2018 Hot Stove League

[totdprods]

3 minutes ago, Lou said:

didn't he suck in the majors?

Yes. But he's still young, had peripherals that hinted at some promise, and has velocity and groundball tendencies. Felix Pena, JC Ramirez, and Blake Parker all mostly sucked in the majors beforehand too...and his AAA stats: 2.70 ERA, 53.1 IP, 3 HR allowed, 17 BB, 55 strikeouts are very solid. 

I'd be pretty happy if we were able to retain him in the org. Fits the mold Eppler has success with.

 

[Second Base]

4 minutes ago, Lou said:

didn't he suck in the majors?

Lots of relievers do at first. Blake Parker, Hansen Robles, Taylor Cole, and JC Ramirez didn't have the best track record before arriving. Even Yusmeiro Petit was coming off a down season. 

Eppler always seems to be on the lookout for buy-low candidates. 

[Lou]

More relievers suck at first and continue to suck.

Cole? He had only pitched 1 inning in the majors before last year.

Brice has had stints in the majors the last 3 years and has pitched 84 innings. I predict he'll continue to suck in the future. 

 

[Stradling]

Angels sign Alex Meyer to a minor league deal.  

[Vlad27Trout27]

3 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Angels sign Alex Meyer to a minor league deal.  

Good to see him returning, stuff has always been there, but health has not. Best solution now maybe to put him in the Bp and see how his stuff plays out.

[bloodbrother]

12 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Good to see him returning, stuff has always been there, but health has not. Best solution now maybe to put him in the Bp and see how his stuff plays out.

Agreed. Probably the best course of action for his career at this point anyway. He's already like 28 yrs old I think and has battled shoulder woes his entire career. He's got the stuff to be a devastating reliever with triple digit heat and a power curve. I like bringing him back

[Make Angels Great Again]

20 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Angels sign Alex Meyer to a minor league deal.  

Glad to hear about this one. He's got similar stuff to Richards, so if healthy he could be huge.

[nando714]

39 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Angels sign Alex Meyer to a minor league deal.  

Throw him in the pen 

[Lou]

YES!!!

[hangin n wangin]

I love it. No risk. High end pullpen guy reward.

[popo85]

1 hour ago, hangin n wangin said:

I love it. No risk. High end pullpen guy reward.

Yup if he can even give us anything near what he did in 2017 it would be huge, at worst eat some innings out of the pen when needed

[beatlesrule]

Per MLBTR:

Trading Kole Calhoun would help free up some payroll space for the Angels to go after pitching, though MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger isn’t sure how much the Halos could really save in such a deal.  Calhoun is owed $11.5MM next season, counting both salary and a buyout of his $14MM club option for 2020, and it seems like the team would have to eat at least some of that given that Calhoun is coming off a replacement-level season.  Los Angeles could also conceivably swap Calhoun for another player with a contract his team would like to unload, if such a fit could be found.  Of course, the Angels are hoping for a rebound year from Calhoun and have him penciled in as their everyday right fielder, so dealing him would create another roster hole to be filled.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

Jefry Marte To Sign With Japan's Hanshin Tigers - MLB Trade Rumors

[totdprods]

6 hours ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

Jefry Marte To Sign With Japan's Hanshin Tigers - MLB Trade Rumors

McGuire, Marte, Blash, and Fernandez have all signed with Japanese or Korean teams.

[Lou]

BRASH OFF!

[totdprods]

8 hours ago, beatlesrule said:

Per MLBTR:

Trading Kole Calhoun would help free up some payroll space for the Angels to go after pitching, though MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger isn’t sure how much the Halos could really save in such a deal.  Calhoun is owed $11.5MM next season, counting both salary and a buyout of his $14MM club option for 2020, and it seems like the team would have to eat at least some of that given that Calhoun is coming off a replacement-level season.  Los Angeles could also conceivably swap Calhoun for another player with a contract his team would like to unload, if such a fit could be found.  Of course, the Angels are hoping for a rebound year from Calhoun and have him penciled in as their everyday right fielder, so dealing him would create another roster hole to be filled.

Can't imagine there's much interest in him on the trade market with so many similarly risk/reward outfielders available via FA. An acquiring team would have to be wanting to clear a roster spot for playing time or trying to shed some salary, and I don't think the Angels have much payroll space left to take anything substantial enough to get momentum behind a deal. 

Browsing the link included in that blurb, the only deals I see making even a bit of sense would be...
Calhoun ($11.5m) for Jason Kipnis ($17m)
Calhoun for Starlin Castro ($12m)
Calhoun for Teheran ($12m)
Calhoun + for Greinke ($95m through '21) and perhaps more
Calhoun for Melancon

Don't really think any of those are worth doing as in most cases, we're just adding money and creating a hole in RF. Even if Adell is ready, I doubt we see him until midseason.

[Docwaukee]

I am confident that Kole will bounce back into a useful player.  

[totdprods]

44 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

I am confident that Kole will bounce back into a useful player.  

And if he does, it'll make his option next year an interesting decision. Lots of ways it can play out still.

[Docwaukee]

1 minute ago, totdprods said:

And if he does, it'll make his option next year an interesting decision. Lots of ways it can play out still.

 

 

agree although even if he does well, I think we'd but it out.  I don't see him getting more than 7-8 mil aav.  

[ukyah]

i don't think there's any chance the angels pick up his option. i think in his best case scenario they extend him at a completely different aav, and i don't think that's happening.

 

[nando714]

2 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I am confident that Kole will bounce back into a useful player.  

If he does. He’ll be a nice trade chip come July 

[Second Base]

I think Kole will bounce back and hit.240 with a .330 OBP and 20 HR'S. Basically his 2017 numbers. But I don't think Adell will be promoted until May of 2019 to secure an additional year of control. So trading him won't happen.

[beatlesrule]

I definitely think Calhoun can be traded for some good players. He is usually good for a 2-3 WAR. He still played good defense this year. He will almost certainly bounce back with his bat for next year. Assuming he gets back to at least 2 WAR, he will be worth the 11.5 million.

[Jay]

5 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I am confident that Kole will bounce back into a useful player.  

define useful.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Kole is what I term a "glue type player" not a Super Star or All Star just a very good player when not required to be "the guy" and not expected to do everything. He will do enough to not hurt his team and provide just enough to be considered a solid member. 

He will never hit 30 HR's drive in 100RBI or hit .300.

But, to expect 15-20HR 70-80RBI and an 250-270AVG while providing solid defense. Is more than sufficient.

Our lineup has been filled with these type of players previously and they work.

Is he expendable? Probably. But, why not wait till one of the kids comes up and takes his job.