2018 Hot Stove League

[Lou]

Holland to DBacks 

[floplag]

17 hours ago, UndertheHalo said:

So what’s the plan if 2021 and 2022 roll around and they haven’t been able to use the farm to fill as many spots as we’re all hoping ?

Its a fair question.  Hopefully not one we have to worry about in those years.   As of right now though, we’re all hoping for an awful lot from like 6 or 7 prospects. 

This is precisely the point ive been arguing for some time now.

[Rico]

9 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Busier Feb & March than Nov & Dec in terms of signings & trades?

I'm guessing a lot of these guys are borderline major leaguers and probably end up signing minor league contracts.  

[DMVol]

6 minutes ago, Rico said:

I'm guessing a lot of these guys are borderline major leaguers and probably end up signing minor league contracts.  

True that....but Harper, Machado, Keuchel, Kimbrel, MGonzalez, Gio, Moose...pretty good group to have available two weeks from spring training....

[Blarg]

It is their agents fault. 

[Stradling]

22 minutes ago, floplag said:

This is precisely the point ive been arguing for some time now.

And the answer is the same.  If you blow it with the farm you still have money to spend.  If you blow it in free agency you have no choice but to either spend good money fixing bad money and you still need your farm to contribute.  Either way you can’t compete over any length of time without a good farm system.  I’ll give you some examples, Hamilton, Pujols, to lesser degrees CJ Wilson, Huston Street, Kole.  

[floplag]

11 minutes ago, Stradling said:

And the answer is the same.  If you blow it with the farm you still have money to spend.  If you blow it in free agency you have no choice but to either spend good money fixing bad money and you still need your farm to contribute.  Either way you can’t compete over any length of time without a good farm system.  I’ll give you some examples, Hamilton, Pujols, to lesser degrees CJ Wilson, Huston Street, Kole.  

I have never once argued that point and yet you keep coming back to it as though i have.  
As for the rest, every team has a list like that, the difference is that we let it cripple us.
How many bad contracts do you think we have right now?  i see one, Pujols, and you yourself have told me that  another 20-30M doesnt make this team a division contender so even is he wasnt here its moot. 

[DMVol]

35 minutes ago, Stradling said:

....I’ll give you some examples, Hamilton, Pujols, to lesser degrees CJ Wilson, Huston Street, Kole.  

Street was pretty good for a couple of years, especially the year we got him in the trade....not so much after that....same with CJ and Kole....deals that are longer than 2/3 years tend to be bad ideas....it's why I'd pay attention to Moustakis (mentioned in Fletcher's article on the infield)....if he could be had for 1 or 2 years, Eppler might jump, even if it wasn't something they anticipated doing...

[Chuck]

1 hour ago, Rico said:

I'm guessing a lot of these guys are borderline major leaguers and probably end up signing minor league contracts.  

There are a lot of those types, but there's still 4 stars out there in Harper, Machado, Kimbrel and Keuchel. Then you have your next tier of guys like Moustakas, Harrison, Solarte, M. Gonzalez, G. Gonzalez, Span, Granderson, A. Jones, C. Gonzalez, M. Cabrera, Gattis, Buchholz, E. Jackson, S. Romo, Norris, Boxberger, A.J. Ramos. 

[floplag]

39 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

There are a lot of those types, but there's still 4 stars out there in Harper, Machado, Kimbrel and Keuchel. Then you have your next tier of guys like Moustakas, Harrison, Solarte, M. Gonzalez, G. Gonzalez, Span, Granderson, A. Jones, C. Gonzalez, M. Cabrera, Gattis, Buchholz, E. Jackson, S. Romo, Norris, Boxberger, A.J. Ramos. 

Some of those tier 2 names really surprise me

[Blarg]

The rumors that Moustakas turned down an Angels offer last season, thinking he would sign for more years and money, sure has bit him in the ass if true. His spilt season last year between the Royals and Milwaukee didn't improve his lot. 

[Chuck]

7 minutes ago, Blarg said:

The rumors that Moustakas turned down an Angels offer last season, thinking he would sign for more years and money, sure has bit him in the ass if true. His spilt season last year between the Royals and Milwaukee didn't improve his lot. 

Tim Mead told us last ST Fanfest that the Angels never made him an offer or even reached out. 

[Angelsfan1984]

3 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Tim Mead told us last ST Fanfest that the Angels never made him an offer or even reached out. 

But they offered a contract to Spike Spoutakis?

[DMVol]

1 minute ago, Chuckster70 said:

Tim Mead told us last ST Fanfest that the Angels never made him an offer or even reached out. 

Wouldn't question Tim, but the timeline makes me think they could have been talking to Boras and Moose....they agree on a deal with Cozart, with the intention of playing him at 2b....and then something happens that they trade for Kinsler and ask Cozart if he would play 3b....maybe the Kinsler deal popped up unexpectedly but I've wondered if the "something happened" was they thought they could sign Moose for 3b and Cozart for 2b and then Boras (stupidly) did his usual thing of slowwalking offers to get a better deal....and Eppler says we'll go with Kinsler instead....obviously pure speculation on my part....

[GoodTimesGoneBad]

Does anyone else think this is the year to challenge Houston? Their rotation needs help, Correa and Altuve were hurt last year, they signed Brantley but he's been injured much of his career, and the Angels are a better team than they were last year. Why not sign Mous and Keuchel and go for it? 

[Angelsfan1984]

19 minutes ago, GoodTimesGoneBad said:

Does anyone else think this is the year to challenge Houston? Their rotation needs help, Correa and Altuve were hurt last year, they signed Brantley but he's been injured much of his career, and the Angels are a better team than they were last year. Why not sign Mous and Keuchel and go for it? 

Why not sign Machado and Harper and really really go for it? they chose to spend their money all over the roster with mediocre upgrades that offer high upside rather than top tier FA.

[floplag]

21 minutes ago, GoodTimesGoneBad said:

Does anyone else think this is the year to challenge Houston? Their rotation needs help, Correa and Altuve were hurt last year, they signed Brantley but he's been injured much of his career, and the Angels are a better team than they were last year. Why not sign Mous and Keuchel and go for it? 

This was my position at the beginning of the hot stove, that the core of this team was good enough to challenge with the right additions.  
Unfortunately, the budget would apparently not permit this to happen. 

[Homebrewer]

Damn Yacht.

[Tank]

if we really want a quality fourth outfielder, we should call someone nobody has mentioned: adam jones.

[Angelsfan1984]

Just now, Tank said:

if we really want a quality fourth outfielder, we should call someone nobody has mentioned: adam jones.

But, but, but the piece

Borjous....

[Dick Enberg]

3 minutes ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

 

Borjous....

Did this guy ever learn how to steal a base?

 

[Angelsfan1984]

23 minutes ago, Dick Enberg said:

Did this guy ever learn how to steal a base?

 

No but he's pretty good at stealing artes money with the expectation that he knows how to

[AngelStew43]

I thought Adam Jones was going to get A.J. Pollock money.  It sure doesn't look like that now.

[Stradling]

6 hours ago, floplag said:

I have never once argued that point and yet you keep coming back to it as though i have.  
As for the rest, every team has a list like that, the difference is that we let it cripple us.
How many bad contracts do you think we have right now?  i see one, Pujols, and you yourself have told me that  another 20-30M doesnt make this team a division contender so even is he wasnt here its moot. 

Nor have I said you argued that point.   It doesn’t make what I said less true.  

[ten ocho recon scout]

14 hours ago, NJHalo said:

Just found out last summer that both my kids had his brother as a teacher in middle school. Never gave a shit what “Mr. S” real name was. Oh well. 

But you would have been stoked if their teacher was Mr. T. But your kids would get annoyed after you did one too many "he pitys the fool who doesnt do his homework" dad jokes.