The Official Angels Hot Stove - Winter Meetings - Rumors thread

[Jeff Fletcher]

3 hours ago, DMVol said:

Don't think his market has dropped that far Jeff....Boras overplays his hand occasionally and he may have here but wouldn't expect that kind of drop off....heck, that's Jesse Chavez money....

I agree with you. That's why I don't think the Angels are getting him. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

29 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Small sample size, but Wieters has crushed it at Angel Stadium over his career:
24 games, 89 PAs, 31 hits, 2 doubles, s6 home runs, 18 RBI. .369/.393/.607/1.000

Looking at his HR spray charts, all but 2 would have left the Big A - another two could have been robbed. 
All would have left virtually every other AL West stadium except for a couple that would have died in Minute Maid's goofy centerfield. So, there is a source of lefty-pop there.

The problem with spray charts is they only take into account the distance, not the atmospheric conditions, and you're assuming a ball would travel the same distance in Anaheim or Oakland or Seattle as it would in Baltimore or Toronto.

[totdprods]

9 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

The problem with spray charts is they only take into account the distance, not the atmospheric conditions, and you're assuming a ball would travel the same distance in Anaheim or Oakland or Seattle as it would in Baltimore or Toronto.

You're right on that - I was sort of just effin' around on the fly without giving it much though. That said, he'd still offer more pop than what we have in-house, as well as offer up another lefty-bat. He's had no problem hitting here in 90 plate appearances so far, and while he's declined over the years, it's better than a track record of sucking here.

I just think he'll wind up too expensive. 

[ettin]

35 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

The problem with spray charts is they only take into account the distance, not the atmospheric conditions, and you're assuming a ball would travel the same distance in Anaheim or Oakland or Seattle as it would in Baltimore or Toronto.

I used the tool here inputting average values for July in both Anaheim and Baltimore: http://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_da_rh.htm

The relative density difference is about +2% in July in Anaheim. However I imagine there is a greater delta in April/May for instance (October too probably).

Bottom line is that Wieters spray chart will be slightly depressed, particularly in colder months, where his hits will not carry quite as far as they did in Baltimore but it doesn't appear to be a really significant change.

[Hubs]

His Numbers aren't great, but it would be an improvement offensively. Defensively, if he's league average, I'd be okay with it. I think he will sign for somewhere between 1 yr / 7-10 M, and 2 yrs, 15M-20M.

He took the qualifying offer last year against expectations, and this year was not offered one. Or I believe he would've taken it. So apparently did the Orioles. He would be offensively an upgrade over Perez, even if he puts up just the numbers he did last year. 

It's a solid investment, and though his career numbers tend to make him look better against lefties, he actually has been better against righties the last three years than against lefties, which he was better at the first few years of his career.

 

 

[totdprods]

I think a big factor in this is Pujols. Only the FO really knows how he is progressing. Personally I hope they do not rush him at all. He was much better last year after the first month or so, which makes me think he wasn't really ready to be back on the field, or could have used some more rehab time against live pitching. 

So if Pujols winds up missing the first month, Wieters, Bautista, whomever gives you a little more cushion. Cron has struggled quite a bit early the past few seasons - I remember some of us wanting him demoted last April - and Marte isn't necessarily a sure thing yet. I think Eppler is going to be hoping the team jumps out quickly for once and I think there will be a little more sense of urgency this year. The slower we start, the earlier and more likely he has to start weighing the idea of selling off parts.

[Wallerrrr]

The contracts Wieters and Bautista will command are the types of bloated contracts that got the Angels in trouble in the first place IMO...Pass on both.

[totdprods]

1 minute ago, Wallerrrr said:

The contracts Wieters and Bautista will command are the types of bloated contracts that got the Angels in trouble in the first place IMO...Pass on both.

Big difference between 1-2 deals totaling a couple dozen million and ones running half a decade or more for hundreds of millions.

[Wallerrrr]

1 minute ago, totdprods said:

Big difference between 1-2 deals totaling a couple dozen million and ones running half a decade or more for hundreds of millions.

There may be a difference but it doesnt mean either will be worth the contract they will ultimately get

[tdawg87]

2 hours ago, Wallerrrr said:

There may be a difference but it doesnt mean either will be worth the contract they will ultimately get

90% of all free agents are not worth the contracts they receive. 

I don't want Wieters or Bautista either, I'm just saying. 

[Docwaukee]

3 hours ago, Wallerrrr said:

The contracts Wieters and Bautista will command are the types of bloated contracts that got the Angels in trouble in the first place IMO...Pass on both.

not even a relevant comp.  Either player is looking at a 1-2 yr deal.  Wieters isn't blocking anyone of significance and we've got 50-60 mil coming off the books after this season.  Huge difference between 2/30 or even 2/40 and 5/125 or 10/250.  

FA players are a necessary evil to every single team that has aspirations of contending.  You're never going to fill your entire roster via farm or trade.  Not every free agent is the devil.  Just stay away from the Hamiltons, Ian Kennedys, and Ian Desmond type players.  

It's not as much about the money as it is about the choices.  You are gonna pay.  We just need to make more sound decisions.  True baseball decisions.  Not marketing ones.  

[totdprods]

Maybin/Revere LF (I think this is gonna get pretty platoon-y)
Escobar 3B
Trout CF
Pujols DH
Calhoun RF
Cron 1B
Wieters C
Espinosa 2B
Simmons SS
...is a pretty solid looking lineup. Blend of lefties, righties, power up and down the lineup. Suddenly we've got 4 left-handed/switch-hitters to mix throughout.

You can mix up the #5-9 hitters all over based on match-ups or performance. If Maybin/Revere are handling lead-off you can really play around with the #1-#2 spots too. Calhoun could slide up to #2 and Escobar to bump back to #6 and give you a high OBP option late in the line-up for your more boom or bust Wieters/Espinosa types. 

Even if he is league average, he really changes the whole look of the batting order. 2/3 of the order is a threat to pop a homer, and the other 1/3 is pretty high contact. Last year, 1/3 of the lineup was basically an automatic out.

[Ohtaniland]

19 hours ago, Wallerrrr said:

The contracts Wieters and Bautista will command are the types of bloated contracts that got the Angels in trouble in the first place IMO...Pass on both.

The lingering contracts of Hamilton and Pujols killed many opportunities to add weapons the past four seasons. We won't be signing anything expensive anytime soon. 

[totdprods]

5 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

The lingering contracts of Hamilton and Pujols killed many opportunities to add weapons the past four seasons. We won't be signing anything expensive anytime soon. 

And Trout. $150m is still $150m.

[Ohtaniland]

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

And Trout. $150m is still $150m.

Well I couldn't possibly come up with a better way to spend $150M on a MLB team. I was referring to the spent money that didn't give much in return while causing a budget gridlock. 

[Angel Oracle]

On the bright side, in two years when the next big FA class becomes available, Pujols will only have 3 years left ($87 million) on his deal and Hackilton's will thankfully have been history for a year. 

[Ohtaniland]

19 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

On the bright side, in two years when the next big FA class becomes available, Pujols will only have 3 years left ($87 million) on his deal and Hackilton's will thankfully have been history for a year. 

Pujols will be hanging around expecting to be in the lineup everyday when he's 38, 39 and 40 so that alone will hinder us from competing. Paying a guy $26M - $30M per season during his sunset years is rediculas. 

[Chuck]

Just now, CALZONE said:

Pujols will be hanging around expecting to be in the lineup everyday when he's 38, 39 and 40 so that alone will hinder us from competing. Paying a guy $26M - $30M per season during his sunset years is rediculas. 

If Pujols continues to hit 25-30+ HR and drive in 100 runs, I'm perfectly fine with that coming from our DH. I don't care how much money he makes as what's done is done. 

[AngelStew43]

I wouldn't be opposed to a short term deal for Matt Wieters.  Pitch framing aside, he's still a good catch and throw guy, and he's probably good for about 130 games and 20 or so HR, even in our park. 

We haven't had that kind of production from a catcher since Napoli was traded away.

[Stradling]

13 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

Pujols will be hanging around expecting to be in the lineup everyday when he's 38, 39 and 40 so that alone will hinder us from competing. Paying a guy $26M - $30M per season during his sunset years is rediculas. 

Well if he is producing then he will be playing.  If he isn't producing and he is playing everyday then that is on someone other than Albert.  Lastly, the money is spent, Arte has plenty of other money he can spend to improve the team if they need to spend money to improve the team.  

[totdprods]

18 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

If Pujols continues to hit 25-30+ HR and drive in 100 runs, I'm perfectly fine with that coming from our DH. I don't care how much money he makes as what's done is done. 

Same here. 

About two months into his time in Anaheim, I was worried we had Vernon 2.0 on our hands.

If you told me in June 2012, when he was hitting .240/.289/.404/.693 with 8 homers in his first 50 games, that Albert would be a .265/30/100 guy halfway through the deal, I would have been freaking ecstatic. 

[Ohtaniland]

42 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Well if he is producing then he will be playing.  If he isn't producing and he is playing everyday then that is on someone other than Albert.  Lastly, the money is spent, Arte has plenty of other money he can spend to improve the team if they need to spend money to improve the team.  

The money is spent. It's not sitting in Arte's pocket. He spent the money and it directly impacts this years budget. We could cry for Arte to spend more money but I think he's been more generous than 2/3 of the league over the years. 

[Stradling]

10 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

The money is spent. It's not sitting in Arte's pocket. He spent the money and it directly impacts this years budget. We could cry for Arte to spend more money but I think he's been more generous than 2/3 of the league over the years. 

Crazy what you can do with no debt, "3 million" fans and a top 3 TV contract.  $150 million a year in TV revenue is pretty damn good, plus 3 million tickets sold at an average of $20 a ticket, there's another $60 million.  Sure there are operating costs, but we haven't even begun to talk about how much money is spent at the stadium, or the amount brought in for parking.  So sure Arte doesn't have to spend, but he should, because as YOU point out, he has the best stadium deal around.  

[Troll Daddy]

JiMan Choi DFA'd to make room for Revere. Choi elected free agency.

Buh Bye

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

4 hours ago, totdprods said:

And Trout. $150m is still $150m.

This isn't 1979......Players are going to get paid! Enjoy him while you have a chance to see him up close!

3 hours ago, CALZONE said:

Well I couldn't possibly come up with a better way to spend $150M on a MLB team. I was referring to the spent money that didn't give much in return while causing a budget gridlock. 

exactly. Mike Trout is worth every penny we give him. If not for him we would be in a world of hurt! Arte' wouldn't have that large tv mega deal either! Who wants to pay to see a bunch of old dudes and never will be's?