Taylor Featherston DFA'd by Phillies

[ettin]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/09/phillies-designate-taylor-featherston-for-assignment.html

It would be worthwhile to claim him and then DFA him ourselves and try to stash him down at AAA.

[DMVol]

Would rather keep Petit right now.

[Guest]

lol

[tdawg87]

Lou just got a boner.

[tdawg87]

Because it's recess time. He is otherwise unmoved by this news.

[ettin]

31 minutes ago, DMVol said:

Would rather keep Petit right now.

Why do we have to lose Petit?

This would be strictly about keeping a lot of potential options for 2B next year. It would simply be a depth move. I like what Petit did this year but it was above his career averages so I'd be leery of looking at him as a full-time regular. He hits lefties well so he should probably be a utility or platoon candidate.

[Slegnaac]

Let Seattle pick him up 

[Docwaukee]

I think there is a 50% chance that I am as good of a hitter.  

He was so bad last year that I didn't think it could get any worse for him.  But alas.... a .332 ops in limited abs.  He's whiffed 29% of the time at the major league level.  That's Brandon Wood bad.  

[DMVol]

1 hour ago, ettin said:

Why do we have to lose Petit?

This would be strictly about keeping a lot of potential options for 2B next year. It would simply be a depth move. I like what Petit did this year but it was above his career averages so I'd be leery of looking at him as a full-time regular. He hits lefties well so he should probably be a utility or platoon candidate.

I know he was rule 5 overmatched but he cost us a couple of games with bad errors last year....and he still can't hit a lick (wasn't very good in AAA for the Phillies)....Having a Petit last year rather than carrying Featherston (dumb move by DiPoto) might have been the difference in a playoff spot...the Phillies obviously agree....

[disarcina]

I will never understand (other than the lame reason 'he's a Rule V pick player') why we kept him on the Halos roster ALL SEASON LONG -- what was it? 2015 season?

For most of the year he sat the pine -- finally about mid-season and more towards the end of the year, he got some ABs and then some late inning defensive time and also did some Pinch running -- I remember he came up in a bunt situation (late season game) in the late innings and couldn't get a bunt down........I mean we're talking worthless and a  total waste of a roster spot (that really could have been used for another versatile type position player or maybe an additional arm out of the pen). He barely got 100 ABs and shortly after the season ended we DFA'd him and he want to another team before Philadelphia picked him up.

that whole decision (to waste a roster spot for an entire season on the guy) still mystifies me -- you'd think he was our star second baseman in waiting the way they maintained his roster status........

 

[totdprods]

He basically just replaced John McDonald.

[ettin]

23 hours ago, DMVol said:

I know he was rule 5 overmatched but he cost us a couple of games with bad errors last year....and he still can't hit a lick (wasn't very good in AAA for the Phillies)....Having a Petit last year rather than carrying Featherston (dumb move by DiPoto) might have been the difference in a playoff spot...the Phillies obviously agree....

You are missing the point I made in the first message which is to simply claim him and then DFA him ourselves down to the Minors, not to keep him on the 40-man.

[DMVol]

50 minutes ago, ettin said:

You are missing the point I made in the first message which is to simply claim him and then DFA him ourselves down to the Minors, not to keep him on the 40-man.

I got it...I just don't think he's worth a roster spot in SLC....my original point was there will be guys like Petit out there this winter that we can sign to a minor league deals who are better than Featherston...

[disarcina]

I agree with DMVol -- Featherston isn't worth a MIF roster spot at SLC at this point -- as for John McDonald's roster spot the year before -- 2014 --  some may recall that John McDonald was a non-roster invitee to ST along with at least three other MIF's with MLB experience........one of them was a former Rockies 2B who actually started for them in 2012/ 13 - can't remember that guy's name -- I thought that guy was the odds on favorite to win a roster spot and then there was another guy with MLB experience who was next best . John McDonald was what? 34/35 or so and I thought it was a bad career move for him to seek a Halos roster spot as a non-roster invitee when other clubs (AL or NL) could use his defensive skill.

Well, McDonald out-played all of 'em in ST and won the roster spot -- then he did something else -- he hit better than anyone expected during the first two months/ half of the season -- his defense at 2B, 3B and sometimes SS was stellar.........he could still bases as late inning PR and defensive replacement -- when asked to sacrifice, he could lay down a perfect bunt to move the runner over........McDonald played very well for the Halos the first two months/ half of that season in the  back up/ platoon role he was given. He was also a good clubhouse presence.  Now, during the second half of the season, August/ September - McDonald's bat disappeared, his playing time became limited and his ABs almost non-existent. I think he made it to Sept. 1 and expanded rosters without getting released but am sure it was a close call --at some point in September he announced he would be retiring at the end of the season.  (I think we picked up a MIF type guy at deadline time that took away any playing time McDonald was getting and McDonald's second half fade had started).

Point being made (at length - sorry !) is that McDonald contributed to the Halos -- particularly during the first half/ first two months -- Featherston on the other hand was really a ZERO during his entire Rule V season........and DMVol is right -- after hardly playing at all the first half - Featherston received more playing time and proceeded to make some costly errors in the field in the second half.

Apparently, Featherston was a pretty solid MIF with some power at the collegiate level -- can't remember what school he went to (Florida, Georgia Tech or something not sure) but remember Vin Scully mentioning thjis during a Dodgers- Angels broadcast (wouldn't learn it from a Halos broadcast, I guees)........

Anyway --

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I truly don't understand why anyone would advocate claiming Featherbat.

[totdprods]

Going into last season, the Angels didn't have anyone in the upper minors or on the  MLB team that was a suitable UT IF. Instead of signing a Brendan Ryan-type vet on a one and done deal for a million bucks, Dipoto decided to fill that role via Rule V and get a young guy who maybe had potential to grow into something better, possibly an everyday 2B or a replacement for Aybar.

Featherston had some mental goofs, probably the result of being young, but also that flukey ball stuck on glove play that cost him a game that could have happened to anyone.

In hindsight, yeah, Dipoto should have cut the cord on him earlier or a vet should have been brought in at the deadline to shore up that position, but overall the move made sense at the start of the year and he performed about as well as I expected from a back-up IF with no experience above AA.

[disarcina]

everyone is entitled to their opinion -- mine is that I never understood the Featherston decision DAY ONE (and I think I posted that back then) and then REALLY didn't understand keeping him ALL SEASON after he sat the pine almost the entire first half -- IMO -- it started becoming a wasted roster spot by mid-May.  Rule V or not, at that point, I would have cut the cord (and said so).  I do think the loss of that roster spot and limited roster flexibility it caused, cost the Halos a few games in W column.

[ettin]

1 hour ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

I truly don't understand why anyone would advocate claiming Featherbat.

Although a very cute and easy name to give him, he has a career .179 ISO in the Minors. For a middle infielder that is good. I am advocating that the Angels claim him and DFA him down to our Minor League system (off the 40). Let him earn any playing time.

[totdprods]

I think that's a good strategy and since we could have a couple spots on the 40-man, I can see the Angels trying to grab another player or two this September and either holding them on the 40, or also trying to DFA them and outright them while most other teams have full 40s or are preoccupied with playoffs, Rule 5 positioning for their in-house prospects that are eligible, etc. - I don't think we have anyone really under threat from the Rule 5 this year that needs to be added.

I don't think Featherston fits that mold though. It'll be pitchers or an outfielder they likely would try that with. We're heavy on players who fill the same role as Featherston right now.

[Oz27]

10 hours ago, totdprods said:

I think that's a good strategy and since we could have a couple spots on the 40-man, I can see the Angels trying to grab another player or two this September and either holding them on the 40, or also trying to DFA them and outright them while most other teams have full 40s or are preoccupied with playoffs, Rule 5 positioning for their in-house prospects that are eligible, etc. - I don't think we have anyone really under threat from the Rule 5 this year that needs to be added.

I don't think Featherston fits that mold though. It'll be pitchers or an outfielder they likely would try that with. We're heavy on players who fill the same role as Featherston right now.

We're about to have big 40-man roster crunch issues with all the 60-day DL guys we have to put back on the 40-man in the offseason. We do have some room to dump some guys though, for example Graterol and Soto can be flicked as soon as the season is over.

[DMVol]

15 minutes ago, Oz27 said:

....We do have some room to dump some guys though, for example Graterol and Soto can be flicked as soon as the season is over.

Several options there....Weaver and CJ are free agents...Navarro is still on the 40 man....Buss, Robinson, Ortega won't all be kept....

[totdprods]

Heaney, Street, Bedrosian, Tropeano, Richards, Shoemaker - six spots - all have to be added back to the 40-man, right? Is it right after the World Series, and then they can be added back to the 60-day either in Spring Training or Opening Day?

[Blarg]

Heaney and Tropeano will be on the 60 day DL so they won't count towards the 40 man roster like Wilson didn't this season. 

[totdprods]

16 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Heaney and Tropeano will be on the 60 day DL so they won't count towards the 40 man roster like Wilson didn't this season. 

They do during the offseason though, right? Pretty sure they need to be added back once the season ends, and can't go back on the 60-day until either ST or Opening Day. I remember that being discussed regarding the Rangers in the Fielder/Hamilton threads. So we'll be stuck with effectively a 38-man roster for the offseason while Heaney and Trop sit there until they're eligible to be placed back on.

[Oz27]

6 hours ago, totdprods said:

They do during the offseason though, right? Pretty sure they need to be added back once the season ends, and can't go back on the 60-day until either ST or Opening Day. I remember that being discussed regarding the Rangers in the Fielder/Hamilton threads. So we'll be stuck with effectively a 38-man roster for the offseason while Heaney and Trop sit there until they're eligible to be placed back on.

Yes that is correct. They need to be on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason. We do have some ways to clear spots and a small handful of free agents but it is still going to limit us a bit.