make a call at some point to get him out of there. No point paying someone that much who is replacement level. Cut him loose pay his remaining salary, and give someone else a chance to shine.
Pujols plus 40 million for Fowler? One bad contract for another. I think Cards would consider this to have him retire as a Cardinal. No Give him dh in interieague and about 300 abs if he can be healthy enough at 1b.
Fowler is worse than pujols though lol. Angels arent adding 40 million to the deal as pujols would be an upgrade over fowler. Fowler has a -1.4 war and hit .188
The Angels will throw more money at mediocre aging players just to finish around .500 and in fourth place
What do they have to offer for 1 year of MadBum? Throw us your top 3 prospects and middle of the road and we can throw in a decent reliever
The Angels wouldn’t do Adell for Bum.
The cards have enough dh types I. Could see them beunig interested in Upton they need offense and def offer jose martinez and young pitching that takes a big contract off the Angels hands.
I’d do upton for martinez and Flaherty and bullpen arm. Martinez could be angels first baseman!
This thread smells like Trout to the Phillies in 2021
With $30mm to spend, Kershaw to the Angels makes too much sense. He wouldn’t even need to move to a new house.
the first thing eppler should do is firing himself.
And hire Brad Ausmus. He’s got a great track record.
314-332. during the postseason,0-3. by the way, angels are trying to get better not get hold back by another manager with losing record in the postseason. of course, we’d have to get there first.
Ausmus had a stacked team with the Tigers and couldn’t do anything.
I thought of an idea, the angels could trade for sonny gray who still has a lot of upside. Put him back in a pitchers park. Low risk high reward on matt harvey, sign bullpen pieces.