So let down by Maybin

[Dtwncbad]

I know the season is still new enough to get him turned around but man I am let down by Maybins.  All I wanted was to NOT have a hole in the lineup.

Is the team just cursed until the Hamilton contract is gone?

[tdawg87]

The entire lineup outside of Trout has been a letdown.

[totdprods]

It's amazing how bad LF and 2B continue to be. Maybin's drawing walks at least. I still think at least one of them will right the ship.

[tomsred]

I think our misery in LF will be over next year; Maybin either gets it together or we move on to a higher caliber player because we will have the budget to do so.  One of the biggest things we can do this year is to decide what we will need to do this coming offseason in LF, 2B, 3B and starting pitchers.  It will make things considerably easier if someone steps up big time at least two of those areas.  The best candidates would be Maybin, Johnson, Cowart, Smith, Scribner, or Meyer, among the ones we currently have in house.  With the exception of Maybin most are inexpensive. 

[totdprods]

I want Lorenzo Cain in LF next year. Solves top of the order hole when Escobar leaves too. Speed, defense, high batting average. Perfect fit.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

1 hour ago, tomsred said:

 One of the biggest things we can do this year is to decide what we will need to do this coming offseason in LF, 2B, 3B and starting pitchers.

J C Ramirez and Meyer have filled in for Richards and Skaggs admirably, so I am not to worried about starting pitching as much as LF and 2B. Escobar going on the DL will let us see how well Valbuena can fill in at 3B, since going off the DL he has been quite good with a slash line of .290/.371/.484/.855, 2HR, in only 31 AB.

[tomsred]

14 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

J C Ramirez and Meyer have filled in for Richards and Skaggs admirably, so I am not to worried about starting pitching as much as LF and 2B. Escobar going on the DL will let us see how well Valbuena can fill in at 3B, since going off the DL he has been quite good with a slash line of .290/.371/.484/.855, 2HR, in only 31 AB.

Yeah that would be great if Valbuena keeps hitting at this rate, and can play adequate defense at third base.  The next month should be a good test for for him.  If he sticks there, then it will be between Cron, Marte, and possibly Thaiss for 1B next year.  I think 2B is going to be tougher, we probably will have to fill that one outside, unless Cowart or Johnson can fill it.

[ettin]

2 hours ago, totdprods said:

I want Lorenzo Cain in LF next year. Solves top of the order hole when Escobar leaves too. Speed, defense, high batting average. Perfect fit.

It's funny I had put together a list of next year's free agent position players and downloaded the Excel file and was sorting by players with positive total 'OFF' and 'DEF' scores (FanGraphs) and he was at the top of the list after I filtered down.

Eppler has already shown a propensity for prioritizing defense and building depth by having capable backups in case of injury so Cain would certainly be an interesting pickup. Notably he probably would only require a 4, maybe 5 year commitment due to his age. We'd probably regret the last year or two of his contract but in the Trout window it isn't a terrible idea.

[VariousCrap]

Revere needs to be given the LF job right now.  Give him a couple weeks to find a groove.  Maybin has had enough time and failed.  He needs to sit.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

5 hours ago, totdprods said:

I want Lorenzo Cain in LF next year. Solves top of the order hole when Escobar leaves too. Speed, defense, high batting average. Perfect fit.

I'd rather we go younger if possible, I wouldn't no more than 3 years with an option for more years on Cain

[Billy_Ball]

3rd in AL in stolen bases (9).

[JustATroutFan]

I remember saying on here that Maybin might struggle this year since his BABIP last year was very high in the .380 range. On top of that, I also stated that last year was his first good year with the bat in his career. So he had a lot of luck with the bat in 2016. Even if he doesn't hit well, I still think he'll be a solid contributor because he plays good defense and has pretty good speed.

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

I'd rather we go younger if possible, I wouldn't no more than 3 years with an option for more years on Cain

Torii was same age as Cain when he hit free agency. Always gonna be some risk or downside with virtually any FA. Cain has been remarkably consistent, and has been playing mostly CF so perhaps a slide over to LF would ease the wear and tear on him. May have to go 4 or even 5 years for him, but that's just the price of doing business via FA. I don't see any other FA outfielders that look like a better fit as of this time.

[tdawg87]

1 hour ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

I'd rather we go younger if possible, I wouldn't no more than 3 years with an option for more years on Cain

We all want FA's who are young, cheap, and will immediately impact the team. Unfortunately those players don't exist. If a player like Cain were to hit the market at age 28 he'd get 8-9 years worth 200 million dollars, easily. 

You have to pay to get talent. Realistically if the Angels want Cain they will probably have to match what they gave Hamilton. If we're afraid to sign impact players because they are over 30 then we might as well just stay out of the market altogether.

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

We all want FA's who are young, cheap, and will immediately impact the team. Unfortunately those players don't exist. If a player like Cain were to hit the market at age 28 he'd get 8-9 years worth 200 million dollars, easily. 

You have to pay to get talent. Realistically if the Angels want Cain they will probably have to match what they gave Hamilton. If we're afraid to sign impact players because they are over 30 then we might as well just stay out of the market altogether.

I'd go as high as the Torii deal, 5/90, for my max. Obviously a 3-4 year deal for 12-15 mil would be ideal, but if he keeps up what he's been doing this year, he's gonna get closer to the max.

Biggest attraction for me is that Cain helps address the hole at the top of the order as well. If Escobar walks or is dealt, who is out lead-off hitter next year? Kole? Simmons? Trout? We have nothing internal that is best suited for that role. And I imagine most here aren't interested in re-signing Yunel.

Moustakas is a great target for 3B, but also not a leadoff hitter. Options to fill that role in the lineup are few and far between in free agency next year.

Like most FA deals, we're likely going to have to overpay in time and terms and that means you run the risk that he's a broken down, struggling 36-year old platoon bat making $18m ala Curtis Granderson in 2022, but if it means Trout has a .300 hitter with speed and CF defense next to him in LF for a couple seasons, it's worth the risk.

[totdprods]

Maybin's put up a .307 OBP to his .185 BA, so he's still getting on base at a rate greater than what we've had in LF the past few seasons. His defense has been awkward at times but is still coming out positive, and he's stealing bases at a clip we hadn't had in a while, save for Trout. His Babip is also way below his career norms so there's some bad luck in play.

With Yunel out, I'd actually try and drop Cameron at the top for a few games and see what happens. He seems like a bit of a high energy dude and maybe hitting later in the lineup is causing him to lose some edge. He's walking enough to still get on base before Calhoun, Trout, and Pujols and has the speed for top of the order too. May see better pitches because of that too.

[TroutCron]

Right now Calhoun is a black hole in the lineup. He has tohit lower in the lineup until he gets his groove back. Maybin and Revere platooning in LF and hitting lead off while Escobar is out works for now. Trout is having another great year, we need bodies on base for him or else he will ve walked 3 times a game. 

Maldonado has been a  pleasant surprise with the bat maybe he should hit higher in the order now. MS doesn't have an easy job right now putting a lineup together. 

[Brent Maguire]

Lorenzo Cain would be a pretty good get on a 4/80 deal. Bring in someone like Todd Frazier for 3B and a mid tier SP(Estrada) and you'd have the makings of a pretty good offseason. 

[DMVol]

14 hours ago, VariousCrap said:

Revere needs to be given the LF job right now.  Give him a couple weeks to find a groove.  Maybin has had enough time and failed.  He needs to sit.

I wouldn't totally give up on Maybin but Revere, other than last year, has a better track record offensively....I think he eventually gets most of the playing time...right now, it's kind of a Pennington/Espinosa thing....

[Angel Oracle]

Cain has averaged just 40 XBH's a season (down the past 2 seasons), and his SB's are down to half of where he used to be.   I'm guessing about 4 years/$60-$70 million for Cain.

JD Martinez is a FA as well after this season.   He's not the defender that Cain is, but he is certainly a standout hitter (around .900 OPS since 2014) AND going on 2 years younger (not 30 until August)

Guesses on Martinez?   I guess that it will take 5 years/$100-$110 million to sign Martinez.  

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, Angels_Baseball said:

Lorenzo Cain would be a pretty good get on a 4/80 deal. Bring in someone like Todd Frazier for 3B and a mid tier SP(Estrada) and you'd have the makings of a pretty good offseason. 

That's exactly what I'm picturing and pretty happy with. Doesn't kill the farm, improves the club, no overwhelmingly crippling contacts. Improves the club for '18 - might not make them favorites, but doesn't significantly impede the team either. I'm fine banking on back of the rotation healthy starters and hoping a TORP develops internally over spending $22-30m a season on a FA.

[HaloNArizona]

Wow...Middle of May and we are already talking about next years FA's 

 

[totdprods]

Just now, HaloNArizona said:

Wow...Middle of May and we are already talking about next years FA's 

 

We've been talking about the FA class after this next one even longer, so? 

Doesn't hurt to have a long-term vision. 

[NorCal Halo]

1 hour ago, heRo said:

Cain has said he wants a long term deal. What's with this board and all these unrealistic trade proposals? "I think we could get Harper and Trout", I'll give you 10:1 on that one.

You are right, totally unrealistic.  But you just mentioning Trout and Harper made me smile to think about how insane it would be for those two to hit back-to-back.  Now I'm going to imagine a young Albert hitting with those two back-to-back-to-back.

[Homebrewer]

Cameron Maybin trade looks like a win for Tigers and Al Avila

http://www.blessyouboys.com/2017/5/15/15638252/detroit-tigers-cameron-maybin-al-avila-trade-los-angeles-angels