Orange County Register: Smith: Angels' Freese feeling the tug of free agency

[AngelsWin.com]

David Freese is a World Series away from filing his paperwork and becoming the best available third baseman on the free-agent market.The Angels shouldn’t let him slip away.They win with him, going 70-48 when he starts (15-29 when he doesn’t),...

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[UndertheHalo]

Everything this Marcia Smith writes on the Angels is trash, particularly the BS sob story shit she wrote on Hamilton last spring.  In this piece she brilliantly cites that the teams record with him playing is a winning one, and based on that anecdotal observation there are grounds to "not let him slip away" even though she almost immediately then cites his incredibly mediocre slash line and that he'll cost almost 16 million dollars.  But hey ! they magically won when he was in the line up ! Good take moron. I'll take Freese on a really friendly club deal and thats it.  No reason to waste money or roster space on him otherwise. 

 

 

That Hamilton article really pissed me off.  Yes I am hostile towards this writer.  Well, internet hostile i mean. :-/

Edited October 25, 2015 by UndertheHalo

[ukyah]

the angels would be fools to sign him, long term or otherwise. so, maybe.

[Docwaukee]

We can't go into the season with Cowart and Kubitza as our 3b options.  We are gonna need someone at least average.  Freese is the definition of that at this point and there aren't any other free agent options.  If they can work out a deal with him then great.  

 

I'd still love to see us get someone like Prado instead, but Freese would be a decent option as long as it's a 2yr deal.  

[DMVol]

Whether you want him back or not, it's a pretty good article....

[Troll Daddy]

Going with the youngsters is risky. I like the idea of keeping him around ... you can do a lot worse. Freese mixes in with the team well CHEMISTRY.

[wopphil]

Freese is a 3-WAR player at a position where our other options are probably worth negative wins. In 2015, a three or four game swing in the standings would have been the difference between staying home in October and playing in the division series.

So I do think the Angels should seriously consider bringing back Freese. Unless you can trade for someone like Prado.

[elbooboo]

I'm happy with giving Cowart/Kubitza a chance. If one of them works out that is six years of club controlled production. It is hard to win without having those type of players to balance out the high priced veterans.

 

That said, I really hope the Angels give Freese a QO. I would be happy to bring Freese back for the 10 million and 2 to 3 year range but I think he will get a lot more than that on the market. Seems like an acceptable risk to offer the QO, since we would be paying him 15+ million if he accepts. We would then get one more year to see if Cowart's resurgence is legit. If he rejects, then we most likely get a draft pick. 

Edited October 25, 2015 by elbooboo

[Glen]

This is the perfect situation for a qualifying offer.  If he takes it we get another year for Heckle & Jeckle to develop, and if he doesn't we get a draft pick.  It's a no-lose situation for the Angels. 

 

Edit: didn't see the post above mine saying the same thing.  Great minds.  Do it, EpPler.  

Edited October 25, 2015 by Glen

[arch stanton]

I don't think there's any chance he would reject a QO. That said, i don't think there's any chance they offer one.

[Angelsfirst]

Freese is a 3-WAR player at a position where our other options are probably worth negative wins. In 2015, a three or four game swing in the standings would have been the difference between staying home in October and playing in the division series.

So I do think the Angels should seriously consider bringing back Freese. Unless you can trade for someone like Prado.

Agree with pretty much all of this. As someone said before, you have to fill your lineup with not only great hitters, but good hitters as well. Obviously his glove isn't the best but I think his solid bat compensates, especially at that position. And I do believe veteran presence and experience does happen to make a difference. Not to mention his clutch ability. If the terms are reasonable I would strongly consider bringing him back.

[Homebrewer]

No.

Let him go. No team can afford FA's at every position. Put Cowart at 3rd and let him grow. He isn't going to develop in the minors.

Use the FA money where it is needed...LF, utility IF,  Bench Power...and middle relief. 

[Ohtaniland]

If you're an Angels free agent right now....Good bye you're gone!

Plain and simple, Eppler is going to build his own team and leave Dipoto's behind.

[arch stanton]

I think this is a Vargas situation. The Angels will offer a nice deal and another team will add an extra year at the same money.

[tomsred]

This is the perfect situation for a qualifying offer.  If he takes it we get another year for Heckle & Jeckle to develop, and if he doesn't we get a draft pick.  It's a no-lose situation for the Angels. 

 

Edit: didn't see the post above mine saying the same thing.  Great minds.  Do it, EpPler.  

 

This pretty well sums it up for me as well.

[Homebrewer]

16-18 mil??

For Freese??

 

No way.

[UndertheHalo]

Like I said, I don't mind having him on the team for like 12 mil a year but he's gonna cost 16+. He's just not worth that kind of money. The Angels have more pressing holes they need to fill with money. I feel like we can get a 730 OPS out of Kubitza or Cowart with a years full of AB's

Edited October 25, 2015 by UndertheHalo

[Tank]

1. Re-sign Freese

2. OCR, people, OCR!!!!!

[Angelsjunky]

This is the perfect situation for a qualifying offer.  If he takes it we get another year for Heckle & Jeckle to develop, and if he doesn't we get a draft pick.  It's a no-lose situation for the Angels. 

 

Edit: didn't see the post above mine saying the same thing.  Great minds.  Do it, EpPler.  

 

Sure, the Angels have something to lose: $18 million on a 2ish WAR player. No thanks.

 

I'd be fine with the Angels going with Cowart/Kubitza IF they upgrade substantially in LF and maybe 2B. Ideally they'd let Freese go and pick up someone like Zobrist who can also play 3B if need be.

[halomatt]

Give Freese the Qualifying Offer.  If he accepts, great.  If not, draft pick.

 

Also, if the two kids look good in spring, perhaps there's an opportunity to move Freese to a club that has a need.  Depth and dealing from a position of strength is good.

[halomatt]

Also, I don't see Freese accepting the Offer.  He's probably the best of the free agent third basemen.  He'll get the biggest of those contracts from someone. 

 

I think it's a no-brainer.

[Homebrewer]

Freese will never get that kind of money on the free market.

He will accept, and that's the problem.

[tdawg87]

Before his injury I argued that he would absolutely get a QO. But now I'm not entirely certain.

 

On one hand, he is obviously looking for a 3 year deal or more. He'll get one from some team, worth probably around 12 mil a year. This makes it seem almost obvious to offer him the QO. However, while the Angels would be receiving a draft pick if he were to sign elsewhere, the team that signs him would be losing a pick. Does any team really want to lose a draft pick over David Freese? Probably not. That leaves his options minimal on the open market, and I'm guessing his agent would have him begrudgingly sign the QO to avoid another Morales situation.

 

But, if Arte is willing to bend over and open up his wallet nice and wide this offseason, then offering the QO to Freese is a win/win for the team.

[zenmaster]

No to Freese, Cowart, and Kubitza. I want someone else. No clue who but not those 3.

[ettin]

So I talk about this in the upcoming Primer article on 3B.

 

There is a real case to be made that signing David to an extension is worthwhile. Both Kubitza and Cowart have questions regarding their readiness to take over the position and Freese is a known quantity and commodity.

 

He is NOT a 3-WAR player in all likelihood. He has average 2.15 WAR over the last two years and is at an age where he will decline year to year. Realistically he is maybe a 1.5-2 WAR player next year, 1-1.5 the following, and so forth.

 

A 3-year deal for about $30MM is appropriate. You could add a team option or two on to that to give him warm fuzzies.