2018 Hot Stove League

[UndertheHalo]

Just now, Angel Oracle said:

Ward's HR power did appear with the Halos (6 HRs in 40 MLB games), but he also only had 3 other XBH's.   Whether that newly found HR power was a fluke, remains to be seen. 

We just have to wait and see.  You can’t look at his stat line and find optimism.  It’s in the other stuff.

[Docwaukee]

14 minutes ago, RBM said:

Is Eppler going to add a LHP for the bullpen? I think they only have Jerez.

he's been clear that the lefty/righty thing isn't a concern of his.  

[Docwaukee]

Feeling complete and being done are two different things.  

They're happy with where they're at if spring started tomorrow but my guess is that they'll continue to monitor for bargains that may arise on the FA market.  

I think we'll start locking up some minor league deals with invites to spring.  

[Homebrewer]

#Angels GM Billy Eppler: "We're at a point where we feel complete with our club."

Translation..

"Sorry ...upgrades to the yacht cost more than we estimated."  

[ettin]

12 hours ago, Lou said:

the entire Zobrist conversation began with this post: 

 

Oh I missed Chuck's comment. I thought you were saying I mentioned Calhoun in trade and I was like "Huh?"

[Chuck]

 

 

[Angel Oracle]

So as of now?    Allen, Buttrey, Anderson, Robles, Cole, Garcia, and Bad Rock?     Noe Ramirez has to show that being Gopher Ball Ramirez was mainly from overuse.   

[UndertheHalo]

I think Ramirez is a good change of pace guy also.  I like Noe.  I think a lot of when he struggled last year was due to usage. 

I think the bullpen as set up now is fine.  Good even. 

Edited January 21, 2019 by UndertheHalo

[beatlesrule]

I'd love to hear that conversation between Eppler and Moreno. Billy convincing Arte that Cody Allen was the guy needed to go over the budget.

[UndertheHalo]

I think it was probably not overly complex.  Probably something like : 

Eppler: Hey, let’s sign this guy to a one year contract.  I think he’ll be good.  

Arte: K. 

Ya probably something like that.  

Edited January 21, 2019 by UndertheHalo

[floplag]

7 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

 

I wish i could believe that, i really do as my frustrations would go away, but i dont. 
I mean sure they "stretched the budget", the issues is why was it what it was.  If this team cant afford to compete with the spenders around the lux tax, then who can. 
The game has been reduced to 2-3 teams that can actually afford to compete and make mistakes, thats not sustainable for the league.

[UndertheHalo]

The Angels can afford to make mistakes @floplag.  They can also afford to make a problems go away (Pujols) they’re just not doing it.  Most of the clubs can.  Baseball is flooded with money.  Anyone who says otherwise is utterly full of shit.

I sincerely believe that the owners are expecting a war over the CBA and they just aren’t going to make huge commitments with that on the horizon.  There’s no other reasonable explanation for all this.  Advanced stats be damned.  These guys were all going wild spending even 3 or 4 years ago.  They had analytics back then. 

They want to fundamentally change the way that money is spent and players are paid.  The players aren’t going to go with it.  This is going to be every bit as bad as the NHL labor battles and probably worse because there’s even more money being fought over  and the MLBPA is far more powerful then the NHLPA. 

Edited January 21, 2019 by UndertheHalo

[nando714]

This should wrap up the off season 

ready for ST now

[UndertheHalo]

They aren’t going to come out and say they aren’t going to spend this or that tho @Angel Oracle.  They just make these nebulous comments that can be interpreted however you want to interpret it. 

The proof is in the pudding. 

Edited January 21, 2019 by UndertheHalo

[Angel Oracle]

It has been very quiet on the labor front for the past almost 24 years (late April 1995 resumption after worst strike ever).   Only the threat of one in late July 2002 has stained the record since then.    I guess we should have seen the day come soon, where another nasty battle erupts between the owners and the players.  

[floplag]

7 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

The Angels can afford to make mistakes @floplag.  They can also afford to make a problems go away (Pujols) they’re just not doing it.  Most of the clubs can.  Baseball is flooded with money.  Anyone who says otherwise is utterly full of shit.

I sincerely believe that the owners are expecting a war over the CBA and they just aren’t going to make huge commitments with that on the horizon.  There’s no other reasonable explanation for all this.  Advanced stats be damned.  These guys were all going wild spending even 3 or 4 years ago.  They had analytics back then. 

They want to fundamentally change the way that money is spent and players are paid.  The players aren’t going to go with it.  This is going to be every bit as bad as the NHL labor battles and probably worse because there’s even more money being fought over  and the MLBPA is far more powerful then the NHLPA. 

I agree, thats kinda my point as well but im trying to at least maybe give them the benefit of the doubt on what we dont know.
Its either:
A. we legit cant afford to spend more than we are
or 
B. We are choosing to set the limits we are for whatever reasons. 
Either one suggests problems that dont have easy solutions.

[UndertheHalo]

I’m with the build for the future plan.  I’m all about developing the farm and not giving away comp picks.  But the Angels have more holes then the farm system is capable of taking care of in the near term.  We have stars all over the roster and have access to a FA market that is depressed and full of good players that the Angels can use.  They’re still well below the luxury tax threshold.  This isn’t an either or thing. They can develop the farm and they can do a lot more to win sooner then 2021.  A team with Justin Upton, Andrelron Simmons, Shohei Ohtani, and MIKE TROUT in their primes should not be playing for 2 or 3 years down the road.  We should be chasing more then the 2nd wild card.  I’m glad they signed Harvey.  I like the Bour and Allen deals.  But these on their own are not big time move the needle moves.  I mean FFS, it’s obvious that these one years are all very much about flexibility and allowing for dumps at the deadline.  That’s smart and all but it also doesn’t scream commitment to winning now. 

Its frustrating. 

Edited January 21, 2019 by UndertheHalo

[Tank]

20 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

I think Ramirez is a good change of pace guy also.  I like Noe.  I think a lot of when he struggled last year was due to usage. 

I think the bullpen as set up now is fine.  Good even. 

They also have Middleton coming back sometime this year.

[UndertheHalo]

Just now, Tank said:

They also have Middleton coming back sometime this year.

Ya, the bullpen is fine.  The line up is the concern.  And we could probably use another safer SP.   At least with that I understand hesitation on Keuchel.  

[Angel Oracle]

JC Ramirez also returns by the second half of 2019, but will it be as a reliever or as a starter?   Probably depends on how the depth looks for each?

[IEAngelsfan]

51 minutes ago, Homebrewer said:

GM Billy Eppler: "We're at a point where we feel complete with our club."

Translation..

Anyone else content with this because I am?

I'm at a point where I just want the season to begin.  I think we'll be better than most of the posters here think we will be and I'm actually excited to see how this season plays out.

Let see some baseball!

[UndertheHalo]

The Angels should leverage this opportunity, where apparently no one else gives a shit.  To win now.  There’s lots of value in this market now I suspect. 

That’s what I’d like to see.  That would be smart for the brand.  It doesn’t matter how much they hand out this year.  If they put a winner on the field they’ll make shit loads of money .

Edited January 21, 2019 by UndertheHalo

[Jeff Fletcher]

2 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

@Jeff Fletcher was the above comment in response to the question if the Angels were done shopping for FA or looking/listening to trade offers?

Just "Are you done?"

[Docwaukee]

15 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

I’m with the build for the future plan.  I’m all about developing the farm and not giving away comp picks.  But the Angels have more holes then the farm system is capable of taking care of in the near term.  We have stars all over the roster and have access to a FA market that is depressed and full of good players that the Angels can use.  They’re still well below the luxury tax threshold.  This isn’t an either or thing. They can develop the farm and they can do a lot more to win sooner then 2021.  A team with Justin Upton, Andrelron Simmons, Shohei Ohtani, and MIKE TROUT in their primes should not be playing for 2 or 3 years down the road.  We should be chasing more then the 2nd wild card.  I’m glad they signed Harvey.  I like the Bour and Allen deals.  But these on their own are not big time move the needle moves.  I mean FFS, it’s obvious that these one years are all very much about flexibility and allowing for dumps at the deadline.  That’s smart and all but it also doesn’t scream commitment to winning now. 

Its frustrating. 

I hear where you're coming from and I get it.  I really dislike any sort of 'stretch budget' comment.  None of us know the real numbers behind the scenes.  Budgets are typically created with the intent of someone making money.  I have no problem with that.  But I certainly don't want to hear about how a Billionaire who is likely pocketing a shit ton of money is going to make 7/8th of a shit ton instead.  If they're not going to make everything public about the financials, then make nothing public.  

While the team has some amazing talent, I do feel like there's a huge gap between that talent and the rest of the 25 man roster.  Something that Billy is trying very hard to fix.  I also believe that the farm will help fill those holes in the very near future.  They spent about 30m this year on players that are likely to accumulate avg production between them.  That's exactly where farm systems can be of use.  So you can spend that 30m on something else and I think that's the both short and long term plan.  

My hope is that the reason they've chosen not to extend further now is that they intent to do so later.  If I am looking at this through Arte's eyes, I am not going to do both ie, I am going to have my baseball people tell me when it's going to be worth it to actually bump up against any financial ceilings that might exist.  I am guessing that they have chosen later for that.  In other words, if I am Arte and I'm gonna go above my comfort zone, I'm not gonna do it for 10 years.  or even 7.  or even 5 probably.  It's gonna be for less than 5 years.  So do I start that now or do I wait when I can get a bunch of cheap help and only have to commit on 2-3 players instead of 5 or 6?  

The other alternative is that Arte and Billy see that most of the team in contention right now have done so with a payroll less than where they're currently at and as a result of a robust farm system supplementing the major league team.  So they're intent is to replicate that 

This is a transitional year whether people want it to be or not.  The team has made that clear by their actions.  I don't think it means they're unwilling to make long term commitments.  Just that they're going to do it for the players they deem worthy and not on a guy like Keuchel just because he might end up a little cheaper than expected.  At least not yet.  

[Hubs]

2 hours ago, RBM said:

Is Eppler going to add a LHP for the bullpen? I think they only have Jerez.

How about this peanut? https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/01/diamondbacks-designate-jared-miller-for-assignment.html