Angels roster could change a lot before 2018

[UndertheHalo]

If moose is on a 5 year 83 million deal.  I'm fine with it.  FA is scary, and he is concerning.  But he'd also be the best 3b we've had by a lot in a long time. 

Edited September 22, 2017 by UndertheHalo

[SigBaby]

6 hours ago, GrittyVeterans said:

You don't trade Skaggs, Heaney, or Richards this offseason. But you also can't go into next season with those 3 as your best 3 pitchers. An ace would take a lot of pressure off this team

Alex Cobb is my first choice. The guy is a couple seasons removed from being dominant in the AL East and had a solid season this past year

[Bull58]

Richards, Bridwell and Ramirez are musts for the rotation but Shoemaker, Skaggs and Heaney are ARB eligible and can be non tendered although I would miss Shoemaker. I say we grab Jake Arrieta and Alex Cobb, so obviously Arrieta would be our largest transaction in the off season (if Upton stays).

As for the bullpen despite his troubles resign Petit, keep Parker, Bedrosian, Noe, then non tender Wood and Alvarez, Middleton I guess will be around, we can try Gurka as a replacement for our left handed reliever, then sign two relievers with experience, maybe Bryan Shaw and Brandon Kintzler since their free agents after the season.

[Blarg]

Ramirez is probably out for the 2018 season. Skags and Heaney are only first year arbitration. It would be complete idiocy to release them.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Blarg

[Bull58]

Which is true so I'd keep Shoemaker and IF Ramirez returns I would stick him in the pen to be cautious and make sure he will be good for 2019 to return to the rotation.

[Bull58]

19 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Ramirez is probably out for the 2018 season. Skags and Heaney are only first year arbitration. It would be complete idiocy to release them.

As that may be the case we can't have a clogged rotation or bullpen, unless you non tender Shoemaker because he's ARB 2 and already earning $3.3M but we can always option Middleton as well and stick Heaney in the pen and keep Skaggs in the rotation. That actually makes more since now that I look at it since they both been injured for three quarters of the season and their arb salary can be quite low since the Angels would have the upper hand of the salary because of it.

[nate]

Definitely shouldn't count on these pitchers either.  For two reasons, they are still unproven and they have injury history.

This season made it pretty obvious that you can get burned by pitchers with injury history/concerns.

[Angel Oracle]

I'd consider moving Shoe to the back end of the pen, if the rotation is fortified.

That splitter could be nasty in the late innings.   Plus throwing a ton of splitters over 190 innings in a season could leave his elbow more susceptible to damage.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

On 9/20/2017 at 9:27 PM, Scotty@AW said:

Every offseason, teams will assess what went right, wrong, how they can improve and make a game plan. But I think off-season comes with the added intrigue that the Angels may need to face some difficult truths.

1. Power was up all around the league this year, yet Pujols' power was down. His everything was down. It is beginning to be evident that Albert's ride into the sunset won't be a pleasant, gradual one, but rather a steep cliff. This is something that will need to be addressed, because DHing to save his feet and legs doesn't solve the problem of age.

2. Our insurance player, our answer at 3B next year, the guy that will help balance our lineup, Luis Valbuena, is not a full time player. He isn't even a platoon partner anymore. Valbuena is a bat off the bench.

3. Our long term answer at 3B, Kaleb Cowart still can't hit major league pitching.

4. CJ Cron still hasn't proven that he's ready to be a starting 1B. At first it was that he didn't get the opportunity, then it was that he got hurt, then it was platooning....but I think now we've reached the point where we need to wonder if Cron will ever be more than a .270 20 HR hitter.

5. We still haven't solved 2B. This is three years now.

6. Unless Upton comes back, we won't have a functioning middle of the order. Knowing this, his agent can probably milk a couple more years and 20 million more.

7. We struck gold with Petit, Parker, Norris and Middleton this year, but can we expect the same fortune from Paredes and whoever else Eppler digs up?

8. We still don't have any offense coming from catcher, which only further necessitates the addition of more bats.

9. Rolling our dice with Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Tropeano and Shoemaker has burned us before. There's a fair amount of skepticism surround Bridwell's performance, we traded away our closest option to the majors in Grayson Long. The Angels need a steadying presence in the rotation, but not one with the lack of quality that Nolasco and Chavez have delivered.

We might be in contention, but we also have a lot of needs.

1. Power hitters with bad bottom halves are toast! They become all upper body and the once in a while when they feel good or have the chance to be early to get the lower half rolling then they blast one! We've seen this enough. When AP#5 get his 3000 and if he moves to TOP 5 HR it will be time to talk and move him into a FO position.

2. Moose!

3. Kaleb should be our next Pennington!

4. CJ is what he is HOT/COLD Great/Meh. Deal with him or don't the choice is up to EPPY!

5. Well, we've had some outstanding fielders who both switched over to the AL from careers in the NL... So, Espinosa's Defense was fine! Phillips has been fine! Quit crying and making it more of an issue than it is/was! We had 2 hitters hitting over 280 during the first half and one went out (trout with injury) Danny though he wasn't good was pointed at as the issue when it was the entire Lineup! Phillips has been fine defensively hitting changing leagues at his age whatever you get on the offensive side is gravy! And he might even get back to his career norms! Give this position a rest and let the Major Leaguers do their thing!

6. UPTON is a MUST re-sign!!! Nothing else to discuss! Open the VAULT Arturo!

7. Bully has been great! Though over-worked! some of these dudes arms will be done by next season! Let EPPY do his magic!

8. Pick one Offense/Defense and timely hitting? Maldonado is FINE! almost like Bengie Molina great defense and timely offensive support! 

9. Dump $$$ in the ROTATION! DO NOT COUNT on the RETURN of INJURED STARTERS!!!! If they come back GREAT! You have a strength to TRADE out of! Never count on TJ pitchers! no one else does! Why do the HALOS!?!?!?!..... And Ramirez won't be back till mid or late 2018! We treat them like Glass!

Yeah, we need quite a bit of infusion of talent on the Starting rotation side.... A 3Bman, LF if Upton bails, I would attempt to re-sign Phillips for 2B....... We should have a ton of cash in the Vault with the Druggies $$, Streets salaries etc etc. plus the payroll/tax should increase an additional 10-15-20% per team.

[totdprods]

Man, it's crazy to think that Billy's third offseason may be his most difficult yet.

Really, it will all start with Upton. Arte/Billy are obviously comfortable with the payroll commitment that JUp will require - and you'd think that even if he does walk, his initial acquisition hints that they'd be fine making a 'big splash' investment, but spending on a big splash - or two even - won't fix this team. 

We need offense, we need pitching stability, and we need depth across the entire roster. We still don't have much of a farm to lean on for 2018 help (could change midseason) and we still don't have too much money to spend - especially if Upton stays. Which would be a positive, but it would also quickly eat up a lot of that spending money.

The roster is littered with players that should be able to be counted on as everyday contributors - Cron, Valbuena, Heaney, Skaggs, Bedrosian, even guys like Shoemaker, Richards, and Calhoun - but all have really pretty underwhelming (or injured) for significant stretches over the last year or two. Those guys represent a pretty sizable chunk of the team - if they could just stay on the field and even put up average production, it'd probably be enough to compete - but this will be the third year with that expectation.

[totdprods]

I really hope Upton stays/re-signs - his presence goes a long, long way to correcting the offense, and we already paid a decent price for him. I'd think his cost would probably take us out of signing another 'big name' player, but if Moustakas is really hell-bent on coming home and cuts a hometown deal, I'd be fine calling it a day at that point (offensively) and rolling with in-house options at 1B/2B - Valbuena, Cron, Marte, Cowart, Fletcher, Fontana. Downside to Upton/Moustakas is the money would be pretty well spent at that point, so we'd also be taking the hope and prayer approach for the rotation's health and the bullpen's depth at point. Could probably buy a cheap arm or two for the staff, but not much else. If those guys rebound and stay healthy, we're probably ok. If not? Eppler's gonna be hoping guys like Barria, Bridwell, Canning, Smith, Middleton, Paredes, and Bedrosian step up, and he'll be busy on the waiver wire again. 

As much as I've been advocating that the team needs to prioritize durable, even if only average, starting pitching, recent performances by Skaggs, Richards, and Bridwell have given me a little glimmer of hope for '18. I still think they need one vet arm to help anchor things - especially with Meyer out for '18, Shoemaker and Tropeano coming back from surgery, Long dealt, and Ramirez' and Richards' UCLs hanging by a thread. Can't forget Heaney's and Smith's shoulder scares too. 

I'm hoping they go all out to bring Petit back at this point. He's been stellar. I actually hope they bring back Norris too - he obviously didn't garner much trade interest and he's blown some huge games since, so hopefully he can be retained on a deal similar to this years. Before you tar and feather me, Bud has had an awful five games - not just statistically, but emotionally as well - but he's been dominant in his other 54 games:
Bud's Bad Five: 2.1 IP, an ERA of 61.72, 13 hits, 6 walks, four home runs. 
Bud's Other 54: 56.2 IP, an ERA of 2.06, 41 hits, 19 walks, 68 strikeouts, and only four home runs. 
I think he's worth rolling the dice on again - other teams will want to as well - but hopefully he's counted on less as a closer. 

It'll be interesting to see what happens with CJ Cron, Carlos Perez, Skaggs, Heaney, Alvarez, Guerra, Noe Ramirez, Marte, JC Ramirez - all of whom are out of options in 2018, so they have to be on the 25-man or risk being plucked off waivers. Both Guerra and Noe Ramirez, and even Alvarez, have shown enough to be at least decent relief depth which we will still be thin with. JC Ramirez, Skaggs, Heaney, and Cron are obviously on track to be on the 25-man, but we can't offer Cron his usual SLC reboot this time around, and Skaggs and Heaney will have to take their lumps at the big-league level if they struggle. Marte and Perez both represent bench options, but you lose a lot of roster flexibility by having them on the bench. With that, both could find themselves as trade bait. 

[Farmbuildingfan]

If pitching health is a top priority, than Bridwell, Chavez, and Nolasco are your best options for 2018.

They are the ones most likely to  be ready for a full 2018.

Next most likely are Skaggs and Richards.

Will Heaney be ready at the start of 2018?

I will not be surprised if Shoemaker Ramirez, or Tropeano  are not ready by the ALB next year, and Meyer is  a long shot .

You do not bring back Nolasco unless you are totally desperate, but the Angels might need Chavez back in the rotation next year.

Bridwell, Richards, Skaggs, and Chavez look like the most likely options to begin 2018, but who is the 5th starter?

I hope it is Heaney.

 

 

[GrittyVeterans]

Chavez belongs no where near the rotation next year. Quite frankly he belongs no where near this teams roster.

[Second Base]

5 hours ago, SlappyUtilityMIF said:

1. Power hitters with bad bottom halves are toast! They become all upper body and the once in a while when they feel good or have the chance to be early to get the lower half rolling then they blast one! We've seen this enough. When AP#5 get his 3000 and if he moves to TOP 5 HR it will be time to talk and move him into a FO position.

2. Moose!

3. Kaleb should be our next Pennington!

4. CJ is what he is HOT/COLD Great/Meh. Deal with him or don't the choice is up to EPPY!

5. Well, we've had some outstanding fielders who both switched over to the AL from careers in the NL... So, Espinosa's Defense was fine! Phillips has been fine! Quit crying and making it more of an issue than it is/was! We had 2 hitters hitting over 280 during the first half and one went out (trout with injury) Danny though he wasn't good was pointed at as the issue when it was the entire Lineup! Phillips has been fine defensively hitting changing leagues at his age whatever you get on the offensive side is gravy! And he might even get back to his career norms! Give this position a rest and let the Major Leaguers do their thing!

6. UPTON is a MUST resign!!! Nothing else to discuss! Open the VAULT Arturo!

7. Bully has been great! Though over-worked! some of these dudes arms will be done by next season! Let EPPY do his magic!

8. Pick one Offense/Defense and timely hitting? Maldonado is FINE! almost like Bengie Molina great defense and timely offensive support! 

9. Dump $$$ in the ROTATION! DO NOT COUNT on the RETURN of INJURED STARTERS!!!! If they come back GREAT! You have a strength to TRADE out of! Never count on TJ pitchers! no one else does! Why do the HALOS!?!?!?!..... And Ramirez won't be back till mid or late 2018! We treat them like Glass!

Yeah, we need quite a bit of infusion of talent on the Starting rotation side.... A 3Bman, LF if Upton bails, I would attempt to re-sign Phillips for 2B....... We should have a ton of cash in the Vault with the Druggies $$, Streets salaries etc etc. plus the payroll/tax should increase an additional 10-15-20% per team.

Cowart isn't good enough defensively at SS to be a UTIL, and Phillips wants to go home back East after the season. The search for 2B continues...

[totdprods]

7 minutes ago, Farmbuildingfan said:

If pitching health is a top priority, than Bridwell, Chavez, and Nolasco are your best options for 2018.

They are the ones most likely to  be ready for a full 2018.

Next most likely are Skaggs and Richards.

Will Heaney be ready at the start of 2018?

I will not be surprised if Shoemaker Ramirez, or Tropeano  are not ready by the ALB next year, and Meyer is  a long shot .

You do not bring back Nolasco unless you are totally desperate, but the Angels might need Chavez back in the rotation next year.

Bridwell, Richards, Skaggs, and Chavez look like the most likely options to begin 2018, but who is the 5th starter?

I hope it is Heaney.

I'm pretty much done with Chavez and Nolasco, even though they pretty much fit the bill for what I think the team needs to acquire, at a minimum, for the pitching staff in this coming offseason. If Richards, Skaggs, and Shoemaker had stayed healthy this year, the performance of Chavez and Nolasco would not have been that big of a deal.

I really like the idea of nabbing someone like Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn, Jaime Garcia, Tyler Chatwood Jason Vargas, or Jeremy Hellickson to anchor the back end of the rotation - at worst, they're a rehash of Nolasco, at best, they're another Shoemaker - and then taking a one-year flier on someone like a Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Scott Feldman, R.A. Dickey, Chacin, Colon, Fister type to slot in at #5 to start the year, and bump to long-relief/DFA if they blow. Purely for insurance. If Bud Norris can go from a shitty starter to a effective reliever (see my last post), maybe one of these guys can too once one of our young guns pushes them out.

I imagine the '18 rotation is penciled in currently as Richards, Skaggs, Shoemaker, Heaney, and Ramirez. Bridwell and Tropeano have options and can wait in the wings at AAA or help the pen.

[Second Base]

3 hours ago, totdprods said:

I really hope Upton stays/re-signs - his presence goes a long, long way to correcting the offense, and we already paid a decent price for him. I'd think his cost would probably take us out of signing another 'big name' player, but if Moustakas is really hell-bent on coming home and cuts a hometown deal, I'd be fine calling it a day at that point (offensively) and rolling with in-house options at 1B/2B - Valbuena, Cron, Marte, Cowart, Fletcher, Fontana. Downside to Upton/Moustakas is the money would be pretty well spent at that point, so we'd also be taking the hope and prayer approach for the rotation's health and the bullpen's depth at point. Could probably buy a cheap arm or two for the staff, but not much else. If those guys rebound and stay healthy, we're probably ok. If not? Eppler's gonna be hoping guys like Barria, Bridwell, Canning, Smith, Middleton, Paredes, and Bedrosian step up, and he'll be busy on the waiver wire again. 

As much as I've been advocating that the team needs to prioritize durable, even if only average, starting pitching, recent performances by Skaggs, Richards, and Bridwell have given me a little glimmer of hope for '18. I still think they need one vet arm to help anchor things - especially with Meyer out for '18, Shoemaker and Tropeano coming back from surgery, Long dealt, and Ramirez' and Richards' UCLs hanging by a thread. Can't forget Heaney's and Smith's shoulder scares too. 

I'm hoping they go all out to bring Petit back at this point. He's been stellar. I actually hope they bring back Norris too - he obviously didn't garner much trade interest and he's blown some huge games since, so hopefully he can be retained on a deal similar to this years. Before you tar and feather me, Bud has had an awful five games - not just statistically, but emotionally as well - but he's been dominant in his other 54 games:
Bud's Bad Five: 2.1 IP, an ERA of 61.72, 13 hits, 6 walks, four home runs. 
Bud's Other 54: 56.2 IP, an ERA of 2.06, 41 hits, 19 walks, 68 strikeouts, and only four home runs. 
I think he's worth rolling the dice on again - other teams will want to as well - but hopefully he's counted on less as a closer. 

It'll be interesting to see what happens with CJ Cron, Carlos Perez, Skaggs, Heaney, Alvarez, Guerra, Noe Ramirez, Marte, JC Ramirez - all of whom are out of options in 2018, so they have to be on the 25-man or risk being plucked off waivers. Both Guerra and Noe Ramirez, and even Alvarez, have shown enough to be at least decent relief depth which we will still be thin with. JC Ramirez, Skaggs, Heaney, and Cron are obviously on track to be on the 25-man, but we can't offer Cron his usual SLC reboot this time around, and Skaggs and Heaney will have to take their lumps at the big-league level if they struggle. Marte and Perez both represent bench options, but you lose a lot of roster flexibility by having them on the bench. With that, both could find themselves as trade bait. 

This team needs Carlos Perez as the back up catcher. He's better defensively than Graterol, and can hit a little bit.

Great back up option to Maldonado.

[totdprods]

2 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

Cowart isn't good enough defensively at SS to be a UTIL, and Phillips wants to go home back East after the season. The search for 2B continues...

Without knowing what they plan on doing with 3B or 2B, I hope they aim to replace Pennington with someone like a Jed Lowrie/Logan Forysthe/Eduardo Nunez type and rolling with some sort of infield platoon between that person, Cowart, Valbuena/Marte. It's not the sexiest and we have to lean on some players who've proven to disappoint so far, but perhaps the most cost effective, allowing them to focus the dollars on retaining Upton and solidifying the pitching. I'd actually love to have Phillips back but imagine that's not likely. Maybe a slight chance just because he's so hesitant to ever change teams, and perhaps he's enjoyed his brief time here and his family has liked it as well.

Just because they now have x dollars to spend doesn't mean they should go right back to topping it off. I like how Eppler's kept payroll flexible, even if it's limited the teams options a bit.

[totdprods]

Just now, Scotty@AW said:

This team needs Carlos Perez as the back up catcher. He's better defensively than Graterol, and can hit a little bit.

Great back up option to Maldonado.

Graterol has two options too, so I can definitely see them basically reversing roles in 2018 - which actually explains why they kept Perez in SLC this year (to improve where they felt he needed and get consistent playing time) while also getting Graterol some experience with the org and working beside Maldonado. Next year they just swap out - Graterol can come up and down without issue should anyone get hurt, while also getting regular playing time, and Perez can ease Maldonado's workload a bit and apprentice beside him with a relatively safe roster spot because of his out-of-options status.

That said, if Perez has enough trade value to net some sort of intriguing young reliever or 2B or Bridwell-type, I'm not against rolling with Graterol as back-up again. Ward should be making it to SLC sometime in '18.

[totdprods]

25 minutes ago, Farmbuildingfan said:

If pitching health is a top priority, than Bridwell, Chavez, and Nolasco are your best options for 2018.

They are the ones most likely to  be ready for a full 2018.

Next most likely are Skaggs and Richards.

Will Heaney be ready at the start of 2018?

I will not be surprised if Shoemaker Ramirez, or Tropeano  are not ready by the ALB next year, and Meyer is  a long shot .

You do not bring back Nolasco unless you are totally desperate, but the Angels might need Chavez back in the rotation next year.

Bridwell, Richards, Skaggs, and Chavez look like the most likely options to begin 2018, but who is the 5th starter?

I hope it is Heaney.

I'm pretty much done with Chavez and Nolasco, even though they pretty much fit the bill for what I think the team needs to acquire, at a minimum, for the pitching staff in this coming offseason. If Richards, Skaggs, and Shoemaker had stayed healthy this year, the performance of Chavez and Nolasco would not have been that big of a deal.

I really like the idea of nabbing someone like Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn, Jaime Garcia, Tyler Chatwood Jason Vargas, or Jeremy Hellickson to anchor the back end of the rotation - at worst, they're a rehash of Nolasco, at best, they're another Shoemaker - and then taking a one-year flier on someone like a Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Scott Feldman, R.A. Dickey, Chacin, Colon, Santiago, Fister type to slot in at #5 to start the year, and bump to long-relief/DFA if they blow. Purely for insurance. If Bud Norris can go from a shitty starter to a effective reliever (see my last post), maybe one of these guys can too once one of our young guns pushes them out.

I imagine the '18 rotation is penciled in currently as Richards, Skaggs, Shoemaker, Heaney, and Ramirez. Bridwell and Tropeano have options and can wait in the wings at AAA or help the pen. Honestly, I think one gets dealt at some point, maybe ST once their health is proven a bit. 

[SoWhat]

I wonder what the cost of Gerrit Cole would be? The Pirates are rumored to be looking to move him this offseason. He was pretty damn good from '13-15, I'd say a #1 on most teams but a #2 on a playoff team. Over the last two years he's somewhat declined into a slightly above league average pitcher. I can't really put my finger on what he'd cost 

[totdprods]

4 hours ago, SoWhat said:

I wonder what the cost of Gerrit Cole would be? The Pirates are rumored to be looking to move him this offseason. He was pretty damn good from '13-15, I'd say a #1 on most teams but a #2 on a playoff team. Over the last two years he's somewhat declined into a slightly above league average pitcher. I can't really put my finger on what he'd cost 

Cole has been on my radar for a couple years, think he's a SoCal guy too. He'd definitely be a target but I imagine he's still going to cost an uncomfortable amount, and the Halos and Pirates haven't really matched up as trade partners. They're heavy on young outfielders and need pitching, so our OF prospects don't carry as much weight. Our pitching depth isn't healthy or deep enough to pull off acquiring an arm with Cole's upside.

I'd like to kick the tires on Josh Harrison still too. 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

16 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

Cowart isn't good enough defensively at SS to be a UTIL, and Phillips wants to go home back East after the season. The search for 2B continues...

interesting! Neither is Cliff~

 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

16 hours ago, totdprods said:

I'm pretty much done with Chavez and Nolasco, even though they pretty much fit the bill for what I think the team needs to acquire, at a minimum, for the pitching staff in this coming offseason. If Richards, Skaggs, and Shoemaker had stayed healthy this year, the performance of Chavez and Nolasco would not have been that big of a deal.

I really like the idea of nabbing someone like Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn, Jaime Garcia, Tyler Chatwood Jason Vargas, or Jeremy Hellickson to anchor the back end of the rotation - at worst, they're a rehash of Nolasco, at best, they're another Shoemaker - and then taking a one-year flier on someone like a Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Scott Feldman, R.A. Dickey, Chacin, Colon, Santiago, Fister type to slot in at #5 to start the year, and bump to long-relief/DFA if they blow. Purely for insurance. If Bud Norris can go from a shitty starter to a effective reliever (see my last post), maybe one of these guys can too once one of our young guns pushes them out.

I imagine the '18 rotation is penciled in currently as Richards, Skaggs, Shoemaker, Heaney, and Ramirez. Bridwell and Tropeano have options and can wait in the wings at AAA or help the pen. Honestly, I think one gets dealt at some point, maybe ST once their health is proven a bit. 

Cobb & Lynn would be good gets and Jaime would be good also if his arm issues are in the past.

[ksangel]

Well after another stellar pitching performance I'm higher on Skaggs than ever...yeah. Yes, I agree he has upside and his career has been derailed so far by injuries but....

So if those on the board who wouldn't trade a Skaggs or Heaney for a 2B what would they do and who would they go after? 

A lead off hitter seems to be needed so is that a requirement for a new 2B?

And let's assume Upton stays just to make it easier.

 

Altuve, Pedroia, Cano, Murphy, Zobrist/Baez, LeMahieu, Odor, Schoop, Moncada, Castro, Asuaje, Gennett, Dozier and Wong are probably not going anywhere.

Kinsler (35), Walker (32), Phillips (36), Utley (39) and Barney (32) are getting over the hump and would not be candidates as lead off hitters and Phillips wants to go back east.

Travis and Goins weren't that productive, Villar was hurt and also slumped from breakout 2016 and Brad Miller...yeah sure.

Frasier seems to have found a home at 2B for the Pirates which could make Harrison (30) available.

Could Kipnis (31) be gotten since he's been replaced at 2B for the Indians but he's not a lead off hitter?

Dee Gordon (30) could probably be acquired and would fill the lead off role but for what players?

Peraza for the Reds seems to have lost the 2B job to Gennett but his offensive numbers are so-so.

Drury for the DBacks or Panik for the Giants are ok but would they trade them?

And then there's Cesar Hernandez (28) who seems available and has been productive the past few years and could lead off but from what I've read they want starting pitching in return.

How about Zack Cozart of the Reds...solid SS so could he play 2B?  Is his breakout 2017 a fluke?

Profar from the Rangers? Or is he like Cowart and won't ever hit ML pitching?

 

 

 

 

 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

I've read nowhere that Phillips is going to bolt or doesn't like the West Coast? Other than previous trade rejections (But, he did approve the trade to the Halos so he must had seen some value or an opportunity to accept the trade to begin with) I mean in reality he has only been here for a month and a half so it's not much time for him to reach a decision on that side. I believe he will go to the team that gives him the (Best chance to win and most cashe')... That could be us, it could not be us?....