Angels Official Website: Inbox: Who's out when Valbuena returns?

[AngelsWin.com]

When Luis Valbuena comes off the disabled list, who is the odd man out? Angels beat reporter Maria Guardado answers this question and more in the latest Inbox.

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[Angel Oracle]

I was thinking that Valbuena could split time between 3B and 1B, and thus not take that much time from Cron, and then Marte plays everyday at SLC.

But then Escobar decided to be red hot to start the season, and even play a little better defense than a year ago.

Tough decision to make 

[Chuck]

As much as I like him, Marte. 

Let him go down to AAA and play 3B every day to prep him for that job in the future.

[Angelsjunky]

Too soon to tell, but probably Marte.

Too bad Valbuena can't play 2B as aside from one swing, Espinosa has been awful at the plate.

[totdprods]

It's a ways to go. Pujols, Cron, and Escobar aren't exactly the most durable of players, and Cron is still yet to really prove himself consistently. If he's struggling to get above a .700 OPS come time for Luis to return, I could see them opting to keep the more versatile Marte, even if it risks damaging Cron's value or morale. 

[Troll Daddy]

Well it's either Marte or Cron ... I think it's Cron's job to lose. 

[Make Angels Great Again]

I figured it would be Pennington.

[Blarg]

Marte has options, he will go to AAA. 

[GrittyVeterans]

Escobar is setting the table way too well to not be in the lineup every day. Guy has a .351 career OBP, which is like 30 points better than league average. That's not someone you take out of the lineup

[CanadianHalo]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

Too soon to tell, but probably Marte.

Too bad Valbuena can't play 2B as aside from one swing, Espinosa has been awful at the plate.

He played 2nd in 2009 and 2010 and played 21 games there in 2014.

He was a negative WAR defender all 3 of those years though. 

I gotta think the Angels traded for Espinosa expecting very little from him offensively minus a home run here and there

[ukyah]

11 minutes ago, CanadianHalo said:

 

I gotta think the Angels traded for Espinosa expecting very little from him offensively minus a home run here and there

 

i think that's probably not true. espinoza is an excellent defender, which they haven't had, and he's also a bat with a lot of potential in it, which they also haven't had. he's a high floor/high ceiling player, and while that's not uncommon, it's not common either.

the angels have been trotting out some low floor/low ceiling players at the keystone for a little while now. espinoza was a very good addition to the team, and i bet he gets signed to a three year deal.

[CanadianHalo]

9 minutes ago, ukyah said:

 

i think that's probably not true. espinoza is an excellent defender, which they haven't had, and he's also a bat with a lot of potential in it, which they also haven't had. he's a high floor/high ceiling player, and while that's not uncommon, it's not common either.

the angels have been trotting out some low floor/low ceiling players at the keystone for a little while now. espinoza was a very good addition to the team, and i bet he gets signed to a three year deal.

That's why I specifically said offensively. They for sure traded for him for defensive purposes im just saying they aren't expecting much from him offensively.

Even a home run here and there is a nice add as we saw it win us a game earlier last week  

[Troll Daddy]

I think the Angels hope to see a 20+ HR and .700 OPS from Espinoza. 

[ukyah]

1 hour ago, CanadianHalo said:

That's why I specifically said offensively. They for sure traded for him for defensive purposes im just saying they aren't expecting much from him offensively.

Even a home run here and there is a nice add as we saw it win us a game earlier last week  

i understand that, i was just saying that i think they expect more from him offensively than you suggest. his offensive floor is the low obp 25 homerun guy that you expect, and maybe that's what they'll get, but his ceiling is much higher than that.

[Blarg]

Espinoza is 30 years old. His time to reach a high ceiling is well past. He is who he is.

[Ohtaniland]

Espinosa is a poor man's Moneyball move because we couldn't afford to sign Daniel Murphy. 

Pennington, Espinosa and Valbuena's oWAR's combined don't add up to Murphy's.

[Stradling]

12 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

Espinosa is a poor man's Moneyball move because we couldn't afford to sign Daniel Murphy. 

Pennington, Espinosa and Valbuena's oWAR's combined don't add up to Murphy's.

Except Espinosa and Murphy are completely different players.  They both play 2nd base and that's about where the similarities end.  

[Taylor]

9 hours ago, Stradling said:

Except Espinosa and Murphy are completely different players.  They both play 2nd base and that's about where the similarities end.  

They're both named Daniel.

[Angelsfan1984]

It will be Marte or Pennington.

[Troll Daddy]

I think a Bartolo Colon return is more interesting  to discuss. 

[aznhockeyguy]

A very high level glove and slightly below offensive production is what I expect from Espinoza. The problem with below offensive production is that there are many valleys where he will struggle. 

[ukyah]

19 hours ago, Blarg said:

Espinoza is 30 years old. His time to reach a high ceiling is well past. He is who he is.

you guys are misunderstanding what i'm saying. i'm not talking about development, i'm talking about season to season variance.

i just looked up espinoza and giavotella's career offensive profile and you know what? other than power, there's very little separating them offensively. in fact, i kind of like giavotella's profile better. 

i retract my previous comments, i think espinoza's offensive floor is lower than i thought. i was wrong.

[Erstad Grit]

Pennington isn't going anywhere.  His versatility is needed.  

[Angel Oracle]

17 hours ago, ukyah said:

you guys are misunderstanding what i'm saying. i'm not talking about development, i'm talking about season to season variance.

i just looked up espinoza and giavotella's career offensive profile and you know what? other than power, there's very little separating them offensively. in fact, i kind of like giavotella's profile better. 

i retract my previous comments, i think espinoza's offensive floor is lower than i thought. i was wrong.

It's Espinosa's D being >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Giavotella's D that is the big thing.

[totdprods]

At this point, it's really pretty close to call regarding Marte or Cron. Cron's got the defensive/'experience' edge but Marte has been the better hitter, is more versatile, and profiles to platoon better with Valbuena. 

Going to be real interesting to see how they fight for it the next couple weeks.