6:43pm: The Angels have also shown interest in Yasmani Grandal, the top-ranked catcher in free agency, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports. Grandal, 30, spent the previous four seasons in LA as a member of the Dodgers. Because Grandal rejected the Dodgers’ qualifying offer after the season, signing him would cost the Angels their second-highest draft pick and $500K in international bonus pool space in 2019.
6:38pm: The Angels don’t have an established catcher on their roster, but that could change soon. Free agent Wilson Ramos has emerged as their main target on the open market, veteran reporter Jerry Crasnick tweets.
Ramos, whom MLBTR predicts will reel in a three-year, $36MM contract this winter, is coming off his best season since 2016, which ended prematurely when he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee. Although Ramos has now torn the ACL twice in that knee during his time in the majors, he has still enjoyed a respectable career.
Last season, which he divided between the Rays and Phillies, the 31-year-old Ramos slashed a terrific .306/.358/.487 (131 wRC+) with 15 home runs in 416 plate appearances. Defensively, Ramos threw out 29 percent of would-be base stealers, just beating out the 28 percent league average, and earned mediocre overall marks from Baseball Prospectus. Ramos has been a plus defender for most of his career, however, in BP’s estimation. Thanks to his all-around track record, Ramos – also a former Twin and National – has drawn reported interest from several other teams this offseason, including the Dodgers, Mets, Brewers, Athletics and his old club in Minnesota.
Ramos would easily be the most proven backstop in Anaheim, which has just two catchers, Kevan Smith and Jose Briceno, on its 40-man roster. The 30-year-old Smith did perform decently with the White Sox last season, but he only has 497 major league PAs to his name. Briceno, 26, was adequate during his debut with the Angels in 2018, though he has totaled a mere 128 major league PAs and hasn’t been much of an offensive threat in the minors. Of course, given that Ramos has combined for just 185 games since 2017 (including 96 behind the plate last year), it’s likely the Angels’ backup catcher – be it Smith or Briceno – would still garner a fair amount of playing time with him on the roster.
Okay, now we’re talking. Let’s make it happen Angels.
Will be a valuable trade chip when the Angels go into rebuild mode in June…..
Thats right you heard it 1st the Angels will go into rebuold mode and trade off, Trout, Simba, Upton and Ramos. But unfortunately I think they will still be on the hook for Pujols. But in 2020 they will have a top 5 farm system.
No way. Refer to what the Nats did with Harper to see the future. The Angels have no chance but to try the next 2 years.
Lol.
I’d love for MLBTR to move to comment system where we can see the commenters post history and score.
They already have a top 10 farm
Well it will go up when they have the fire sale.
Dont get me wrong I got nothing against the Angels but they have disappointed for several years now and holding on to everyone when you are not going to compete with the As and Astros. Sorry youre just not unless you get some actual starting pitching.
And it was a mistake for the Nats to not trade Harper especially when the Astros offered 3 top prospects at the trade deadline and now all they are going to get is a comp pick.
Look at the Royals they held on to Moustakis and Hosmer and a lot of their pieces when they should habe traded them in 2016 and they didnt and right now they are competing with the Orioles for worst team in baseball and its going to take them 5 years at least before they will contend.
So you can feel good and enjoy your 78 to 82 wins and when Trout leaves in 2021 you can be the worst team in baseball and have a barren farm system like the Marlins have.
All of the trades you described that didn’t happen were all with players in their final season. There is no equal value you could get back for 2 years of Trout based on any team’s farm right now. Even if the Angels called it quits right now and got nothing for any of their players, their farm system would be far from barren. Also, if you think the Angels can’t compete with the A’s then you haven’t seen their rotation.
That sure is a lot of conjecture. What team do you follow mr. Joedirt?
The take is way worse than people are willing to say.
Trout is going to be signing based on the the 10 years of the deal ’21-’31.
Angels have a top 5 farm system, Ohtani for at least 5 years, Simmonds, Heaney, Barria, and Skaggs. They also have an owner willing to spend like a top 5 team, almost all the money off the books for those 10 years. It can be easily argued that this is would be a top destination for any free agent moving forward.
Added to that there is a serious rumor circulating that Arte flew to Vegas to sit down with Bryce (halohangout.com/2018/12/11/la-angels-bryce-harper-…)
All in all the Trout is gone comments are emotional and not commiserate with exactly how an elite players chooses their .future.
Of course theres value you could get 5 to 7 top prospects or young major league players and when Trout becomes a free agent its not like the Angels dont have the funds to vring him back plus all the prospects. Its almost like what LeBron did in cleveland when they got all those number 1 picks. I know its a different sport but it would work here
Yeah at minimum it would have to be at least 5-7 top 100 prospects, which not many teams have and that’s my point. Value yes, but not equal value. Even so, none of them will turn out like trout, and maybe not even half of them at all.
yes there has been disappointment. Have you ever seen so many pitching injuries in one team like the Halos have been through? Calhoun will bounce back. we need reliable durable arms
i dint think firesale this year. we need solid arms. calhoun will bounce back. ramos for 2 years. one great reliever. we can have a good season
The Angels have a solid core. The pitching injuries have gutted our pitching staff. When you have the best player in baseball, the best short stop in baseball, a gold glove in right field, and other solid players mixed in, I don’t see how you improve things by trading Trout. If he was the only player on an otherwise bad team, then use him as leverage to improve overall. But suggesting to trade him under these conditions defies logic. So it must be based on emotion as bk stated or an attempt at controversy.
So the A’s have starting pitching? I wonder how many starters you can name without looking it up?
last ranking had them at 14th, definitely not top 10
Actually 11th. But close enough.
do the angels need a catcher with such a high price tag? the team needs .1-2 starting pitchers that are either better than the ones it has or healthier. needs a closer and a couple of late inning relief pitchers. and, unless kole can turn around, needs a right fielder.
considering all those needs, does the team really need to spend that much on a catcher?
Well, they currently don’t have a starting caliber Catcher, and at the very least *do* have depth at pitcher, and have a top 10 OF prospect who may be up as soon as next year. So yes, they do need a Catcher, and yes, it is important.
Grandal seems more like the type of player Eppler would want given his defense. But Ramos would definitely help with the deficiency the Angels have against lefties
After years of Sciocia deciding every catchers defense was not good enough which led to trading Napoli in his peak offensive years for peanuts and a bucket of balls, I’m totally okay with going for a guy with bigger offensive upside. Pay him.
I can see Grandal over Ramos for the Halos. Fine with either one.
You have my approval Billy!
Grandal would require the Angels to give up their second draft pick. Ramos is much more likely.
Trust me I want Ramos over Grandal. It’s not what I like though.
probably. i cannot recall who we have in the wings
either
I don’t want a known PED user and I don’t think Moreno does either. Sign Ramos instead.
Just do something interesting. Please.
*Eppler trades Ohtani to the Yanks for Ellsbury, Gray and a lifetime supply of bagels*
This is getting downvotes, but you have to admit it would be interesting.
baseballpun – I got the sarcasm – Upvote for humor.
Please no! Anyone\thing other then grandal
Grandal is a great catcher that had a brain fart in the postseason. He’d be a great pickup for the Angels.
Agree Angels could do much worse. Like anything what’s the cost of doing business. What’s the most you would want to see Halos pay for him?
really don’t want him..But if I HAD to see him as an Angel, maybe 1year 7 million..2 for 12?? Probably a bit lower then what he’s going for but then again he can go somewhere else
Actually 11th. But close enough.
who in our system will be ready in a year or two?
For what it’s worth, Ramos was very good for the Phillies last year..also, even though I just read he didn’t grade out well behind the plate, he did catch the ball which I can’t say for the other 2 catchers the Phillies have.
-One statiscal correction on Ramos- Connor Byrne reports Ramos has played in 185 games over the past two seasons. The actual number is 175 according to Baseball Reference- 64 in 2017 + 111 in 2018.
-As someone who has watched a ton of Nats games, I can attest that Ramos is mediocre behind the plate- he consistently drops balls thrown to him at home plate for a tag play. He is quite brittle, as the 175 games over the last 2 years prove. Besides the ACL tears he’s also broken and then subsequently had removed his hamate bone. The team who signs him should be weary of a third year and should be over the moon if Ramos averages 115 games a season. His bat is obviously his best weapon; he’s quite streaky and can carry a team for brief periods when he is locked in and using his natural gap power. I’d like him much more on a 2-year deal than a 3-year, which will likely be the price of admission. With the position quite thin and multiple names already off the Trade/FA market, Ramos should do quite well for himself.
The catching market is always trash…
Ever since the Angels switched owners they have waste so much ridiculous money on players that did absolutely nothing for this team. When they won the World Series they did it by building from within and trading for the right pieces, every year they go out and spend money on position players and never pitching!
This teams problem has constantly been pitching and the GM and owner don’t even attempt to get pitching and I would like to know why? Why is a catcher in Grandal one of their top targets instead of starting pitching? They are gonna throw a boat load of money to a catcher who is 30 which in catcher years means he will be on the decline and at the end of whatever stupid contract he gets will end up being like Russell Martin.
This team likes to spend money, so why not draft and develop and keep those players the way Boston and the Yankees have because they can afford to in a non-salary cap league. The Angels have the money not to be a farm system for the rest of the league the way the majority is.