2018 Hot Stove League

[Hubs]

How about Andrew McCutchen who killed in his Yankees month, but was serviceable at a minimum in his season with the Giants?

His biggest declining stat is batting average, but otherwise has been pretty consistent. (His OBP has also dropped, but stayed consistently .80-.100 points above the average for his entire career.) His BABIP has dropped to around .305 as opposed to the .350+ BABIP that he had in his MVP years. That's a pretty straight detail, which suggests he is hitting them at people, which is probably shift related, or a drop in Power. It's something a little less playing time and a little work with a good hitting coach can solve, as evidenced by the small Yankees sample.

I'm not seeing a big contract for this guy, maybe AAV of 8 or 9? He certainly wouldn't block Adell going forward, and I would think they would try to get him on a 1 or 2 year deal, if possible.

[Hubs]

8 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Ward AAA depth.

Fletcher mlb utility.

Renfigo not ready.

Cozart 3B.

Fernandez, some time at 1B, but racking up frequent flyer miles back and forth to AAA as needed.

Cowart should be dfa.  He sucks.

So the Angels need a 2B despite that long list of "too many internal options".

Ward had 40 games, and while he'll be up and down, he isn't just depth.

Fletcher was also a rookie, I look for him to improve and get the majority of the time at 2nd.

Renfigo is ready soon.

And the 2B position is just not the biggest priority offensively this season, I'd say that's C and finding a platoon partner for Pujols and Calhoun. (Or a new RF on a short term deal).

[Second Base]

11 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Ward AAA depth.

Fletcher mlb utility.

Renfigo not ready.

Cozart 3B.

Fernandez, some time at 1B, but racking up frequent flyer miles back and forth to AAA as needed.

Cowart should be dfa.  He sucks.

So the Angels need a 2B despite that long list of "too many internal options".

This falls somewhere between #9 and #10 on a list of team needs.  When you have one great defensive option with contact skills in the majors, another, more dynamic option in AAA and yet another even more dynamic option than the second in AA, and another potential long term option in Jeremiah Jackson and Leo Rivas. 

[Broad Street]

Who is rule 5 eligible around the league that can play multiple positions on the infield? That's probably a good bet.

[nate]

2 hours ago, Mark68 said:

And Kershaw will have TJS in May.

And a spine-ectomy

[nate]

2 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

Kershaw is declining, plus really sucks in the postseason.

that was the point

[T.G.]

Listening to CJ Nitkowski this morning on mlbnetwork radio - he mentioned Garret Richards in the same breath as Eovaldi, Price, Kershaw, Corbin and others... with the obvious caveat of "if healthy" and in the context of one of the best in the league.  He cited his K rate...

I'm curious to see what happens with Richards since he's a FA and recovering from Tommy John surgery.  I wonder if the Angels will sign him to a two year deal....

[jordan]

55 minutes ago, True Grich said:

Listening to CJ Nitkowski this morning on mlbnetwork radio - he mentioned Garret Richards in the same breath as Eovaldi, Price, Kershaw, Corbin and others... with the obvious caveat of "if healthy" and in the context of one of the best in the league.  He cited his K rate...

I'm curious to see what happens with Richards since he's a FA and recovering from Tommy John surgery.  I wonder if the Angels will sign him to a two year deal....

I think it’s worth it. IIRC a couple of teams did it last year with pitchers just having TJ surgery. Might be good to keep him around for Trout’s sake. Maybe. 

[Tank]

4 hours ago, Hubs said:

Offseason Dates to know

Mid-February: Spring training camps across Florida and Arizona open. Hooray for that. Cactus League play begins February 21 and Grapefruit League play begins February 22.

Hi @Lou

[vladdy#27]

2 hours ago, Hubs said:

How about Andrew McCutchen who killed in his Yankees month, but was serviceable at a minimum in his season with the Giants?

His biggest declining stat is batting average, but otherwise has been pretty consistent. (His OBP has also dropped, but stayed consistently .80-.100 points above the average for his entire career.) His BABIP has dropped to around .305 as opposed to the .350+ BABIP that he had in his MVP years. That's a pretty straight detail, which suggests he is hitting them at people, which is probably shift related, or a drop in Power. It's something a little less playing time and a little work with a good hitting coach can solve, as evidenced by the small Yankees sample.

I'm not seeing a big contract for this guy, maybe AAV of 8 or 9? He certainly wouldn't block Adell going forward, and I would think they would try to get him on a 1 or 2 year deal, if possible.

I like McCutchen, he would benefit in having Trout hitting behind him, and Trout would have somebody that can get on base in front of him. Obviously it would require trading Calhoun. A 2 year deal would be ideal because that will be around the time Adell will be ready for regular playing time, but he can likely get a 3-4 year deal for 15M/yr. With Upton and Ohtani also in the mix I don't think that would work, unless someone learns to play first base

[TNAngelsFan71]

41 minutes ago, vladdy#27 said:

I like McCutchen, he would benefit in having Trout hitting behind him, and Trout would have somebody that can get on base in front of him. Obviously it would require trading Calhoun. A 2 year deal would be ideal because that will be around the time Adell will be ready for regular playing time, but he can likely get a 3-4 year deal for 15M/yr. With Upton and Ohtani also in the mix I don't think that would work, unless someone learns to play first base

I agree on McCutchen... at the right price... he would loose a bit on the HR side playing in Anaheim but batting in front of Trout will get him nice pitches to hit. Use Calhoun as the 4th outfielder and lefty option at 1B to spell Pujols this last year of his contract and next year one (or more) of the kids will be ready for the role. 

[Homebrewer]

9 hours ago, nate said:

He will sign Kershaw for 8/300

And Grandal to be his personal catcher. 8/120

[Troll Daddy]

 

[arch stanton]

I've always assumed he'd stay in one of the hitter friendly east coast parks. At first thought Baltimore but they've imploded so now the most logical is Philly

[m0nkey]

41 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

 

1.  Boras was joking. 

2.  He can't talk to anyone else but the nationals for a few more days. 

[m0nkey]

I'd rank the teams most likely to sign Harper:

Phillies, Cubs, Nationals, Dodgers.  

 

Giants as a longshot, and Yankees an even longer shot. 

 

[arch stanton]

In a park that plays as a hitter's park, the Phils managed 677 runs this season. They obviously care little about defense so I could see them throwing Harper into CF at least for the present and assuming (based on their probability model) that the offensive improvements would be worth it

[AngelStew43]

If we signed Harper, it would be like having Mantle and Maris back to back.  Ruth and Gehrig.  Arte would sell about a million jerseys.

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

I would like to retain Richards on a 2 year deal. Gives hime 1 year to heal; 1 year to prove himself.

Moose? I wouldn't mind McCutchen...gives somebody who gets on base in front of Trout. 

Eovaldi? Corbin? 

[stormngt]

7 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

 

Wouldnt that be in violation of mlb rules.  Isnt there a short waiting period where the current team has exclusive negotiation rights?

[Broad Street]

Everyone keeps talking about how the Giants are a long shot to sign Harper, but I think that's the prime destination for him. It's close to home for him and he grew up watching Bonds put balls into McCovey Cove. I think the Giants need to make a bunch of moves to stay relevant and compete, but signing Harper is a good start. Great for the fan base too. 

[T.G.]

Listening to mlb network radio this morning... they were saying the Braves have the flexibility in their payroll to add both Machado and Harper and even Kimbrel and still be at about $150 million...

[UndertheHalo]

[TroutField]

7 hours ago, True Grich said:

Listening to mlb network radio this morning... they were saying the Braves have the flexibility in their payroll to add both Machado and Harper and even Kimbrel and still be at about $150 million...

That is pretty much the model of how you rebuild a franchise. That took like 5 years, and they have low payroll, a plethora of good young players, and a lot of pitching on the way. They did it better than Houston did, IMO. 

[Docwaukee]

I think free agents are going to get signed a lot earlier and the off season is going to move a lot more quickly this year.  There are some up and coming teams that are going to spend and I think we'll see them jumping in on Machado right away.  If Harper doesn't re-sign with the nats in the next few days, he could linger a bit.