Angels Official Website: Meyer could earn time in Angels' rotation

[AngelsWin.com]

With Spring Training fast approaching, MLB.com will take a look at a different aspect of this year's Angels squad each day this week. Today's topic: Who might surprise?

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[Second Base]

The way I see it, you don't trade Hector Santiago in a year where pitching is thinner than thin, just to acquire a relief prospect and an ok 5th starter.

I don't mind if Alex opens the season in the bullpen, but if the Angels want to actually attain value from that trade, Meyer needs to be in the rotation. I'd say regardless, he should be at some point. Just the sheer upside of having Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Meyer and Shoe/Tropeano has the type of potential to get you into the Fall Classic in 2019.

[greginpsca]

And the hype begins.

[NachoPop]

Does his clock start if he starts the year in the bigs?

 

[Troll Daddy]

13 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

The way I see it, you don't trade Hector Santiago in a year where pitching is thinner than thin, just to acquire a relief prospect and an ok 5th starter.

I don't mind if Alex opens the season in the bullpen, but if the Angels want to actually attain value from that trade, Meyer needs to be in the rotation. I'd say regardless, he should be at some point. Just the sheer upside of having Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Meyer and Shoe/Tropeano has the type of potential to get you into the Fall Classic in 2019.

I get your point ... personally, I thought the  trade was brilliant and a little outside the box. 

Meyers, Nolasco, and $4MM isn't to shabby.

I don't think Meyers needs to be anywhere to make this trade viable ... fingers crossed.

[ettin]

Certainly I'd love to see him succeed in the rotation if that is still possible, that would absolutely be the best outcome.

However when you consider that he only pitched about 53 innings last year and only 92 the year before, it seems unlikely that he will pitch more than about 100-120 maximum in the best case scenario.

On top of that if the Angels start him in the Minors this year and wait until late May or June to call him up they can gain one more year of control moving him from 2022 to 2023.

Unless he absolutely astounds the Angels in Spring Training (and he could, he has the stuff) they will undoubtedly start him in the Minors. In order to manage his innings they will certainly have a plan to give him starts and bullpen innings to manage his innings totals and pitch counts. If the Angels need him later in the year the team needs to keep him flexible for whatever role they need him to occupy based on how the team is performing in the standings.

Scotty I have to disagree about him only providing value in the rotation. He has the arm to be a great back-end bullpen piece and that has a lot of value as well. In the end the important thing is that the Angels get something out of him and I think they will have a reasonably good chance of achieving that with Meyer.

[Second Base]

4 hours ago, ettin said:

Certainly I'd love to see him succeed in the rotation if that is still possible, that would absolutely be the best outcome.

However when you consider that he only pitched about 53 innings last year and only 92 the year before, it seems unlikely that he will pitch more than about 100-120 maximum in the best case scenario.

On top of that if the Angels start him in the Minors this year and wait until late May or June to call him up they can gain one more year of control moving him from 2022 to 2023.

Unless he absolutely astounds the Angels in Spring Training (and he could, he has the stuff) they will undoubtedly start him in the Minors. In order to manage his innings they will certainly have a plan to give him starts and bullpen innings to manage his innings totals and pitch counts. If the Angels need him later in the year the team needs to keep him flexible for whatever role they need him to occupy based on how the team is performing in the standings.

Scotty I have to disagree about him only providing value in the rotation. He has the arm to be a great back-end bullpen piece and that has a lot of value as well. In the end the important thing is that the Angels get something out of him and I think they will have a reasonably good chance of achieving that with Meyer.

From what I've been told, the Angels have no intention of keeping him in the minors at all. I'm guessing they don't think there's anything for him to gain down there. If this is true, then it is likely we'll see Meyer open the year in the bullpen, and they'll limit his innings until June or July and put him back in the rotation.

[nando714]

Let's hope so

wasnt he "the piece" in the Santiago trade 

[eligrba]

What kind of shape is he in for spring training?

[arch stanton]

Unless it's procedural or just to get one more appearance in before his first start there's no reason for Meyer to be in AAA.

[maximus p]

9 hours ago, NachoPop said:

Does his clock start if he starts the year in the bigs?

 

He's got MLB service time already, so I think the clock has started.

[maximus p]

9 hours ago, ettin said:

Certainly I'd love to see him succeed in the rotation if that is still possible, that would absolutely be the best outcome.

However when you consider that he only pitched about 53 innings last year and only 92 the year before, it seems unlikely that he will pitch more than about 100-120 maximum in the best case scenario.

On top of that if the Angels start him in the Minors this year and wait until late May or June to call him up they can gain one more year of control moving him from 2022 to 2023.

Unless he absolutely astounds the Angels in Spring Training (and he could, he has the stuff) they will undoubtedly start him in the Minors. In order to manage his innings they will certainly have a plan to give him starts and bullpen innings to manage his innings totals and pitch counts. If the Angels need him later in the year the team needs to keep him flexible for whatever role they need him to occupy based on how the team is performing in the standings.

Scotty I have to disagree about him only providing value in the rotation. He has the arm to be a great back-end bullpen piece and that has a lot of value as well. In the end the important thing is that the Angels get something out of him and I think they will have a reasonably good chance of achieving that with Meyer.

BBRef has him already listed as a FA in 2023, plus he has 0.047 of service time from the Twins and the Angels-though they list him as still a rookie (I thought 45 games was the limit).

[ettin]

23 minutes ago, maximus p said:

BBRef has him already listed as a FA in 2023, plus he has 0.047 of service time from the Twins and the Angels-though they list him as still a rookie (I thought 45 games was the limit).

If I'm not mistaken as long as his rookie status is intact (which B-Ref says it is) he can be kept down for a certain amount of time this year and if he doesn't break the threshold he would gain the extra year of control through 2023 as I mentioned above. Remember that it says FA in 2023 on B-Ref but that means he is controlled through 2022 per the site.

You do bring up a point I forgot about which is his existing innings pitched in the Majors. Instead of getting perhaps a May call up the Angels would likely have to wait until July or so if that year of control is important to them. It may, as tdawg has mentioned previously, not be that important to the Front Office I guess it really depends on how they feel about the player and his probable success moving forward.

[Angel Oracle]

I can't see him pitching 180 innings until 2019, if he continues on as a starter.

If the health "miraculously" takes hold, this could become a solid rotation in 2019.  Could the BIG operative word

[totdprods]

He's already, what, 27? Wouldn't be too worried about service time or control anyways. For that same reason, I don't think there's much worry about him having an innings cap. He's not a small bodied 22-year old prospect still developing and easing in. He's a 6'9" dude closer to 30 than he is to arbitration. It is a make or break point and it's in his and the teams interest to log as many innings as he can as quickly as he can. This is his chance. 

[Second Base]

3 hours ago, totdprods said:

He's already, what, 27? Wouldn't be too worried about service time or control anyways. For that same reason, I don't think there's much worry about him having an innings cap. He's not a small bodied 22-year old prospect still developing and easing in. He's a 6'9" dude closer to 30 than he is to arbitration. It is a make or break point and it's in his and the teams interest to log as many innings as he can as quickly as he can. This is his chance. 

I think that's partly correct at least. But given the injury history, even if Meyer doesn't have the stamina to go 180+ a year, the option of being a late inning reliever makes for a nice fall back. When it comes to relievers, age doesn't really factor. Some guys never make it until their mid-30's, some guys are done by 24. With the average span of a major league RP being roughly 2-3 years, you break in when you break in. 

Meyer's as a starting pitcher is much greater, and it is very much dependent upon him turning the corner this year or next and going a full season. But as a RP, time is on his side.

He's ready though.

[totdprods]

Yeah he definitely has some stamina and health issues still, and it wouldn't make sense to jeopardize his health, but I don't think either party's going to be very concerned with innings/pitch limits, service time, etc. His time is now and if he's able to pitch effectively for 40, 60, 100, 120, 160 innings I imagine they'll just roll with it unless he's showing serious signs of injury risk or ineffectiveness. No sense having much of a predetermined plan.