Your best guess

[totdprods]

6 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

He’d be the cheapest to acquire for sure.  Just one year left on his deal, so if he has a down year, he’s gone anyway.

My preference is still Hernandez, but if his price tag is too expensive, then Kinsler is a decent, cheaper (in terms of prospects) alternative.

Hernandez would be great but I'm guessing the Phillies are asking a lot and Eppler isn't sold on how Cesar would fare outside of the NL East.

Cesar '17:

Home: (.320/.407/.492/.899)

Away: (.270/.340/.356/.696)

vs. AL: (.259/.355/.296/.651)

Now, to be fair, he was the exact opposite in 2016. He hit significantly better away (.823 OPS vs .701) and in interleague (.917 OPS) but I can see how the inconsistency could have Eppler balking at paying a premium in prospects, especially if a comparable package could land you a steadier improvement elsewhere.

The Angels have the prospect currency to make one high impact trade, and I think Eppler is open to that, but we only have the depth to make that one trade, and he's being cautious and making sure if he deals those guys, he's getting a bonafide return.

[totdprods]

22 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

I hope he keeps it up because someday I'd really love to see Jahmai Jones, Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell all playing on the same team.  

I would love that too but I would be stunned if we held onto all three long enough to see that happen, especially with our current OF locked up for 3+ years. 

We will see at least one of those guys go before all is said and done, my guess.

[Dtwncbad]

6 minutes ago, eligrba said:

...unless the remaining birds are all starlings.....

I understand that prospects are the currency of MLB, but I am not sure if the smart thing at this time would be to drain the account for a single player that would not be a difference maker on the major league level, but would certainly be a difference maker to the composition of the farm.

Freddie Freeman is not a difference maker?

[Vlad27Trout27]

2 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I would love that too but I would be stunned if we held onto all three long enough to see that happen, especially with our current OF locked up for 3+ years. 

We will see at least one of those guys go before all is said and done, my guess.

I think we'll see 2 kept with us and one traded away. one to replace Calhoun and the other for LF after moving Uptoon to DH. 

[Angel Oracle]

1 minute ago, Dtwncbad said:

Freddie Freeman is not a difference maker?

And also a local product from the O.C.

[Vlad27Trout27]

looks like othani being posted is close, i think Eppler may try to make  a trade for someone along with intl bonus. also for the rule 5 draft wouldn't be surprised if he tried to trade to get more bonus. 

[Dtwncbad]

Gordon 2B

Simmons SS

Trout CF

Freeman 1B

Upton OF

Pujols DH

Calhoun RF

Valbuena 3B

Maldonado C

 

What rebuilding?  Built.

[eligrba]

7 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Freddie Freeman is not a difference maker?

Not if it means Valbuena at 3B and another scrub at 2B for the next few years.

He is a difference maker, but I am not sure if he is for the Angels with their current roster.......

[Second Base]

14 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I would love that too but I would be stunned if we held onto all three long enough to see that happen, especially with our current OF locked up for 3+ years. 

We will see at least one of those guys go before all is said and done, my guess.

I think we'll see position switches too.  I'm not convinced Matt Thaiss is going to be as good of a hitter as we need him to be at 1B.  It wouldn't surprise me if Brandon Marsh is killing it in AA and the OF is full, they don't start having him work at 1B. 

[totdprods]

2 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

I think we'll see position switches too.  I'm not convinced Matt Thaiss is going to be as good of a hitter as we need him to be at 1B.  It wouldn't surprise me if Brandon Marsh is killing it in AA and the OF is full, they don't start having him work at 1B. 

Thaiss will be interesting, because if the Angels sign a 1B, there really doesn't seem to be much of a path, considering he could be MLB-ready by September.

[Dtwncbad]

3 minutes ago, eligrba said:

Not if it means Valbuena at 3B and another scrub at 2B for the next few years.

He is a difference maker, but I am not sure if he is for the Angels with their current roster.......

Of course you still address 2B.  There are about seven solutions to second base.

And if the lineup I posted bothers you because of Valbuena at third you are never going to be happy.

[VariousCrap]

1 hour ago, Dick B Back said:

What's with all the Kinsler love?

 

No, you are absolutely right.  A 36 year old Kinsler is a horrible choice.  It just shows how desperate the fans are for a move at 2B.

[Second Base]

2 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Thaiss will be interesting, because if the Angels sign a 1B, there really doesn't seem to be much of a path, considering he could be MLB-ready by September.

If he indeed develops at that pace.  I'm thinking that unless power can become a prominent portion of his game, he may not get the chance.  He also to hit for a higher average than he did in the Cal League.  

It's one thing to get on base 38% of the time if you're going to hit 40 DB and 15 HR's a year.  But if those numbers start looking like 30 DB and 5 HR's a year, then he simply isn't a starting option. 

[Vlad27Trout27]

4 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Thaiss will be interesting, because if the Angels sign a 1B, there really doesn't seem to be much of a path, considering he could be MLB-ready by September.

I can see them switching him from 1st to 3rd this season.  should have the arm strength.

[ten ocho recon scout]

24 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

And also a local product from the O.C.

Which could be a curse as well as a blessing...

[ten ocho recon scout]

How is cesar hernandez' glove? And am i crazy, or did he have some personality issues or something a couple of years ago? Kind of a hothead? Or am i thinking of someone else?

[WeaverFever]

1 minute ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

How is cesar hernandez' glove? And am i crazy, or did he have some personality issues or something a couple of years ago? Kind of a hothead? Or am i thinking of someone else?

No he was the guy..... nothing you can’t fix or has been fixed tho. 

[eligrba]

20 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Of course you still address 2B.  There are about seven solutions to second base.

And if the lineup I posted bothers you because of Valbuena at third you are never going to be happy.

Gee, when you put it that way....

I AM STOKED FOR VALBUENA to be the Angel's third baseman and displaying average fielding while batting under.200 with around 22 home runs, 65 rbi and striking out twice as much as walking.  What's not to like about that option?

 

[Vlad27Trout27]

this a bit off topic, But it looks like the yankee's may have had an under the table agreement with Ohtani and with the stuff that happened with the braves, could this be a risk for the yankees. 

and this is also JJ cooper's tweet- 

" Before today, I wouldn't have been shocked if there was an under the table deal in place for whichever team signed Ohtani (if he comes over). Now I'm not so sure. To do so, front office execs would be taking a huge risk"

[Dtwncbad]

18 minutes ago, eligrba said:

Gee, when you put it that way....

I AM STOKED FOR VALBUENA to be the Angel's third baseman and displaying average fielding while batting under.200 with around 22 home runs, 65 rbi and striking out twice as much as walking.  What's not to like about that option?

 

Yeah you are right.  We should expect Arenado or Machado to fix the lineup I posted.  Otherwise that lineup would be horrible.

[eligrba]

4 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Yeah you are right.  We should expect Arenado or Machado to fix the lineup I posted.  Otherwise that lineup would be horrible.

Never suggested Arenado or Machado.  Never said your lineup was horrible.

Is English your native language? 

[Dtwncbad]

10 minutes ago, eligrba said:

Never suggested Arenado or Machado.  Never said your lineup was horrible.

Is English your native language? 

I'm pretty sure I properly understood the "not if it means Valbuena at 3B"

[Vlad27Trout27]

This is how it's going to go down. 

Marlins get- Castillo, Lund and Smith 

Angels- Gordon + 1.2 mil intl money.

Than eppler going to trade a rule 5 pick for more intl money (200k) with that we'll have about 1.5 intl money and we are going to sign Ohtani.... killed two bugs with one stone. 

Heck if the Marlins are asking for more and we have a clear chance at getting ohtani I'd put Wilkel Herendez in that trade but Marlins have to give more money.

[Warfarin]

2 hours ago, totdprods said:

I would love that too but I would be stunned if we held onto all three long enough to see that happen, especially with our current OF locked up for 3+ years. 

We will see at least one of those guys go before all is said and done, my guess.

I personally hope we don't hold onto all 3, because if we need all 3 in the same starting OF, it means Trout isn't around.

That said, 2 played in the Rookie league and one in single A.  They are a long, long way from reaching the majors.  I hope we take our time in developing them, so that by the time they reach the majors, they're ready to be legit contributors.

[Warfarin]

2 hours ago, VariousCrap said:

 

No, you are absolutely right.  A 36 year old Kinsler is a horrible choice.  It just shows how desperate the fans are for a move at 2B.

Kinsler is not a great choice, but he is an upgrade over what we had.  Even if he produces a WAR of 1, that's still a significant improvement over the group we had.  Again, the advantage to Kinserl isn't that he's an amazing player, it's that we can probably acquire him for virtually nothing, as long as we agree to pay the rest of his salary.  He has one year left, so that's fine with me.

It circles back to the same issue we were discussing, in which it's fairly easy/cheap to upgrade from a -1.0 WAR to a 1.0 WAR, vs a 4.0 WAR to a 6.0 WAR.