Angels nearing multiyear deal with Luis Valbuena

[John Smith]

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• Jeff Fletcher ‏@JeffFletcherOCR 6m6 minutes ago

   

 

Sounds like Valbueana got 2 years, plus option, but still trying to confirm. 3B Escobar and 2B Espinosa both FA's after 17. #angels

 

[DMVol]

6 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Does Pennington get traded?

Maybe not....Marte is probably the odd man out....

 

[totdprods]

7 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Does Pennington get traded?

They'll probably keep him for now. Really isn't any need to shake anything up other than bumping Marte down to AAA. Good depth is good. Keep the team brimming with it and options, and let the season progress with that as a strength.

[Stradling]

20 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Seriously, you have to get over your infatuation with Escobar.

I'll continue to be right, move along.

[DMVol]

1 minute ago, totdprods said:

They'll probably keep him for now. Really isn't any need to shake anything up other than bumping Marte down to AAA. Good depth is good. Keep the team brimming with it and options, and let the season progress with that as a strength.

You can always make a trade in spring training....injuries, ineffectiveness, young guys pushing for a spot....not like July but smaller moves are made....

[Troll Daddy]

Just now, Stradling said:

I'll continue to be right, move along.

If you where right they wouldn't of picked up his option. 

Moving along, bye

 

[tdawg87]

*have

[Stradling]

1 minute ago, Troll Daddy said:

If you where right they wouldn't of picked up his option. 

Moving along, bye

 

They picked up his option because of his bat, not for any other skill set he possesses.  He does a decent job at picking the ball at third, but has very limited range, an inaccurate arm, and he's consistently a bonehead.  He does get on base which is important. 

[totdprods]

1 minute ago, DMVol said:

You can always make a trade in spring training....injuries, ineffectiveness, young guys pushing for a spot....not like July but smaller moves are made....

That's the beauty of this - Escobar, Espinosa, Pennington, Cron, Marte, Valbuena, and possibly Revere or Maybin are now expendable (to a degree of course) and trade bait as a result of this, with a legit option in the wings to fill their role.

Adds so many layers of depth. 

They may have been hesitant to deal Espinosa or Escobar knowing that both could be necessary for next year's plans and were extension or re-sign candidates. They can shed Pennington at any point now. A deal involving Cron or Marte may have been unfathomable before as we needed young pop at the corners, and Valbuena, while not young, is enough of a band-aid to now consider those options. 

[Troll Daddy]

In Spanish now ... its official 

 

 

[ettin]

I'll also point out that in 2016 out of all the MLB players with 100 PA's or more Valbuena was ranked 11th in how many pitches he sees per PA (4.35 pitches/PA). Trout is ranked 5th.

[Troll Daddy]

3 minutes ago, ettin said:

I'll also point out that in 2016 out of all the MLB players with 100 PA's or more Valbuena was ranked 11th in how many pitches he sees per PA (4.35 pitches/PA). Trout is ranked 5th.

Angels are looking for good contact hitters with plate discipline ... he should fit in very good. 

[Blarg]

Luis es Bueno.

[totdprods]

Judging by the way contracts have been this offseason, this could be a great deal too. 

[Troll Daddy]

25 minutes ago, Stradling said:

They picked up his option because of his bat, not for any other skill set he possesses.  He does a decent job at picking the ball at third, but has very limited range, an inaccurate arm, and he's consistently a bonehead.  He does get on base which is important. 

If you believe that ... then I have a used car in the back you might be interested in. 

[Angelsjunky]

Nice pickup, assuming it isn't too much. That said, I agree that Marte is wasted in AAA and needs major league playing time. Not sure what the plan is.

[nando714]

Nice depth 

didnt he play first base too with Houston? 

[totdprods]

Just now, nando714 said:

Nice depth 

didnt he play first base too with Houston? 

1B, 3B, 2B, and he can pop in at LF as easily as Marte could have.

[totdprods]

Over the last three years, Valbuena has posted a .199 ISO and hit 54 home runs. For comparison, in that same time period, Mike Napoli has a .198 ISO. 

[Richard]

Heyman suspects Cron might be trade bait

 

 

[Troll Daddy]

2 minutes ago, Richard said:

Heyman suspects Cron might be trade bait

 

 

NO WAY

[ettin]

1 minute ago, Richard said:

Heyman suspects Cron might be trade bait

 

 

Richard you forgot to cite the original source:

[JAHV76]

I don't see the Angels trading Cron. Escobar would make more sense maybe for some minor league pitching or other depth options.

[SigBaby]

I've been in favor of a Cron trade for a while now with Marte and i guess now Valbuena taking his spot at 1st. But I wouldn't force anything and would only do it if it nets some young pitching. 

[Angelsjunky]

Actually, it does make some sense. Let's assume a few things:

1. Thaiss, who has higher upside than Cron, is ready by mid-season in 2018, Sept call-up at the latest.

2. There's no room for all three of Thaiss, Cron, and Pujols on the Angels, unless they consider Thaiss or Cron (ouch) as a conversion to LF, which we've seen no sign of. Pujols is untradeable, so unless Thaiss flops, Cron will be traded sometime in the next two years.

3. Cron has pretty solid trade value. Not great, but he could net a grade B prospect.

4. The difference between Cron and Valbuena isn't that huge. Last year Cron had a 115 wRC+ and Valbuena 123. Even if Cron improves a bit and Valubena regresses, it will be close.

5. The net result: Trade Cron for a grade B prospect, play Valbuena/Marte at 1B for the next 1.5 to 2 years, then insert Thaiss. Voila.