The Los Angeles Angels have fired General Manager Billy Eppler, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Eppler had one year remaining on his deal after the Angels gave him a one-year extension this past summer, notes The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya.
The Angels announced the decision on Twitter with a statement from team president John Carpino: “The Angels Organization would like to thank Billy for his dedication and work ethic over the last five years. We wish him and his family all the best.”
Owner Arte Moreno signed a 40-year-old Eppler in October of 2015 from his executive role with the Yankees to be the 12th General Manager Angels’ history. Previous GM Jerry Dipoto had resigned in July amid tension with then-manager Mike Scioscia. The Angels failed to make the playoffs over Eppler’s five-year tenure, having last made the postseason in 2014. Over those five seasons from 2016 to 2020, the Angels went 332-375 for an overall .470 winning percentage. The team’s high-water mark during Eppler’s tenure was back-to-back 80-82 seasons in 2017 and 2018.
The organization made many positive strides in Eppler’s time — namely winning the bidding for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and signing all-time great Mike Trout to a long-term extension. He also steadily improved the organization’s farm system after years of ranking near the bottom of the league in that regard, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange-County Register. He brought Andrelton Simmons into the organization via trade and signed MVP-caliber third baseman Anthony Rendon to a free agent deal this past winter. The Angels also succeeded with under-the-radar success stories in recent seasons with the development of players like Tommy La Stella, Brian Goodwin, and Dylan Bundy.
With Trout already on the roster and big money committed to Albert Pujols, Eppler never got a clean slate in Los Angeles and had to do his best to rebuild the team on the fly. Still, five years of Trout’s prime without a playoff appearance colors his legacy with the club. Eppler’s Achilles heel would prove to be the building of a pitching staff worthy of contention. Since Eppler took over, Angels’ pitchers have accumulated the second-lowest fWAR in the majors (Marlins are last). A 4.49 team ERA ties with the Padres for 19th best over that span, while a 4.60 FIP ties with the Royals for the 24th-best mark overall. He made a number of trades that benefited the organization, but until the Bundy deal this past winter, it’s hard to find an impactful trade that brought pitching into the organization.
Rumors in recent weeks had suggested that Eppler was perhaps on the hot seat in Anaheim, and veteran baseball operations executive Dave Dombrowski was rumored as a potential replacement for Eppler before he’d even been formally let go. The Halos may consider other options in their search, but Dombrowksi’s name will surely be heavily linked to the now-official Angels vacancy in the days and weeks to come.
Here comes Dombrowski
Hahaha wow dude, excellent.
Well then there goes the farm system.
dugdog83 Did Dombrowski’s approach not result in a WS in Boston? Say what you want about what state he left the Red Sox in, but I don’t think many Red Sox fans would trade that championship away for a few years of a higher ranked farm system
1st question:What farm system??
2nd question: While Dombrowski’s method got a title in Boston, how many titles did the same method & open checkbook of Mike Illitch get in Detroit??
MadThinker No GM can 100% guarantee a title. In Detroit they went to the WS twice and ALCS 4 times. His method did open a championship window in both Detroit and Boston. Up to you if you want to believe the Tigers playoff failures are all his fault or not.
What farm system?
The Angels don’t need a farm system. They need pitchers. A couple of high quality starters and they’re in contention for a championship.
The win can’t completely be attributed to his moves. That lone World Series ring was also helped by some cheating going on that cost people their jobs and reputations.
A World Series title is not worth a decade not competing. Dombrowski is a biblical Armageddon of locusts, plagues and hail on any team’s farm system and future.
What high quality starters do you think are going to be available this offseason? That was all they needed last offseason wasn’t it? So why isn’t it already taken care of?
But they came close to be fair. Playoffs can be a crapshoot.
As a Padres fan, we’ve had the decade of not competing, so we’ll happily have that WS now please.
White Sox sure choked
I’m really surprised your Padres were able to compete this quickly following AJ Preller’s scandal and ensuing suspension for hiding medical records. I didn’t think ANY GM would want to deal with him following that debacle, but he was able to get right back to making trades. And good ones.
Yes they did. But they still easily made the playoffs. More than the Angels can say. I’d rather play the A’s than the Yankees or Indians anyway. The later two teams are who the White Sox were projected to play if they finished as the 2nd or 4th seed.
The Red Sox and Angel’s farm systems are not that far apart. The Red Sox system was actually ranked higher to start 2020
www-mlb-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.mlb.com/amp…
You could say that of most teams. The Angels dont have one great player not getting paid market rate.
I think they offer Trevor Bauer a deal. He’s from North Hollywood. Angels have a good team their pitching just sucks. Dylan Bundy is not the answer.
DD traded away a lot of talent but to his credit many of those prospects either busted or became bench/utility/platoon guys.
The only guys who look like the real deal are moncada and kopech and they got them a stud starter in sale who produced tons of value (he got hurt but that was after the contract they traded for.
And even moncada had two mediocre seasons before he got good and kopech got TJ and all kinds of make up issues.
Ty buttrey and Mauricio dubon look semi decent but other than that most of the many prospects he traded never did anything.
There was only two times he gave away big value, the miggy trade (Andrew miller) and the sale trade and both times he received massive value.
Still of course it is not a super sustainable model but both times it lead to success and especially with the red Sox it also was the only chance to win because of their inability to develope pitching. Especially with the sox he did a great job keeping the right young guys and trading away the lesser guys.
Still a good idea by the red Sox to do that mini rebuild but bloom will face the same issue of having to trade away talent if he is not going to resolve the pitching development issue.
Javia, the reason the Angels’ rotation wasn’t taken care of last offseason is they spent the money it required on Rendon instead. They thought they could get away with signing cheaper depth arms for the rotation, and they were wrong.
A decade not competing? The red sox will likely have spent 2 or 2.5 seasons tops not competing and the TIgers were left in the situation they have been due to ownership. I doubt Dave is responsible for that Miggy extension
Didn’t the Tigers compete for a title for 5 years with Domvrowski as well?
But they also cheated. You cannot truly evaluate his success given the results were tainted.
It was nine years with the Tigers. They didn’t win it, but it was fun to watch.
Every starting pitcher for the Dodgers, has come through their Farm System. The Angels need pitching, but they also need a farm system so they can start developing their own. 8 division titles in a row, and still one of the best farms in baseball. The Angels don’t have to look far for the model.
Same story in Detroit, DD traded a lot of minor leaguers, but not a lot of talent.
What farm system? Ranked 25 out of 30.
BS. Made up ranking. You can keep repeating a number, doesn’t make it real.
Smuz this is just flat out incorrect. They were in the running for every single top of the rotation type for the past two years, the pitchers just decided to go elsewhere. They signed Rendon AFTER all the arms were gone.
Amen!
Signed,
Loyal but Disappointed Tigers Fan
Arte Moreno was wrong Arte makes all the baseball decisions of high priced free agent The angels have a pretty good offense they need some front line starting pitchers
I’ll take it one step further and say Bauer to LAA is a lock.
Theres no way a new GM comes in and doesn’t sign Bauer.
And I cant imagine a team more desperate to sign him.
**I will say that Bundy was the pickup of the year.
My sentiments exactly. If you want to “win now” DD has a proven track record of doing so. But the price you pay is well documented..
I hear that Mark Langston and Chuck Finley are looking to come out of retirement.
Chuck Finley is Bruce Campbell’s alter ego on burn notice. Not sure if he ever played baseball
I don’t know how long you’ve been following the Angels, but Chuck Finley was their ace for several years…..pitched for them from 1986 – 1999.
Dombrowski is the rumor!
He’s no rumor. He’s a tumor.
John Coppolella could use a job. Offer Manfred some cash under the table he’ll probably reinstate him.
I looked over his deals and honestly he has way more wins than loses. Really the only ones that stand out are the suarez for Simon and the sale deal which did get the Red Sox a championship but likely will hurt them in the long run.
However those deals could have went the other way. Like the Cabrera deal did. He gave up a ton of tigers talent but really none of them made good. Maybin at best is a 4th of and miller took a number of stops before he became a shut down reliever.
I won’t say that you don’t need talent on the farm but if you know what you have and can get people to offer you far more than actual value for it that is a talent.
there goes the bullpen, plus he’ll probably sign some 33 year old to a 15 year 500 contract to get them titles.
Prior to DD the Tigers had not been to the post season since 1987. During his time in Detroit, with the owner’s full support, they build a winning team. Two WS appears, prior to that the last two WS appearance were 1984 and 1968. I will take that any day.
After that dismal 2003 season, Mr. I confessed his embarrassment and pledged to do more. If you are up on Detroit sports, you know he spent his time, effort and money on his favorite child, the Detroit Red Wings.
There is no doubt that Dombrowski has some skills. However, his method of operations will decimate a farm system due to trades, free agent acquisitions, and luxury tax penalties. With that “All-In” mentality, he may just get you a World Series. Whether he does or doesn’t, say goodbye to contention for most of the next decade.
Billy Eppler deserved to be fired in my opinion. He did good things & bad things for the club. Ultimately it’s a results oriented business and the team never had a winning season with Billy as the GM.
Billy’s big successes for the Angels organization:
1. Mike Trout extension
2. Shohei Ohtani signing (Potentially special two-way player at a high level frontline starter and middle order bat)
3. Sign Anthony Rendon
4. Trade for Andrelton Simmons
5. Trade for Tommy La Stella
6. Trade for Justin Upton
7. Trade for Dylan Bundy
Billy Eppler poor decisions and lack of success so far
1. Justin Upton extension
2. Zack Cozart signing
3. Multiple middle to back end rotation and bullpen signings
4. Terrible drafting
– Will Wilson (wasted & traded to Giants to clear salary)
– Jordyn Adams (Should’ve got RHP Brady Singer)
– Jo Adell (should’ve traded him for ace like Chris Sale or Gerrit Cole)
– Matt Thaiss (miss & will most likely be traded in off-season)
The lack of high quality pitching acquisitions have been the Angels downfall.
Give up some offense to be strong on the bump & we have a shot at the West & beyond.
For as much crap as Dombrowski gets for depleting farms and such, he does a very good job of putting a team in position to be competitive and win it all. He did so with the Marlins, did so with the Tigers, and did so with Boston. I honestly hope the Angels do go after Dom’s because I’d like to see if he can work that magic out there.
HAHAHA!!
Trout threw that fish back in the lake! Can’t blame him!
My guess it’s gonna be Dombrowski , I really hope the phillies fire Klentak as well
as a Philippine that would be the only thing that makes this crap pile of a season that I just witnessed okay I would also love to see the Phillies go after Dave dombrowski
The only way Dombrowski comes over is if Arte backs off and let’s him run the show. Arte has been a hindrance from the get-go and he needs to allow the next GM to do his job. Dombrowski won’t take this gig if Arte wants to meddle.
they need somebody smart that is in the. tampa bay front office
That’s exactly what I wrote on one of the Angel facebook pages I belong to. Someone in the organization knows what they’re doing with a meager salary. And drafting players. I don’t want Dumbrowsky. He’s too old school. The game has passed him by. I’m wondering if the Angels had swept the Dodgers this past weekend would that have saved Eppler’s job?
He let the last guy run the show, How did that work out?
yeah, no, he didn’t even do that
Moreno has never let any of his GMs run the show. One small example among any: He overruled Eppler’s trade with the Dodgers earlier this year. He’s opened his checkbook to sign players, but often players he wanted, not necessarily the GM wanted. That’s how the disastrous Pujols contract ended up on the books pre-Eppler.
Moreno doesn’t let his GMs run the show the way they need to be successful. He has a history of meddling when it comes to the big ticket contracts, which clogs up the payroll. What’s left is the GM getting to decide which LRP and 5th starter he wants within what’s left of the budget.
You cannot have two different visions directing the path of a franchise. It doesn’t work, especially when one is an Owner.
Over due
The Phillies should do the same now
One or two firings isn’t going to do it for the Phillies. There is something off in that organization. There’s a culture of losing/choking right now.
Theres a culture that cant develop pitching
Nola and Howard disagree
I think its the scouting , then front office. Klentak has to go and so does Mcphail. Not sure who is out there to replace them. I said somebody smart and could bring a championship.
Blame the scouts, seems to be the new way! How about putting people in those positions who have some kind of track record, instead of hiring a bunch of interns!!!!
We talking about Phillies or orioles?
Another guy from LAA, didn’t have any qualifications to get the job in the 1st place
I can’t say that I’ll miss Eppler. The Angels haven’t done anything good in the standings while he was in office. I heard a rumor on Tony Larussa, and I’d take him in a heartbeat!
Yeah, Eppler had his opportunity. The Angels radio broadcasters were mentioning La Russa but no way. Both he and Stewart were poor in AZ. A consultant, great, but not at GM.
Maybe somebody in the rays front office or san diego?
Yeah, those sure are model franchises. I really like their creativity.
San Diego, now that’s funny! 1 decent shortened season in the last 10+ years and you want to grab one of those guys?
Some people value farm system rankings over actual MLB standings.
You can have Preller for a bag of used baseballs.
Padres #3 farm system. Also, 3rd best record in 2020. They will be better in 2021.
@uk o you’re just stupid then?
Arizona fan here. You don’t want La Russa. He was part of the front office that gave away Swanson and Inciarte for Shelby Miller, as well as trading Touki Toussaint just to get rid of Bronson Arroyos contract. He was a great manager, but is out of touch with how to build a team from the front office perspective
No you wouldnt lol. LaRussa is out of touch
When are fans going to realize the problem hasn’t been the GMs? And what did La Russa do from a front office position with Arizona that makes him an ideal candidate?
It’s not the GM it’s the owner.
I agree to some extent. Arte didn’t sign Trevor Cahill, Matt Harvey, Julio Teheran, Cody Allen, and Matt Andriese……and that’s just over the past 2 years. Pitching has been this team’s weakness for the past 4-5 seasons and it’s the primary reason why the Angels haven’t been competing. That’s all on Eppler.
I think Blue’s point is that Arte handcuffed Eppler by not wanting to spend too much on pitching and forced him to sign these guys.
Agreed. Moreno creates the dynamic that those were the type of pitchers Eppler could pick from. I’m not saying Eppler was great. Hard to rate him. The problem through is Artie.
Its equal blame on Moreno and Eppler. Yes, Moreno handcuffed Eppler to bargain shop for pitching but it was Eppler who gave 11mil to Harvey when there were better, more affordable pitchers still unsigned at the time. Same with Cahill, same with Tehran. Teams need to be built around their pitching, Angels tried doing it backwards and have yet to figure that out…
Bargain shop? Seriously, the Angels were barely outbid on every single major arm available for the past three years. The players just decided to go elsewhere. How is that “handcuffed”?
The fact the angels will never punt a season is there biggest problem.
To be fair… They have had to try and acquire multiple FA pitchers of quality without the money necessary to just pay to get the best ones available. They keep trying to pull the OAK routine of bandaging your rotation with spare parts each season straight to the playoffs. It works the last 3 years in OAK because they have a big park and the best infield defense in MLB. Just look for GB guys or guys that generate weak FBs and let them pitch to contact. Cahill, Ejax, Fiers, Bailey they all improved there numbers in OAK, Cahill enough to get what 11M from LAA after providing 120IP of good work for OAK for 1.2M. Its hard to find good FA SP when you only have 8-10M per guy and you need 3 or 4.
Not all on Eppler. He’s made some bad moves but also good ones. Bundy has been good. Simmons, La Stella, Goodwin, Mayers. Ohtani and Rendon (though they didn’t need another bat).
Arte is the common denominator in their struggles. Too much meddling…. and Maddon sure screwed up the bullpen. As good of a clubhouse guy and fun guy to hear talk, he hasn’t managed well.
In all, it’s been a huge mess. I understand Eppler’s dismissal but it’s far from being all his fault. If Skaggs is there instead of Teheran they are in the playoffs no doubt.
Dave to the Angels.
Dave to the Angels.
The real win would be “Angels fire Moreno” lol
We’ll see who’s next. But there’s two common denominators between these failure teams and the angels still left… and it’s not Trouts fault
It’s not the GM it’s the owner
Its McCourt 2.0. The Dodgers lost there anchor and now theyre good forcing a sale would save LAA.
McCourt was bankrupt and was about to lose the team to the bank. Arte is far from broke and just did a deal to buy the stadium and parking lot from the city. MLB is not going to force him to sell the team.
The first GM who disproved the “There’s no such thing as a bad one year deal” cliché.
Need to hire someone with rays but will probably hire dombrowski to clear out farm and further waste trout. Sad day eppler was working against arte and dipotos hole and was just starting to build a stronger farm that’s not last place.
Yea the but too many bad pitching moves which was a constant deficiency. Bundy was a good get, but overall, way too many misses than hits.
@omar yeah that happens when your owner won’t spend on pitching and values bats….eppler had to rebuild farm from last with locked in bloated contracts of hamilton, pujols and weaver. He had to bargain bin pick pitchers and some have pitched well heaney, skaggs, canning, bundy, ohtani (when healthy) have to rebuild farm so you can make some trades but not trade the entire farm. I expect dombrowski to come in and trade adell, marsh and maybe even detmers for major league caliber pitching. Sad times
It will be no surprise if Dombrowski gets the job. He would be the obvious (and incorrect) choice. T.he best candidates will want to avoid working for Arte given the hand Eppler was dealt with. It is interesting that there will likely be multiple GM positions open this offseason. Angels. Phillies. Mets. Did I miss someone?
Dan O’Dowd or John Hart or Jack W. From MLB Network.
Arte doesn’t spend on a system like the Dodgers or Indians. You don’t get good signing FA pitchers, you get good at investing in talent. I think I read the Dodgers and yanKees have 2x the scouting/dev employees as the halos. We keep getting what we pay for and it makes being a fan of this team painful.
Its q great time to become a padres fan.
It’s all about getting the talent. Any GM or manager will look great if the team wins.
Why would Dombrowski want to come to the Angels???? High payroll weak minor league system.( ranked 25th out of 30) Artie won’t stop meddling. Three big reasons he won’t come to the Angels. Does anyone have any positive reasons for Dombrowski wanting the Angel GM job?
He may not be able to resist tho. Big fan base, owner with big pockets, and the AL West ain’t exactly the AL East.
For all the abuse DD gets from Sox fans, clearly this guy knows what he’s doing. He flubs some time; so would you. But overall he’s got a pretty good record.
He’s also no kid. He might want the Angels his swan song.
What pockets? The angels are a mid tier spender. Nothing special about them.
Dude, do you even bother to google? Most years they are top 5
middle of the top tier maybe.
Yes, the only reason. Moreno will pay him a lot of money. He’s an owner not afraid to spend. Dombrowski has a track record and why shouldn’t he take it?
Precisely. Arte gets a “high profile” name, DD gets 5-6 M, or whatever the going rate is. I mean, the guy ain’t got a job.
And what happens if he flubs? He rides off into the sunset with more money than he’s got now.
If offered, I can’t imagine him saying no. Let’s remember, DD started his career with Bill Veck, whose mantra was “just make money, baby!”.
Nobody else is really beating down Dombrowski’s door
Most publications rank them middle, 16/30. Where do people get their “facts” from? Do people think if they just put numbers to things that others will believe them?
Bad organization top to bottom. No culture. No value of human beings. Proof analytics based organizations can’t contend unless they cheat like Astros.
What are you talking about all former players love the time they spent with the angels and have no hard feelings. in the last 10 years we’ve been losing and that’s mostly because of bad signings. the fist round pick compensation of old really hurt them. when the angels draft they usually draft pretty well. And the layoffs look bad but a bunch of other teams did the same thing
The Angels have had mostly terrible drafts. No pitching and you’re only homegrown talent is trout. Yall suck.
There was no call for that Padres458. Our team sucked for decades due to poor drafting and lack of spending. They need pitching. They know it. No need for insults.
No value of human beings? Tf are you even talking about.
The organization did have a SP die last year from a drug overdose that he got from another person in the org, and I believe there were other problems with painkillers and prescriptions with some other unnamed members of the org.
@chapmansvaccum what your doing is called defamation. No proof as the family hasn’t had a single dime thrown there way because skaggs made poor choice. So if I befriend someone at work and make bad choices and die is that my employers fault. Foh with the hyperbolic nonsense and spreading false rumors. What we do know is skaggs was an addict and found his supplier and lost his life because of it.
Angels beat writers reporting Eppler received a one year extension this summer but was fired anyway.
Whoops, I seemed to have glossed over that in the article!
This was really the Angels year, where bad teams could get into the playoffs. They still couldn’t pull it off.
I’m hopeful the Angels will make a good choice to replace Eppler, but not confident. I fear the decision will largely be made by Arte and his crack consultant Tony LaRussa. Remember, LaRussa is bud’s with the Daves – Dombrowski and Stewart. Two horrifically bad choices.
I’d prefer the next GM/President of BB Operations to be of the Andrew Friedman mold.
Kim Ng would be an excellent choice for some team. She would get the organization clicking at every level.
Brandon Gomes too.
Please No Kim Ng. Cey you just don’t know what you’re talking about. This is the second time you’ve spouted off recommending this woman for this job. Please. No way she or any woman could possible do this job. The Halos need someone who understands baseball, not who is just a number cruncher bean counter.
I love Dave Stewart as a person, and he is one of my all time favorite pitchers, but man that dude stunk at being a GM like just really really bad at it.
I heard rumors that Eric Chavez is desperate to become the Angles GM. However, the Angels want no part of this due to the fact that Chavez was highly involved in the steroid scandal with Jason Giambi and others from that Athletics team in the early 2000s.
If that were the case, why has he already worked in the front office and was a managerial candidate for the Angels already?
If La Russa is involved it won’t be an issue. La Russa is the poster child for being okay with steroid abusers. He passed syringes throughout his clubhouses like they were Halloween candy.
I think he was more interested in becoming a manager then a GM.
Enter Jeff Luhnow, Hinch takes Red Sox job. Like it never happened.
I was thinking the same thing. Angels would be stupid to not at least have a conversation with Luhnow.
I think Arte ought to be his own GM and spend a ton on free agents. First up is a huge 20 year extension for Pujols and then go get Josh Hamilton!
Time for a little do-si-do down memory lane…
“LMAO. No. Billy has done a great job considering what he was handed by diPoto.”
“Since he took over for the 2016 season, Billy has rebuilt an empty farm system and a team saddled with older players and dead or over priced contracts like Hamilton, Wilson, Weaver, Aybar, and Smith and turned it into one of the younger teams in the AL filled with promising players built around a core of Trout and Rendon. Maybe if they don’t contend in 2021 he will worry, but right now Billy has no worries about his job.”
“Also fully aware that Billy has nothing to worry about after 2020. Maybe after 2021 if they don’t contend then. Arte is a smart man and he realizes that the Astros, Yankees, and Twins will win their divisions and that most tams don’t go from 72 wins to 100 wins over night. Billy will be back in 2021.”
“After the disastrous tenure of DiPoto stripping the organization of all talent below the majors league level, Eppler has the Angels organization moving in the right direction.”
“You don’t fire GMs that improve your team by 15 wins in one offseason. Billy has done a very good job so far and the offseason is not over yet.”
“They went from dead last and without a heartbeat to 14th in 3 drafts. That is incredible. Thanks for pumping up Angels fans by showing just how awesome Eppler has been.”
“Billy addressed our main need. Starting pitching. He added 350-400 innings of proven above average starting pitching. It is a 6 win improvement over our #3 and #5 slots in the pitching rotation”
Who said all that?
I second that. Who’s been saying this?
@Briffle and bradthebluefish
The man of 247 usernames, Koamalu himself.
I think Neil Huntingdon is still looking for a job….
Haha
Been a fan of the Angels for 30 years
Arte doesn’t care about pitching. He only cares about selling tickets to the slugger Trout/Rendon/Pujols show. The Angels have one of the highest attendance numbers in MLB. The whole Josh Hamilton drama looks like it really took its toll on Arte as an owner. He’s just running it as a business now.
SELL THE TEAM ARTE!!! (why would he sell his cash cow tho?) I remember Trout’s speech at Anaheim Stadium, when he signed his huge extension, saying he liked the direction the organization was going. Arte sure lied to him. Trouts gotta be wondering what the heck he’s doing on this team.
Its really a shame, but I dont think they have a chance at another WS with Arte as the owner.
Excel, Arte is making money hand over fist with this team. This gives him zero incentive to change his ways or sell the team. We saw this happen with the Baltimore Orioles before the bottom completely fell out. They badly need a new President of Baseball Operations to make the appropriate hires. Anyone but Arte himself. Two field managers and two general managers on the 2021 payroll is a joke.
I agree
there’s no way he would sell the team and why should he he just bought the stadium and the land the developments going to make him a fortune.
And that’s why Trout rots on this team run by a slumlord that doesn’t care about pitching (winning). Us Angels fans are stuck with a screwed up team run by a terrible owner.
That’s on Trout. He should’ve left for a team with consistent success – Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, etc.
Maybe Mike Trout to the Yankees I don’t think Trout would want to play for the Dodgers He gets blood at dodger Stadium
Its sad but I kinda agree, Trout could have gone anywhere he wanted. Arte lied to Trout, made him think he was going to put out a team with a chance. Trout should go to the Padres.
You could argue that a .433 winning pct was the worst case scenario for Anaheim this year but when you have zero playoff appearances in 6 years with the best player in the universe on your team, something’s gotta give.
Koamalu is going to be so mad. What say you PF?
Pull your head out, RYAN!
There has to be some accountability. Angels needed to make the post season.
Klentak is on deck.
VonPurpleHayes, who gets the Phillies job? My choicer would be Kim Ng. One of the most respected front office people in the game who would fix the organization from top-to-bottom. It’s amazing teams continually overlook her.
I would be happy with that choice. Good call.
What roster changes would you like to see for 2021?
Speaking of Kim Ng, she interviewed for the Phillies job in 2015. She was their second favorite. It’d be ironic if they hire her to replace Klentak.
The obvious roster change is pitching. The Phillies offense was pretty solid (although not during this last stretch). Their bullpen was historically bad. Their starters aside from Nola, Wheeler and Eflin were terrible. So you take Arrieta’s contract and perhaps give it to another topline starter. I’m starting to agree with your statement (from another thread) of resigning DiDi over Realmuto. Realmuto is going to be overpaid. He’s the best catcher in the game IMO, but his bat isn’t as reliable as some fans would have you believe. He’s a great player, and I’d hate to lose him, but the Phillies aren’t a catcher away from competing. They need to revamp that bullpen and sign another starter. Unfortunately, those arms are not being developed from within. So they need to splurge on them.
First Pujols dfa’d. Trade upton (wont happen) Then trade jo adell for pitching in some form (I’m higher on marsh) should have pulled trigger on Clevinger. Hire more scouts and better scouts in the international market to unearth more gems like dodgers and Yankees do. And lastly don’t sign another impact bat, they don’t age well (Hamilton, pujols, upton, wells)
Angels need to invest in starting pitching. Keep Bundy and add another Frontline starter and maybe a back of the rotation option. Maybe add to the bullpen.
Accept the fact that Ohtani is not going to make it as a pitcher and put him in the OF, see which corner he can play and put Upton in the other. Send Adell back to the minors as he was clearly overmatched and needs more seasoning.
Walsh looked good at 1B, let Pujols DH full time and realize he should not even play the field anymore.
Fletcher is solid at 2B. Simmons quit on the team when they still had a statistical chance at making the playoffs so replace him, maybe Didi Gregorius or Jose Iglesias
An upgrade is needed behind the plate. Not sure if the Angels will swim in J.T. Realmuto waters but they need better than Stassi/Bemboom
how about this we should never have traded clevenger
No such thing thing as frontline starting pitching anymore. They need to add capable starters and go all in on their bullpen.
With what money are they going to get all that? Even if they replace Simmons with a cheaper SS, they’re already close to tapped out with Pujols and Upton still on the books alongside Trout and Rendon, as well as what they lost from having no ticket sales this season.
Bauer – Sign him!
Bundy – hope 2020 success carries over.
Heaney
Canning
Ohtani – assuming a normal 2021 spring training schedule I think they give him one more shot as a SP.
2021 Draft…Pitching Pitching Pitching!
1B Walsh – hope 2020 success carries over.
2B Fletcher – keep him.
SS give Simmons the QO, If he signs elsewhere, it’s a comp pick to the Angels. Maybe Explore a 3-4yr deal. Plan B: Didi or Iglesias
Angels team production at Catcher would probably surprise you. Castro/Stassi/Bemboom combined for solid C production.
@ 5toolMVP- I have seen fans of half the teams in mlb come on here and say how easy it will be for their team to get so much better. All they need to do is sign Bauer. Everyone will want him. Only 1 team will get him. That team will have to win a bidding war and will probably end up overpaying.
Who would trade for Upton and his contract?
Stassi had a .924 OPS and was stellar defensively. But yeah, Angel’s should put their limited resources on replacing him?
As some have already said in this thread, people really should google things before posting opinions.
Get off the Kim Ng podium. That is a joke of a suggestion. Cey, just stick with the Doyers. Cuz you are embarrassing yourself. No knowledge of the Halos whatsoever. You just like seeing the Angels bad. Kinda like the Doyers were for so many years, until recently.
Why is it a joke of a suggestion? I’d take Kim Ng as the Phillies GM.
Hayes you can have her in Philly. A woman running a baseball team. That is a joke, right? Look the gals can do many many things well, but running a ball team isn’t one of them. What do you base your affinity for her on? She won’t be able to relate to the players or on the field strategy in anyway, and she won’t be respected. See Marge Shott, Georgia Frontiere disasters—although they were owners.
Baseball has hired plenty of undeserving, Ivy Leaguers. At least Ng played some ball at the collegiate level. Can’t say the same for some currently running baseball teams (and some into the ground).
The Angels will be paying two field managers and two general managers in 2021.
Dombrowski will come and gut the Angels farm system (what little there is) but will at least build a team that should at make it to the postseason. Not guarenteeing a championship but his teams are at least usually competitive
With the Eppler firing every has been washed up journeyman pitchers all over baseball are now in mourning. How did this clown ever keep his job. Hope they bring in Dumbroski. He will gut the thin prospect minors and have their payroll at an all time high in 3 months. Setting them back another 10 years.
Eppler Mets will be calling
Should’ve sided with Dipoto.
That obviously has to be a joke. In 4 years of drafting for the Angels, the best players he drafted, was CJ Cron and Middleton. And no team wants to keepCJ Cron. Let’s not even mention his horrible trades. Clevanger for a journey man reliever. Trumbo for a long reliever and a number 5 starter.
Eppler would be welcomed back in a heartbeat.
You’re joking right?
Didn’t really get a fair shot. I know he had 5 years but the team had so many bad contracts on the books from the previous GM, and Eppler never had a real chance to do anything.
“Had”? They still do and worse.
Upton, Rendon, the Trout extension all done by Eppler
Most teams would sign two of those… they aren’t his problem
Alongside Upton, Rendon was also a mistake, since it handcuffed him from being able to sign any decent pitching last offseason.
Rendon and Trout contracts aren’t the problem. Upton was a mistake extension and Pujols finally comes off the books after 2021.
He had all the room in the world to get them back to the postseason. They’ve had enough offense the last 3 years. He rebuilt the farm system but it was position player heavy. It doesn’t take 5 years to build a good pitching staff. All they’ve needed the past 3 years was a couple more capable starters and a good bullpen. He couldn’t even do that. Regardless of the state the organization was in when he took over, there’s no excuse for the lack of pitching coming from their farm system.
The excuse is that the owners wanted to continue winning immediately. When you are already tapped out financially, the only other way to win is by trading away from your farm system.
I dont think people grasp just how truly awful the organization was when Eppler took over. Thats not something you can undo in just 1 or 2 years. Especially not if you are simultaneously trying to contend.
Where does this leave Madden?????
Joe should be safe. Other than a handshake and a hello with GM Eppler. Maddon was hired directly by Owner Arte Moreno. Joe also has 2 years left on his 3yr/12 million contract.
Joe was the prize of the Angels offseason last year and novway he gets fired after one season especially after axing Ausmus aftee one season
pujols is the reason the angels have no pitching?
…and Upton, Trout, and Rendon. While the Trout extension was basically necessary, they otherwise keep overextending on position players.
If only he had Al Bundy instead of Dylan Bundy !!
Except that Dylan Bundy has been their most effective starter this year – best opponent BA and WHIP, along with having the most wins on the team. A career year, but unlikely to replicate.
I’d say it’s likely to replicate. He’s been consistent the past 3 years now from a sabermetrics perspective & he’s going into his FA year.
Awww! But I was rooting for a Dylan Bundy/Ivan Nova/Drew Smyly/Jason Vargas/Bartolo Colon Angels rotation in 2021…
Colon is probably still better than most of the starters the Angels have used the last couple of seasons
This needed to happen. I think Eppler will get another shot years from now, so that will give him time to reflect on his mistakes (the last of which was his acquisition of Franklin Barreto), so he’ll likely be better second time around. However, I’m looking at Jerry DiPoto. He rivals Jack McKeon in trade prowess, but are the Mariners in a better place than they were when he arrived?
Ten years of Trout and no appearances past the 1st round of the playoffs. The owner and manager are failing Trout and Angels fans.
Imagine if in 2018, the Angels had traded Trout to the Dodgers for Julio Urías (LHP), Dustin May (RHP), Josiah Gray (RHP), Gavin Lux (2B/SS), Keibert Ruiz (C), and Chris Taylor. Would the Angels have a better record?
Can anyone answer this for me please? Under U.S. law, would he be paid out for the year he had left?
I would give Eppler accolades for the Rendon signing. Too much money on a strong offensive player when pitching has always been lacking. Those resources could have brought in numerous arms.
I don’t believe you’re using the word “accolades” right.
Problem is Angels don’t have the starting pitching. I’d take Eppler over BVW
Where are you, Koamalu?
Dombrowski is the guy to get. People forget he had a hand in the Expos teams in the 90’s with his work prior to leave. There’s the Marlins, close calls in Detroit and the win in Boston. Even his work in Chicago wasn’t bad. Dude is a winner, and if this season was 80 games I believe the Angels reach the Top 8 after their horrendous start.
That could have saved Eppler’s job.
If Dombrowski’s going to Anaheim does this mean Nashville is a no-go? If so, that’s a bit disappointing. Although many are against adding 2 more teams to MLB I do not think it matters. This is a hitting-driven league catering to hitters. Watering down the pitching is something the league will do anyway.
Dombrowski was a great GM for an era which has passed. It’s unclear whether he can do as well in an era where wins are driven by analytics and farm systems. With the rates pitchers get hurt and how few innings starters throw, you now need way more arms to get through a season and there’s no roster room to fill that with free agents — only a deep farm system can keep supplying the bodies to get through a season. And yes he built some good farm systems decades ago, but the tools of the trade have changed.
I bet they said the same thing about Gillick when he arrived in Philly.
I did not know 2016-2018 was another era. I thought that was less than 5 years ago.
Considering the changes in the game from the 80’s to the 2000’s Dombrowski somehow maintained success. I wouldn’t use the argument that DD is from another era. That’s total crap. Besides, the analytical nerds have proven they cannot win without money. They rely too much on numbers and not enough on baseball sense. Beane played the game and can use both. Even Ross Atkins played. The Ivy Leaguers are all show and no go. Dombrowski just wins.
The Bosox brought in Dombrowski to win a championship at all costs then fired him for the costs
Eppler tried to throw things around the office after getting fired, but tore his UCL and will be out 16 months
eppler did not do much to address the starting pitching before the season thats why he is gone
How much was Eppler’s contract extension? Less to spend on pitching!!
How about a Klentac for Eppler swap? Everyone would love that!
I fear that Mike Trout is going to suffer the same fate as Tony Gwynn. An elite player toiling for yeasts with a mediocre team. No World Series ring when he gives his induction speech in Cooperstown one day.
Tony Gwynn played in 2 World Series. I doubt Trout gets to even 1 playing for the Angels his full career
Angels to hire Matt Klentak
What goes around comes around. Billy Eppler ruined my boyfriend’s career. My boyfriend’s stats were incredible and he was healthy. Baseball is so dirty. They don’t care about talent. It’s all about money but all the money in the world can’t get you into heaven.
Loved Billy but this needed to happen. Let’s revisit how Billy got here.
– Jerry Dipoto destroyed the organization top to bottom. He built losing teams with bloated contracts, decimated the farm system, completely ignored international signings and was the worst drafter anyone had ever seen. He was arrogant, and everyone that came with him (Klentak and Servais) were utterly inept. The best day of his tenure was the day he walked out the door.
– Eppler inherited a losing team with no money to spend for at least a few years, and no farm system to speak of. He was sandwiched between an over-involved owner and a manager still upset he want the GM anymore as he was during the Tony Reagins era.
– Billy Eppler established on and off the field relationships with Trout and Pujols, the team leaders, pacified Mike Scioscia and earned the favor of Arte Moreno. He reestablished the international presence of the organization and drafted some truly exceptional athletes like Jo Adell, Jordyn Adams and Jeremiah Jackson. He also developed other athletes like Brandon Marsh and Jam Jones in a manner that the Dipoto regime never could have. He extended Trout to become a lifetime Angel, and brought in Shohei Ohtani. He also played his role in convincing Rendon to come to Anaheim.
– Eppler’s failures have all come on the mound unfortunately. Bundy was a huge success, in a sea of failures that include Cahill, Harvey, Allen, Teheran, Nolasco, etc… His biggest failures however, have been his inability to draft pitching or unruliness to spend at a higher level on free agent pitching. Eppler drafted well, but he fell too hard for high end outfielders when he should’ve been drafting the Reid Detmers of the ranks. And in free agency, his underlines to allocate greater funds toward guys like Corbin and Wheeler led to the Harvey’s and Cahill’s.
– Top of the list here has to be Dombrowski. I know Sox fan are all butt-hurt over his exodus but they fail to take in historical context. Dave came from the same line of front office execs like Bill Stoneman, architect of the 2001-2009 Angels, the second best team in baseball during that decade right behind the Red Sox. Dombrowski built up the Marlins, and then inherited ideal situations in both Detroit and Boston. The man wins, flat out and he’s built farm systems just as often as he’s decimated them. He’s on the Nashville commission because he’s a master negotiator. Would he trade some of the Angels prospects? Absolutely, but he’d draft and sign more.
– Dombrowski stepping into a situation with an owner willing to spend, an elite manager in Joe Maddon, superstars like Trout, Rendon and Ohtani, with Pujols coming off the books and a plethora of taken in AA and AAA is an extremely ideal situation. He isn’t greatest GM ever, but he is successful by any measurement and there Angels would succeed under him.
– Eppler will get a job elsewhere very soon. He’s built a solid organization, top to bottom, but they needed outside help to get them over the proverbial hump and Dombrowski would be that man.
You’re forgetting one fatal flaw with Dombrowski and that’s his inability to build a solid bullpen. That is what ultimately cost the Tigers a World Series (or two). He tends to overpay for former bullpen greats (he’ll probably be all over Yates if he gets the Angels job) and completely neglects the other important roles in the pen. He’ll convince Artie to overspend for Bauer on a 6-7 year deal and hamstring the club’s ability to add depth unless Arte is willing to go up to the $250M+ payroll level at the top of the CBT. He should be able to get the Angels to the playoffs, but he will leave a trail of destruction behind him in the process. It might be better to see if Arte can pry Theo away from the Cubs, IMO.
Maybe Arte wants to bring Scioscia back as GM?
I hear he has a lot of experience…
(Angel fans heads expolding)
Honestly, Billy seemed like he was thinking too long term, like a rebuild of the whole system.
Perfect guy to have run the Angels long-term.
But because of Mike Trout providing the win now urgency and the lack of stockpiling arms cost Billy his job. Plain and simple. Could anybody really build for today and tomorrow? History shows if it is Dombrowski, you can forget about the future. Seems like we’re going one extreme to the other.
As long as the RedSox do not hire Dombrowski back I am good..
We won’t that was never in the cards.
Dombrowski was burned by the Red Sox. Dombrowski did what they asked him to do in Boston If they wanted to rebuild the farm, then they could have retained Dombrowski or told him of the New Plan. Dombrowski had done that with the Expos and Marlins.
Dombrowski was not fired for not producing in Boston.
I don’t have a dog in this hunt.
But, if I had to made a reasonable analysis, I would say Dave Dombrowski
was let go by the Red Sox because of possible conflicts with team Pres Sam Kennedy.
Remember, Dombrowski is used to running his own shop in Montreal, Miami and Detroit.. Dombrowski is used to being Team President.
The Red Sox job was a “step down” in responsibilities and duties for
Dave Dombrowski.
Dombrowski could have waited for another Team Pres job and turned down the Red Sox, but he took the plunge.
The results and Dombrowski leaving was not a surprise.
A team can only have one team Pres type.
Same thing happened with Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino
That is why Theo left Boston.
Not enough room in the President’s office for two qualified guys
who both want total authority of baseball ops.
Dombrowski was hired to join Music City baseball group in 2020 to bring an expansion MLB franchise to Nashville in 2024. so not sure he is even available.
Fun Facts About Dave Dombrowski Who Wins Where ever he goes
1) Built Expos and its farm system into the best team in baseball heading for the World Series when the baseball strike derailed the season.,(low budget team).
2) Joined the Marlins Expansion team and built the organization into a World Series Champion in record time (low budget team).
3) Marlins won a 2nd WS title with Dombrowski’s players after Dombrowski left for Detroit.
4) Detroit: Team was a basement/cellar team for 15 years when Dombrowski was hired. Detroit lost over 114 games one year.
Dombrowski through drafts, trades, strategic Free agent signings built the Tigers into a 10 year pennant contending run starting with a World Series run in 2006 where they beat the Yankees in the Wild Card and went all the way to the World Series.
2 American League Championships, 4 Division Titles 2 World Series appearances (1 as a Wild Card)…..Big Spending “Win Now/All In Owner”.
In Detroit’s Rotation During the Dombrowski ERA?!
Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer(trade), David Price (trade), Doug Fister(trade)
Anibal Sanchez (trade) Rick Porcello , Drew Smyly etc…
Dave Dombrowski’s boss Mike Illitch wanted badly to “win now” would spend whatever and trade or sign FAs. At times, Agents had Mike’s cell phone # and would go around Dave Dombrowski to get Mike to make “side deals” for expensive free agents like Prince Fielder etc…leaving Dombrowski short on budget funds for other critical areas such as his bullpen. Illitch had his own salary cap that he did not disclose to fans, but was obvious when he would not sign bullpen free agents.
Red Sox Dombrowski hired by big spending owners who were “all in” and wanted to “win now”.. Dombrowski followed his bosses orders and made trades, signed free agents and players on the roster Won a World Series in a few years.
So, Dombrowski, if left alone by ownership, will deliver a winner and the playoffs for your team, if you can get him. Arte seems like a “:hands on” owner who might not let Dave make all the baseball decisions etc…that is usually what Dave Dombrowski requires. Dombrowski wants to be Team President, hire his own GM and Front Office and have total control of baseball operations…
If Arte wants to ceed that authority then maybe he can hire him away from the Nashville baseball group. If not, then no..
Maybe and hopefully the Angels steal Jeff Bridich from the Rockies for their GM slot.
HIghly unlikely…Ownership would block an interview for Jeff Bridich for a lateral move.