4th OF?

[Blarg]

With how slow free agency has been moving the Angels could wait until pitchers and catchers report and still have options. 

[tomsred]

23 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

I think the Angels should look at Dyson, trade Cron for a bullpen arm and trade for Headley to be our backup 1B/3B. 

If they sign Headley, what do you do with Valbuena.  There is no room on this roster for him then.  I don't think it would be easy to trade him, and eating his $7M isn't a good use of money.

[Docwaukee]

You can't put Hermosillo in there as the 4th OFer.  It will kill his value.  He's going to play everyday at AAA and have a great season.  If someone gets injured and is going to be out for awhile, he becomes an option.  Otherwise, they don't start his clock.  

Marte is as good as gone.  

Cron has a little more value than people are giving him credit for.  Not a ton mind you, but he's controlled for three more years and has an ops+ of 108 for his career.  He's primed for a breakout frankly.  All the free agent options are going to cost a lot more and don't have 3 years of control for what will amount to 15mil.  3 years of a free agent will cost at least double that.  

Hoying is probably the solution as the 4th OFer.  LHed with some pop.  Another internal choice is Bo Way.  Neither is very good at baseball.  

a couple minor league FA options:

John Andreoli - cubs AAA in 2017.  Plays CF.  very fast with some pop.  entering age 28.  RHed

Darrell Ceciliani - Jays in 2017. some CF.  

Victor Cruzado - Mets AAA CFer.  entering 26yo season.  Some speed.  .760ops career in the minors. 

Slade Heathcott - SFG AA/AAA Cfer.  entering age 27.  .740 ops in the minors.  

Destin Hood - MIA AAA OFer.  Some CF.  Mostly corner.  Age 28.  

Cesar Puello - remember him?  He can play CF.  

Herlis Rodriguez - only 24.  Some time in AAA last year.  Mostly a corner guy.  

Steve Selsky - Age 28.  Bad year for BOS AAA but .809 ops in the minors overall and .822 for CIN in 2016.  CF and corners.  Can also play 1b.  RHed.  

Travis Taijeron - Age 29.  limited CF action.  .887 minor league ops.  

just a little light browsing for some.  

[Docwaukee]

There is also Jon Jay and Curtis Granderson.  Or they could bring back Eric Young Jr.  

[John Smith]

MLB Trade Rumors‏ @mlbtraderumors

 

 

 

 

Angels Release Jared Hoying https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/12/angels-release-jared-hoying.html …

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

I still say make Revere the 4th OF he can play CF for a short time and if Trout goes down for any length of time we can promote someone from AAA.

[Ochocinco!]

16 minutes ago, John Smith said:

MLB Trade Rumors‏ @mlbtraderumors

 

 

 

 

Angels Release Jared Hoying https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/12/angels-release-jared-hoying.html …

Didn't we just sign him like a week ago??

[Bull58]

27 minutes ago, John Smith said:

MLB Trade Rumors‏ @mlbtraderumors

 

 

 

 

Angels Release Jared Hoying https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/12/angels-release-jared-hoying.html …

Well he didn't last long...

[totdprods]

30 minutes ago, Ochocinco! said:

Didn't we just sign him like a week ago??

Not unusual for minor league signees to get better offers for Japan/Korea leagues and MLB teams to release them this early on for those pursuits.

Bummer though, I thought Hoying was a good replacement for the Robinson/Flores/Ortega role.

[totdprods]

Good post @Dochalo. I think for a 4th OF we will see the Angels go with one of these types - a AAAA minor league FA with some options or a DFA/waiver claim off another team. We're going to have an actual, set in stone OF for the first time in years, and we really won't need the 4th OF as much as years past, at least in theory. It'll either be a Shane Robinson-type defense-first vet who can be an easy roster sacrifice if a pinch occurs, an optionable AAAA guy who can shuttle as roster needs fluctuate, or a corner infield/outfield type replacing Cron on the roster, with Upton serving as the emergency CF.

I don't quite see how a guy like Revere or Dyson or Jay fit on our bench the way it's currently constructed...it'd mean the Angels reverse-course and stick closer to a 5-man rotation or they make some interesting moves with the bullpen, since most of our current relief corps is optionless. Or it means Cron is replaced with a true Andrew Romine-type utility player who can cover IF/OF.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

I think Fletcher is right on with keeping Cron to play 1B in case Albert or an IF gets hurt and Luis needs to cover third. Also Valbuena just can't hit LHP and he is a questionable fielder at 1B. Valbuena hit .150 against LHP with 1 HR last season. He had limited ABs against LHP for a reason.

Cron is the best fielding 1Bman we have currently.

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

I think Fletcher is right on with keeping Cron to play 1B in case Albert or an IF gets hurt and Luis needs to cover third. Also Valbuena just can't hit LHP and he is a questionable fielder at 1B. Valbuena hit .150 against LHP with 1 HR last season. He had limited ABs against LHP for a reason.

Cron is the best fielding 1Bman we have currently.

I think that route is definitely still an option.

At this point it will probably come down to how the markets shake out that Eppler waits on. The reliever market has been ridiculously expensive so far - I don't see him making any moves on the primary market anytime soon, unless someone like Addison Reed emerges offering a significant hometown discount that's simply too good to pass up. With most of our current relievers being option-less, Eppler will focus on the secondary market and look for more Pena, Diaz types or scrap heap some minor deal/ST invites again a la Norris and Petit.

I don't think he will be in on any FA SPs, short of guys like Feldman, Chavez, Gonzales, swingman types, again on a deal. It will just create a logjam in the rotation that isn't necessary with the dearth of optionable arms we have to play with. I think any major SP acquisitions will happen mid-season.

Could see him watching the market for guys like Morrison, Harrison, Solarte, Moreland, Profar, Carpenter, Gyorko, Miller, much like he did with Valbuena last year. Anyone of those guys can fill Cron's role and add versatility and with most, another left-handed hitter, but he won't make a move unless it comes at great value. Eppler simply does not overpay. 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

20 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Eppler simply does not overpay.

I'm not saying Eppler overpaid for Cozart exactly but the most he has every made in a season is $5,325,000 last year. He is now going to make more than double that with us next year and two years after that. It's a big raise but I'm sure Eppler knows what he's doing. Just saying...

[totdprods]

10 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

I'm not saying Eppler overpaid for Cozart exactly but the most he has every made in a season is $5,325,000 last year. He is now going to make more than double that with us next year and two years after that. It's a big raise but I'm sure Eppler knows what he's doing. Just saying...

Oh I wasn't talking about the Cozart deal at all - I felt that was a fair price. 

I was talking about how he fills out the roster. We don't have a need right now for anything worth overpaying for, so I think we're mostly set. He'll fill based on value.

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

I'm not saying Eppler overpaid for Cozart exactly but the most he has every made in a season is $5,325,000 last year. He is now going to make more than double that with us next year and two years after that. It's a big raise but I'm sure Eppler knows what he's doing. Just saying...

Well, Cozart has never been a free agent before. That’s how it works. 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

57 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Well, Cozart has never been a free agent before. That’s how it works. 

Yea I give up. Got the idea from the Register article by Jeff Miller.

Cozart just had his finest season in Cincinnati but never has played third or made as much as $5.5 million, and the Angels just gave him a surprising three years at a stunning $38 million to be their third baseman.

[Hubs]

Cozart was a free agent for the first time, had he been Arbitration eligible, he'd have made at least 12 M dollars after his recent offensive explosion.