The odd man out = Efren Navarro?

[KevinJ14]

With the addition of Joyce to platoon or become our DH along with Cron, is there a way to fit him on our bench? I would think we need a utility man and an outfielder to round our bench off.

Cron/Joyce
Featherston (although I could see Green here too, depending in whether they like Feathers that much
Cowgill

I can't see where Navarro will fit. Unless we carry a 4-man bench.

Edited January 25, 2015 by KevinJ14

[Ochocinco!]

Navarro has the greatest walk up song of all time dude... He ain't going anywhere

[Docwaukee]

All due respect to Efren because he did a decent job for the team last year, but his role is fairly appropriate.  He's probably the first guy up if a 1b/OF goes on the DL.  He'll probably get around 150ab this year and that's about right relative to his skill set.  Good defender.  No speed or power.  Puts together good at bats.  He the definition of a replacement player.  

[Guest]

Navarro has the greatest walk up song of all time dude... He ain't going anywhere

Jeppy and Kohn both had interesting walk up music and they're both gone

[Second Base]

I like Efren, just not sure he brings much to the table that the Angels need off the bench. Typically you want someone that's either a great defender, or has really good speed or has good power.

Efren isn't any of these (except he plays a good 1B, not that important). Guys like Cron (power, contact), Cowgill (patience, speed and defense), and Featherston (speed, power, key defensive positions) give the Angels a lot more to work with off the bench.

[ELEVEN]

I'm not sure where Cron fits either.

[Oz27]

We have many hitters in our system who are more deserving of big league time than Navarro. Above average fielding first basemen who are well below average hitters and can only play a couple of other positions badly don't really warrant much consideration.

[jsnpritchett]

We have many hitters in our system who are more deserving of big league time than Navarro. Above average fielding first basemen who are well below average hitters and can only play a couple of other positions badly don't really warrant much consideration.

 

Exactly.  I've never understood the fascination some people around here have with him.  Every organization has at least a couple of guys just like him.

[Angelsjunky]

Doc said it well above.

 

I'm not sure where Cron fits either.

 

He's going to get a lot of time at DH. Consider that Joyce is also a possible outfielder, so will spell Hamilton and/or Calhoun - especially if we get second half Cowgill rather than first half Cowgill. Second half Cowgill is a 5th outfielder. Cron will get a few starts at 1B and a bunch at DH. If he hits then he'll earn time.

[ettin]

We have many hitters in our system who are more deserving of big league time than Navarro. Above average fielding first basemen who are well below average hitters and can only play a couple of other positions badly don't really warrant much consideration.

Efren Navarro is an above average hitter, he just does not hit for power. He is a singles and doubles hitter. His Minor League line drive rate is one of the highest consistently from year to year. He has real hitting ability.

That really doesn't change his outlook due to his positional limitations as you mentioned but his defense can find him in a utility role with some teams (probably not the Angels other than as an injury reserve).

[Oz27]

Efren Navarro is an above average hitter, he just does not hit for power. He is a singles and doubles hitter. His Minor League line drive rate is one of the highest consistently from year to year. He has real hitting ability.

That really doesn't change his outlook due to his positional limitations as you mentioned but his defense can find him in a utility role with some teams (probably not the Angels other than as an injury reserve).

He's a 28 year-old with nearly 200 MLB at-bats, whose OPS+ is a well below average 86. It's hard to believe he has any offensive improvement in him at this point in his career, making him nothing more than organizational depth. Even if Cron, Joyce or Pujols gets injured, I'd rather give the playing time to someone like Green (assuming he doesn't win the 2B job) by shuffling things around a bit.