All else being within reason, your choice?

[AngelStew43]

8 hours ago, True Grich said:

I doubt the Angel start the season with Fletcher, La Stella and Rengifo on the 25 man roster.  Something has to give.

I agree with this.  Also, if we add another starter, one of the kids, like Sandoval, becomes available.  Controllable starting pitching has a lot of value in today's MLB.

[AngelStew43]

If we are adding an elite pitcher that hasn't been mentioned, I hope Santa puts Noah Syndergaard in our stocking.

[floplag]

i think they make one trade, only one, they dont want to dump too many kids nor should they even in a win now
Of the three spots we need right now, 2 arms and a catcher, one or more will come via one trade, the rest will come from FA.
If i had to guess id say the trade for the #1 and sign Keuchel for the #2.  Catcher could come from either

[Jeff Fletcher]

11 hours ago, AngelStew43 said:

Does anyone know whether or not we would go over the cap if we acquired both Darvish and Contreras?  Cubs are rumored to want to drop payroll.  We have, what, about 35-45 mil left after Rendon?  

I am thinking that at least one of Rengifo, Fletcher, or LaStella may be on the move, as we only have 2B and utility infielder spots up for grabs.

The Cubs don’t want to trade Darvish, according to Cubs writers I talked to. 

[Angels_Fan]

11 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

The Cubs don’t want to trade Darvish, according to Cubs writers I talked to. 

I assume that also means Contreras isn’t going anywhere (unless the Angels offer something that they cannot refuse aka overpaying).

What about Jon Gray? Is he a realistic target for the Angels?

[UndertheHalo]

10 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

The Cubs don’t want to trade Darvish, according to Cubs writers I talked to. 

Well there goes that idea. 

[Docwaukee]

55 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

The Cubs don’t want to trade Darvish, according to Cubs writers I talked to. 

but Angelswin says they do.  We could get him as a salary dump.  You should get your facts straight. 

[Docwaukee]

46 minutes ago, Angels_Fan said:

I assume that also means Contreras isn’t going anywhere (unless the Angels offer something that they cannot refuse aka overpaying).

What about Jon Gray? Is he a realistic target for the Angels?

nobody puts baby in a corner.  

[Troll Daddy]

Funny how fans here are liking Keuchel now. I was championing him last off season and everyone was hating on him. Probably could of sign him to a three year deal on the cheap last season. Instead we signed ... lol

[Lou]

4 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Funny how fans here are liking Keuchel now. I was championing him last off season and everyone was hating on him. Probably could of sign him to a three year deal on the cheap last season. Instead we signed ... lol

on the cheap? you're crazy.  he held out because he wouldn't sign on the cheap.  he also had a 1st round pick attached 

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, Angels_Fan said:

I assume that also means Contreras isn’t going anywhere (unless the Angels offer something that they cannot refuse aka overpaying).

What about Jon Gray? Is he a realistic target for the Angels?

No. The Cubs will trade Contreras. Apparently they feel they need Darvish more because of losing Lester and Quintana. 
 

As for Gray, I heard he was available and then I heard I wasn’t and now people are talking about him again so who knows. 

[Angels_Fan]

Just now, Jeff Fletcher said:

No. The Cubs will trade Contreras. Apparently they feel they need Darvish more because of losing Lester and Quintana. 
 

As for Gray, I heard he was available and then I heard I wasn’t and now people are talking about him again so who knows. 

Interesting. Thanks. 

[Tyler]

SP Matthew Boyd
SP Robbie Ray

C Victor Caratini

[Second Base]

Just a few things of note to add in here.

1. The Rockies have said Jon Gray isn't on the block. I believe them. 

2. The Cubs intend to compete, while shedding salary. Darvish returning to form is part of that plan. They're more likely to try and jettison Bryant or Lester.

3. Draft pick compensation or not, Keuchel was on the market and available for the taking all last year, and Billy Eppler never seriously pursued him. There's something there that obviously scares the Angels from making that commitment to him, so I don't think it'll be Keuchel.

4. Because of the offense Eppler has built everywhere else, a bat from the catching position is not a priority for this team. Contreras is out. He won't save the Cubs money anyway so it's doubtful they trade him.

--------

Now from a pure talent standpoint, I want Ryu, and I want Kluber. I don't believe that's likely to happen though because collectively, they're going to cost almost 40 million. 

I think we are going to see Eppler make some trades here in the next two weeks. Three trades on particular. 

1. Angels will trade Luis Rengifo, Trent Deveaux and Robinson Pina to the Indians for Corey Kluber and a minor league reliever. This adds 18 million to the Angels current payroll. 

2. Angels will trade Matt Thaiss to the Red Sox in return for David Price and 42 million dollars. Price comes to the Angels for basically 3 years, 54 million. The Angels will be responsible for 12 million of his salary in 2020, 20 million in 2021, and 22 million in 2022. 

3. Angels will trade Jaime Barria to the Padres for Austin Hedges. 

-----

I'll both love and hate the moves. I'll love having two veterans in the pitching staff to team with Calloway and guide the youngsters in Kluber and Price. And I'll love having what I consider to be the best defensive catcher in baseball in Austin Hedges. But I'll hate that it cost Rengifo and Thaiss.  I'll also hate the amount of risk it puts on the pitching staff to stay healthy. 

Still, Kluber, Price, Ohtani, Heaney, Bundy and Canning will shove. And having Sandoval and Suarez in AAA will be nice. They'll work with Calloway in the Spring and be immensely better in 2020.

 

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

@Jeff Fletcher do you have a sense on where the Angels and Indians stand right now in terms of trade discussions? Also, do you have any sense on which free agent pitchers are within their price range at the moment? 
 

any update is appreciated. 

[Docwaukee]

4 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Just a few things of note to add in here.

1. The Rockies have said Jon Gray isn't on the block. I believe them. 

2. The Cubs intend to compete, while shedding salary. Darvish returning to form is part of that plan. They're more likely to try and jettison Bryant or Lester.

3. Draft pick compensation or not, Keuchel was on the market and available for the taking all last year, and Billy Eppler never seriously pursued him. There's something there that obviously scares the Angels from making that commitment to him, so I don't think it'll be Keuchel.

4. Because of the offense Eppler has built everywhere else, a bat from the catching position is not a priority for this team. Contreras is out. He won't save the Cubs money anyway so it's doubtful they trade him.

--------

Now from a pure talent standpoint, I want Ryu, and I want Kluber. I don't believe that's likely to happen though because collectively, they're going to cost almost 40 million. 

I think we are going to see Eppler make some trades here in the next two weeks. Three trades on particular. 

1. Angels will trade Luis Rengifo, Trent Deveaux and Robinson Pina to the Indians for Corey Kluber and a minor league reliever. This adds 18 million to the Angels current payroll. 

2. Angels will trade Matt Thaiss to the Red Sox in return for David Price and 42 million dollars. Price comes to the Angels for basically 3 years, 54 million. The Angels will be responsible for 12 million of his salary in 2020, 20 million in 2021, and 22 million in 2022. 

3. Angels will trade Jaime Barria to the Padres for Austin Hedges. 

-----

I'll both love and hate the moves. I'll love having two veterans in the pitching staff to team with Calloway and guide the youngsters in Kluber and Price. And I'll love having what I consider to be the best defensive catcher in baseball in Austin Hedges. But I'll hate that it cost Rengifo and Thaiss.  I'll also hate the amount of risk it puts on the pitching staff to stay healthy. 

Still, Kluber, Price, Ohtani, Heaney, Bundy and Canning will shove. And having Sandoval and Suarez in AAA will be nice. They'll work with Calloway in the Spring and be immensely better in 2020.

 

I sorta like this.  Not a fan of Price and instead of giving up Thaiss, I'd like to see the Angels just take on a bit more cash.  Then instead of trading for Hedges they just sign Maldy.  

How about Thaiss to Pitt for Musgrove?  

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

Not a fan of trading Thaiss for Price; would rather eat a little more money as well and send back a lesser prospect. 

[Second Base]

6 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I sorta like this.  Not a fan of Price and instead of giving up Thaiss, I'd like to see the Angels just take on a bit more cash.  Then instead of trading for Hedges they just sign Maldy.  

How about Thaiss to Pitt for Musgrove?  

I'm not keen on n giving up Thaiss in general. That's just kind of what feel will happen though. Musgrove is an ok target though.

[Lou]

20 hours ago, True Grich said:

I doubt the Angel start the season with Fletcher, La Stella and Rengifo on the 25 man roster.  Something has to give.

what about a 26-man roster?

[Jeff Fletcher]

8 hours ago, Angels_Make_Me_Drink said:

@Jeff Fletcher do you have a sense on where the Angels and Indians stand right now in terms of trade discussions? Also, do you have any sense on which free agent pitchers are within their price range at the moment? 
 

any update is appreciated. 

On the Indians, honestly no. Wednesday night it seemed good and then Thursday morning not good and then Thursday afternoon better, but it all may be more about who I am talking to than the reality. It’s almost impossible for me to get an accurate gauge on this stuff in real time. 
 

I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens right now and I wouldn’t be surprised if it never happens. 
 

As for the budget, I can only guess on that too. They are already at their normal limit. I have no doubt they can afford one $20Mish player simply because I know they want Kluber. Two of that kind of player would seem be unlikely, but it’s possible. I don’t know how much Arte is willing to spend. 
 

It is clear that he’s upped the budget significantly, anywhere from $25M more to maybe $50M more. I don’t know where in that range it is. 

[T.G.]

1 hour ago, Lou said:

what about a 26-man roster?

That too.

[totdprods]

“The 2019 Angels didn't have a pitcher make 20 starts, the first team in more than a century to manage that. They had the AL's highest rotation ERA (5.64), and all they've done to address it so far is to import a pitcher from the team with the AL's second-highest rotation ERA (Baltimore, 5.57).”

Oof. This really underscores the Angels biggest rotation problem. We all know that. But by having such a fragile rotation, it strains the bullpen, pressures the offense, pushes the kids...we all would love to dream on upside and aces but reality is, even if the Angels simply round out this rotation with durable arms, we will absolutely be in the playoff hunt. 

Its probably why we also see Eppler hesitant to overpay in money or prospects for ‘upside’ - he knows that at a minimum, durability will get us there. If we had six arms make 20+ starts with a collective 4.25-4.50 ERA, we’re probably an 85-90 win team pretty easily. If it’s a collective 4.00-4.25 ERA, we’re probably a 90-95 win team at a minimum. 

An ace will be nice but Eppler shouldn’t overpay unless the right arm becomes available - its hard to say that Ryu, Kluber, Price, Bumgarner, Gray, or Keuchel fit that definition right now, either by performance or durability standards. Neither really checks both boxes. 

[totdprods]

I also don’t think it would be terrible if they opted for one more high profile arm, one cheaper value buy, and then waited until the July deadline to assess if they need another ‘top’ arm. 

The addition of Rendon, one more arm, Bundy, improvement from Simmons and Upton, Ohtani to the mound, and even a little development from the youth is already a lot of potential improvement.

Come July, we’ll have clearer picture of how our youngsters are faring in support of the big league club - if even two of our rookie pitchers flourish under Callaway, we might not need an arm - and we’ll have another half-season for somewhat redundant prospects like Adams, Jones, Thaiss, Rengifo, Deveaux, Knowles, lower-level arms to add to their trade value. 

[Duren, Duren]

Ryu, Kluber and Stroman. One of these at least, and  one or two Bundy type low cost trades if possible. We need inning eaters most of all.

Ryu won't be as dominant, and is always a health risk, but he will consistently give you a great 5 - 6 innings. Not sure how much he will cost and how competitive the bidding will be, but I wouldn't go more than three years. Not sure how much he values location, but he would essentially be in a comfort zone in that regard.

Stroman looks like he can be a dominant ace when he has it all together, but he can also be frustratingly erratic. He had a bit of a soap opera going on in Toronto. Maybe flying under the radar a little, but at the right price he would fit the rotation nicely.

Kluber is a little  past his prime but probably has a couple of years left of quality pitching. Savvy, experienced under pressure, knows how to use his repertoire effectively. Cost probably will be a quality prospect, a medium prospect and a roster player. Or some variation of that. He would become the default ace however, so you have to give up some value.

Maldonado. You know what you get with him and that"s fine given the lineup.

As a backup/utility role, Russ Martin. Still useful in a limited way. Good pinch hitter, has some power, experienced receiver, can play a few positions. Short term fills a need. 

[Docwaukee]

3 hours ago, totdprods said:

I also don’t think it would be terrible if they opted for one more high profile arm, one cheaper value buy, and then waited until the July deadline to assess if they need another ‘top’ arm. 

The addition of Rendon, one more arm, Bundy, improvement from Simmons and Upton, Ohtani to the mound, and even a little development from the youth is already a lot of potential improvement.

Come July, we’ll have clearer picture of how our youngsters are faring in support of the big league club - if even two of our rookie pitchers flourish under Callaway, we might not need an arm - and we’ll have another half-season for somewhat redundant prospects like Adams, Jones, Thaiss, Rengifo, Deveaux, Knowles, lower-level arms to add to their trade value. 

everyone knows we need pitching.  

If Billy really liked any one of Ryu, Keuchel, or Bumgarner at the prices they are trying to get, one of them would be an Angel already.  He'd have paid the freight and we'd be one step closer to completing the off season.  

Billy has to stick to his evaluations regardless of the team's need.  Paying 4/80 for Ryu if they think he's worth 3/54 is a huge gap a significantly impactful in the near future.  You get more aggressive for guys like Rendon and Cole.  You need to stay within 10% or so with everyone else.  

I still think it was a mistake not to lock up a lesser guy early on but what's done is done.  I would really like to seem them get Gio or like right now.  Then focus on getting the best guy they can in trade or FA for the right price.  Then bargain shop for one more starter.