OC Register: Mike Trout says he’s happy with Angels’ direction, but questions will return this winter

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — When Mike Trout returns home to New Jersey, he expects to hear all the normal comments from friends.

“When are you coming back to the East Coast?” Trout said they ask him every winter.

Now that the Angels have suffered through a second consecutive losing season with Trout, the consensus best player in baseball, there is certain to be even more speculation that the Angels, for the good of the organization, should just start a rebuild by trading Trout.

General manager Billy Eppler has said repeatedly that trading Trout is not on the table, and Trout simply laughs at all of it.

“I like playing here,” he said before the Angels finished the regular season against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. “The direction we’re headed in is a positive direction. We’ll see this offseason how it turns out for spring.”

Trout, 26, has spent six full seasons in the majors, and the Angels have made the playoffs once, and they didn’t win a game. The team was eliminated from the postseason in the last week three other times. Twice, the Angels were out of it early.

Meanwhile, Trout has been racking up historic individual numbers, leading to two MVP awards and three second-place finishes. This season, despite missing a quarter of the season with a thumb injury, Trout is likely to finish in the top five.

He was pulled from Sunday’s game after a fourth-inning single, leaving to a smattering of applause. He finished the season hitting .306 with 33 homers and 72 RBI. His on-base percentage (.442), slugging percentage (.629) and, obviously, OPS (1.071) will all lead the league. His OPS is a career high.

Yet, all of that earned him another October of watching the playoffs on TV. If he’s discouraged enough by that to want to play somewhere else, he doesn’t admit it.

“We’ve got a great group of guys,” Trout said. “The team chemistry is unbelievable. There is not one guy in here who doesn’t like each other. The coaching staff is unbelievable.”

Trout also said he has talked to Eppler about the future of the club, and Trout is confident that the Angels can be a playoff team in the three years left on his contract.

“It’s going to be a crazy offseason,” Trout said. “We’ve got a lot of money freed up. It’s going to be interesting. I like the direction we’re going.”

The Angels are finally free of the Josh Hamilton contract now. They have enough free agents coming off the books all over the roster that the Angels figure to have around $50 million to $75 million to spend this winter, without exceeding the luxury tax threshold. The variable is whether Justin Upton exercises his opt-out or stays, at $22.125 million a year.

Upton said last week that he enjoyed playing with Trout, and the feeling is mutual.

“Obviously the month he’s been here has been unbelievable,” Trout said. “You add a guy like that to our lineup makes it so much deeper and better.”

Ironically, Trout’s month with Upton has not been his best. Trout hit .231 with an .888 OPS in September, and some of the damage he did came after the Angels were eliminated on Wednesday. Trout explained that his timing was a little off and Manager Mike Scioscia agreed it was just an matter of an ill-timed slump.

“Some of the numbers are probably not Mike Trout-like, but I think that’s just the cyclical nature of this game, why a guy loses some timing, why the best hitters occasionally go into a little funk,” Scioscia said. “It’s just the nature of trying to hit a baseball.”

As Trout looks ahead to next year, he begins an offseason that will include his wedding. Beyond that, he has no plans to change anything about his training or preparation for the season.

“Just try to get better and stronger,” he said. “Come in ready to go.”

ALSO

Martin Maldonado caught a career high 139 games, which led the majors. The workload clearly took a toll on his offense, leaving him to hit .183 in the second half. Scioscia said he doesn’t believe that Maldonado necessarily needs to catch fewer games next year, because he may be adjusted for the heavier workload next year. “There’s nothing to say he won’t catch 130 to 135 games next year and have better results offensively with this experience.”…

Bench coach Dino Ebel may be a candidate for a managing job this winter, which would be fine with Scioscia. “He’s got great communication skills. He’s great with people. He has a deep understanding of the game. He’s a great candidate. I think he’ll be a terrific manager. Hopefully he’ll get that opportunity.”

 

 

 

 

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[totdprods]

21 minutes ago, AngelsWin.com said:

“I like playing here,” he said before the Angels finished the regular season against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. “The direction we’re headed in is a positive direction. We’ll see this offseason how it turns out for spring.”

Trout also said he has talked to Eppler about the future of the club, and Trout is confident that the Angels can be a playoff team in the three years left on his contract.

“It’s going to be a crazy offseason,” Trout said. “We’ve got a lot of money freed up. It’s going to be interesting. I like the direction we’re going.”

This is good stuff.

[Troll Daddy]

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

This is good stuff.

We’re doomed 

[Docwaukee]

a 'I want to retire as an Angel' would have been great.  

Interesting that he actually mentioned the money coming off the books.  Obviously something that's been a topic of conversation in the past as to why the team hasn't provided as much support and that should change now.

This is by far Eppler's most important off season.  Could make or break Trout's future with this team.  

[JustATroutFan]

What else is he supposed to say? 

[eligrba]

1 hour ago, JustATroutFan said:

What else is he supposed to say? 

He loves to hit in front of Albert.

[Troll Daddy]

The team isn’t about Trout ... it’s business as usual. He he signs great if not you move onward. 

[eligrba]

10 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

The team isn’t about Trout ... it’s business as usual. He he signs great if not you move onward. 

No one but you believes that.  No team in their right mind has that attitude with a player Mike Trout.

[Troll Daddy]

1 hour ago, eligrba said:

No one but you believes that.  No team in their right mind has that attitude with a player Mike Trout.

Believe what? Eppler’s job is to build a winning roster with or without Trout. Hopefully Mike Trout wants to be part of that and signs a extension. 

[Ohtaniland]

1 hour ago, eligrba said:

No one but you believes that.  No team in their right mind has that attitude with a player Mike Trout.

Trout is under contract for three more seasons. If Trout and Eppler discussed the future direction of the team there must be some level of concern from both sides. Trout in his own humble way might’ve just fired a warning shot at the Angels organization. He mentions a lot of money that “WE” have coming off the books. That’s Arte’s money that Trout is talking about.

Trout is getting married soon, his personal life is changing and after getting injured, then rushing back and missing the playoffs for a third season in a row the best player in the world may now have become more concerned about his future legacy in MLB. Proceed with caution. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

Considering Trout is under contract for 3 years, I don't think the Angels are making any special effort to convince him of the direction or sell him. He has no choice but to stay. 

For now, all they have to do is build a good team. 

Around the end of 2019, when they may want to start talking about an extension, that's when they need to sell him, if the results aren't selling themselves. 

[mulwin444]

15 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Considering Trout is under contract for 3 years, I don't think the Angels are making any special effort to convince him of the direction or sell him. He has no choice but to stay. 

For now, all they have to do is build a good team. 

Around the end of 2019, when they may want to start talking about an extension, that's when they need to sell him, if the results aren't selling themselves. 

2018 is going to be big year in determining the needs of the team going forward.

The key will be the health of the Starting Rotation.  If Richards, Skaggs, Heaney, and Shoemaker are truly healthy, and each could possibly throw up at least 6 IP a night, that could go a long way towards stabilizing the team.  Even if one goes down for a bit, a healthy JC Ramirez and Tropeano and an emerging Bridwell give them some excellent depth.  All these guys are relatively cheap and have the potential to give them a shot at 90+ wins.

Unfortunately, they don't seem to have the potential player position depth or BP depth that they have in the starting rotation.  Guys like Thaiss, Ward, and Hermosillo all seem to be a year or two away and guys you might count on now like Cowart and Marte don't seem be much more than AAAA depth.  If Upton opts out, there are going to be a lot holes to fill at 3B, 2B, and LF with guys like Cron and Calhoun needing to step up and being solid producers.  Same with the BP.  They have some potential with Bedrosian, Paredes, Middleton, Noe Ramirez and Blake Wood but no one you'd consider a dominant reliever.  I think resigning Pett is a must since he seems to be so versatile but they need to look at getting at least two more reliable arms from somewhere. 

[stormngt]

57 minutes ago, mulwin444 said:

2018 is going to be big year in determining the needs of the team going forward.

The key will be the health of the Starting Rotation.  If Richards, Skaggs, Heaney, and Shoemaker are truly healthy, and each could possibly throw up at least 6 IP a night, that could go a long way towards stabilizing the team.  Even if one goes down for a bit, a healthy JC Ramirez and Tropeano and an emerging Bridwell give them some excellent depth.  All these guys are relatively cheap and have the potential to give them a shot at 90+ wins.

Unfortunately, they don't seem to have the potential player position depth or BP depth that they have in the starting rotation.  Guys like Thaiss, Ward, and Hermosillo all seem to be a year or two away and guys you might count on now like Cowart and Marte don't seem be much more than AAAA depth.  If Upton opts out, there are going to be a lot holes to fill at 3B, 2B, and LF with guys like Cron and Calhoun needing to step up and being solid producers.  Same with the BP.  They have some potential with Bedrosian, Paredes, Middleton, Noe Ramirez and Blake Wood but no one you'd consider a dominant reliever.  I think resigning Pett is a must since he seems to be so versatile but they need to look at getting at least two more reliable arms from somewhere. 

Bridwell deserves a spot as a starter.  However, he probably has options so all things going well he may see himself in AAA which would be a crime considering how he pitched this year.

[mulwin444]

4 minutes ago, stormngt said:

Bridwell deserves a spot as a starter.  However, he probably has options so all things going well he may see himself in AAA which would be a crime considering how he pitched this year.

He'd be my first option for a 5 starter as I think both Tropeano and Ramirez will be working their way back from their respective elbow injuries.  A rotation of Richards, Skaggs, Shoemaker, Heaney, and Bridwell, if all are healthy, is pretty damn solid.  My concern for Bridwell is he doesn't seem to miss many bats currently so hopefully he improves in that respect. 

[beatlesrule]

This ORG hasn't really done anything to deserve any optimism from me.  I will take a wait and see attitude for this offseason.  

[SoWhat]

On 10/1/2017 at 1:08 PM, AngelsWin.com said:

“It’s going to be a crazy offseason,” Trout said. “We’ve got a lot of money freed up. It’s going to be interesting. I like the direction we’re going.”

Interesting. Sounds like Eppler has big plans this offseason. 

[eligrba]

9 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Considering Trout is under contract for 3 years, I don't think the Angels are making any special effort to convince him of the direction or sell him. He has no choice but to stay. 

For now, all they have to do is build a good team. 

Around the end of 2019, when they may want to start talking about an extension, that's when they need to sell him, if the results aren't selling themselves. 

But unlike other teams, Trout adds a variable to the process.  The Angels built on keeping Trout looks much different than a team built from trading Trout.  I have a hard time believing that the Angel's management is approaching this off season the same way every other mediocre team is approaching their off season.  Mike Trout deserves better.

[Jeff Fletcher]

2 hours ago, eligrba said:

But unlike other teams, Trout adds a variable to the process.  The Angels built on keeping Trout looks much different than a team built from trading Trout.  I have a hard time believing that the Angel's management is approaching this off season the same way every other mediocre team is approaching their off season.  Mike Trout deserves better.

I disagree. 

I don't think any 80-win team would be looking at anything less than contending in the next season. There is no 80-win team that's saying: "Let's just build slowly for four years from now."

[eligrba]

9 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I disagree. 

I don't think any 80-win team would be looking at anything less than contending in the next season. There is no 80-win team that's saying: "Let's just build slowly for four years from now."

I just hope that the Angels have a more aggressive goal than simply contending next season. Thanks for the info.

[Jeff Fletcher]

3 hours ago, eligrba said:

I just hope that the Angels have a more aggressive goal than simply contending next season. Thanks for the info.

We're probably into semantics here, but what does "more aggressive than contending" actually mean?

 

[eligrba]

7 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

We're probably into semantics here, but what does "more aggressive than contending" actually mean?

 

To me, a more aggressive approach approach would place the Angels roster in a position to move from a mid-level team to an upper level team.

I am probably delusional but it is my world and they know me there.

[totdprods]

10 minutes ago, eligrba said:

To me, a more aggressive approach approach would place the Angels roster in a position to move from a mid-level team to an upper level team.

I am probably delusional but it is my world and they know me there.

Wouldn't the quickest way to implement that (realistically) involve Arte spending a ton of money? Because he's arguably done that before and it's done nothing but burn him.

There are more gradual, subtle ways to achieve being a big-market team such as heavily investing and developing a farm, but that takes time, isn't exactly the most visible way to grow, nor is it a perfect process either. Those processes could already be in place. 

[Stradling]

On 10/2/2017 at 7:19 AM, Calzone said:

Trout is under contract for three more seasons. If Trout and Eppler discussed the future direction of the team there must be some level of concern from both sides. Trout in his own humble way might’ve just fired a warning shot at the Angels organization. He mentions a lot of money that “WE” have coming off the books. That’s Arte’s money that Trout is talking about.

Trout is getting married soon, his personal life is changing and after getting injured, then rushing back and missing the playoffs for a third season in a row the best player in the world may now have become more concerned about his future legacy in MLB. Proceed with caution. 

Or if Trout and Eppler discussed the future direction of the team there must be some level of interest in staying here long term.  See it works both ways.  

[Ohtaniland]

4 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Or if Trout and Eppler discussed the future direction of the team there must be some level of interest in staying here long term.  See it works both ways.  

Well yeah I'm sure Trout's future here will rely heavily on how good the team is or isn't when the time comes. Trout is in the drivers seat no matter what. He controls the room.

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, eligrba said:

To me, a more aggressive approach approach would place the Angels roster in a position to move from a mid-level team to an upper level team.

I am probably delusional but it is my world and they know me there.

You can't do that in one winter.