THE Official 2019-2020 Hot Stove Thread

[Second Base]

Eppler has contingencies in place. Think about it this way, after Odorizzi went back to the Twins, Gibson to the Rangers, Hamels to the Braves and Wheeler to the Phillies, it would seem that Eppler went to his backup plan, he acquired Bundy. 

Eppler is likely going to sign Gerrit Cole, but this comes with a whole host of questions. Chief among these, would be, did Eppler have the go ahead to spend the funds necessary to secure both Cole and Wheeler? After all, There Angels were in on Wheeler and waited until after he signed to trade for Bundy. And if the funds were indeed available, would Eppler have the go ahead to spend the funds necessary to secure Strasburg and Cole? The difference between Strasburg and Wheeler likely comes out to somewhere between 5-10 million per year. But keep in mind, the Phillies got Wheeler at a little over 23 million per year. Maybe the Angels weren't going over 20.

But Eppler has said all along, and I believe it to be true, his big thing he looks for is value. He doesn't want to overspend, he's pretty conservative that way. If all it took to bring in Strasburg was simply replacing that 4/100 he's owed and replace it with 6/150, then the Nats may have already re-signed him. If that were the price, Eppler would certainly see the value and I think you'd have a shot at both. More than likely, Strasburg will cost 6/180. 

At any rate, the most disappointing part of all of this, is that because Bundy was a contingency, it also makes it likely that he was the second pitcher acquired, unless there really is a Cole-Strasburg possibility. And if Dylan Bundy is indeed pitcher number two.....fire Eppler. 

Edited December 6, 2019 by Second Base

[jsnpritchett]

1 year,  $4.25M

[Lou]

The San Diego Padres have acquired outfielder Tommy Pham and an additional prospect from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Hunter Renfroe and shortstop prospect Xavier Edwards, reports ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The additional player heading to San Diego is minor-league shortstop Jake Cronenworth, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

[jordan]

5 minutes ago, Lou said:

The San Diego Padres have acquired outfielder Tommy Pham and an additional prospect from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Hunter Renfroe and shortstop prospect Xavier Edwards, reports ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The additional player heading to San Diego is minor-league shortstop Jake Cronenworth, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

What a slapdi** move!

[Second Base]

Shucks.....I was hoping for Avila if not Castro.

[totdprods]

14 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Shucks.....I was hoping for Avila if not Castro.

I’m holding out hope for Castro, Maldonado, or Phegley. 

Avila would’ve been nice but I think he’s been available every single offseason that Eppler has been here - and also needed a catcher - so either Avila doesn’t want to be here or Eppler isn’t interested. 

Edited December 6, 2019 by totdprods

[Claude]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

Eppler has contingencies in place. Think about it this way, after Odorizzi went back to the Twins, Gibson to the Rangers, Hamels to the Braves and Wheeler to the Phillies, it would seem that Eppler went to his backup plan, he acquired Bundy. 

Eppler is likely going to sign Gerrit Cole, but this comes with a whole host of questions. Chief among these, would be, did Eppler have the go ahead to spend the funds necessary to secure both Cole and Wheeler? After all, There Angels were in on Wheeler and waited until after he signed to trade for Bundy. And if the funds were indeed available, would Eppler have the go ahead to spend the funds necessary to secure Strasburg and Cole? The difference between Strasburg and Wheeler likely comes out to somewhere between 5-10 million per year. But keep in mind, the Phillies got Wheeler at a little over 23 million per year. Maybe the Angels weren't going over 20.

But Eppler has said all along, and I believe it to be true, his big thing he looks for is value. He doesn't want to overspend, he's pretty conservative that way. If all it took to bring in Strasburg was simply replacing that 4/100 he's owed and replace it with 6/150, then the Nats may have already re-signed him. If that were the price, Eppler would certainly see the value and I think you'd have a shot at both. More than likely, Strasburg will cost 6/180. 

At any rate, the most disappointing part of all of this, is that because Bundy was a contingency, it also makes it likely that he was the second pitcher acquired, unless there really is a Cole-Strasburg possibility. And if Dylan Bundy is indeed pitcher number two.....fire Eppler. 

Based on Etten’s well done primer on financials it would be improbable to sign both Cole and Strasburg. It’s going to be Cole and Bundy plus a cheap catcher. If Cole doesn’t sign here I don’t think Strasburg is Plan B. 

We either sign Cole or get Coal.

[jsnpritchett]

 

[Dick B Back]

35 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

 

 

[Jay]

I wonder who offered him two years?

 

[totdprods]

13 minutes ago, Jay said:

I wonder who offered him two years?

I think one of the Florida teams reportedly offered him a two-year deal early on. Probably Miami. 

Edited December 6, 2019 by totdprods

[Stradling]

I was thinking he would be a perfect signing for a team like Tampa.  Plays multiple positions and can still hit.  

[totdprods]

1 minute ago, Stradling said:

I was thinking he would be a perfect signing for a team like Tampa.  Plays multiple positions and can still hit.  

My guess is they only offered one and Miami two, and Kendrick wasn’t interested in playing for Miami. TB seems way more likely to be risk-averse and balled at offering two. Seems they go year to year with their assets a lot to minimize any sort of dead money .

[mmc]

 

[jsnpritchett]

Just now, mymerlincat said:

 

[Angelsfan1984]

If bringing in Maldonado on the cheap means they spend more money on pitching. I'm 100% behind it. I can live with the offensive numbers given his ability to handle a staff and keep running games honest.

[Taylor]

40 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I think one of the Florida teams reportedly offered him a two-year deal early on. Probably Miami. 

Two years in Florida sounds like a prison sentence.

[CanadianHalo]

 

This is great

[totdprods]

53 minutes ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

If bringing in Maldonado on the cheap means they spend more money on pitching. I'm 100% behind it. I can live with the offensive numbers given his ability to handle a staff and keep running games honest.

The only catchers remaining are all gonna come pretty cheap. I don’t think it means much in regards to what they spend on pitching. 

I love Maldonado. Best catcher they’ve had since Molina, I’d welcome him back in a heartbeat, even if his bat sucks. He tended to have a clutch hit here and there. 

[mmc]

42 minutes ago, CanadianHalo said:

 

This is great

It was great when it was posted last night as well.

[mmc]

 

[Bronson]

3 hours ago, CanadianHalo said:

 

This is great

Funny but very unprofessional. I’m sure the Rays FO will be talking with him very soon.

[GrittyVeterans]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Angels have to do better than Maldonado/Lucroy types as the starting catcher if they want to compete for a WS.

[totdprods]

1 minute ago, GrittyVeterans said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Angels have to do better than Maldonado/Lucroy types as the starting catcher if they want to compete for a WS.

Didn’t Boston win two years ago with a shitty catcher? Hasn’t Houston traded for Maldonado twice as they tried to win a WS?

[GrittyVeterans]

3 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Didn’t Boston win two years ago with a shitty catcher? Hasn’t Houston traded for Maldonado twice as they tried to win a WS?

Didn't both those teams have way more stacked offenses than the Angels do? 

The Angels have Ohtani returning to the mound. Adell is a question mark as a rookie. Simmons/Upton need to bounce back. Pujols is Pujols. I'm sorry but I see a ton of question marks other than Trout offensively. Way too many to get a 75 OPS+ starting catcher.