Jon Heyman: Angels still eyeing free agent hitters

[Travis Painter]

This article talks about the free agent hitters still available and that some teams, including the angels, may jump in if prices go lower.

"Rays have been linked to at least Bautista and the Giants, Phillies, White Sox and Angels are said to be eying things from a comfortable distance, with the possibility to jump in."

"Angels involvement may depend on other moves, such as the trade of an outfielder"

Calhoun trade for pitching?

 

http://www.fanragsports.com/mlb/heyman-strange-market-encarnacion-dozen-sluggers-remain/

[Angelsjunky]

Maybin and Revere have little trade value, so Calhoun would make the most sense. But where does he get this kind of rumor? I don't get it.  Is the "such as" totally speculative or did he hear that the Angels are actively shopping an outfielder (Calhoun)?

[Docwaukee]

So the first question is who's available worth having?  

Bautista is entering his age 36yo season.  I'd avoid him like the plague at his asking price of roughly 20mil per.  Even at 2/30 he sounds overpaid

Trumbo is ok, but been there done that.  Low obp and wouldn't hit nearly as many hrs with the halos

Then what?  Wieters?  Brandon Moss?  Colby Rasmus?  No thanks.  

Would be consider taking on a high salary in a dump?  Heyward?  Upton?  Ellisbury?  Choo?  Stanton? (yeah right).  Braun? (another yeah right), Kemp?  Those name are either unrealistic or just bad ideas.  

The next question is what are we getting?  Who has a spare pitcher worth Calhoun and if they do, would they want prospects or a major league OFer?  

It would have to be a three team deal which further complicates the issue.  Quintana?  Archer?  Is Calhoun enough to get either of those guys?  And who's the third party?

Could we get Stroman or Aaron Sanchez straight up? And why would Tor do that when they could easily bring back Batista.  

Could it be Cron and not Calhoun?  Batista could probably play 1b.  Does Cron get us anything of significance?  

With what's left and our potential options, I would favor standing pat because whatever we did would likely have to be cash neutral at this point.  

 

 

[arch stanton]

If you're looking at Bautista to play 1B I feel like we'd be better served using a Moss/Marte platoon and buying some more bullpen.

[Angel Oracle]

Thaiss is probably two years away.   Even though a two year deal for Bautista fits that timeframe, the salary is probably an overpayment given Angel Stadium not nearly being Rogers Centre offensively.

[totdprods]

I would think the likeliest scenario is they sign another bat that bumps Marte (or Perez) to SLC, or they're looking at some cheap thump to work into 1B/DH because they know Pujols will not be ready to start the year. Valbuena over Marte would give you a switch-hitter with more track record and defensive versatility. Losing some power. Moss, or to a lesser degree Alvarez, would also basically give you a vet lefty version of a Marte type player. 

Weiters, Saltalamacchia, Dioner Navarro - any would give you a slight to considerable offensive upgrade over Perez and additional veteran lefty presence. And most can cover 1B too in case Pujols is out.

Choosing offense over defense for a UT IF could make sense given that our everyday defense is so strong, so grabbing an Utley, Drew, Johnson type to serve in that role over Cliff makes sense. Eppler was interested in all three of them last year.

Revere and Maybin aren't getting traded, and I really doubt Cron or Calhoun would. I imagine someone would have to be extraordinarily high on Cron to pay a price that would cause Eppler to jump on him, just because he is so cheap, he hasn't reached his ceiling so they'd be selling low, and with Pujols' injury it takes on way more risk than we are seeing from Billy. Trumbo or Bautista would be the only ones who make sense to replace that production, but I can't see Eppler commiting either the years or money to either of those two based on his FA history.

I could see a team out there valuing Calhoun enough to part with a young #3 SP for him, and I could see the Angels being interested in that scenario. I can't peg down which team has that much young pitching to do that (Smyly? Sanchez? Corbin?) but think that is likelier than Eppler moving Kole for prospects. He can then go after Saunders or Rasmus and hope that OF can be covered adequately by Maybin, Trout, Revere, and whomever they sign, which I don't think is terribly unrealistic. Risky for sure, but the potential is there to still field a more productive OF than any of years past. Rasmus or Saunders peaking could come close replacing Calhoun. Big risk though.

[totdprods]

Bautista playing the Rangers more would be fun though.

[WeatherWonk]

5 hours ago, Dochalo said:

So the first question is who's available worth having?  

Bautista is entering his age 36yo season.  I'd avoid him like the plague at his asking price of roughly 20mil per.  Even at 2/30 he sounds overpaid

Trumbo is ok, but been there done that.  Low obp and wouldn't hit nearly as many hrs with the halos

Then what?  Wieters?  Brandon Moss?  Colby Rasmus?  No thanks.  

Would be consider taking on a high salary in a dump?  Heyward?  Upton?  Ellisbury?  Choo?  Stanton? (yeah right).  Braun? (another yeah right), Kemp?  Those name are either unrealistic or just bad ideas.  

The next question is what are we getting?  Who has a spare pitcher worth Calhoun and if they do, would they want prospects or a major league OFer?  

It would have to be a three team deal which further complicates the issue.  Quintana?  Archer?  Is Calhoun enough to get either of those guys?  And who's the third party?

Could we get Stroman or Aaron Sanchez straight up? And why would Tor do that when they could easily bring back Batista.  

Could it be Cron and not Calhoun?  Batista could probably play 1b.  Does Cron get us anything of significance?  

With what's left and our potential options, I would favor standing pat because whatever we did would likely have to be cash neutral at this point.  

 

 

Why so dismissive of Wieters? We could use more punch at catcher, certainly. Maldonado as backup and Perez to SLC.

Maldonado is pure defense, no hitting. After Lucroy left and he was given the starting job, he hit .191 and .214 in successive months.

I think this team is still going to have trouble scoring runs. We were 10th in runs scored last year. Are Maybin and Espinosa big difference makers? Maybe. But will Simmons have another year like his career year (so far)? Will Albert continue to slide, coming off surgery? Is Escobar really a .300 hitter? Will Kole ever hit even .280 again?

Bautista is the last person I would want to see here. Feels like another Jose Guillen to me.

[Angel Oracle]

Bautista hasn't nearly moved around like Jose Guillen did, and from all appearances was happy to be in Toronto for many years.

My issues are his age, and moving from offense friendly Rogers Centre.   The latter sounds familiar?   Wonder what his alignment thoughts are.

Better to stick with Cron, and sign one more reliever and one more starter each to one year deals (with an option year for each if needed).

[totdprods]

It is a little bizarre there's been little to no talk about the Angels checking in on any of the relievers or 1-year vet SP types out there but there's still murmurs on hitters. 

[Stradling]

Was there any talk of the Angels and Maybin or Chavez or Maldonado?  

[totdprods]

7 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Was there any talk of the Angels and Maybin or Chavez or Maldonado?  

There's basically been zero talk about anything Eppler has ever done. He's the most tight-lipped GM we've had.
Even the speculative stuff which floats out there, which occasionally has some nuggets of truth, haven't come close to matching what he's done.

[Troll Daddy]

Napoli still unsigned

[greginpsca]

I think this Heyman blurb is BS. I don't think there is very much action going on in MLB front offices until after the new year. Most GM's are on vacation this time of year, as it is the best week to take off. Have to think Heyman is just trying attract readers.

 

[WeatherWonk]

1 minute ago, Stradling said:

Was there any talk of the Angels and Maybin or Chavez or Maldonado?  

What's to talk about, with all the other talent that's been available (even in a down FA year)? Why would national writers, the guys who have great networking with clubs, write about people that probably 90% of fans would say "who the heck is that?" 

Shopping at Dollar Tree is not that interesting to read about. Shopping at Nordstrom is. People dont read headlines with names like Maldonado, Maybin and Chavez. People read headlines AND stories with names like Chapman, Encarnacion and Bautista. In the end, writers want to write what people are interested in.

We are still bargain shoppers for one more year;  victims of the Great Obsession of Arte's for high-priced, fading stars.

While I believe we could use another bat, pitching has to be our priority, at this point. Concur with Doc.

[WeatherWonk]

7 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Napoli still unsigned

Where does Napoli fit for us? A Cron replacement for 10 times the price? And playing P/T at that salary, while he shares 1B and DH with Albert? Not worth it. Our hitting upgrades should come at catcher or maybe 3rd base.

Or, were you just pointing out some of the FAs that are left?

[Make Angels Great Again]

For crying out loud get some damn relief help.

Everything else should be secondary at the moment.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

8 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

Maybin and Revere have little trade value, so Calhoun would make the most sense. But where does he get this kind of rumor? I don't get it.  Is the "such as" totally speculative or did he hear that the Angels are actively shopping an outfielder (Calhoun)?

This is what I buy.... Slow reporting time!... And with the new CBA even more slower. No team is going to want to lose the following below for a single year contract for a Bautista or maybe even a Trumbo, Carter, Naps may eventually receive. 

 

Draft Pick Compensation: The changes are numerous and complex but address everything from the Qualifying Offer system to those that break the Luxury Tax.

• Clubs may not tender a Qualifying Offer to a player who has previously received a Qualifying Offer.
• The time period during which a player can accept a Qualifying Offer will be extended from 7 to 10 days.
• Clubs signing a Free Agent subject to compensation will no longer forfeit a first round selection, but will be subject to the following:
  • A non-market disqualified Revenue Sharing Payee Club shall forfeit its third highest remaining selection in the next Rule 4 Draft.
  • A Luxury Tax offender shall forfeit its second-highest and fifth-highest remaining selections in the next Rule 4 Draft and shall have its International Signing Bonus Pool (described below) reduced by $1,000,000 in the next full Signing Period.
  • All other Clubs shall forfeit their second-highest remaining selection in the next Rule 4 Draft and shall have their International Signing Bonus Pool reduced by $500,000 in the next full Signing Bonus Period. 
  • All forfeited International Signing Bonus Pool monies will be distributed equally among all other Clubs.  Competitive Balance Selections will be exempt from forfeiture.

[Stradling]

21 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

What's to talk about, with all the other talent that's been available (even in a down FA year)? Why would national writers, the guys who have great networking with clubs, write about people that probably 90% of fans would say "who the heck is that?" 

Shopping at Dollar Tree is not that interesting to read about. Shopping at Nordstrom is. People dont read headlines with names like Maldonado, Maybin and Chavez. People read headlines AND stories with names like Chapman, Encarnacion and Bautista. In the end, writers want to write what people are interested in.

We are still bargain shoppers for one more year;  victims of the Great Obsession of Arte's for high-priced, fading stars.

While I believe we could use another bat, pitching has to be our priority, at this point. Concur with Doc.

I agree we should spend money on pitching.  As for needing another bat, where would they play?  Unless we go with Wieters, what bat would really get any starts?  Utley as a DH option and then slide to utility player when Albert comes back?  

[NJHalo]

3 hours ago, totdprods said:

I could see a team out there valuing Calhoun enough to part with a young #3 SP for him, and I could see the Angels being interested in that scenario. I can't peg down which team has that much young pitching to do that (Smyly? Sanchez? Corbin?) but think that is likelier than Eppler moving Kole for prospects. He can then go after Saunders or Rasmus and hope that OF can be covered adequately by Maybin, Trout, Revere, and whomever they sign, which I don't think is terribly unrealistic. Risky for sure, but the potential is there to still field a more productive OF than any of years past. Rasmus or Saunders peaking could come close replacing Calhoun. Big risk though.

This I am all for. If last season proved anything, it's that you can never have enough starting pitching. I would rather have too many, like many people thought we had at the start of last season, than not enough, and have to go dumpster diving. There is not one pitcher on this staff that you can count on, so I say trade Cole while his value is still high.

[Troll Daddy]

14 minutes ago, Stradling said:

I agree we should spend money on pitching.  As for needing another bat, where would they play?  Unless we go with Wieters, what bat would really get any starts?  Utley as a DH option and then slide to utility player when Albert comes back?  

Weiters is a terrible pitch framer.

[Troll Daddy]

27 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

Where does Napoli fit for us? A Cron replacement for 10 times the price? And playing P/T at that salary, while he shares 1B and DH with Albert? Not worth it. Our hitting upgrades should come at catcher or maybe 3rd base.

Or, were you just pointing out some of the FAs that are left?

I agree ... I'd rather stick with Cron

[nikkachez]

They're not trading Kole, I'm not buying this. Unless a team is willing to overpay heavily with cost-controlled pitching for Cron while guys like Trumbo, Carter, Napoli, and others are on the market, it doesn't make sense to me. Prediction: the Angels don't make a move for a bat (although I wouldn't mind Derek Norris or Jose Lobaton if Washington does sign Wieters), they'd be better off adding pitching through free agency and calling it a winter. 

[WeatherWonk]

8 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Weiters is a terrible pitch framer.

But isnt it easier to teach pitch framing than how to hit ML pitching? Cant guys learn this fairly quickly?

It's a rather new ability that some catchers have resisted learning;  not knowing if it was legit.

I'm also waiting for the umpire backlash on this, where umps recognize what the catcher is doing and begins to start calling balls, when the catcher "slides" the mitt over. Just a theory of mine.

[Docwaukee]

Weiters is a decent hitting catcher but not a good hitter.  And he's basically become an average defensive catcher when you factor in his pitch framing.  

If they had a trade in place and ready prior to making a FA signing then it would have to be significant or else I'm just not seeing how signing any of the available hitters moves the needle much for this team.  

Now if you told me you were moving Cron for a top pitching prospect and a potentially major league ready dynamic reliever as well as a 2b or 3b prospect and then you were going to sign Weiters to play 1b then ok.