Angels acquire Danny Espinosa from Nats for Kyle McGowin and Austin Adams

[beatlesrule]

Typical Eppler move.  I don't like his strikeouts and average but if he makes up for it in defense, him and Simmons will be fun to watch on the field.

[Brent Maguire]

How can you not like this trade? He's a big improvement over the garbage they had at 2B in 2016, is inexpensive and is only a 1 year stopgap. He's either gone after 2017 or he's brought back presumably because he had a nice season. 

[DMVol]

14 minutes ago, Hubs said:

If they got a lefty bat to "platoon" or as a bench bat that could take away his AB against tough righties that would be ideal. And it would be a Pennington replacement because Espinosa is serviceable as a SS.

Pennington is signed and probably not movable so we may be stuck with him. If we're still playing the luxury tax game, his 2 million is a little significant, though not terribly much...

[Inside Pitch]

34 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

Yunel has a quick first step and his lateral movements are good for a third baseman.  His footwork is choppy, but that's to be expected from a guy learning a new position (it's two years now though).  His glove is below average,no way around that but it's his throws that kill us.  He'll airmail them or not put enough on them, no consistency.  I thought when he came over that he'd get more comfortable and turn into a pretty decent defensive third baseman, but now I don't think that's in the cards.  

Hi..  I was joking around.   His arm is definitely his biggest issue.    Still, I'm betting my statement rings true.

[AngelsLakersFan]

At this point I hope we just say fuck it, stick Cowart at third and start winning games 0 to -1

[ettin]

1 hour ago, UndertheHalo said:

So, Scotty Ettin anyone good about talking about this stuff.  Any hope he improves vs. righties ? Seems like he couldn't possibly be worse. 

So throughout his career he has hit lefties a lot better than righties (wRC+ 112 vs. 78, vs. LHP and RHP respectively). This trade allows the Angels, as tdawg said earlier in the thread, to have probably the sickest up the middle defense in baseball. More importantly if Simmons is injured in any way Espinosa can slide over and you'll barely notice the difference.

- There is a remote possibility that Danny will be a super utility guy covering 3B, 2B, and LF.

- There is also a possibility that they trade Escobar and he and Kaleb Cowart split time at 3B which makes some sense.

- There is a possibility that the Angels still acquire a left-handed hitting 2B like Wong and platoon Espinosa there.

- Cameron Maybin actually hits RHP better than he does LHP over his career so Espinosa could substitute in with him.

Espinosa's excellent defensive skills could actually see him, as I said above, all over the place. He could easily be nearly full time subbing out regularly at 2B, 3B, and LF.

As far as the trade goes you have to give to get something. If we aren't in it by the deadline someone with Espinosa's defensive skills will be an easy sell and could bring back what we lost anyway. If it goes the other way and we compete he could be a difference maker in run prevention.

This was definitely one of the routes I thought they could go (generally speaking by picking up a defensive minded guy with one year left on their deal).

You can read more in the second base primer. I was literally sending it to Chuck when this trade broke so I am not going to update it I will let Chuck publish it as it was because it covered this scenario.

 

[Erstad Grit]

I'll be honest that I didn't know a lot about him before today.  So basically he's a stud defensive 2b who might hit 20 bombs. I love it.  

[beatlesrule]

I can't see them trading Escobar now.  They held onto him at the deadline when he was worth more so I'm pretty sure he is the opening day 3rd baseman.

[WeatherWonk]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

This thread started off with doom and gloom until people realize that an upgrade, no matter how slight, is a good thing.

Well, our league's worst farm system just got weaker, in exchange for a guy who is a FA after next year. Oh yeah, and cant hit.

Ignore the HRs. He'll be lucky to hit half that, playing in the west coast parks.

[beatlesrule]

1 minute ago, WeatherWonk said:

Well, our league's worst farm system just got weaker, in exchange for a guy who is a FA after next year. Oh yeah, and cant hit.

Ignore the HRs. He'll be lucky to hit half that, playing in the west coast parks.

Defense and a wicked mustache.

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Oz27 said:

Yep. I suppose it's worth remembering his defense should be better than the projections, because he'll be playing an easier position full time.

The more I think about this though, the more I feel Espinosa should be a platoon player rather than a full time regular.

FWIW...   Sullivan from FG tweeted this..

Jeff Sullivan ‏@based_ball  2h2 hours ago

Danny Espinosa is a pretty decent baseball player and the Angels are a pretty decent baseball team

And this...

• David Pearl ‏@dajpearl  49m49 minutes ago

  @based_ball anything to the 0.0 steamer projection?

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  Jeff Sullivan ‏@based_ball  4m4 minutes ago

  @dajpearl ignore it, he's better

   

   

[Tank]

i always appreciate the collective research that goes on here when we pick up a player i know relatively little about.

that being said, i really have no opinion right now about this trade. am waiting to see how he looks in the lineup for us.

[tdawg87]

4 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

Well, our league's worst farm system just got weaker, in exchange for a guy who is a FA after next year. Oh yeah, and cant hit.

Ignore the HRs. He'll be lucky to hit half that, playing in the west coast parks.

1. Giving up two prospects who are not even top 20 in the "league's worst system" doesn't really make it any weaker. 

2. You'll be surprised to know that Washington surpressed homeruns more in 2016 than Angels Stadium (as well as Safeco, and Texas). Also, Turner Field and Marlins Park are two of the biggest pitchers parks in baseball. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

13 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

FWIW...   Sullivan from FG tweeted this..

Jeff Sullivan ‏@based_ball  2h2 hours ago

Danny Espinosa is a pretty decent baseball player and the Angels are a pretty decent baseball team

And this...

• David Pearl ‏@dajpearl  49m49 minutes ago

  @based_ball anything to the 0.0 steamer projection?

  1 reply0 retweets0 likes

  Reply

   

  1

   

  Retweet

   

   

   

   

  Like

   

   

   

  More

•  

  Jeff Sullivan ‏@based_ball  4m4 minutes ago

  @dajpearl ignore it, he's better

   

   

That projection probably short changes him about 1 win with the glove.

[ettin]

19 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

Well, our league's worst farm system just got weaker, in exchange for a guy who is a FA after next year. Oh yeah, and cant hit.

Ignore the HRs. He'll be lucky to hit half that, playing in the west coast parks.

In addition to what @tdawg87 said there are ultimately two scenarios mid year: 1) We are in the playoff hunt and we will be slapping Eppler on the shoulder and smiling or 2) We will not be in the playoff hunt and Espinosa can easily be traded for close to the exact same thing we gave up to get him in the first place because his defense will play almost anywhere on the field and his price is pretty damn low. So in essence there isn't much to dislike about this trade overall.

[gurn67]

They've improved both LF & 2B without breaking the bank or trading any of the few real prospects in the system. Both Maybin & Espinosa are going into their age 30 seasons and are motivated to have career years going into their first year of free agency. The everyday lineup should be much better defensively and on the base paths. If they both come in around their career OPS numbers near .700, the lineup got significantly better offensively too.

By the way, here's a trivia question that I never would have answered in many tries before I noticed it when looking up our abysmal team stats in LF & 2B. Which team's left fielders led MLB in HR with 35 and the AL in RBI with 100?

 

The A's thanks mainly to Khris Davis.

[Hubs]

Third worst offensive player in 2016 with at least 600 AB. 

He needs to cut down on the strikeouts and make more contact.

Sometimes a change of scenery can make a guy improve, but I just don't see a guy who hit 24 HR. I see a guy who flat out was below replacement value for 5 of 6 months.

Could he put up Dozier numbers? Dozier is the high end of where he could go under optimal circumstances but I doubt it happens. 

I expect .235 / .315 / .420 at best. And that's not going to earn him a contract.

[Hubs]

1 hour ago, Angels_Baseball said:

How can you not like this trade? He's a big improvement over the garbage they had at 2B in 2016, is inexpensive and is only a 1 year stopgap. He's either gone after 2017 or he's brought back presumably because he had a nice season. 

Because he's one of the worst offensive players in baseball. As a bench or a platoon guy sure but he's going to be the full time starter. And was awful against Righties

[Brent Maguire]

1 minute ago, Hubs said:

Because he's one of the worst offensive players in baseball. As a bench or a platoon guy sure but he's going to be the full time starter. And was awful against Righties

Pretty much any 2B the Angels acquire is going to have flaws, whether that be offensively or defensively. Espinosa brings a super good glove and solid base running that makes him a serviceable starter. Unless you're targeting Dozier, Kinsler, Hernandez or Dietrich, you're not getting a big upgrade with anybody else and with those guys, you're giving up a big chunk of the remaining good players in the farm system 

[Second Base]

I know it isn't quantifiable, but acquiring players who grew up in the area could be a bonus. Nolasco was pretty decent with the Dodgers for a bit, and after acquiring him he was pretty outstanding for the Angels as well. Espinosa could have a career year in front of family and friends.

[tdawg87]

6 minutes ago, Hubs said:

Because he's one of the worst offensive players in baseball. As a bench or a platoon guy sure but he's going to be the full time starter. And was awful against Righties

He's an upgrade. 

[Inside Pitch]

I'm not dancing for joy at this move but I don't really get the negative reaction.  If this guy hit 50 points higher but had a Giovatella glove he would be a worse player.  This move like many before it shows how little value many Angels fans put in run prevention.  

It's a solid move.   I don't like that he can't hit RHP but his career .660 OPS .vs RHPs (when he's at his worst), is still better than what the Angels have been able to get out of 2B in either 2015 or 2016 only now they can actually prevent runs.   Like Tdawg points out -- he's an upgrade.

[totdprods]

We have an actual, honest to God LF and 2B for the first time in two years. 

His OPS+ may not be much better than what Gio provided, but his glove will be light years better.

Wonder too if maybe the league's unfamiliarity with him will play to his advantage. Much like Simmons, one of his finest years offensively was his first year. May be a guy pitchers underestimate the first few times around. 

[totdprods]

Looking a little deeper, Espinosa does provide some additional depth at SS. This is a plus because it does technically make Pennington expendable. I don't expect the Angels to now go and cut Cliff, but does minimize his necessity. If opportunity comes along, we can move him - much like how we traded for Brendan Ryan last year.

Additionally, if Espinosa does well, being a local guy, he could slot into our future plans. He could be a good bridge until Fletcher or another 2B comes along, and could shift into a super-sub role nicely as soon as next year once Cliff walks. 

[Chuck]

Espinosa is basically Ryan Schimpf but with much better defense. 

What's not like about this trade? We gave up at best a couple depth guys down the road, but that could possibly never even make it to the big leagues.