Why do you think Escobar didn't get traded?

[Lou]

13 hours ago, Angels N Skins said:

Exactly what I was thinking. It seems like the only people that give a shit about this team are the AW members.

I would think this is the case with any team that isn't close to sniffing the playoffs

[nate]

He is a dipshit

[m0nkey]

[ELEVEN]

14 hours ago, ettin said:

A couple of things:

1) Escobar's trade market didn't develop well as the Royals fell out of contention, the Giants went the cheaper route with Nunez, and the Mets also went the cheap route with Jose Reyes.

2) September waivers could still see Escobar getting traded especially if those "cheap" options don't work out for the Giants and Mets and/or another contending team loses a key player at 3B or even 2B.

Finally the Angels have clearly stated that they are not a rebuilding team. It could be that they want to compete and see where the 1st half of 2017 takes them with a rotation consisting of Shoemaker, Skaggs, Nolasco, and Meyer as the starting four (which is potentially an above average starting four to be honest). Add a FA starter like Nova or Hellickson to the mix and the Angels might have a fighting chance.

Is it a good chance? That I can't answer without seeing how the offseason plays out too. The could have just decided that they will let the market expand in the offseason for Escobar as well.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see this.

Oh wait...

[zenmaster]

It's probably best he didn't get traded. Imagine the outrage if we only landed a clubs 30th best prospect or something for him (which is about what Eppler could have gotten).

[Pujols4MVP]

16 hours ago, Adam said:

The Angels are stupid and intend to "compete" next year

This.

[Torridd]

16 hours ago, m0nkey said:

I'm sure some team could've used his bat.  Do you think they didn't get anything worthwhile? It's not like they're going anywhere in 2017 anyway

I'm glad he didn't. He's a real good hitter.

[Jobu]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/la-sp-angels-trade-santiago-nolasco-20160801-snap-story.html

Quote

Third baseman Yunel Escobar, with a $7-million team option for next season or a $1-million buyout, was a candidate to be dealt, but concerns about his clubhouse behavior hampered his market.

 

[California Cajun]

19 hours ago, Blarg said:

When a guy draws a picture of home plate for the umpire,  you keep that crazy mofo. 

I think nobody was willing to give much for him due to character issues.  Yeah he's hitting, but when he doesn't run out a ground ball, take the extra base, and boots grounders he could have had with more concentration your trade value and clubhouse value goes down.

[Guest]

Probably because Eppler doesn't know how to negotiate.  

[AngelsFanSince86]

19 hours ago, Ace_Shoemaker said:

I still haven't given up on 2017, I always have high hopes in April. I don't get people that have written off a season that hasn't even finalized it's 25 man roster yet.

I haven't given up on 2017, but if you have the chance to make your team better for several years by making it a little worse for one year you do it.  Not saying that opportunity presented itself, but not everyone who wanted him traded and thinks its unlikely we contend in 2017 have necessarily "given up" on it.  You have to be realistic to be competitive long term.  2017 will be very hard to compete.  The FA market is thin and the Angels are down several SP.  If things go right they could contend just like most teams.  But for that type of thing to happen it won't matter if they have Escobar or not.  It all comes down to the overall talent.  Angels will have to play way over their heads to contend.  When you have as weak of chances as they do to contend you try to make moves that will help you get better in the long term.  You don't sacrifice a player like Calhoun or Shoe that will be a part of that long term plan, but guys like Escobar who are older and on shorter contracts can be dealt.  Then you make a few acquisitions in the offseason to try and piece together a contender without giving out any major contracts in a year where there are already too many holes to fill and you hope to get career years out of the guys you choose.  If all goes well you make the playoffs, but if the more likely thing happens and you don't contend because of all those holes you end the season with more money coming off the books, with more prospects closer to the bigs, and with one of the best FA classes ever.  THEN you make moves for the now.  That didn't happen with Escobar, but we don't really know the reason why.  If the offers were not there then it is better to hold onto him just like it would have been better to hold onto Santiago.

[beatlesrule]

Surely we could have gotten a better player than Gott for him.

[tomsred]

God help him if he ever stops hitting, he might become the Puig of the American League.  Although some of his shtick is kind of funny, entertainment wise.

[HaloCory22]

Might be cus he ranks 19th in qualified 3B in WAR and 12th in WRC+. There are a lot of pretty damn good 3B in the game now. Most contenders have one of them already.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

3 hours ago, AngelsFanSince86 said:

I haven't given up on 2017, but if you have the chance to make your team better for several years by making it a little worse for one year you do it.  Not saying that opportunity presented itself, but not everyone who wanted him traded and thinks its unlikely we contend in 2017 have necessarily "given up" on it.  You have to be realistic to be competitive long term.  2017 will be very hard to compete.  The FA market is thin and the Angels are down several SP.  If things go right they could contend just like most teams.  But for that type of thing to happen it won't matter if they have Escobar or not.  It all comes down to the overall talent.  Angels will have to play way over their heads to contend.  When you have as weak of chances as they do to contend you try to make moves that will help you get better in the long term.  You don't sacrifice a player like Calhoun or Shoe that will be a part of that long term plan, but guys like Escobar who are older and on shorter contracts can be dealt.  Then you make a few acquisitions in the offseason to try and piece together a contender without giving out any major contracts in a year where there are already too many holes to fill and you hope to get career years out of the guys you choose.  If all goes well you make the playoffs, but if the more likely thing happens and you don't contend because of all those holes you end the season with more money coming off the books, with more prospects closer to the bigs, and with one of the best FA classes ever.  THEN you make moves for the now.  That didn't happen with Escobar, but we don't really know the reason why.  If the offers were not there then it is better to hold onto him just like it would have been better to hold onto Santiago.

That's fine with me, I never wanted to trade any of our starting pitchers, but I understand Eppler's gamble with Meyer. 1 year of Santiago vs 6 years of a top prospect of a year or so ago. It could be the best trade this team has ever made or it could be a bust. Worse case scenario is we lose 1 year of Santiago and have to DFA Nolasco and Meyer. Best case scenario Meyer's shoulder heals and he becomes the ace of the staff and Nolasco becomes a serviceable 4 or 5 starter. I expect the answer to be somewhere in the middle.

As far as trading Escobar, I'm all for it. His defense is indefensible, he is a 1 tool player, he hits for an average. On the negative side he make base running blunders, fielding the ball, I'm tried of hearing the ball just tip off his glove, and once he has the ball he is just as likely to pull the first baseman off the bag as he is to make a good throw. I have a feeling they tried to trade him but couldn't find anyone willing to deal with him.

Tomorrow we should find out if the stem cell treatment that Richards underwent worked or not. If it did he said he will begin throwing tomorrow and he could be ready to go come spring. Our rotation next year could be Richards, Skaggs, Shoemaker, Meyer, and PTBNL, possibly Nolasco, Weaver or Smith. That's the best case scenario as of now for the 2017 rotation however unlikely it is.

Our offense isn't going to get much better than it was this year, without some luck. Left field is still a problem and I doubt Arte and Eppler are going to much to fix it anytime soon. They had their chance last off season and they failed. If they trade Escobar and let Cowart play 3B they will lose some offense but they will gain on defense. If Kaleb could hit .280+ I would be happy letting Yunel walk getting a LF of a pitcher in exchange.

2017 will be interesting even if we fail to make the playoffs.

[2112]

On August 1, 2016 at 3:27 PM, CALZONE said:

Escobar has issues between the ears. He definitely carries a buyer beware tag. 

That reminded me of the scouting report from the book Ball Four:

"Million dollar arm, 10 cent head, remove head, instant 20 game winner."

[NrM]

On 8/1/2016 at 2:52 PM, Adam said:

The Angels are stupid and intend to "compete" next year

I love how adam stops by threads with a quick 10 word sentence. Gets his point across and then disappears. He da real mvp.