Right-hander Jake Odorizzi’s current market includes the Angels, Giants, Blue Jays, Twins and Red Sox, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Most of those clubs have been at least speculatively linked to Odorizzi at some point this winter, although it’s of at least some note that there’s still interest after those teams have added other pieces to their rotation already. The Angels agreed to a deal with Jose Quintana earlier this week, and the Twins inked J.A. Happ on a matching one-year deal. The Red Sox have brought back Martin Perez, while the Giants have brought in Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood. Odorizzi is still seeking a three-year deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. He and the Twins are still not seeing eye to eye in terms of the length of a potential contract or the total guarantee, Heyman adds.
A few more notes on the market for starting pitchers…
- Lefty James Paxton is among the rotation targets the Blue Jays are taking a look at, tweets Heyman. A link between the two sides seemed almost inevitable given that the Jays have been tied to most free agents as they cast a wide net amid an aggressive offseason and given that Toronto is regularly at least speculated upon as a landing spot for Canadian-born free agents. Paxton, who threw for teams late last month, missed the bulk of the 2020 season due to February back surgery and then a forearm strain this past summer. Beyond being limited to 20 1/3 ineffective frames while battling those injuries, Paxton saw a drop of more than three miles per hour in his average heater last year. Of course, if he’s healthy, the 32-year-old would rank among the most impactful arms on the open market. From 2017-19, “Big Maple” tossed 447 innings of 3.54 ERA ball with a near-identical 3.45 SIERA. He also posted an outstanding 30.1 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate that sat comfortably south of the league average. At his best, he’s a playoff-caliber starter, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see hopeful contenders pursuing short-term deals with Paxton in weeks to come.
- From one Scott Boras client to another, right-hander Jake Arrieta is planning to throw for interested teams a week from today, Heyman tweets. Arrieta missed his final few starts of the season due to a hamstring injury — his second straight year truncated by injury. The former Cy Young winner underwent arthroscopic surgery near the end of the 2019 campaign after attempting to pitch through bone spurs in his elbow for much of the season. Overall, Arrieta’s three-year, $75MM deal with the Phillies didn’t pay dividends. After a solid first year in Philly, he logged just 180 innings of 4.75 ERA/4.82 SIERA ball with an 18.1 percent strikeout rate that was nowhere near his 27 percent peak with the Cubs. The Twins plan to watch Arrieta’s bullpen session next week, tweets SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson, although he adds that Minnesota is represented at nearly all showcases of this nature, so this is perhaps more due diligence than it is keen interest in Arrieta specifically.
- The Mariners have yet to approach right-hander Taijuan Walker with a serious offer to bring him back to the organization, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. At the time of Walker’s trade to the Blue Jays over the summer, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto suggested that he might look to bring the righty back to the team in the near future (Twitter link via Jessamyn McIntyre). That has yet to happen, it seems, although it’s also worth noting that Divish reported earlier in the week that Mariners ownership has limited the front office’s payroll flexibility “more than expected” this winter. The Mariners may yet add another arm to the rotation mix, but depending on the extent to which spending is limited, a multi-year deal candidate like Walker might be out of reach.
Jays, bring back Walker you cowards!
Mets
Have a feeling angels won’t be signing bauer…odorizzi screams another cheap signing…
I think angels are favs to sign him. They have roughly 25M in soft cap space. Go a little over and call it an off season.
I have no idea what the Angels are doing or what they are going to do this year. Everything they have done this year has caught me by surprise.
Signing Odorizzi is what I have expected for awhile now. Which means I’d be shocked if they signed him.
i think they are signing both bauer and odorizzi. it makes perfect sense.
1, bauer
2, heaney
3, odorizzi
4, bundy
5, canning
6,barria/ohtani if he is healthy.
sandoval goes to long relief/spot starter role.
And then they’ll release Quintana.
ha ha! forgot about him. maybe they will trade away some for prospects when viable free agents dry up.
A lot of money for a lot of mid rotation guys, outside of Bauer.
remember angels will have one of the best offenses in the league.
They aren’t the Padres. I don’t see them signing more pitchers than they need.
just adding pieces doesn’t work.team’s gotta gel before they can contend.
You forgot Quintana, halos will sign Odorizz 3 years 39 mill and Brad Hand 2 years 18 mill and Petit at 5 mill.
Add a veteran outfielder to take the pressure off Adell, and that would be a very good offseason.
Do that and trade one of their outfield prospects for a young guy with control/higher upside than Heaney/Canning, and it’s a perfect offseason.
Adell shouldn’t even sniff the pros yet. At a 41.7% K-rate (2nd out of 244 eligible), that was bad enough. But he also had a .676 OPS in the PCL, which had to be among the worst performers in the league. He was 20 at the time, so it isn’t panic time, but the Angels had no reason to promote him.
Joe, I wouldn’t read too much into that. They revamped his swing to get more lift. He didn’t have a full spring training or AAA to work it out.
I’m not worried about it. He didn’t chase, he didn’t look lost. He didn’t look overmatch. He just couldn’t figure out how to get his bat head to a spot. That will change.
And one of the worst managers. Joe can’t manage a pitching staff.
Halo11,
Just based off my own eye test throughout the season, I was very unimpressed by Adell. His fielding was atrocious, hitting was underwhelming and just mannerisms alone did not look like a top prospect. I’m hoping he proves me wrong but I believe there’s too much hype.
I won’t say I know where his career will go, but the angels have a ton of outfield depth, a solid offense (which hasn’t been an issue in years) and a struggling pitching staff. I would trade him for a proven pitcher in a second.
Cj, I agree. Angel fans have seen a top prospect not live up to potential before (brandon wood) so why not use that hype to address a glaring pitching issue. Outfielders are much easier to come by.
Dude get out of the video game
2002, His fielding was atrocious.
I realize the stats were horrible, but I saw a guy who didn’t chase, wasn’t over matched, timing was not terrible, his bat just couldn’t find the ball. I think that has more do to with the Angels changing his swing. They do that. They did it to Adams, Marsh, Adell and I think Walsh.
There is an adjustment. And with no AAA and limited Spring training, it looks worse than it was. He’s a very talented young man.
CJB,
If Angel fans had there way, Marsh would have been traded for Kluber last year.
Just remember that.
Not smart ones anyway I wanted nothing to do with Kluber. I’d trade one of the prospects for young, controllable pitching. Kluber is and was neither of those things.
Don’t forget the biggest flop, Dallas Mcpherson
Angels fans have also seen top prospects turn out as well or better than anticipated (Trout, Skaggs and Richards from 2009 draft are easy recent examples, with Glaus, Weaver, and Erstad if you want to go further back). The problem is the team forfeited so many high draft picks in the last decade due to FA signings that there haven’t been many high picks to compare Adell to.
Adell was brought to the majors too soon, a move forced by Upton’s injury and the lack of a AAA season in 2020. I don’t think anyone seriously believes he will open the season on the squad out of ST. He will go to SLC, get a lot of reps at RF and at the plate, and work on his game. The team will open with some combination of Schebler/Ward/Walsh/? platooning in RF.
All this chin-stroking about evaluating Adell’s future value on the basis of a few games viewed on TV in 2020 is just too cute to imagine.
I recall one year the Angels basically didnt have a pick until the 3rd round because of all those FA signings. The system was so bad that Cedar Rapids punted them after 25 years as their A Ball team.
Bauer would be a bust for the Angels Plus the angels can’t wait around for Bauer remember what happened last year with The angels waiting on Cole the remaining starting pitching came off the board Angels were Left with the crumbs
Sign Odorizzi then get a couple more bullpen arms…brad hand for one.
I can see the logic in this approach (and I’m not sold on Bauer continuing to be an ace).
Tanaka or Odorizzi to provide some more bulk innings then hit the plethora of bullpen arms and hope to hit on a couple. Melancon, McGee, O’day, Hand, Rosenthal….there are a lot of guys still to come off the board.
This is what I’ve been hoping for also.
One of Odorizzi/Tanaka/Paxton plus Hand. I’d prefer Paxton, but any of the three would put the Angels close.
That’s the key to winning. Get some depth in the rotation for their fragile pitchers, and make a dominant bullpen. Bauer is great, I guess, but if he’s his usual self, and/or they have an injury or two, it’s a bad rotation again. I’d rather they get Ordorizzi and even another swing guy (Gio?), and a couple of relievers for the same money Bauer wants.
Would be nice to see them trade some of their prospects for a young, solid pitcher too. A deal like that might require them to include a Canning. But if you can upgrade from Canning/Prospect to Castillo or Marquez, you have to do it.
I agree, Bauer only 2 years ERA under 4 and 1 was last year in a short season.
The Angels didn’t wait to long on Cole OR Strasburg for that matter. They were priced out. Seriously look at those rediculous contracts they got. Nobody was crazy enough to beat those offers.
SalaryCap.
I’m not the typo police, but for some reason “rediculous” gets me.
I know, that’s ridiculous.
The other is “your and idiot!!!” However, I always laugh when someone writes that.
The one that gets me is when people type “could of” instead of “could have”.
the Angels offered Cole a eight year 280 million contract
Good enough for 3rd best offer for Cole. And they didn’t wait long last year, Strasburg and Cole signed during the winter meeting.
5tool, are you unhappy with Rendon?
The Angels finally have a player to hit behind Trout. I’m pretty darn happy about that.
I love Rendon.
Is that a serious response? His comment had nothing to do with Rendon
Sodo.
It’s hard to tell who you are responding to.
If it’s me, once the bidding got to high on Cole, the Angels pivoted to Rendon. I’m not complaining about that.
Geno I don’t comment on how people write on here but man use a period or two. Makes reading a lot easier. No caps and misspelled words are fine if you don’t use periods at least separate your thoughts. Thanks
@compass, fwiw, I agree with you. I don’t care about people’s typos/ caps/no caps, as long as I can read/understand their posts. But when posters write long-a** comments with no periods or commas, I can’t deal! How hard is it really?? My rant for the day!
I think Yankees should take a chance on Walker or possibly King Felix.
Walker is looking for a commitment, so it isn’t likely to be a take a chance type deal.
With his injury history, I hope the Yankees stay away. They have enough injury issues already.
I want the Jays to bring Walker back. Then sign another guy like Paxton or Odorizzi. I would be happy with that if they miss on Bauer. Not my money though so spend away. Get all 3.
There’s a flaw in saying “it’s not my money” because if they spend foolishly they won’t have room to sign other key players.
I gave you a thumbs up because you’re right
Let’s be brutally honest here, anything can happen, the Jays could win a WS if everything goes right, they are doing what they should do and have time to do more
But realistically its probably best to stand pat right now, not give Bayer a high AAV big money deal ( I wont complain if they do) and maybe just sign a Paxton for a year or two at 15 million per year or Walker for 8 per year with an option on year 2. Save the money for next years FA class, grab Thor for a big AAV or add Lindor on a high AAV deal. Use prospects to add another young stud SP
Sure this year will be fun, push for the playoffs. Winning the chip? I still believe
But now the heavy lifting is done, don’t sign Turner to 3 years. Dont give Simmons 3 years. Dont trade for Bryant unless it’s a steal
Focus on a Castillo/Moustakas deal if prospects are involved. Or a similar type of deal that nets you the young controllable SP we crave to pair with Pearson fir the future
Dont just sign the “the next guy” just because we can. There will be better and more FA coming especially if your realistic that Playoffs is the ultimate goal not WS
I’ve been saying that for years. Even as a RS fan, if you consistently over-sign by 10%, it is the equivalent of losing a $21M player.
the Angels need to stop signing stopgaps. either let the young SP develop or get a long term SP option.
The A’s are constantly signing stop gaps, but unlike the Angels, they are good at it.
Wait, what? The Angels have had to sign stop gaps because the young guys have not developed when given the chance. I think Heaney is a solid pitcher, but can you expect more then 120 innings from him? Sandoval / Suarez have been brutal when given long looks. Jaime has been up and down (and I’m actually a believer in him). They just don’t have reliable depth. Eppler’s stopgaps have been so bad they’ve eaten very few innings meaning the young pitchers have been given every opportunity and have cratered. What they need are solid, veteran pitchers. Number 3 or 4s you can actually count on. Ordorizzi might actually be that guy. That gives time for the young pitcher to develop and potentially reach their ceilings (Ohtani, Canning and Heaney all have the potential to be #2s, maybe even #1s). without having to carry the load of the staff.
Heaney’s 2020 extrapolates to about 150 IP on a 30-start year. He threw 180 IP in 2018; he was dealing with miscellaneous injuries in 2019.
There is no reason to believe he can’t deliver 150-180 IP in 2021.
You can’t just extrapolate innings like that. It makes absolutely no sense. So what you’re saying is in his 7 year big league career he’s thrown more than 105 innings once. So I’m right?
I’d like Paxton on a 1 or 2 year deal with high incentives. He may have a pretty low floor but he definitely has the the highest upside among free agent pitchers when you consider the price you can probably get him at.
Its not just because hes Canadian, if healthy hes in my view on par with Bauer
I dont see him signing with anyone else if we’re interested. He grew up a fan, threw his No Hitter in the Dome, saw the plethora of Jays fan invade Safco.
I’m rooting for it. No matter the outcome, who knows he could end up a lights out closer after all is said and done, stranger things have happened
Jays fans at T-Mobile park might be one of my most hated things. Always a guaranteed yelling argument when I’m there at a Mariners vs Jays game. Springer just adds fuel to the fire of hate. I wish T-Mobile didn’t accept Canadian currency. That just gives them more incentive to come down
I vaguely recall reading about a hotel tax spike that strongly funds the Seattle stadium. Best zinger I heard was a Mariner fan thanking us for paying for the beautiful stadium.
Seen some very spazzy Jays fans in that setting.
Converting the toonies to USD beforehand is a must.
Refusing to sell beer at convenience stores to Canadian customers would be the real ticket. A couple $14 stadium beers is fine, but the $14 case before the game is what overwhelms so many.
“this beer has 1% less alcohol content, I can have twice as many for half the price eh”
Ok
We are in on everything but do nothing. WEEI ran an article embarrassing the Red Sox today. It said basically that they are going through the motions of saying that they are going to be competitive but not really. Bloom will do nothing here until Henry tells him to. Sad our franchise is dying.
Henry is tidying up to make a marquee franchise irresistible.
…to prospective buyers.
Sad our franchise is dying.
===============================
As long as we keep winning WSC’s, I can be happy with a dying team.
they’ll win another in 5 years and then have a bad year a few years after and you’ll hear the same thing. Red Sox fans dont get that being a “big market team” doesnt mean they will have a top 5 payroll and a WS contending roster every year.
Joe – Agreed! 5 WS in 17 years is more than 21 franchises have in their entire existence!! The Red Sox need a year to assess what talent they have. Then will add after 2021 when they have a better idea of how Sale and E-Rod return from injury (assuming they resign E-Rod) and whether JD opts-out do they can move Devers to DH and so on….
4 WS. In over 100 years.
Fortunately, my memory doesn’t go past this century. It’ll be a while before we are caught, hopefully.
Odorizzi wants a multiyear deal. Go for Bauer instead.
Walker, Paxton, or one year on Tanaka with big money would be fine. But right now I’m curious how the Jays plan on maneuvering their OF situation now that Springer is on the team. One SP signing and one SP trading seems like the play.
I’m fine with a four man outfield rotation, keeping guys fresh and also keeps players like Fisher off the field for the Jays once the first injury occurs.
If a certain OF can land them a pitcher, go get it. Just not Gurriel.
I think the Jays will drop Davis before Fisher. I hope I am wrong but that’s what I believe they will do.
What’s with Chris archer? Haven’t heard a word on him. Feel like a lot of teams should take a chance on him
he missed the year with major surgery and wasnt that great prior. i dont see why there would be that much buzz around him.
Nice Jerk reference!
He is perhaps the most overrated pitcher of the last decade. If peripherals don’t equate to actual success then they don’t mean anything.
Jays should trade for Bryant and Hendricks, Bryant can play 3rd for a year until Groshans is ready. Then sign Odorizzi or Paxton and call it an off season.
id bet Groshans is in the deal if they are going after Hendricks
Yah you likely have right.
Maybe a package of Mahoah, Moreno, Lopez or Hiraldo get it done.
The Cubs have shown zero interest in moving Hendricks. He’s on an affordable deal and is now their defacto ace so unless they are blown out of the water by a deal too good to refuse, Hendricks isn’t going anywhere. Groshans isn’t nearly enough to pry Hendricks away from the Cubs. The same goes for people calling for their team to trade for Merrifield. KC has zero interest in moving Whit. It would take a kings ransom to get Whit out of KC and I believe the same applies to Hendricks in Chicago. Kris Bryant on the other hand can be had for a reasonable price.
Not gonna lie, kind of getting tired of the “So and so and the Blue Jays have been linked, which is no surprise considering the fact that the Jays have been tied to virtually every free agent available.”
It’s like the Astros scandal. It eventually starts getting old…
The Astros scandal never gets old and will never be forgotten. The 1919 Black Sox scandal remains part of MLB’s collective memory and so shall the 2017 Houston Astros.
well yeah, but people dont constantly refrence the Black Sox scandal, unlike the other two.
Probably because one is recent, one isn’t.
@oof –
So…what then? MLBTR should make up stories to appease your boredom?
Ya know?
Jay’s are churning out lots of rumors. That’s just part of how this off-season is playing out.
I never said that that they should make stories did I? …
I’m not blasting MLBTR. Everyone’s doing it. You can say “the Blue Jays are interested in _____” without having to add something like “Which comes to no surprise…” in every article.
Would like to see Rangers pick up Walker and either Archer or Williams to round out pitching staff should check in on price for Puig and Nunez as well.
He could sign his autographs: “Walker, Texas Ranger”
I wish the Res Sox would try to go after Walker. I realize there’s some risk of regression with him and he’s most likely not going to repeat the success he had last season. But few remaining FA SPs offer as much potential upside as Walker does. He has the potential to be a legitimate top half (#2 or more likely #3) SP and the Sox could really use that with questions about for the majority of their rotation. E-Rod and Sale COULD come back and be a formidable 1/2 atop the rotation with Eovaldi, Perez, Houck and a seemingly reinvigorated Pivetta… but any one of those guys could also struggle or just struggle to stay healthy… so bringing in a guy with Walker’s potential would really be a boon to the rotation and I think offer more potential upside than virtually any other remaining FA (with the possible exceptions of Tanaka and, if healthy, Paxton)
in making up my prediction contest guesses the Sox were one of my two finalists for Walker. not sure if I did pick them in the end but his age and the clear need was a fit here.
Angels just need to trade upton, stassi+ prospects for a solid SP, sign JTR and Bauer. Go all in and get this team to the playoffs.
If the trade was Upton, Stassi & prospects (depending on the prospects, you’re getting-0- back. I doubt anyone will even think about Upton unless Adell was attached to him.
Upton has a NTc, and unless one of their top prospects is involved, nobody is taking that money
Upton has negative trade value. If the Angels are going to trade for a SP the name(s) will be Fletcher, Adell, Marsh, Adams, or Detmers as the key piece(s) going away.
And I think that would be totally okay. Upton, stassi and Adams. If adell and marsh pan out, it’s a log jam in the outfield by the time Adams is ready.
no, it’s not ok. giving away position players before they have played a couple of seasons for someone who’d pitch every 5 or 6 days.
How’s it not okay? If the Angels are in “win now” mode, why are we holding a potential 4th outfielder that may or may not pan out?
If the Angels are going to trade Adell, they need to get an Ace with at least three years of control.
The Angels are loaded with young outfielders. But you need to get an ace.
If they go with an adell package then they definitely need to land Castillo. Marquez wouldn’t be a bad option either but I don’t think he would require an Adell package.
I don’t trust a thing from Castillo. He pitches in that weak division, and his combined ERA the two previous years was 3.85 with a 3.99 FIP.
I wouldn’t trade Adell for him.
me neither.
Cincinnati is a little more hitter friendly than Anaheim and would like to say an Angels defense is superior to Cincinnati’s. Both could be a factor. As far as “aces” on the board for trades it’s Castillo, Gray and Marquez are about all that’s out there, which I wouldn’t necessarily call any a legit ace. But paired with Bauer, Bundy, Heaney, Quintana, Canning and maybe Ohtani it’s definitely an upgrade.
Halo2002.
I’m not the expert and I’m not trying to convince you. I’m just saying I don’t trust him and I wouldn’t do it.
I wouldn’t give up six years of Adell for three years of Castillo.
You don’t have to trade Adell, and unless the right offer comes along, I don’t think they should. As far as Marsh, yes. But Cincy wouldn’t go for that and I know there are several Angel fans that think Marsh is going to be better than Adell.
Plus Angel fans complain about not having pitching and not getting trout to the playoffs but now wouldn’t trade a prospect such as adams to receive pitching.
I do think marsh is going to be better than Adell. I was totally on board to trade Adell for a top tier arm but that has come and gone after what the Padres did.
Who would you expect to get in return for Adell? Shane Bieber?
There are Angel fans who complain about everything.
Generically, I think Adams and Adell are undervalued right now. There are very few if any available pitchers for whom I’d trade Adell and tell me what Adams would get.
I’m happy with the Angels adding Richards/Paxton and Rosenthal…. and this chair… That’s all I need.
Shane Bieber would require our whole farm
I think those adds would just get us to miss the playoffs once again. Next offseason there are legit aces coming to free agency but will all be in their upper 30s. That’s why I think Bauer has to be the move this year.
Hudson. The Indians would never do that. Trading Adell is like P0rn0graphy, I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.
I don’t know the right trade, make me an offer. If it’s Bieber, I say yes.
Just miss? I’m happy with being close in September and the Angels have a chance to just miss. Exciting September games and just missing would be a pretty good season.
But if the Angels are in contention in September, I’ll take my chances with this team.
I am saying that I think Castillo is a great pitcher and any team would be exceedingly lucky to get him, Angels included. I think they would be extremely lucky to get him for Adell alone. In fact I think they would have to offer more than just Adell to get Castillo.
Hudson,
And that’s great. People can be civil and disagree. I wouldn’t make the trade. Not with that FIP and and not for Adell.
And of course you can disagree with me.
Someone mentioned Zac Gallen. That’s interesting. He always pitches better than his FIP. I’d look at that long and hard.
I had not heard that Zac Gallen was available. I do not believe that he is. If you want Zac Gallen you are going to have to overpay.
Of those pitchers who are theoretically available for trade Castillo is far and away the best. Even he is supposedly not available and would require an overpay. Other than him, maybe Gray? Other than those 2 I don’t see any high quality pitchers available for trade.
I don’t see any team wanting to give up their young pitching. I don’t think either team would give up their young starter for Adell, and I don’t want the Angels to make that offer either. And I agree, Casillio is likely the best pitcher who might be available.
I don’t think there is an Adell trade on the table. The players I would want, the other teams are not likely to give up.
Maybe there is a Marsh trade out there, but not an Adell trade. And as I said earlier, there are some Angel fans who like Marsh more valuable than Adell. I doubt that.
@Halo11fan
You crack me up with your, ” There are Angels fan who complain about everything” post. Have u looked in a mirror lately. Thanks for the good laugh today.
I complain that they haven’t gotten relief pitching. After a decade plus of musical chairs being played by the back end of the bullpen, I don’t understand why people don’t see it. Our bullpen has pretty much sucked since Scot Shields stopped being Scot Shields.
I don’t understand Quintana. It’s a coin flip between Barria and Quintana and I don’t understand it. I would have spent that 8 million bucks on the bullpen. Again… I’m complaining about the bullpen.
I’m not complaining they didn’t sign Cole, or Bauer, or the starting rotation. I’m not complaining about Upton, Pujols or the starting nine. I didn’t complain about signing Cahill, Teheran or Harvey.
I’m not whining that Adell didn’t hit the floor running or that we have a weak farm system, or that Arte is a bad owner, or any one of a hundred things Angel fans complain about. I don’t believe any of those things are true.
If you want to say I’m complaining about the Bullpen… I AM. That’s one thing. THE BULLPEN.
You are technically correct – you are not complaining about EVERYTHING, just one thing ALL THE TIME. I think that’s what Swing was referencing :)
That being said, I mostly agree with you. But it’s a new administration. Got to give Perry a chance, and see how he operates. Him releasing the entire bullpen before arbitration was a fantastic start in my opinion. It needed a cleansing, even for solid guys like Cam. The only time Eppler paid a bullpen guy it was someone who had struggled the year before and now he’s out of baseball. It’s nice to see Perry is willing to sign/trade for legitimate big league relievers, even if they make money.
I’m a happy angel fan 1 more year of Albert
CJ, it’s been a dozen years, and the signings of Claudio and Quintana, coupled with Bradley and Yates and even Bass going off the board scares me to death.
I’m sorry I’m a broken record, but I hope that iceberg we are headed for is a mirage. I’ve been hoping that for a decade. I use to think it was Scioscia that couldn’t manage a bullpen, now I realize this organization doesn’t know how to build a bullpen.
I’m not impressed with what I’ve seen so far. I’m worried.
The Angel’s bullpen was fantastic in the early 2000s, and was the reason they won 100 games in 2014 (and MS used it to perfection that year), so I don’t think it had anything to do with MS. Remember, somewhere after giving Scotts downs his 15M (which was a great contract) and then the Sean Burnett catastrophe, the angels stopped giving bullpen pitchers contracts unless it was big 1 year deals (which also have been catastrophic). I don’t know why that philosphy changed, but moving back to signing solid bullpen pitchers to decent contracts (4-7 per year, over multiple years) is how you get a solid bullpen (along with developing a few of your own). Recently their front office would make 1 big splash (Cody Allen?), and then rely on DFAs and waiver wire claims to fill in the rest. It’s a failure of their GMs since Stoneman.
But there are a ton of those type of relievers out there still, so you can’t judge Perry yet. The Braves back end guys are still out there, and everyone loves a reunion.
Upton, Stassi & Adams nets you someone like Adam Ottavino at the most and even that might be too much. Upton’s value is so bad right now that they might include one of their decent prospects just to get his contract off the books and get nothing in return. I’m still not sure what team would even do that (maybe Pittsburg) just to get a solid prospect. But Upton’s salary is enormous and he has his NTC too. Unfortunately, it’s much more realistic to think that Upton is stuck in Anaheim until his deal expires.
Scot Shields was Sports Illustrated setup man of the decade. And we had Percy and K-Rod. That was our foundation.
We don’t have a Scot Shields and we haven’t had a closer.
Funny you bring up our bullpen in 2014. It wasn’t spectacular. For the first couple months of the season it was a work in progress. .
May 10th they were 500. They planned on Frieri being the closer, he stunk. Then Smith, then at the deadline they traded for Street and of course the infamous Vinnie Pestano for Clevinger trade.
After a series of adjustments, it started clicking. Which is actually a familiar Angel theme, but we lost Clevinger trying to figure it out.
The Angels seem to always throw away a bunch of games early in the year until they find the right pieces.
We don’t have the games to throw away trying to find the right pieces.
I actually like Cam and Noe. They were the only two pieces in the pen I did like. Buttrey is OK. But I like the other two better.
The Angels wold sign me and trade me to the Yankees for Adam Ottavino right now.
He’s not worth his contract.
Correct. An Angels package for Castillo would start with Adell AND Marsh and probably require Canning+ as well. The Angels simply can’t afford Castillo at this point and should look at more realistic options like Sonny Gray.
Shields was absolute filth.
In 2009 at the WBC I watched him in Toronto. Noticed his curve didn’t have the same bite, and I chalked it up to not having a full Spring Training. Didn’t realize at the time it would be the beginning of the end. He was a fantastic reliever IMO.
@Halo11fan
Even when the Angels sign RP’s u find a way to complain. Iggy, “to much money”, Claudio, ” why sign the last man on the roster” BS. Like CBJ said, let Perry finnish his team, then u could vent and complain.
I’ll give you Chris Davis for upton lol
Oh. My. God.
How hard is this to remember: Upton has a full NTC with his deal because he is not going to be traded to any team further from his home and kids in Phoenix than a team in Southern California. That means the Padres, Dodgers and D’Backs are the only teams he *might* approve a trade to, and two of those teams already had him.
Stop already with the “trade Upton” hypotheticals. It isn’t going to happen, and when Upton resumes hitting the ball the way he did in the final 6 weeks of the short 2020 season, it will all be moot anyway (OPS of .899 from mid-August through the end of the season, which is right at his 2017 season with the Angels).
Must be Uptons burner account.
White Sox? Hello, White Sox? Anyone home?
you mean the same White Sox that traded for Lance Lynn?
Yeah, the same Sox with only 3 dependable starters. Those Sox.
Agreed WSox could use 1 more veteran starter on a 1yr deal while Kopech is preserved early on in AAA. Lopez should not be their 5th-best to see if the bullpen suits him.
No mention at all of the Nats signing Lester…interesting.
And considering it was for only 5M…..Again, I think Rizzo pulled a fast one on everybody….
I’m pretty sure I saw an article about that already
So unnecessary for the Ms to be that cheap. As a fan it’s completely unacceptable. If they are truly prioritizing putting the best team on the field long term it would make sense to start adding some solid pieces now so that next winter the big free agents see a team that’s closer to being a true contender.
i dont know if getting veterans that may make you go from a 90 loss to an 80 loss team at best will really have top flight FA’s salivating. what will would be throwing loads of moeny at them and having young players come up and dominate.
2021 looks to be a very good year for prospects as it looks like a very high percentage of teams are going to push minimum-wage prospects into everyday roles as a way to save money.
The jays don’t need an Odorizzi. They need a TOR arm. There’s no point in going to get another #3/4, we have enough of those. I would be down for Paxton because if healthy he has the potential to be a TOR arm. On a 1-2 year deal I’d be okay with it. 1/15 or 2/22?
TOR is a confusing acronym when talking about Toronto, which is usually abbreviated as TOR.
Not gonna lie. First few times I saw people talking about TOR pitchers I thought the same. Why is everyone talking about Toronto pitchers….lol
In realty the city of Toronto should be abbreviated Tor. The only capital is the “T” .
$9-mil base plus incentives for Paxton to push it up to $13-mil might get it done. Kick in an option that will be for an amount based on benchmarks hit in 2021. If the Tanaka rumors are true, throw a ton at him for 1 season. Bridge the gap to SWR, Manoak etc.
That would mean no Bauer, and I think this option is not all that bad. This would also bring into play a trade not involving Teoscar or Gurriel to snag an INF.
No way Paxton stays healthy. He rarely has the last two years.
It’s been his Achilles heel for his entire career. Just when you think he’s one of the best LHP’s in the game, he’s on the DL! Cruelly, his healthiest year (150 IP) as a Mariner was his last one.
I’ll never forget the Big Maple’s no-hitter, how Kyle Seager quickly sprung to his feet to throw a no look bullet to Healy at first. One of the most spectacular play’s I’ve ever seen considering the exit velo off Pillar’s bat and the setting -it was the final out in the 7th inn. Ryon Healy’s emotional reaction upon catching that 3rd out said it all: a realization that something magical was about to happen.
Walker was money last year and Paxton if healthy would be great. I don’t really think Odorizzi is the guy that would help. Go Jays Go
I bet bauer goes to the Dodgers for something like 2/60. Crazy idea but what if the Padres literally sold a couple prospects to bring bauer in for a year. Like if the sold 2 good prospects for 15-20 mil and then put the rest with it to get Bauer, WS
No chance Bauer takes a 2/60. If it’s a 2 year deal it would be more like 2/80
I think 2/74 would do it as he would achieve his goal of breaking the AAV record
the “69 Days of Giving” campaign…
Bauer donated to charities in increments of $420.69 every day for 68 days, followed by a gift of $69,420.69 on the 69th.
I’d be disappointed if he doesn’t sign a 2year deal for $69m with a $4.20m player option.
he might not get half that AAV
Bauer will/should get more AAV than Wheeler.
I dont think the Dodgers care enough to add a SP at that price
Remember Dodgers were bidding 295 mill on Cole last year. Bauer to Dodgers u watch. He wants to be on team that goes to WS every year. Dodgers were his team as a kid, he lives in Southern California. He loves the limelight.
That was before the Betts extension.
I’d be happy to see the Angels sign a couple of these 2nd/3rd tier guys for depth instead of one Bauer.
prov365
Amen, brother
Shoemaker Paxton Richards Odorizzi
Bauer is a flake
Pitching is outlier, and free agent pitching is even more risky! The Angels need Bauer more than the other contenders. Perry will do his due diligence too improve the pitching. I would think he adds another starter and another relief pitcher. I would think Bauer is the most likely to be good next year. All the other pitchers could be on the shelf at some point.
Go Jays Go. More good signings please.
I say to go for Tanaka AND Bauer or maybe Odorizzi, but not Paxton.
Don’t get me wrong a healthy Paxton would be great. But I am hearing that he is a shadow of what he once was and at least one person familiar with Paxton right now has told me he is going to stink as a starting pitcher. He will have more health problems..
If Paxton is 1-year, go for it. Odorizzi is the guy I’d want to avoid because he’s looking for 3-4 years. Definitely go for Tanaka.
Would love to see Jake back with the Cubs on a smaller deal. It certainly would go a long way with the fanbase after trading Yu.
Tough again to see free agents get signed as our Mariners idly standby. Another year of the rebuild with low expectations for the upcoming season.
You’re probably better off. You’re not 1-2 players away. Philly and Cincy rushed their rebuild, and are now getting more expensive, without getting better.
The Mariners window starts to open in 2022 and they should be full speed ahead by 2023. No need to jump the gun. Let the kids develop into young studs, lock them up to long term deals and then supplement the team with some dynamic free agents. For 2021, they need to keep fishing in the shallow end of the pool.
Steve- All along I’ve felt the M’s were always going to be conservative with spending this yr. If you read between the lines you can see they’ve always been planning to spend big in 2022. The M’s have always said there will be conservative spending for 2021. It’s not like they’re changing their offseason plans.
Just improving the BP makes us a more competitive team, the 2020 BP was on pace for 22 blown saves over a 162g season. Having a healthy Haniger in the lineup imo gives us an equivalent of signing Springer or Ozuna. Granted he has to stay healthy but look at his last healthy season in 2018, he had 6.2 bWAR. Springer bettered that production (marginally) only once in 2019 (6.4 bWAR.) Ozuna has yet to get above 5.7 bWAR. Let’s say the rumors linking Seattle with Joakim Soria prove true- if Soria (or someone similar) signs, this offseason is a big success imo. He would be the 4th RP signed, making that 4 RP’s who are miles better than anyone from the 2020 pen. Before we sign anyone though, MLB must make sure we play a full season of 162 games.
The Giants need to be in on every left handed starter who is still available. Just Alex Wood isn’t going to cut it.
I know it probably will not happen but I could see a Jake reunion in Baltimore and maybe a Walker signing. If neither generate enough interest from other teams it would not be out of the realm of possibility.
You are right, it probably won’t happen. Odorizzi has way too much interest from competitive teams so unless Baltimore is willing to blow him away with a 5 year, $70M+ contract, there’s little chance of him signing there.
Walker only signs in Baltimore if they pay him the most amount of money too, something Baltimore is certainly not known for.
I would love to bring arrieta back to Baltimore where it all started 2/20 be a innings eater
No way Red Sox sign Odorizzi for 3 years. He’s not even a great pitcher, though he would have been a better option than Martin Perez.