Are they done?

[jgimondo]

Are the Angels done making moves ? If not what are they waiting for ? They still need to add some pitching.

[totdprods]

No, they're not done. 

At this point, there are so few free agents of impact** left, there are two likely scenarios - one, the team is waiting on players to lower their demands, or two, the teams have already made offers, and they're just waiting for the players to make up their minds. Keep in mind that we had zero warning prior to any of our other moves this offseason, so another move could come out of the blue at any moment. 

There are also plenty of minor-league deals and ST invites to come.

**One can argue that Logan, Blevins, Feliz, etc. would represent an 'impact' FA, but seeing as to how stringent Eppler has been on free agents, with no deals over one-year in length, I'd be surprised if any of them were on the radar unless their prices were down to a total bargain, and it's still too early for those players to be that desperate. 

[Ohtaniland]

Some fans still think that Arte's yacht is going to show up at the airport. 

[AngelsFanSince86]

There isn't much of anything going on right now.  Its not as if there is a plethora of moves happening right now and the Angels are just sitting on their hands.  They'll probably sign a relief pitcher or two and same with starting pitchers for depth.

[tomsred]

In modern baseball you are never "done".  It's a continuous process.

[Jobu]

@Tank? 

[greginpsca]

At the end of spring training there usually is players being released from teams that are out of options. This where the team might want to see who becomes available.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Well, the Reds signed Drew Storen for 1/3M + incentives topping out at 5M for the year!..... Would have been nice to add another former closer and setup guy for that cashe'....

[Second Base]

Until the beginning of Spring Training, I'd say we're done with major moves. We might sign someone to a minor league deal or claim some guys off waivers, but for the most part, the team currently constructed is the one you'll see.

[ettin]

14 minutes ago, SlappyUtilityMIF said:

Well, the Reds signed Drew Storen for 1/3M + incentives topping out at 5M for the year!..... Would have been nice to add another former closer and setup guy for that cashe'....

I'm sure he is guaranteed a position at the back of their bullpen, if not the closer role, which is probably why he took potentially less money to reestablish his value after the Nationals debacle. In Anaheim he'd clearly be competing for a closer spot that is likely to be won by someone else. It is a very reasonable price for one year of Storen though.

[Troll Daddy]

[Tank]

8 hours ago, Jobu said:

@Tank? 

yes?

[Brent Maguire]

Nope. I don't know if a move comes soon or during Spring Training but I don't envision the team standing pat after the offseason they've had. I'd expect another reliever at the very least to be added and potentially a swingman guy for depth purposes. Nothing too extreme though. 

[Docwaukee]

8 hours ago, SlappyUtilityMIF said:

Well, the Reds signed Drew Storen for 1/3M + incentives topping out at 5M for the year!..... Would have been nice to add another former closer and setup guy for that cashe'....

I was disappointed we weren't in on this until I dug a little deeper to see that he had a near 2 mph drop in velocity last year. 

[Docwaukee]

I think we're still monitoring the pitching market.  We may not sign anyone else, but I think there's still some browsing.  Could be a couple of 1yr deals in there as of yet.  If I had to guess, it would be a situational lefty and another Chavez type who could either start or relieve.  

Once you see us make some minor league invites, i think we'll be done  

 

[ELEVEN]

I would try the latch. If you hear a cough, they aren't done yet.

[totdprods]

6 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I think we're still monitoring the pitching market.  We may not sign anyone else, but I think there's still some browsing.  Could be a couple of 1yr deals in there as of yet.  If I had to guess, it would be a situational lefty and another Chavez type who could either start or relieve.  

Once you see us make some minor league invites, i think we'll be done  

I think it's actually likelier we see minor league deals and ST invites before any 1-yr deals. Eppler is probably content with the MLB club as it stands now and is focusing on AAA depth while waiting for remaining MLB FAs to lower their asking price. I remember during one of Dipoto's offseasons we announced a slew of minor league deals as early as December, perhaps even the winter meetings.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

8 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I was disappointed we weren't in on this until I dug a little deeper to see that he had a near 2 mph drop in velocity last year. 

I really don't understand why that's important..... Weave dropped by 25 mph since he first came up. Everyone does. He was still hitting 92-93mph with the M's late last year...And his K's #'s were back up even though he had a horrid 1st half with the Blue Jays his k/9 were career norms of 8.6...He was always a 8.5-8.8 K/9 kind of guy then went up to 11.0 in 2015 and back down to norms 8.4.... He's a sinker slider guy so as he ages he will more than likely go to the slider more.

[Second Base]

It doesn't take an expert to understand the Angels weakness, and what will be the difference between winning the AL West and winning 75 games. Pitching.

Now Eppler has done a terrific job putting together rotation depth. With Chavez, Ramirez, Meyer, Smith, Banuelos, Campos and Lamb all competing for 5th starter, we should still have enough arms to round out a rotation even if Richards is injured, Shoemaker has lasting effects, and Skaggs fatigues. It won't be a great rotation, but it won't be a joke like last year either. 

So we're covered there.

But where we are lacking, is the bullpen. It would be a leap to automatically assume Bedrock and Street are healthy. And if they aren't, things could go south quickly. Now, we do have a couple of nice prospects in Middleton and Paredes, and they may help later in the year, but we need proven veterans. We also have high octane starters like Meyer and Campos that could help out in relief.

But regardless, Bailey, Ramirez, Guerra, Alvarez and Morin are all question marks themselves.

Given our relative lack of spending money (or rather the confines Arte has put in place), I don't forsee the Angels being able to afford any proven starter.

I mean I'd love to have Neftali Feliz but it probably isn't going to happen. More likely, we will be signing some former major league closer fallen on hard times to a minor league deal as Eppler did with Javy Guerra last year.

[Troll Daddy]

Free agent lefty C.J. Wilson, who missed the entire 2016 season due to shoulder surgery that repaired fraying in his labrum and rotator cuff, began a throwing program last month, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The longtime Rangers and Angels hurler could work out for big league clubs at some point in February, Rosenthal adds.

traderumors

not yet?

[totdprods]

I'd still be thrilled with one of: Hochevar, Barrett, Cahill, Henderson, Romo, or Petit from the right side, and one of Blevins, Howell, Logan, Furbush, or Wood from the left. I'd be mildly interested in Feldman or Niese.

[Troll Daddy]

5 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

It doesn't take an expert to understand the Angels weakness, and what will be the difference between winning the AL West and winning 75 games. Pitching.

Now Eppler has done a terrific job putting together rotation depth. With Chavez, Ramirez, Meyer, Smith, Banuelos, Campos and Lamb all competing for 5th starter, we should still have enough arms to round out a rotation even if Richards is injured, Shoemaker has lasting effects, and Skaggs fatigues. It won't be a great rotation, but it won't be a joke like last year either. 

So we're covered there.

But where we are lacking, is the bullpen. It would be a leap to automatically assume Bedrock and Street are healthy. And if they aren't, things could go south quickly. Now, we do have a couple of nice prospects in Middleton and Paredes, and they may help later in the year, but we need proven veterans. We also have high octane starters like Meyer and Campos that could help out in relief.

But regardless, Bailey, Ramirez, Guerra, Alvarez and Morin are all question marks themselves.

Given our relative lack of spending money (or rather the confines Arte has put in place), I don't forsee the Angels being able to afford any proven starter.

I mean I'd love to have Neftali Feliz but it probably isn't going to happen. More likely, we will be signing some former major league closer fallen on hard times to a minor league deal as Eppler did with Javy Guerra last year.

I think that all our pitchers are coming into camp healthy and ready to compete. I haven't read anything otherwise ... everything has been positive so far. 

Of course, it never hurts to acquire more pitching. Getting a player like Felix would be a luxury I'm in favor of!

[Troll Daddy]

[Second Base]

50 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

I think that all our pitchers are coming into camp healthy and ready to compete. I haven't read anything otherwise ... everything has been positive so far. 

Of course, it never hurts to acquire more pitching. Getting a player like Felix would be a luxury I'm in favor of!

Being an otimistic person by nature, I believe that Richards, Shoe, Skaggs, Street and Bedrock will all be healthy and in form, and our LF and 2B positions will be quite productive, and our ability to prevent runs will lead to the Angels winning 85-95 games.

But being diligent in building a team requires me to do something very counter-intuitive (at least for me) which is plan for things not to go so well. Eppler has done a good job of doing just that, but to finish it, I think we'll need another proven veteran in the bullpen. I don't think we'll get it, because all that SP depth could play out as relief depth too. 

Just my perspective. 

[KevinJ14]

1 hour ago, Scotty@AW said:

Being an otimistic person by nature, I believe that Richards, Shoe, Skaggs, Street and Bedrock will all be healthy and in form, and our LF and 2B positions will be quite productive, and our ability to prevent runs will lead to the Angels winning 85-95 games.

But being diligent in building a team requires me to do something very counter-intuitive (at least for me) which is plan for things not to go so well. Eppler has done a good job of doing just that, but to finish it, I think we'll need another proven veteran in the bullpen. I don't think we'll get it, because all that SP depth could play out as relief depth too. 

Just my perspective. 

CJ Wilson, lefty specialist 

Think about it...