OC Register: Angels GM Billy Eppler addresses fan questions in Q&A

[AngelsWin.com]

While we are waiting to see if and when the baseball season will start, Angels general manager Billy Eppler took some time on Friday morning to answer questions submitted by fans, via Twitter, email and Facebook.

Although Eppler couldn’t answer many of the specific questions about how the baseball season may unfold this year, he spoke in general terms about his optimism that there will be a season, despite the current Covid-19 pandemic.

“There are a lot of intelligent and well-thought rational people talking about a lot of different ideas,” Eppler said. “With that type of brain power and those resources, I am optimistic that something can get done.”

Beyond that, Eppler addressed his day-to-day life during the quarantine, the draft, the way this year’s team was built and a seminal moment as a young baseball fan. The answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What kind of work are you able to do during this time with so many unanswered questions about the season? Are you already working on plans for next season? — Andrew Wilson

A: Right now we are holding conference calls with draft prospects. We are doing Zoom calls with candidates for our first pick at No. 10. We are offering them the opportunity to ask us a bunch of questions. It’s a unique time for everybody. I have some empathy for those kids that potentially lost their senior year of high school or their junior year of college. And our quantitative department has plenty of time to get to projects that have been on the board but that we haven’t had the bandwidth or time to complete (under normal circumstances). We’re able to put together some pretty interesting tools and models that ultimately can just make us more efficient. As for next season, I have a depth chart for about two to three years out, and I am always glancing at the columns to the right to see what could be coming.

Q: Is there a point where if this season is not looking like it’s going to happen, will Griffin Canning have Tommy John surgery? – @KingJDub25

A: Surgery wasn’t recommended in Griffin’s case. It was something that we talked about and ultimately the different physicians we had him see didn’t recommend it. We would not proactively subject him to that surgery unless there was new evidence or a new injury that took place. He is doing good. His throwing program is back to 120 to 150 feet this week, at about 70 to 80 percent intensity. That would put him on track to be on a mound in seven to 10 days.

Q: Any update on (Shohei) Ohtani? Where he’s at pitching wise? @Big_Jermmm

A: He actually threw a bullpen today (Friday). He threw 15 pitches today, fastballs only. He threw another one earlier this week, on Monday.

Q: Where are we with signing (Andrelton) Simmons to an extension? @AckriteHalo (Simmons is set to be a free agent after the 2020 season.)

A: We’ve had internal discussions about Andrelton, more at the start of spring training. With the circumstances of Covid-19 and how baseball and the world were going to change, and what kind of accommodations we would make, we haven’t really had the opportunity to stay engaged on that. Ultimately there haven’t been any conversations with Andrelton or his representatives.

Q: What is your approach in the draft? Is it best player available or are you looking for a specific tool/tools in players? @GrifCanningpls

A: With the draft we take a best-player approach, but generally we do gravitate to “toolsy” players. We do put a premium on size, speed, strength and athleticism. You can rank in a range, but then once you get them in a range, you use separators, like the interview, the makeup, the statistics, was he in a very strong conference. All of those little elements become separators. Yes, it’s the best player available, but we have some nuance available based off things like makeup, character and injury history and so on and so forth.

Q: With a log-jammed corner infield and outfield, is there any merit to Taylor Ward – and his improved bat – picking up a catcher’s mitt again? @danmansometimes

A: Good question. With all of our players, we hold individual meetings in the first week of spring training. One of the things that we conveyed to Taylor was that his avenue to making this team is as a corner outfielder. We’re going to dabble with you in center field a little in some games. Don’t be surprised if we throw you out there at the back end of game. And if you do make this team, you will be catcher No. 3. It might be worth catching a bullpen or two as we get deeper into games. You could find yourself back there. (As for playing catcher regularly), we haven’t had those discussions.

Q: Knowing that pitching was the main need of this team going into the offseason, what caused your decision to add another high priced bat rather than break up that money for 2 or 3 quality pitchers? @Fishkillergallo

A: We looked at every single one of the free agents, pitchers and position players. We look overall at what productivity we would expect out of that player. A couple days before Thanksgiving, (Joe) Maddon, myself and (John) Carpino got on a plane and flew to Atlanta to meet with Zack Wheeler. We pursued Wheeler pretty aggressively. Ultimately he and his wife expressed a desire to remain a little closer to the East Coast (signing with the Washington Nationals). Then with Gerrit Cole, we put together something that was at that time the largest free agent contract the Angels had ever handed out. The largest free agent contract for a pitcher ever. We stepped in there very aggressively. We made a hard run at that. We saw how that ended up eventually with the winter meetings. So when we got to that point and Gerrit signed (with the New York Yankees), we pivoted immediately to the next best player on the board for us, and that was Anthony Rendon. Probably 12 hours (after Cole agreed with the Yankees), we already put a framework in place and it felt like we were fairly locked in to (Rendon) at that time. That’s where we felt we were going to get the best return on investment at that moment in time.

Q: Does the delay of the season change the potential plans for prospects on their way to the bigs? For instance, if Jo Adell wasn’t going to make the opening roster in March, does the delayed season open that possibility? @FletchWRLD

A: That’s a good question. With prospects that were competing for a spot on the major league club, we needed to see them play. That was the way they were going to make their way to the team. If the players still had still more seasoning needed, then we can’t achieve that until they get those tests. The best way to get those tests is to be playing baseball. It doesn’t change the potential plan.

Q: If you weren’t a baseball GM, what other career would you be doing? @CanHitWRISP

A: I went to one year of law school while I was an area scout. I probably would have continued going to law school and finished that and become some kind of litigator, or using it in some fashion.

Q: What was your most memorable or exciting baseball moment growing up? -@JEllisP

A: Steve Garvey homer, 1984 NLCS (for the Padres) to push it Game 5. Homer in the ninth at Jack Murphy Stadium. My dad had tickets to the game. I didn’t make the cut. No joke. There were 2 tickets. I was in the parking lot tailgating. Myself and my sisters would sit in the parking lot. They were older so they could make sure I wasn’t getting lost or into too much trouble. I was watching on a black-and-white TV in the parking lot, and Garvey goes deep. I was going nuts in the parking lot. I was 9 years old. That was a really memorable moment. That’s where the hook got set.

Q: As a college student studying with the goal of getting into baseball, just how important is this knowledge of computer programming to front offices and what language is most valuable to you and your staff? -Grant Carver

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A: Computer programmming’s a good skill set to have in a front office if you’re going to work on the development or analytics side. If you are going to work in general baseball ops or scouting or in (player) development, it’s not necessary. Most of our programming is done in Sequel and R. Having a physics background will really help you. A general statistics background and speaking a second language are also important. There are a number of things. If you can have degrees in all of them, great.

Q: How have you been getting through the quarantine when not doing Angels/baseball things?  Any crazy panic Amazon purchases?  What shows are you binge watching?  -Klay Chavez

A: I jumped into the Tiger King world. It was fairly entertaining. I finished Ozark. Usually around 8:30 at night, our kids (5- and 2-year-old sons) are in bed and all the dishes are done and the house is relatively quiet, so my wife and I carve out an hour to an hour and a half to put on a show. We have date nights twice a week where we go outside and put on some music to recreate a date without having a sitter come over.

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[failos]

U forgot Alex Curry’s question:

”What was going through your mind when you signed Rendon?”

[AngelsLakersFan]

Damn, too bad he didn't ask him about the team's strat-o-matic record.

[Brandon]

Hey Billy, first time, long time. What's your opinion of middle aged men posting their thoughts on what you should/shouldn't do on a baseball message board that have no baseball background or management experience?

Also, do you actually read them and give a fuck? 

[Blarg]

Probably the same if he gave you diet and exercise advice. 

[Brandon]

Well, to be fair.....we have met and I've met most of the dudes on here. And I can tell you're right, but they wouldn't listen to anyone's health advice....mine, a personal trainers, or their own doctors.

[tdawg87]

Why didn't he answer merlincat's question?

[Stradling]

On 4/13/2020 at 6:25 PM, Stradling said:

When you bring him up in every thread for the better part of a decade, or when you say things like, “If the Angels were serious about winning they would buy him out” you have become emotionally hi jacked.  

 

[Stradling]

35 minutes ago, RBM said:

There was some debate on a few threads whether Eppler/Arte wanted to sign both Cole and Rendon or if they pivoted to Rendon after missing out on Cole. It was clearly a pivot to the “next best player”.

Yep, what I had heard appears to be wrong.  I was one of the guys saying they were going for both.

[failos]

20 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Why didn't he answer merlincat's question?

b/c Chuck is a totalitarian

[Jeff Fletcher]

3 hours ago, Stradling said:

Yep, what I had heard appears to be wrong.  I was one of the guys saying they were going for both.

I think they had talked about Rendon before Cole was off the board, so in that sense they were “going for both” but I don’t believe there was ever a scenario where they signed both. 

[Brandon]

2 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I think they had talked about Rendon before Cole was off the board, so in that sense they were “going for both” but I don’t believe there was ever a scenario where they signed both. 

By the way, thanks for doing this. It was cool while being cooped up.

Sorry you had to sift through your normal trolls and time wasting questions seeking attention. I dug it.

[mmc]

Why TF did Eppler say Wheeler signed with the Nationals?

[Jeff Fletcher]

17 hours ago, Brandon said:

By the way, thanks for doing this. It was cool while being cooped up.

Sorry you had to sift through your normal trolls and time wasting questions seeking attention. I dug it.

Thanks for reading. A lot of the questions were ones that he couldn't answer or that I knew he wouldn't, but there were enough good ones to get me through the day.

[Jeff Fletcher]

15 hours ago, mymerlincat said:

Why TF did Eppler say Wheeler signed with the Nationals?

He didn't. That was my mistake and I corrected it a few minutes after the story posted. The version that gets posted on this site is always the first thing that get posted, so it never shows any updates or corrections.

[Lou]

lol 

[mmc]

1 minute ago, Lou said:

lol 

Care to explain how pointing out a mistake is trolling?

[Lou]

3 minutes ago, mymerlincat said:

Care to explain how pointing out a mistake is trolling?

Because in your incessant need to blast Eppler, you couldn't figure out it was Fletch who wrote that Wheeler signed with Washington, hence the parentheses. 

 

[Inside Pitch]

12 minutes ago, mymerlincat said:

Care to explain how pointing out a mistake is trolling?

Not sure it's "trolling" but it was pretty clear from how the story was written that it wasn't a comment made by Eppler so much as a reporting miscue.  You went out of your way to look for something to be critical of....   That's on you.

In short, that little emoji you're bent about doesn't seem to be so much about trolling as much as someone else "pointing out your mistake".  

[Brandon]

Damn, mymerlincat is getting slammed harder than Jenna Jameson.

Between the moronic tweet we all caught and this......oh boy.

It's the Omar Olivares of AW.

[mmc]

8 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Damn, mymerlincat is getting slammed harder than Jenna Jameson.

Between the moronic tweet we all caught and this......oh boy.

It's the Omar Olivares of AW.

How will I ever recover from people disagreeing with my opinion about the Angels GM?

[Jeff Fletcher]

30 minutes ago, Lou said:

hence the parentheses. 

[Lou]

19 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Damn, mymerlincat is getting slammed harder than Jenna Jameson.

Between the moronic tweet we all caught and this......oh boy.

It's the Omar Olivares of AW.

[Brandon]

1 hour ago, mymerlincat said:

How will I ever recover from people disagreeing with my opinion about the Angels GM?

I think you're missing "disagreeing opinion" and ass clown.

There's ways to go about displaying your opinion without being facetious and condescending. Let's be real, did you really think that question was going to be looked at or answered? You just look like a foolish teenager. And now you're getting owned publicly by many. Good job.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Brandon

[mmc]

1 minute ago, Brandon said:

I think you're missing "disagreeing opinion" and ass clown.

There's ways to go about displaying your opinion without being facetious and condescending. Let's be real, did you really think that question was going to be looked at or answered? You just look like a foolish teenager. And now you're getting owned publicly by many. Good job.

Nope, I said it as a joke and found it fascinating that not only did a bunch of people on twitter take offense to it, but this site also is upset enough by it to derail 2 threads into talking about it.  It's really quite amusing.