David Freese remains unsigned.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Re-sign Freese put him at 3B move Escobar to 2B and you have the Defensive replacement of Pennington for Freese at 3B in the late innings or you move Pennington to 2B and put Escobar at 3B.... It creates flexibility with a better power bat in the everyday regular lineup with Freese. Also, with Simmons it creates less ground that Freese has to cover on the Left side.

 

1. Escobar -2B

2. Nava - LF

3. Trout - CF

4. Pujols - DH

5. Calhoun - LF

6. Cron - 1B

7. Freese -3B

8. Perez - C

9. Simmons - SS

 

Bench - Gentry, Soto, Pennington, Gio -----Quite a Slappy Bunch!

Edited March 5, 2016 by SlappyUtilityGuy

[halosfan1970]

Freese might be a squishie fishie, or he might be scattered chum. I'm leaning toward Aggressively Not.

[disarcina]

I am not that surprised about Freese being unable to find a spot --

He was a spotty hitter who hit in streaks and did have his share of clutch hits over the season and over the years.

But Freese is a real defensive liability at third.

As a seasoned MLB vet he has certain salary expectations and, quite frankly, for what he brings to a team (and, at this point, I would think a guy with Freese's level of skill set where it is today, is pretty much limited to an AL team where he could DH in some sort of platoon role) he's just not worth even the lower range of his current asking price for a one year deal........so he sits by the phone -- presumably guys like Freese have a work out regimen, perhaps even with a local area college team or something, to stay in shape during March while everyone else is at ST camp.

The problem facing Freese is that it's sort of tough to make him the 25th guy on your roster given his lack of versatility, speed and defense.......

[disarcina]

if Freese has anything left -- and that's a big IF -- I can sort of see the comment made in the post above.

Halos sign Freese and move Escobar to 2B and see how that works out.

you'd have essentially a platoon of Freese at 3B and Giavotella at 2B with Escobar playing full time.

One thing that has changed is that Halos have Simmons at SS who has good range and can sort of cover some of Freese's limitations on defense......Escobar would probably be a better DP partner than Giavotalla for Simmons. You'd still PR Givoatella for Freese late in the game and move Escobar to 3B.

Not a good plan, not a bad plan, but a plan -- I don't see the Halos doing this. But it's possible, I guess.

Worth a minor league contract invite for ST at this point ? Maybe.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Who would have thought that Matt Joyce would sign before David Freese?

[disarcina]

Did Joyce sign a minor league contract with invite to ST? I read that somewhere -- forget which team.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Did Joyce sign a minor league contract with invite to ST? I read that somewhere -- forget which team.

 

Pirates?.... I'm too lazy to look it up~

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Did Joyce sign a minor league contract with invite to ST? I read that somewhere -- forget which team.

 

Pittsburgh.

[Stradling]

If Freese was open to that kind of contract he would have been signed

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Things change. He is now faced with the reality of spring camps being open and having nowhere to play.

[Oz27]

If we can sign Freese and stay under the cap, it makes no sense not to do it.

[ABC]

I am not that surprised about Freese being unable to find a spot --

He was a spotty hitter who hit in streaks and did have his share of clutch hits over the season and over the years.

But Freese is a real defensive liability at third.

As a seasoned MLB vet he has certain salary expectations and, quite frankly, for what he brings to a team (and, at this point, I would think a guy with Freese's level of skill set where it is today, is pretty much limited to an AL team where he could DH in some sort of platoon role) he's just not worth even the lower range of his current asking price for a one year deal........so he sits by the phone -- presumably guys like Freese have a work out regimen, perhaps even with a local area college team or something, to stay in shape during March while everyone else is at ST camp.

The problem facing Freese is that it's sort of tough to make him the 25th guy on your roster given his lack of versatility, speed and defense.......

 

 

Last year I sat in the front row at 3B for a game and was surprised how unathletic and uncoordinated he was up close even when I expected at best an average 3B. This was at the beginning of the season so in all likelihood he was fresh. 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Last year I sat in the front row at 3B for a game and was surprised how unathletic and uncoordinated he was up close even when I expected at best an average 3B. This was at the beginning of the season so in all likelihood he was fresh. 

 

Did you ever watch some of these guys really play?..... I always got a chuckle out of watching Kruk back in the day! It was like he just woke up from a nap and went out to take BP.

[halosfan1970]

Has anyone really watched Kubitza play defense?

[marcosantinia12]

Coming from someone who initially didn't want to resign Freese, I don't see a reason why not to. Not that I have anything against the player but I figured he'd cost north of 10-12 mil and 3-4 years. I thought we would spend big in other areas *cough* left field *cough* and we would have to crunch money. Plus, with getting a big bat for left field, I figured we could live with a defense-only 3B in Cowart with Kubitza as his offensive partner. 

The way that this off season has unfolded definitely changes everything. Now more than ever, I think that Cowart/Kubitza should be given a chance to prove themselves and hope we discover gold in one of them. Chances are those players will not improve us very much in 2016, but chances are we will be mediocre this year anyways, realistically. I think we could sneak into the playoffs if all the cards match up right but its a stretch in my mind. I know this all doesn't matter because of Escobar's acquisition, but I have a strong eeling that Yunel will get pushed to second not too long into the season. For those who are fond of Gio's gritty and clutch style, I understand. I just don't see him being in the team's long term plans. He reminds me of the infield version of JB Shuck.
2014 Shuck: .293/.331/.366 ....98 OPS+ .... 28yo

2013 Giovotella: .272/.318/.375 ....96 OPS+ .... 28yo

Anyhow... back to the topic. It is now spring and Freese has not signed. I think 1/5 is very doable and a bargain for most teams, the problem being the draft pick attached to him. At 1/5 I think he can definitely help the team. But even better, why not do a sign and trade like many have mentioned here with other players? Package him even, with the likes of Santiago, Morin/Bedrosian for a decent offensive prospect. We could probably attain a pretty talented offensive prospect for a package like that. Pirates maybe, with Kang injured. I know they have their rotation set but I'm sure they would welcome any excess pitching. Plus, if there's any team that could get Santiago to throw like he did in the first half it's them. At his cost and with the rest of the package, that has to net us a solid piece. Perhaps Alen Hanson + Barret Barnes?

Edited March 7, 2016 by marcosantinia12

[Erstad Grit]

Coming from someone who initially didn't want to resign Freese, I don't see a reason why not to. Not that I have anything against the player but I figured he'd cost north of 10-12 mil and 3-4 years. I thought we would spend big in other areas *cough* left field *cough* and we would have to crunch money. Plus, with getting a big bat for left field, I figured we could live with a defense-only 3B in Cowart with Kubitza as his offensive partner. 

The way that this off season has unfolded definitely changes everything. Now more than ever, I think that Cowart/Kubitza should be given a chance to prove themselves and hope we discover gold in one of them. Chances are those players will not improve us very much in 2016, but chances are we will be mediocre this year anyways, realistically. I think we could sneak into the playoffs if all the cards match up right but its a stretch in my mind. I know this all doesn't matter because of Escobar's acquisition, but I have a strong eeling that Yunel will get pushed to second not too long into the season. For those who are fond of Gio's gritty and clutch style, I understand. I just don't see him being in the team's long term plans. He reminds me of the infield version of JB Shuck.

2014 Shuck: .293/.331/.366 ....98 OPS+ .... 28yo

2013 Giovotella: .272/.318/.375 ....96 OPS+ .... 28yo

Anyhow... back to the topic. It is now spring and Freese has not signed. I think 1/5 is very doable and a bargain for most teams, the problem being the draft pick attached to him. At 1/5 I think he can definitely help the team. But even better, why not do a sign and trade like many have mentioned here with other players? Package him even, with the likes of Santiago, Morin/Bedrosian for a decent offensive prospect. We could probably attain a pretty talented offensive prospect for a package like that. Pirates maybe, with Kang injured. I know they have their rotation set but I'm sure they would welcome any excess pitching. Plus, if there's any team that could get Santiago to throw like he did in the first half it's them. At his cost and with the rest of the package, that has to net us a solid piece. Perhaps Alen Hanson + Barret Barnes?

 

There is no draft pick attached to Freese, we did not extend a QO

[kino]

the problem being the draft pick attached to him.

Freese doesn't have a draft pick attached to him. The Angels FO didn't offer him a qo, which is looking pretty great right now.

[marcosantinia12]

Woaaaahhh... Totally forgot about that. Sorry for the post guys. There goes the trade idea, but I definitely think that for 1/5 he is a good signing. My guess is that it's not about whether or not that is a good price - it is...but more like he doesn't want to drop from his perceived worth. 

[Erstad Grit]

Woaaaahhh... Totally forgot about that. Sorry for the post guys. There goes the trade idea, but I definitely think that for 1/5 he is a good signing. My guess is that it's not about whether or not that is a good price - it is...but more like he doesn't want to drop from his perceived worth. 

 

I'd see him signing that with us or just waiting for a 3b to get injured during spring. If Beltre got hurt Rangers would be all over him. 

[nando714]

Johnny G is making me forget about resigning Freese and throwing Escobar at 2nd

Had a good week

[Mark68]

He can certainly be a decent DH option when Pujols is fully recovered enough to play in the field again.

[Angel Oracle]

How are Johnny G's range at 2B and arm looking so far?

Edited March 7, 2016 by Angel Oracle

[Second Base]

I don't think it's fair to say Escobar can't play 2B. He played it all Spring last year. They moved him to 3B out of necessity. He probably could play 2B pretty well given his skill set.

I'm not saying we should move him for Freese. Just that if Cowart or Kibitza can force their way into the lineup, he could move to 2B. But now that both Cowart and Kubitza have been getting reps at 2B, they be more apt to move.