January 2, 5:26 pm: Fancred’s Jon Heyman has the full breakdown of incentives in Lucroy’s deal. The backstop will stand to make $50K if he notches 100 starts in 2019, $75K each for hitting the 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, and 130 games started marks, and $100K if he starts 135 games. He’ll also earn $50K each for notching 350 and 375 plate appearances, respectively, and $75K if he accrues 400, 425, 450, 475 and 500 PA. In the event he reaches the 525 PA plateau, the 32-year-old will earn an extra $100K.
December 28, 9:58pm: Factoring in incentives, the max value of Lucroy’s deal is $4.525MM, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets.
December 28, 7:36pm: The Angels have agreed to a one-year, $3.35MM guarantee with free-agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who has already taken a physical, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. Jon Heyman of Fancred first reported the two sides were closing in on a contract. Lucroy, a client of Excel Sports Management, will have a chance to earn upward of $4MM on his new deal, according to Passan.
The 32-year-old Lucroy will stay in the American League West, where he played with the Rangers from 2016-17 and the Athletics last season. After a down 2017 split between Texas and Colorado, the former Brewers star had to settle for a one-year, $6.5MM guarantee with the A’s just a few weeks before the 2018 campaign started. Lucroy ended up drawing raves from his teammates and coaches in Oakland, which surprisingly earned a wild-card berth. However, he easily endured the worst statistical season of his career.
Once among the majors’ elite all-around backstops, Lucroy limped to a .241/.291/.325 line across 454 plate appearances last year. Of hitters who racked up at least 400 PAs, he ranked sixth from the bottom in ISO (.084) and ninth last in wRC+ (70), continuing an abrupt fall from grace for someone who was a formidable offensive presence as recently as 2016. Worsening matters, for the second straight year, the former pitch-framing darling had extreme difficulty as a defender, according to Baseball Prospectus. To Lucroy’s credit, though, he did throw out an above-average 30 percent of would-be base stealers.
Despite his issues over the past couple years, it appears the Angels will count on Lucroy to play an important role in 2019. The club entered Friday with no truly established options behind the plate, as Kevan Smith (497 major league PAs) and Jose Briceno (128) were the lone catchers on its 40-man roster. Given that Smith’s out of minor league options, it’s likely he has the inside track to back up Lucroy. But whether Lucroy’s a significant enough pickup for the Angels to stop seeking help at the position is debatable. In the event the Halos are content with Lucroy, Smith and Briceno, it’ll remove a suitor for the top free-agent catcher available, Yasmani Grandal, whom they’ve reportedly chased.
For the Angels, the Lucroy signing is the fourth notable move they’ve made in free agency this winter. The team previously inked first baseman Justin Bour and a pair of right-handers in Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill – all of whom also received one-year commitments. The Angels have been linked to other free agents – including reliever David Robertson and infielder Josh Harrison on Friday – and considering they still have obvious needs, general manager Billy Eppler may not be done this offseason. For now, the Angels’ hope is that their quartet of free-agent additions will help provide a better supporting cast to the game’s foremost player, center fielder Mike Trout, as he heads into his penultimate year of team control. The Angels have managed just one postseason trip and zero playoff wins since the future Hall of Famer debuted in 2011, and they’re currently mired in a four-year drought.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Keeps signing one-year deals. Hope he has a future in LAA.
I’m Long Duc Dong and I approve this signing. Wish it had a second year option, but still a very good pickup
I’m connorsoxfan and I approve this comment. Wish it hadn’t started with an identification or the user when that was already clear, but a great comment nonetheless.
I understand how this works mojo you just don’t know me yet
Dong, where is my automobile?
molly has it
Lake!
Automobiiiiiiillle?
I bet most of the people don’t get this reference.
Your correct lake big lake
you’re*
You’re* correct as well
Oh seeexxxyyyy girlfriend…
Jackson meoffe you’re* correct to my friend
Didn’t Clarence Thomas reportedly watch your movies about 30 years ago?
Youre* correct as well
This is absolutely an inane and ridiculous thread but which happens to be extremely funny.LMAO!Thank you posters!
Mr. MendozeLine you’re* correct
The angels are signing a lot of guys to 1 year deals seems like if they can’t win this year they’re finally going to trade trout
Just another weak move he is on a steep decline and this is just another nail in the attempt to lure Trout back, another year with no post season for the Angels better luck for 2020…
Another nail in Grandal’s coffin
Gonna feel pretty dumb rejecting the Mets offer. Nobody is gonna pay him that
Not as dumb as Lucroy was for turning down that trade to the Indians….karma
going to end up as an all time doh on the coulda shoulda woulda of contracts rejected
And one of the best deals a team didn’t make given what they were sending for him.
Grandal will be fine.
As fine as Moose, Holland and Lynn last year
Grandal is the best catcher on a market where there’s a small supply, and he won’t cost as high a pick as Moose. Grandal will get 4/60 at least
Why wouldn’t he cost as high a pick as Moose? Probably a higher one actually
Moose won’t cost a pick because he was traded mid-season
These players were all the biggest casualties, rejecting a QO last off-season, settled for less — They all can never be offered a QO again.
We were talking Moose last year.
Wasn’t Moose under the old rules? Where he cost a 1st rounder? I could be wrong… Grandal won’t cost a first rounder. I think it’s a 2nd or 3rd depending on the team that signs him.
Given that that’s exactly what he turned down from the Mets and nobody else is beating down the door, you’d be wrong. I’d say 3/40 plus an option year, or else gambling on himself with a one-year “pillow,” is what the rest of the market will offer.
I dont know. Most teams either dont need a catcher or cant really afford him. Mets got their catcher. Dodgers want a short term one. Angels got theirs. Astros dont really need one now. A’s dont really sign anyone to big deals. You have the twins maybe. And I actually picked them in the contest. Who else is there?
Rockies. Brewers.
White Sox. James McCann? Probably a backup.
Like other teams the rockies dont need a catcher. They seem pretty comfortable with iannetta and wolters. Same with Milwaukee. They have pina and Kratz. Even the phillies “Believes it has greater issues than catcher.” Now will one of those teams try to sign grandal if his price goes down enough and he stays unsigned into february or March? Maybe. Its happened before. But grandal really should have gone with the offer from the mets
Also white sox have Castillo and McCann already
And then you also have realmuto still on the trade market when/if the marlins move him
Yeah but Realmuto cost money and significant talent.
And has only 2 years control.
There are still some teams that don’t want to bring in known cheaters. At least I hope there are some teams.
I think you guys are right as far as Yasmani. And what the **** happenned to Lucroy?
Because a far inferior catcher got a cheap 1 year deal? Lol
bounce back candidate. nice pick up
Bounce back? His days of bouncing are over!
I dunno about that but in terms of managing a staff, he’s definitely worth this price tag
Nice
Wow, really like. Somehow, like him for an Angel but not for other team fit. Fit good here, a lot?
Angel make a move again? Sign Keuchel too? Try more for a contender. It looks so. We think so?
Keuchel is out of the question if the Angels are to stay under the Lux cap. Kikuchi is still possible tho
Bad old moves stop a compete today, unless, we go in tax, pay maybe too big, and go for the gusto.
I like Trout too, we miss him for October. Sign Keuchel for rotation, too much money, okay, not my money, just my more fun for watching. Sign Harrison, too many year? Too much money? Okay, just win, okay. Being a Trout to October!
Maybe sign Iglesias for good infield backup glove, rest Simmons some, rotate with Harrison some.
What the hell dude. Attempting to read this gave me cancer. Whats wrong with you?
What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
I made a bot type read 1000 hours of MLBTR comments, and then type his own MLBTR comment..
I’m assuming English isn’t their first language.
Korean first, bad English third. MLB second language, first love.
Some comment IS cancer. My comment cause good sense, maybe headache, sorry, but not cause cancer. RIP Grandma.
A little bit difficult to follow, but spot on with most of the “thoughts” here
Haha I love his post!
Got more work to do on that programming fella
Let’s see you try speaking Korean
Ejemp, you AND your English are awesome. It’s so hard to learn a second language—my Spanish is proof of that—and I really respect you for sharing your thoughts. I hope you keep posting here.
Iglesias could move to second?
BAHAHAHAHA
Hoping for Kikuchi around new year’s
If Halo have smart, they full court press Kikuchi Asian family. Man, solo, have NO decision in Asia. Family make decision for us in Asia man.
They do for get Ohtani. Rumor to sent flower to mom and talked to dad, not just sit and talk with player.
iii think it is. possible
great point that family matters in some cultures.
+phoenix
family matters was a good show man
Milk truck just arrived
No milk needed, we buy Lucroy cow, maybe Keuchel cow too, maybe Harrison cow too. We milk those for wins. Use these cows to pull plow, plant seed for October fruit! Eat with Trout highlight main dish?
@ejemp You’ve just become one of my favorite posters on MBLTR.
@Ejemp2006 I think you may be the Angels best offseason acquisition.
For so many reasons, this might be my favorite post of all time. EJemp please keep posting. You are awesome!
Probably because the Angels sign all the guys that make you go, “Hope my team won’t sign him!”
offensive numbers in steep decline past 2 seasons so not expecting much there. Not expecting much outta lucrative but he’s better than the in house options we had so meh.
Ianetta all over again
He’s been really good on defense even though his offensive numbers have declined.
in fact, both his offense and defense is in free fall. hard to imagine what the Angels see in Lucroy…
Na his defense was atrocious last season
I don’t want to turn this into another thread to hate on Grandal but he did the Mets a huge favor. Would have preferred Ramos anyway. This is a good deal for the angels; worst case they flip him at the deadline. Some team will need a veteran catcher…
Had a negative WAR last year.
My goodness he sucks
surely better than halofan20.
where is Bob Boone when you need him?
I remember his video circulating from Milwaukee while with the Brewers where he and his fans was under the illusion that he was superior to Yadi. Yeah … not so much.
For a few years he was on Molina’s level. He had a .353 OBP and .465 SLG from 2012 to 2016. Molina in that time frame (which was his peak!) had a .348 OBP and .431 SLG with worse baserunning. How things have changed.
Molina has always been an average or below-average hitter. It’s his defense that has always made him a superior catcher.
During Lucroys peak he was probably the second best catcher in the game behind Posey.
Wow the one year deals keep on coming
Mmm boy howdy do they need help in the catching department.
Good for them. Wanna see Trout in the playoffs.
Are you suggesting these moves do that?
Then you’ll have to wait until he’s gone from the Angels.
It’s going to take more than Lucroy to get Mike Trout and the misfit toys into the playoffs. No shot they jump Houston or Oakland.
They were alrady better than oakland with even slightly better health. Oakland vastly outplayed their pythagram.
Better than Oakland? Oakland has the better lineup and way better relief staff than the angels. Both starting staffs are banking on injured players coming back. There is a reason that harvey and Cahill signed 1 year deals and its because most teams knows they probably do not make it through the season without time on the DL.
they will jump oakland
lol have you seen oakland’s rotation?
The Angels are having another big winter. After last year I didn’t think they had anything left in them. Arte Moreno is the best.
Had a chance to make an impact signing in Grandal, settled for Lucroy
It’s obvious they aren’t really trying to raise the ceiling this year.
isn’t maldo better?
Disagree JJ, this indicates Eppler and co. have a set vaule and they aren’t budging. Yaz is overplaying his market and will eventually come back to earth. When that happens we can still circle back around with a strong offer. Luc and Yaz can exist on the same team.
Then there’s no need to sign Lucroy now, or likely at all. Wait for Grandal’s market before settling this low on the ladder.
Even Devin Mesoraco is better than Lucroy right now.
Agree to disagree. Lucroy is durable. Mesoraco is a major question mark
These guys they’re signing are just stop gaps for the prospects they hope will move things forward. Canning and Suarez and Heaney development are the true hopes of their rotation.
Shocked A’s did not offer at least that.
I’m the same way, definitely thought he would at least get 4 mil and surprised the A’s didn’t offer more. I wanted him back
Me too. Excellent at managing the staff last year. Not a plus hitter anymore but we should have beat this.
Now that fully reported with easy incentives see why Oakland was out.
Lucroy used to be good; Angels dumpster diving again.
Geez, $3 million + for that kind of production? Yeah, baseball players are extremely overpaid.
Captain Obvious I presume
Whatever.
I don’t get the Angels. It’s like they like staying where they are. Quit wasting years of great play from Trout and put an actual good team around the guy or go complete rebuild and trade the guy
Agree. Surrounding Trout with a band of misfits is not ideal, but let’s not count them out of a big FA before alls said and done.
I guess that’s true, I just don’t know if they will be players in the big FA signings but we will see.
Probably plugging holes so they can make a bigger signing. Keuchel, Harper or Trout extension.
Agree totally with you on this. I would hope for Keuchel or Machado over Harper. I can see it’s more a Trout extension though being 1 year deals to give flexibility in payroll for 2020 based on if they can do it or not.
Honestly I think it’s an extension for Trout. This might be the glass-half-full guy in me but there were stories in the summer of the team looking to extend Trout or trade him. I think they’re waiting for Machado and Harper to sign then blow both deals out of the water. Whatever about him playing for a contender don’t underestimate the fact his wife loves living in Laguna Beach.
They won’t make financial commitment to bring in guys to elevate their team and give them a legit chance to compete for WS. Cahill and Harvey… really? This rotation is gonna get it done vs. Astros and Red Sox, for example. If they were serious about winning they’d buy out Puljos and move on. Their farm system is weak, but on the rise and these guys on the farm won’t be ready to contribute before Trout leaves. .
Ugh…Maldonado at least could catch the ball when he goes 0-4 3K’s.
My lord Lucroy was absolute s*it last season. He had a 616 ops which is close to billy Hamilton territory
He should have accepted that trade to Cleveland!
Why?
Indians win World Series and cubs don’t and he gets a long term deal rather than signing one year deals and underperforming.
Maybe that’s a wild prediction, but regardless he went to Texas instead of Cleveland because he thought that would be better for his future ($). Just funny to think about what if? he accepted that original trade.
It still did help out his future earnings as Cleveland wanted to play him @ first in 2017 imagine a first baseman hitting the market in 2018 with his 2017 numbers he might not of even been offered a major league contract.
Yea but hitting in the al central would’ve boosted his numbers compared to the AL west and their pitcher friendly parks.
I love how everyone on this site is a troll. No knowledge of anything they are talking about and everyone wants to argue. It’s like you guys got picked on your whole life so now being a cyber bully makes you feel better.
Apparently you haven’t paid attention to the market even competent hitters @ first base can’t find even the contract he secured last season look @ how many times mark Reynolds secures a minor league contract or barely better when catchers who can’t hit secure a contract ala jason Castro. And realistically each division that you cited doesn’t have a huge difference in ballpark factors it’s not a big enough of a difference as you make it out to be it’s not like jumping to the al east or when he went to colorado for half the season.
With every bad signing they make, they take an item and put it in Trouts U-Haul for when he leaves. Poor guy
Just 2-3 yrs ago had Lucroy hit the open market, he prob would be looking at a 3-4yr contract at $12-$15mil+ per year. While he has fallen off rather quickly, I still feel he has another season or two of decent production in him…
Say .250-.260 10hr 55rbi with decent defense. A good get by the Angels. Houston has this division locked up. But if the Angels get Kuechel as a big ticket item..supplement that with savvy additions..low risk high reward types
(Dozier, Cabrera, Boxberger, Flores, Gomez, Cargo etc.) This team has wild card contention potential. I like what Twins and Rays have done…Angels can be in that convo if they make the right additions. If Harvey can magically morph back into his Dark Knight persona that could be huuuge
Solid pickup for that price, surprised the A’s didn’t offer that much, I wanted him back but I guess we are rolling with Pheghley and Hermann instead which is horrific
I can’t imagine we are rolling with just those 2. But I doubt we’ll like who we add much more either. I don’t think either of our current options are plus defenders either.
I don’t think “rolling with” is what anybody who knows catching, or baseball, would say about the “dynamic duo” of Phegley and Hermann. If Billy Beane really cared about the catcher position, he would have run after Lucroy when the season ended and offered him decent money to come back and lead the A’s young pitching staff, again. He was genius, miracle worker with them. Getting to the post-season, I believe, was in a big way, due to Lucroy and his mastery in handling/leading the young guys to victories. The rest of the team took care of the offense. BB blew it on this one! Lucroy wasn’t that expensive, the pitchers know and respect him, and another change is not what the pitchers needed to be thinking and adapting to, when spring training could have been used to advance from where they left off at the end of last season! Unless BB has eyes for Grandal or Maldonado to go bigtime, I can’t think of anyone else who will lead a staff of young guys, and get their respect, like Lucroy did. Even though his bat wasn’t consistent and he wasn’t perfect behind the plate, he could throw out anybody trying to steal, and I appreciated and will miss his quiet command, in the most important position on the field. If Phegley and Hermann (whoever he is) are the A’s only choices in 2019 at catcher, BB has created next years demise, already. I can’t figure out why Beane, and company, don’t have more respect for the most
important leadership position on their baseball team? I guess we’ll wait and see how much or how little they value the catching position for the A’s! Go A’s!!
Murphy is going to start. Only explanation needed for your post :).
He still plays? This is the most A’s signing ever.
I’m liking this signing!
Love it! Good veteran to have and it doesn’t remove us from a pursuit of Grandal. If anything having a compatent backup strengthens our bargaining position
Poor guy? Bawawawaeaeaeaeauh, no. Now, Grandal says, gee you really want to roll with a below replacement level guy?
Fangraphs had him at 0.6 WAR, so slightly above replacement lvl. Grandal can keep asking for 4/$60m. Lucroy is perfect evidence of why that’s a bad idea. So is Russell Martin. And Brian McCann….
The brewers really messed up trading him. They got nothing for him. But they also haven’t had production from their catcher since he was traded.
You gotta be joking!! They traded him for Lewis Brinson who was the big prospect in the Yelich deal.
And Piña has been significantly better than Lucroy since 2016. Why don’t you actually google these players before spouting off about them.
And Brinson has been a bust so far. I feel sorry for him. He never had a chance to play for a good team. The Marlins settled for way less than what they could’ve have gotten for yelich. They should have gotten more than bust brinson. At least give them 4 of their top 25 prospects plus two ML players. Yelich is now stuck In the 2nd most boring city in the U.S. the first obviously being Cleveland.
Why do you consistently troll the Brewers?
Telling the truth is not trolling. I’ve never trolled on here. And if you read what i said I said they haven’t been the same since they traded Lucroy. I praised them technically
I was literally checking out some of the info on the Angels roster resource page and saw the addition of Lucroy. I scrolled over and saw the acquisition date of Dec 18 and thought to myself “they must have just got him tonight”. Sure enough as soon as checked here I saw this thread posted 43 minutes before.
Fast work to get Roster Resources updated so quickly. Keep up the good work.
SPLASH!!! (poor Trout…they should trade him?
Or he could extend and lower his AAV to half and give them more money
Why would he do that? Is Pujols doing that even though he’s not worth the money he’s not making? Trout deserves every dollar he makes, actually more! It’s not trouts contract that’s keeping them from spending money. Let’s be real here
Why would Trout want to play for the Angels if they can’t build a winning team around him? If they’re not willing to spend on other free agents, what do they expect from Trout, a hometown deal? He’s going to disastrously end up with the Yankees.
Phillies
That would be his home town team
The 2019 season hasn’t even started yet and the off season hasn’t finished, how can you say they can’t build a winning team? Eppler has finally turned the corner on the Dipoto disaster years, building the farm, and adding depth. The last couple years it’s been injuries especially to pitchers keeping them under water. They do spend money, Pujols is always brought up as bad but they have built around Trout with Upton, Simmons, and Ohtani. Now Depth on the roster is being built. I have no delusions they are WS bound at this point but they are in the position to add stronger pieces now and are close and if they do that in the next couple months they can be a legit contender.
I think too may people don’t understand the game. The last three years the only Angel who broke spring training as a starting pitcher to not go on the DL was Nolasco, and he was out of baseball the following year. No team could sustain those kinds of injuries, yet the Angels have been a 500 team those three years. At one point that has to change.
As I showed you below, it’s actually you who apparently doesn’t seem to understand the game – the overall production the Angels got out of the replacement Starters was just as good as the production the Angels were getting out of their initial rotation guys who fell to injury.
The Angels were just a perfectly average, middle-of-the-pack team the last could years and that’s why they were a 500 club.
And now for 2019, they are going with that ‘perfectly average while hoping to catch lightning’ gameplan yet again
Does it ever seem ridiculous to anyone else that while making millions of dollars a year everyone would leave their team, no matter how much they felt as a unit for just a few dollars more? How much will ever be enough and is that ALL that matters? There “used to be loyalty” and those that were loyal are still celebrated. just something to think about. Happy New year everyone.
It’s not everyone and the teams do it to players, as well.
They’re all adults doing what is best for themselves.
Get over it.
yes. i wish were before 1976. free agencyr uined it all
Curt Flood didn’t throw away a borderline HoF career for people like you. Soooo sorry you can’t watch Machado on the Orioles next year
dont understand this people like you comment loke
Yeah, imagine if you couldn’t switch jobs to make more money because your company basically owned you. That was the reserve clause; you were property of the team that signed you forever, for whatever they felt like paying you. That doesn’t quite sound fair in America, does it?
no. not fair. im thinking more of a balance though. not so much movement. you like players and hate to see them go elsewhere. thinking more loyalty WITH free agency. in other words kick scott boras to curb. oay your players fairly to keep team together
But the point is, a player has no choice in his original team assignment (unless he’s an undrafted free-agent or a Japanese or Korean player). So let’s say I grew up, say, a Padres fan, always wanted to play for them, but was drafted by, say, the Giants and they then owned me for the first six years of my major-league career. I’d want to at least find a team more attuned to my desires. The reason why players didn’t move around in the past was because they weren’t allowed to. Babe Ruth loooooved money. (And booze and women, but that’s another story). He had to hold out every year to get more money from the Yankees. Do you think that if Ruth had been allowed to shop his services to the highest bidder he would have been a Yankee all those years? Hell no!.
Lmao if you think the players are overpaid then how do you feel about the owners? They’re the ones really rolling in the dough
not ridiculous at all… they are men making vhoices for not only their futures, but family as well. Step off your high horse with loyalty this is entertainment.
Things can change so quickly… Not long ago, this would have been a real coup. Now, it feels like a desperation, “we can’t afford a better catcher” move.
yes
Goes from the best catcher in the game with the brew crew to one year deals
And ?
What are you a dbag? This is the future that jtr brings very soon
Penguin here. wish it was the Dodger but it is what it is. gee!
Not a bad pickup for the $$$. Low risk…
Lucroy’s time as a productive player seems over. It’s a signing that says we’re filling out our roster but don’t expect to contend.
He managed a ragtag rotation well last year. If he creeps anywhere near .700 ops, it’s gravy. I like the move for LAA
Funny how brewers fans used to say this guy was better than Yadier Molina. What a joke
He was for a period of 4/5 years. Talent ages and in his case not well.
joe panik was legit. he is a bounceback candidate. sorry he is bitter. sorry he is at the disco.
my free agency comment reflects memories of teams growing and raising a team from their own farm. garvey cey russell lopes style.
loyalty is history. just so weird spending money on 1 year deals.
THE BEACH CITIES WELCOME YOU JONATHAN! Welcome to premier sports franchise of Orange County. ❤️
@Fishy…he’s going to the Ducks?
MLB as a daily game is healthy enough and as for these recent signings they are only the bandage on a larger wound. This team was put together without losing a top rated farm hand. All on one year deals, not great but certainly not with immediate focus the only concern but looking down the road too. The books will have room next year as it will be clearer. The team is looking to compete in ’20. Tis coming season may or may not be better but the team will be OK. I think Eppler is plugging holes cheaply. Sign Maldonado for catching. Harrison will not fit as his fielding is suspect and hitting has been down hill for 2 years. Have trust in Ward and Fletcher and Cozart and LaStella and the rest, but trade Calhoun and whatever else and call the Tigers.
i agree. except I really think Kole had 1 bad year and will be back this year. I like Albert this last year only. we need that money elsewhere now. I think we need an Ace.
If the angels & Trout do not get an extension done, the phillies should make an offer for him. I think trout wants to be closer to home, which is why the phillies have not spent their stupid money yet.
phillies recieve
mike trout
plus cash or another prospect
angels recieve
sixto sanchez
adam hasley or alec bohem
joejoe romero or cole irvin
dylan cozens
hernandez & herrera
fair deal?
Everyone needs to STFU about trading Trout. If he walks, he walks. But I’m never trading a pan-generational talent like that.
never. that talk is what the lame writers are saying. Trout also fills seats . I drive down from Oregon to watch him.
Drive up to Seattle when the Angels are in town.
Aaron nola would need to be in there and hoskins and even thats not enough. Only teams i see having enough are dodgers and braves if they include acuna.
Rhys Hoskins? As a major part of a trade for Trout? Uh, no. Trout’s not being traded anyway, but there’s no way the Phillies have enough to get him. He may want to play there as a FA, and if the Phils are still trying to spend “stupid” money then they will do so, because it’s going to take half a billion to get Trout.
TROUT TO THE PHILLIES!
In exchange for what?
The franchise lol
Angels may be looking to work a trade with KC for Salvador Perez or one of their young catchers in minors or Veloria and/or Gallagher.
Angels are not going to trade Mike Trout. They will take their chances when he becomes a free agent in 2020 and it probably will be between the Phillies and Yankees. Those are the two teams closest to him and at that point he would have to make a decision does he take the stupid money the Phillies would throw at him or does he go to the Yankees which gives him a more logical chance of getting to a World Series.
If he leaves in free agency , I think the phillies will spend the money on him, Maybe that is why the phillies are not spending the stupid money.
Face it nobody knows what he will do when he hits free agency. It will be a spending spree to see him become the first $40 million a year player. The team that gets him will be spending a big chunk of their payroll on him.
If Mike Trout notifies mgmt he will attempt free agency, Moreno will trade him!!
I actually like this move. If they sign Harrison to similar deal and everything breaks right they have a shot at a wild card spot.
I thought he wanted out of Milwaukee because he was tired of losing and only wanted to play for a WS contender..?
Why have the Angels been a 500 team the last three years.? It”s because 15 out of 16 starting pitchers that broke spring training as the starting staff, have spent time on the DL. Most missed most of the season.. NO TEAM COULD SUSTAIN THAT!!!!!!!!
What happened the prior two seasons? Best record in baseball in 2014. In it untill the last game of the year in 2015.
If the Angels are relative healthy, they are post season contenders. It’s amazing how many people who criticize the Angels don’t know that.
It’s amazing how few people understand that.
Meanwhile, the team he couldn’t get away from fast enough (Milwaukee) used the “can’t miss” prospect it got for him to acquire Yelich and made it within 1 game of the WS last year.
That was my point. The team he left is better than the ones he’s been on since (with a ho-hum rotation by the way).
This idea the Angels would have been a playoff team if not for pitching injuries is rather ludicrous
Take the 2018 opening day rotation and spread their ERA over 180 IP each
Richards – 101 ER/180
Skaggs – 80 ER/180
Shoemaker – 99 ER/180
Heaney – 83 ER/180
(Then we’ll be generous and give Ohtani 120 IP while using Tropeano for the other 60)
Ohtani – 60 ER/120
Tropeano – 32 ER/60
That is 439 ER over 900 IP, for a 4.39 ERA – meanwhile the teams actual SP ERA was 4.38
The Angels ERA would not have changed at all (4.39 vs 4.38, so technically ERA would go up by fractions, and then total ERA would go up even more because the 3.92 ERA relievers would be getting fewer IP)
How about 2017?
Richards – 46 ER/180
Shoemaker – 90 ER/180
Skaggs – 95 ER/180
Chavez – 105 ER/180
Nolasco – 102 ER/180
That is 438 ER over 900 IP, or a 4.38 ERA – while actual SP ERA was 4.34
Again, absolutely no difference (4.38 vs 4.34 so ERA would again go up by fractions, and again total ERA would increase even more because fewer innings from the 3.92 ERA bullpen)
What the Angels got out of the replacements was just as good as what they were getting out of the Opening Day Starting Rotation and had they all stayed healthy, there should be no noticeable difference on their W/L record
Face the facts, the team just wasn’t built to win. Instead they had perfectly average, middle-of-the-pack pitching to go with perfectly average, middle-of-the-pack positional guys – that is why they were a perfectly average .500 club the last couple seasons
To reinforce the fact the team was built to be an average 500 club, let’s quickly look at projections
PECOTA 2016: 76-86
…actually finished 74-88 (-2)
PECOTA 2017: 78-84
…actually finished 80-82 (+2)
PECOTA 2018: 79-83
…actually finished 80-82 (+1)
So you can clearly see the Angels were just as average as they were specifically designed to be going into each season.
Injuries didn’t hurt them – being designed to be mediocre is what kept them out of the playoffs and at 500%
Two years ago they made it to the final weekend of the season.
As far as your numbers, no idea where you got them.
Just for example, The last three years, Richards, if completely healthy would have made 100 starts.
He made 28 with an ERA+ of 136..
Chris Sale’s ERA+ the last four years… 140.
And even replacing pitchers with 100 ERA+, which I doubt Heaney and Skaggs would have been, is still much much better than having your 8th and 9th best pitchers start. .
And of course I would have liked 25 starts with Ohtani with a of 126. Everyone in their right mind would have.
Percota? Really? I mean Really?
I didn’t know anyone who took Percota Seriously.
Pythagorean Record in 2018 81-81
Pythagorean Record in 2018 81-81
Pythagorean Record in 2016 80-82
And they did that with virtually all their projected starters going on the DL.
It’s absurd to think they would not been much much better with them not going on the DL
By the way, the Angels had Skaggs and Corbin, they thought Skaggs was better, everyone did. He just can’t stay healthy. .
Just pony up the money and get what we need to contend this year and many more after. Winning pays for itself
Tons of good veteran free agents available this offseason that the Angels could have gotten on relatively short, 3-5 year deals, like Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton, Zach Britton, Wilson Ramos, Nathan Eovaldi, JA Happ, AJ Pollock, McCutcheon, Josh Donaldson…
They have the best player in the game on an insanely affordable contract. This was the offseason to load up and go for a title before he leaves. Instead they went cheap and signed Matt Harvey, Jonathan Lucroy, and Trevor Cahill.
Trout is the highest paid player in the MLB, how is that insanely affordable???
Because he is underpaid based on the value he provides on the field? By even the most conservative estimate of value, Trout is worth around 90 million dollars/year in on-field value. Because he’s boring he doesn’t have tons of off-field/endorsement value but he certainly is marketable enough as the best player on the planet. SO make that worth, conservatively, another ten million and he’s worth 100 million/year in value for 36 million. That’s a good deal for the team.
I think you are back peddling. “on an insanely affordable contract.”
It’s not, it’s 35 million a year. It’s more than a fifth of the payroll. He’s not the difference in a 5th of the wins.
Lucroy Bour Harvey Cahill the Halos are gonna be a contender in the AL west this season move over Oakland Trout & CO are coming
Rather weak pickup… not much bat and not much glove.