Angels Offseason Grade by SI

[Homebrewer]

There's an echo in here..

[mtangelsfan]

This is as unsurprising as anything.  Angels will play better than the projections but still wont make the playoffs unless they fill the LF position.

Edited January 28, 2016 by mtangelsfan

[gurn67]

I'd go with a D because Simmons makes every pitcher on this roster instantly better. Unfortunately, after the franchise killing Wells & Hamilton moves, doing nothing in left almost seems like a positive. I guess we have to wait and see if defensive WAR is all it's cracked up to be because they certainly didn't do anything to improve the offense or the bullpen. It still irks me that the Salas money wasn't utilized elsewhere.

[WallyWorld]

If once the season starts the team looks like it has a chance, and Nava/Gentry are sucking, AND Eppler/Arte still don't do anything to address the problem, then it's justifiable to be pissed. Until then I think j everyone needs to chill.

[Chuck]

I give them an Eff - 

[Second Base]

I can't remember ever being more disappointed in an offseason. This is even worse than the time we thought we'd enter the season with Carl Crawford in LF and Adrian Beltre, who called Orange County his home, as our 3B. Instead we ended up with Vernon Wells and more Callaspo I think.

My honest to goodness expectation was that we were going to enter the season about 10 million over the tax due to signing Upton in LF, Lendruck at 2B and Chen for the mound while trading CJ for RP/prospects and cutting Giavotella. But here we are entering February and our LF is Daniel Nava, we still have CJ, Giavotella is still our 2B, we lost out two best prospects and fan favorite SS for Simmons who comes with serious question marks with the bat. I do like the Escobar trade and the establishing of depth, but the SI article is right.

Unless was being in Fowler and bring back Kendrick, this team is going to be an "also-ran" in 2016, and it all comes down to an owner that failed to listen to his GM, screwed up and now out of pure greed and pride, adamantly refuses to fix his mistakes.

[seenoevil]

a well deserved F, this off season has been atrocious

Edited January 28, 2016 by seenoevil

[Stradling]

Funny how one player could take the F and make it a solid B

[floplag]

Funny how one player could take the F and make it a solid B

 

i think the word you are looking for was Tragic, not funny... but yes

[Second Base]

Funny how one player could take the F and make it a solid B

One player signed at a very reasonable rate or a reasonable trade could make it a "C". Two, like a LF and 2B could make it a "B". Three like adding a good starter of reliever on top of the aforementioned 2B and LF (in conjunction with the depth moves he's made thus far) would push this one into the "A" range.

But as tdawg said, the truly disappointing part of this entire scenario is that the Angels very easily could've been a contender. The table was perfectly set with expiring contracts, young pitching depth, a super rich owner in a market flush with possibilities.

It's just a gigantic disappointment. I think Eppler probably only gets about 10% of the blame here and Arte the other 90.

[bloodbrother]

this offseason blows but the writer is definitely off with his payroll estimations. Signing any of the big 4 OFers would have put them over the threshold. I'll also just say that thank god they didn't try and sign Chris Davis

Edited January 28, 2016 by bloodbrother

[Oz27]

F- would feel generous. Even if the Simmons trade is successful, we still haven't filled any of our glaring holes. Our 2b and lf situations are entirely unacceptable for any team that thinks it is a shot at the playoffs, the bullpen will be somewhere between mediocre and a crime against humanity and the starting rotation will be on a similar level. I really hope I'm wrong but this team needs a ridiculous amount to go right just to be over .500.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Oz27

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

At what point do "sources" start leaking out that Trout is becoming frustrated. 

[Stradling]

F- would feel generous. Even if the Simmons trade is successful, we still haven't filled any of our glaring homes. Our 2b and lf situations are entirely unacceptable for any team that thinks it is a shot at the playoffs, the bullpen will be somewhere between mediocre and a crime against humanity and the starting rotation will be on a similar level. I really hope I'm wrong but this team needs a ridiculous amount to go right just to be over .500.

My personal opinion is this. We went into the offseason with four needs, LF, 2nd, 3rd and Bench. We have solved two of those needs.

[Second Base]

F- would feel generous. Even if the Simmons trade is successful, we still haven't filled any of our glaring homes. Our 2b and lf situations are entirely unacceptable for any team that thinks it is a shot at the playoffs, the bullpen will be somewhere between mediocre and a crime against humanity and the starting rotation will be on a similar level. I really hope I'm wrong but this team needs a ridiculous amount to go right just to be over .500.

That's all pretty spot on except the rotation and fortune. The Angels rotation of the future begins in the second half of this season, and that's where we'll see a healthy Richards in his full prime, Heaney developing into the #2/3 he is, a fully recovered Skaggs matching Heaney in his performance, youth and handedness, and Tropeano, who is a lot better than most realize.

The way I see it, the Angels future rotation is already one of the Top 5 in the AL. It's the offense outside of Trout that's just seven different flavors of awful.

[Oz27]

My personal opinion is this. We went into the offseason with four needs, LF, 2nd, 3rd and Bench. We have solved two of those needs.

Why bother with a bench when your starting lineup is so terrible? Pennington and Soto are luxuries this team couldn't afford if we were going to be so damn penny-pinching. At the time I didn't care but if we really had that little to spend why did we waste it on a utility infielder and a backup catcher?

As for 3B, we probably made it better than it would have been with Kubitza playing there. But if we were going to fill one of the positional holes, it had to be LF. 3B was the closest we had to an acceptable situation going forward.

[Blarg]

All I can cull from this is Scotty got an F in basic math.

[Stradling]

Why bother with a bench when your starting lineup is so terrible? Pennington and Soto are luxuries this team couldn't afford if we were going to be so damn penny-pinching. At the time I didn't care but if we really had that little to spend why did we waste it on a utility infielder and a backup catcher?

As for 3B, we probably made it better than it would have been with Kubitza playing there. But if we were going to fill one of the positional holes, it had to be LF. 3B was the closest we had to an acceptable situation going forward.

Yea it is tough to argue with your logic. I would only say, you don't ignore one area because you are too incompetent to fill another area. I can live with Gio at 2nd, but jeez did they ever need to fill LF.

[Guest]

My honest to goodness expectation was that we were going to enter the season about 10 million over the tax due to signing Upton in LF, Lendruck at 2B and Chen for the mound while trading CJ for RP/prospects and cutting Giavotella.

Edited January 28, 2016 by failos

[beatlesrule]

I don't think it's an F at all. Getting Simmons is a bigger deal than people realize. I don't expect the rotation to get worse so I'm not as season over as others here. I agree that it sucks about Arte all of a sudden penny pinching but I do expect some kind of trade to happen before the deadline. Maybe Eppler is content with trying to win every game 2-1.

[Chuck]

Funny how one player could take the F and make it a solid B

 

That's because a solid upgrade in LF gives us at least a B because we improved an area of significant weakness. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

This looks like it's the case and I have to say, it pisses me off. 

 

I doubt I end up going to spring training which for me will be the first time in 14 years. There's just no excitement or buzz that the GM and owner have created this offseason.

 

Isn't Arte a marketing genius? He obviously has failed heading into 2016. 

 

That said, I'm trying to stay optimistic a trade gets done for a real outfielder before the start of the season or somehow the garbage we currently have in LF have a career year.

 

Honestly I'm not even sure I want them to add the left fielder anymore. I mean, I'm really torn. This offseason has proven that Arte is not interested in reinvesting in the team, and without that reinvestment things are not going to get better in the long run. Fowler and Kendrick make us legit contenders next years, Fowler alone a fair shot, but how much productive baseball do they really have left, and how much are we really losing in the long run by dropping our top one or two picks? These moves really just shift our current situation down the road another year or two.

 

If Arte is going the route he seems to be going with regards to payroll then our best bet is to limit long term salary commitments and focus on building a new core. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

I don't think it's an F at all. Getting Simmons is a bigger deal than people realize. I don't expect the rotation to get worse so I'm not as season over as others here. I agree that it sucks about Arte all of a sudden penny pinching but I do expect some kind of trade to happen before the deadline. Maybe Eppler is content with trying to win every game 2-1 2-3.

 

FIFY

[Oz27]

Yea it is tough to argue with your logic. I would only say, you don't ignore one area because you are too incompetent to fill another area. I can live with Gio at 2nd, but jeez did they ever need to fill LF.

I still wish we would play Escobar at 2B and Kubitza at 3B but at this stage what does it really matter? The offense will almost certainly still suck anyway. The only way it doesn't is if Calhoun rebounds, Pujols and Escobar don't drop off, Nava doesn't totally suck and Cron breaks out.

I agree with the ALF line of thinking too, at this point I almost feel why bother filling LF? It isn't going to put us over the line and is going to give up a draft pick we have a really strong need for. Why pass up someone like Span to then sign a similar player in Fowler, but lose a draft pick for the privilege?

[itsKnoppUitsme]

damn but according to scotty we have like 5 future aces.

And we are gonna need them all!