Will The Angels Dumpster Dive Again This Spring?

[Eric]

I know this thread topic is ripe for being troll "ish", but that's not the intention, far from it.

 

After last year's debacle of an off-season, it seems the Angels are poised to make a repeat of last year.

 

Again, I am as much of an Angels Fan as they come, and want to see them go to the post season as much as anyone, but they have obviously struggled over the last few years and need to right the ship, which it seems their lack of interest in the free-agent market this off-season might indicate.

 

Now that Pitchers and Catchers have reported, based on the way the Angels approached the their off-season this year, they look to be in the re-building phase (and I applaud them for that).

 

My question is, will they look to make panic moves like they did last season, or will they accept their fate of not competing this year or next (yes, it will take at least 2-3 years to rebuild) in favor of making a longer term runs for the 2016-2020 years when they could be the dominant force in baseball, if they play their cards right over the next couple of years?

 

The reason I bring this up is because I remember the years of Autry, where they oscillated back and forth every other year from a "win it now" philosophy to a "build for the future" philosophy, which never ended up well.

 

Will the Angels be able to spend the next 2-3 years building for a 4-6 year run in the late half of this decade? Or will they panic in the face of criticism that they are only a piece or two away and give up their potential for the now? 

[QuinlansMinion]

Did you just say rebuilding phase?  That is absolutely not the case if anything its win now mode.  

 

And they already signed Mark Mulder.  How much more do you want?

[Brent Maguire]

This team isn't rebuilding.

Retooling the roster sounds better. If they were rebuilding, you would've seen Howie, Aybar and others traded for prospects.

[ukyah]

this is pretty much an epic fail. at least that's what the kids all hopped up on the weed are telling me.

[tomsred]

I think what the Angels are looking for is to be a perpetual contender.  They are looking for the right balance of infused youth, top free agent vets, and supplemental players acquired through trade or other avenues to plug holes as they develop.  I don't know of any big market teams who purposely go through complete rebuilding cycles as a strategy.

[Docwaukee]

what panic moves were made in spring last year that had any long term effect on the team?  They got DDLR which actually worked out. 

 

Panic moves would be trading away more of the farm for a starting pitcher that would only help for a season or two max.  Honestly, I have no problem with them bringing in as many low risk high reward guys as possible.  Where's the harm?  Taking innings from Kohn and Jepsen? 

 

Also, who's fate are they accepting?  The one you have assigned to them?  Lot's of folks have a much different idea of what this teams current fate is.  Granted, it's not that of a guaranteed playoff team, but it's certainly reasonable to me at least mildly optimistic.  Last year sucked but 2011 and 2012 were 86 and 89 win seasons. 

 

If I'm a GM in charge of a team that had 86 and then 89 wins followed by a season of 78 where everything went wrong and there were a bunch of strange injuries, I'd still be relatively bullish.  If everyone stays on the field in 2014 and they end up with 82 wins, I'll sing a much different tune, but for now, I just see too much talent to concede anything at this point. 

[Inside Pitch]

Yeah -- a lot of forgone conclusions I don't agree with.  Mostly I disagree with the notion they need to accept their fate as also rans and that they need to choose between "Win Now" or "Build for the Future"..   The old Stoneman doctrine was to build for sustained success -- it's straying from that edict that led to where this team is now.

 

I'm of the mentality that if they fall out of contention they should sell off as many parts as possible and replace them with prospects they think will help them win as soon as the following year -- the Rays seem to do this nearly every year.  There is no reason this team cannot reload on the fly then fill in the gaps during the offseason, particularly if they sell off expensive parts..  What I don't want to see is more deadline deals that take away from what they they have in some vain effort to win.

 

Whatever team they break camp with better be the team they want to take into September.  It's time for the Angels to return to the days of looking in house for their solutions.

[Angelsjunky]

"Re-tooling" is right. There is just too much talent on the team to not be taken seriously as a contender. The AL West will be very competitive, with four of five teams likely to be above .500, but as of now the Angels are in the mix, even if they aren't favored.

 

An actual re-build would take more than 2-3 years. A full rebuild would imply trading away just about everyone you could except for Trout, Calhoun, and the young pitchers. Maybe they could get a bunch of prospects for Weaver, Wilson, Aybar, and Kendrick, and even a fringe prospect for Iannetta and Burnett, but they'd still have a long way to go--more than 2-3 years--to be in contention again.

 

No,their best bet is try to win with this team, while gradually building the farm back up and making the team younger.

[Ohtaniland]

The only guys left standing on the field since Dipoto's arrival are Kendrick, Aybar and Weaver. This team has already been completely rebuilt. Make no mistake, Dipoto cleaned house and this is his team. Names like Hunter, Morales, Trumbo, Callaspo, Izturis, Bourjos, Abreu, Santana, Haren, Pineiro, and numerous others have all been set adrift to change the future of the team. That's a lot of movement in only two seasons for Dipoto.

[KingJustinian]

The only guys left standing on the field since Dipoto's arrival are Kendrick, Aybar and Weaver. This team has already been completely rebuilt. Make no mistake, Dipoto cleaned house and this is his team. Names like Hunter, Morales, Trumbo, Callaspo, Izturis, Bourjos, Abreu, Santana, Haren, Pineiro, and numerous others have all been set adrift to change the future of the team. That's a lot of movement in only two seasons for Dipoto.

Dont forget good ole Jeppy

[KingJustinian]

And also, just because we're going into the year with what we have it doesn't mean it's a rebuilding phase. We have three solid young pitchers with upside that a lot of people have wanted. If we sign someone else, Skaggs probably doesn't get a shot right away. If one of them struggles or there is a significant injury, you can still trade Howie or Aybar midseason.

 

That being said, I'd still prefer to sign one more veteran type to compete for the final spot.

[JAHV76]

The only guys left standing on the field since Dipoto's arrival are Kendrick, Aybar and Weaver. This team has already been completely rebuilt. Make no mistake, Dipoto cleaned house and this is his team. Names like Hunter, Morales, Trumbo, Callaspo, Izturis, Bourjos, Abreu, Santana, Haren, Pineiro, and numerous others have all been set adrift to change the future of the team. That's a lot of movement in only two seasons for Dipoto.

Add Jeff Mathis and Vernon Wells to that mix. Trading one of Sosh's favorite players in Mathis was a huge change.

[disarcina]

apparently they will be dumpster diving (for a starting pitcher) at the end of Spring Training.

[DMVol]

apparently they will be dumpster diving (for a starting pitcher) at the end of Spring Training.

Yep...that appears to be where we're headed...odd that we offered Garza a 4 year deal in December but have now shut down (evidently)....

[Vegas Halo Fan]

apparently they will be dumpster diving (for a starting pitcher) at the end of Spring Training.

 

We're waiting for the Diamondbacks and Rockies to take out the trash.

[YouthofToday]

Why would we be a dominant force in 2016-2020 if we rebuilt now? Trout will be paid market value or not be with the team anymore. The Albert Pujols is on the roster until 2011.

[NrM]

The Angels have 2 years left to compete. They're not rebuilding.

 

They'll be pretty much forced to rebuild in 2016 unless they raise their payroll to around 170-180 million.

[disarcina]

if we dumpster diving --- how come we let the Dodgers sign Maholm (spelled wrong) -- the former Atlanta lefty who may be a fifth starter guy for the Dogs.......they signed him to a pretty reasonable contract price- wise.

 

he's not the best but spent time in that Atlanta rotation - always among the best in baseball -- and seem to eat some innings........

 

Dodgers have something like seven or eight legitimate MLB starting pitchers in camp (well, at least two of them, including Billingsly, are expected to start the season on the DL)......

 

It would be nice if we could say we at least have our rotation spots filled........oh well.

 

Jered  Weaver's gotta be wondering -- I signed a long term hometown discount contract for this??

 

As for the Dogs, the heart of their rotation (number 2 and 3 spots) are Greinke and Haren..........may be we should ship Blanton back over there, too.

[2002_halos_II]

Or a pole