Should we do more? (Add another starter)

[Docwaukee]

Are we now a pitcher away from being one of the elite teams in the league?  

Is that pitcher Chris Archer?  Jacob deGrom?  Darvish? Arrieta? Michael Fulmer?  Gerrit Cole? Marcus Stroman? Aaron Nola?

How about the next tier down?

Lance Lynn? Kevin Gausman? Alex Cobb?  Julio Teheran? Danny Duffy?

The free agents are obvious.  You just pay to play.  But the elite arms are on the wrong side of 30.  

So what would it take to get a top tier club controlled pitcher entering their prime?  and would you do it?  

What about Skaggs, Jones, Barria and Cron for Archer?   

How about Barria, Jones, Thaiss, Maitan and Ward for Fulmer?  

In the end we might be better off signing Lance Lynn.  Does 5/100 get it done?  

I think I would give up 3 of our top 5 for Stroman or deGrom though.  Would you?  

How about Skaggs, Barria, Calhoun, and Adell for Stroman?  

Or do we just stay the course and see what we've got until the deadline?  

 

[Warfarin]

22 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

Are we now a pitcher away from being one of the elite teams in the league?  

Is that pitcher Chris Archer?  Jacob deGrom?  Darvish? Arrieta? Michael Fulmer?  Gerrit Cole? Marcus Stroman? Aaron Nola?

How about the next tier down?

Lance Lynn? Kevin Gausman? Alex Cobb?  Julio Teheran? Danny Duffy?

The free agents are obvious.  You just pay to play.  But the elite arms are on the wrong side of 30.  

So what would it take to get a top tier club controlled pitcher entering their prime?  and would you do it?  

What about Skaggs, Jones, Barria and Cron for Archer?   

How about Barria, Jones, Thaiss, Maitan and Ward for Fulmer?  

In the end we might be better off signing Lance Lynn.  Does 5/100 get it done?  

I think I would give up 3 of our top 5 for Stroman or deGrom though.  Would you?  

How about Skaggs, Barria, Calhoun, and Adell for Stroman?  

Or do we just stay the course and see what we've got until the deadline?  

 

I wouldn't trade for Archer right now.  Not that he wouldn't be a tremendous asset to us, but I don't think we're a Chris Archer away from being a World Series team.  Think we need to continue making incremental progress as we have been and not burn the farm system to go for it.  We need to either have a stronger farm system first OR be in a strong position come July before i'd consider making that kind of move.

[Blarg]

Given the unpredictable nature of pitcher injuries the investment into another teams used arm is a little bit of a gamble. Nearly every guy on your top tier list has had arm trouble. So are they the solution or a potentially expensive mistake?

I can't answer that but when you step down a level aren't you really saying a leteral move is what you are trading resources for, not having any confidence in what you have already on the roster.

Either move may not bear fruit, neither does standing pat increase the odds of better results but I know if we are going with what we know we at least have known commodities. That and it keeps our cost controlled arms in our org and opening opportunities for them to move up. 

You wanted a farm and a GM that would conserve prospects rather than Dipoto them away for the next shiny object. That means we go with what we have.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

35 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

Are we now a pitcher away from being one of the elite teams in the league?  

Is that pitcher Chris Archer?  Jacob deGrom?  Darvish? Arrieta? Michael Fulmer?  Gerrit Cole? Marcus Stroman? Aaron Nola?

How about the next tier down?

Lance Lynn? Kevin Gausman? Alex Cobb?  Julio Teheran? Danny Duffy?

The free agents are obvious.  You just pay to play.  But the elite arms are on the wrong side of 30.  

So what would it take to get a top tier club controlled pitcher entering their prime?  and would you do it?  

What about Skaggs, Jones, Barria and Cron for Archer?   

How about Barria, Jones, Thaiss, Maitan and Ward for Fulmer?  

In the end we might be better off signing Lance Lynn.  Does 5/100 get it done?  

I think I would give up 3 of our top 5 for Stroman or deGrom though.  Would you?  

How about Skaggs, Barria, Calhoun, and Adell for Stroman?  

Or do we just stay the course and see what we've got until the deadline?  

 

Do not trade the farm, AGAIN.

[Bull58]

I wouldn't mind Cobb or Lynn signing but no trading, we need our depth in the farm. Eppler has been superman so far and a Cobb or Lynn signing and a Reed or Davis signing would set us up in the remaining areas.

[arch stanton]

It's probably better to wait at least half a season and have a clearer picture of how this team looks on field

[JarsOfClay]

Why do angels fans want to trade the farm as soon as fucking possible?  Have you people not seen who the last 2 world series winners are?  Do you not know how the angels won the 2002 world series?

Seriously something is wrong with you people. 

[AngelsWin.com]

Nope, FA or go with what we have. 

I really like our rotation depth going into next season. 

I would only do your trade for Archer if they kicked back Colome and we sent them Middleton. No way on Fullmer.

[JoJo26]

BULL

PEN

[tdawg87]

Keep the prospects and sign Lynn. Fuck money.

[Warfarin]

1 hour ago, JarsOfClay said:

Why do angels fans want to trade the farm as soon as fucking possible?  Have you people not seen who the last 2 world series winners are?  Do you not know how the angels won the 2002 world series?

Seriously something is wrong with you people. 

I think what happens is now that we are getting close to being a legitimate contender, some people get overly excited (understandably so) and want to make the "one last move" that's needed to get us to the promised land.  It's a normal fan response, and it's also probably a Jerry DiPoto-type response, too.

That said, a strong GM remains disciplined, and recognizes that their goal is to build a contender today, tomorrow, and five years from now all at once.  It's extremely difficult to do and requires, in a number of instances, delayed gratification.  I'm sure we could easily land a Chris Archer by gutting our farm system, but that would only help us a few years, and we'd have an empty team with no talent on the horizon in after those few years have passed.  Discipline is key.

So with that said, we're getting close, but we aren't quite there just yet.  That is okay with me, because we are trending in the right direction for BOTH our major league roster and our minor league farm system.  I say, for now, maybe find an aging mid-rotation-ish type starter (like CC would have been) who will come here on a one year deal.  If one isn't available, that's okay, maybe pivot and try to sign a LH reliever (Watson?).

[wopphil]

It would be disappointing to see the roster overhauled this dramatically without finishing it off. We need another starter. If we end up with too much depth, so be it....that's a good problem to have.

[Warfarin]

12 minutes ago, wopphil said:

It would be disappointing to see the roster overhauled this dramatically without finishing it off. We need another starter. If we end up with too much depth, so be it....that's a good problem to have.

Roster construction is never complete.  It's an ongoing process.  I will say that we have absolutely no need for a mid or back-end rotation starter, as we have a lot of guys who can fill that role.  The one area that would be worthwhile to spend, IMO, is a top of the rotation starter.  Is that Yu Darvish?  I don't know, I feel mixed about him.  He could still be a productive #2 starter, and would provide some insurance if/when Richards leaves next offseason.  But at this point, I would not trade any of our prospects for one, as I want to see our farm system grow enough where we can start creating a pipeline of talent.  So if we can secure Yu on a 15mil/year-ish type deal, then that could be okay.  Other than him though, there's no one else I'd consider signing.

[eligrba]

2 hours ago, JarsOfClay said:

Why do angels fans want to trade the farm as soon as fucking possible?  Have you people not seen who the last 2 world series winners are?  Do you not know how the angels won the 2002 world series?

Seriously something is wrong with you people. 

Who are "you people?"

[Stradling]

I assumed he meant people who are willing to gut the farm for a pitcher.  

I would probably send three top ten guys for deGrom

[Erstad Grit]

2 hours ago, JarsOfClay said:

Why do angels fans want to trade the farm as soon as fucking possible?  Have you people not seen who the last 2 world series winners are?  Do you not know how the angels won the 2002 world series?

Seriously something is wrong with you people. 

 Chill out geeze! He just asked a question. Your Astros  example is funny because they did exactly what doc is suggesting. (Verlander)

[floplag]

IF we do it has to be for top tier.  We have enough depth at SP at this point.
That having been said i still have RP as a higher priority in my book 

[JarsOfClay]

15 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

 Chill out geeze! He just asked a question. Your Astros  example is funny because they did exactly what doc is suggesting. (Verlander)

Ya but that trade was at the deadline and I dont mind doing it then but right now its a little premature to make a trade like that. 

Also it wasnt directed at doc specifically, I see many angel fans wanting to trade any prospect of value as soon as they have any value and that kind of thinking is what lead us to the mess we are in today.  

Thanks to Eppler, the Angels are finally coming out of the black hole their farm system was in, but it seems angel fans want to dive back in lol.

 

 

[Stradling]

Just now, JarsOfClay said:

Ya but that trade was at the deadline and I dont mind doing it then but right now its a little premature to make a trade like that. 

Also it wasnt directed at doc specifically, I see many angel fans wanting to trade any prospect of value as soon as they have any value and that kind of thinking is what lead us to the mess we are in today.  

Thanks to Eppler, the Angels are finally coming out of the black hole their farm system was in, but it seems angel fans want to dive back in lol.

 

 

Very few people here are big on trading our better prospects and most people on here over value our prospects.  

Jam Jones could be as good as Mcutchen or he could never make it.  Our problem was, we had very few decent prospects.  Now we have a handful, maybe even enough to go get a young ace and still have a few.  

[nando714]

Not much money left 

[Second Base]

I think the Angels need to rest on the depth they've built, and the fans should remember the upside they have. It's been obscured my injuries, but that upside is present nonetheless.

Ohtani - Has the chance to be one of the top 5 starters in baseball, and it comes down to that splitter of his. Combined with high-90's heat and slider, he could be unhittable.

Richards - Staff ace if he's healthy. High 90's 4 seamer, low-90's 2 seamer with more FB movement than anyone in baseball. Slider, curve....just extraordinary.

Heaney - Former 1st  round pick, former top 10 prospect, proved in his lone full season that he's a brilliant #2 starter. Left handed too.

Skaggs - Former elite prospect, has not had a single healthy season in the majors yet. His arsenal has recovered to what it was as a top 10 prospect, and he has the potential to pitch toward the front of a rotation.

Shoemaker - Twice in his career, Shoe has pitched for several months as an elite starter. Just as frequently he's been a back end starter, but the fact remains he has it in him to be great. You can't predict it, but you just kind of hope for it.

Tropeano - His ERA in the minors and majors is sparkling. At some point people will stop predicting it to balloon and just trust the fact that he's a good pitcher.

Barria - Just wondering when "experts" will stop questioning the results and dig deeper to find out Barria has every intangible and every scouting category checked except the high octane heat. Have they considered that maybe this 20 year that reached AAA with ease might just be great with only a 92 mph fastball?

Ramirez - Throws 98 and can dominate for 7 innings. Because of injury, best used in bullpen.

Bridwell - What if his "luck" from last year doesn't run out?

Obviously I'm not saying all of this will happen, but the upside is there. If their pitches stay healthy and pitch to their ability, the Angels could have the best staff in baseball. 

Don't sacrifice financial flexibility for something we may already have.

 

[eligrba]

3 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Very few people here are big on trading our better prospects and most people on here over value our prospects.  

Jam Jones could be as good as Mcutchen or he could never make it.  Our problem was, we had very few decent prospects.  Now we have a handful, maybe even enough to go get a young ace and still have a few.  

That is why, perhaps, the most important people in the system evaluate players.  Obviously there will always be surprises as players develop, but I would guess there should be some consistency in their player predictions.

I have no idea who these people are but hope they are better than the McPherson, Wood, et.al. era.  I am good with trading promising prospects for long term solutions.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

I trust Eppler and the direction he is taking the team.  If he wants to sit tight, I'm cool as 3 little Fonzies.  If he wants to trade a couple of top-10 prospects for a pitcher he believes in, I'm good with that too.  

[Stradling]

12 minutes ago, eligrba said:

That is why, perhaps, the most important people in the system evaluate players.  Obviously there will always be surprises as players develop, but I would guess there should be some consistency in their player predictions.

I have no idea who these people are but hope they are better than the McPherson, Wood, et.al. era.  I am good with trading promising prospects for long term solutions.

McPherson was good, just had a damaged back. 

[Angelsjunky]

"No" to all of the above. Perhaps especially to Lynn. $100 million for a guy coming off a 4.82 FIP season? No thanks.

Let the farm be. Hope for the best with the nine starters the Angels have. Look for some clean peanuts to stash in AAA for more depth.