Holy Hell, Trevor Bauer!

[Inside Pitch]

28 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Lots of disagreement with my assessment. That's fine. I think it comes down to your perception of the Angels and who they and we think they are. 

From his description, the Dodgers and White Sox might be a better fit (minus TLR as the manager, apparently their pitching coach is big on metrics). 

It'll be interesting to see. I hope I'm wrong but I just don't think the Angels are a fit, at all....beyond the fact that he's a pitcher and they need pitching. There are just much better fits out there vying for his services, in my opinion. 

 

Are the CWS data driven?  Genuine question because I don't really follow how they operate other than the Reinsdorf stuff.  A lot of their scouts were former Angels guys from the Bavasi era.  

[Jay]

Bauer's talent would be a great add for any team.

He's going to be high-maintenance though.

 

[T.G.]

2 minutes ago, Jay said:

Bauer's talent would be a great add for any team.

He's going to be high-maintenance though.

 

High maintenance, how?

[Angels in 2030]

I guess he's going to require lots of closet space for all his shoes, constantly wanting to buy clothes/accessories that are not needed, complaining about our friends, thinking we drink too much, making us late while taking forever to get dressed, etc.

[eligrba]

11 hours ago, Second Base said:

Every single thing Bauer says are important to him, screams that he will NOT be an Angel.

1. Geography doesn't matter. He might be an LA native but it gives the Angels no advantage.

2. He wants a team that will partner with him in branding. The Angels don't do that. They bring in baseball players, and the whole branding thing, is up to the player to do in his own time. Pujols, Ohtani, Trout and Rendon don't brand themselves and couldn't care less about it.

3. He values advanced metrics and alternative training methods. The Angels are more scouting oriented and he butted heads with Callaway in Cleveland.

4. He wants a team open to the idea of allowing him to pitch in short rest. Maddon has said multiple times they'll likely be going to a full 6 man rotation.

5. He wants to be happy, and indicated he was miserable playing baseball earlier in his career. Who was his pitching coach earlier in his career? Callaway. 

------

Sorry guys, but I just don't think Bauer fits this team. He's a good pitcher, that's about it. 

I do think he's holding up the market for the players the Angels are legitimately interested in though. Gray, Castillo, Hendricks, Musgrove, Odorizzi, Quintana, Richards...

I agree that Bauer does not fit with what has previously been the Angel way, but Minasian's vision has not yet been revealed.  Bauer might fit with what Minasian has in mind.

I speak with no authority or inside knowledge....

[Junkballer]

15 minutes ago, Fourts said:

I guess he's going to require lots of closet space for all his shoes, constantly wanting to buy clothes/accessories that are not needed, complaining about our friends, thinking we drink too much, making us late while taking forever to get dressed, etc.

No Trevor, those pants do not make your butt look fat.

[Inside Pitch]

21 minutes ago, Fourts said:

I guess he's going to require lots of closet space for all his shoes, constantly wanting to buy clothes/accessories that are not needed, complaining about our friends, thinking we drink too much, making us late while taking forever to get dressed, etc.

[Revad]

But could I keep prospective prospects and still have a woman?

[Blarg]

2 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

I think what happened was they saw guys like Jam Jones who were on a solid trajectory dong it in a traditional way... Then he was asked to chase launch angle and sees his game fall apart only to rebound once he reverted to previous swing. 

Moving Jones from center field to 2nd base messed with his hitting as well. At Inland in 2018 it wasn't as much as a swing change as it was spending so much time learning a complex position that required teamwork and split second timing.

His fielding was poor, footwork all wrong, coverage on balls up the middle, who covers, exchange on double plays, when to clear out to let the SS handle it alone, all of these were not instinctive skills. I talked to him a couple times after games and it was obvious he was struggling to adapt and since the game is all about confidence it carried over to the batters box. 

I felt they moved him to AA too soon that year. His bat never came around and the game looked like it was moving too fast for him on the field. He worked his butt off the better himself at the position and along the way, I'm sure you are right, the launch angle approach was tried and a complete failure. Some players are the hitters they are. Jones has a pretty nice swing when he approaches the at bat for ball control rather than power. 

Like most of the Angels younger talent in the minors he is at an age he can still break out. Losing a year to Covid only stalled his advancement but I think he can still make the majors by 25. 

[eligrba]

52 minutes ago, Revad said:

But could I keep prospective prospects and still have a woman?

I thought you wanted a pitcher?

[Pancake Bear]

Mark Feinsand did a review of Bauer compared to Cole and Strasburg last year. They're closer over recent history than I realized. 

This one particularly was notable due to the fact it isn't at all a small sample size.

Feinsand also notes that in 2019 (the meh season between 2018 and the short 2020, 

"A look at Bauer's record shows a Cy Young Award-caliber 2018 season (2.21 ERA over 175 1/3 innings for the Indians) during which he made his first All-Star team, followed by a dip in '19 (4.48 ERA with the Indians and Reds) caused in part by a lingering right ankle injury that he pitched through. Then came '20, when Bauer was the best pitcher in the NL, resulting in a landslide win in the Cy Young Award vote."

And,

"Bauer's ability to take the ball every five days -- or every four days, if he has his way -- has been one of his greatest attributes. He's spent a minimal amount of time on the IL during his career, though had he sat out and allowed his ankle to heal after injuring it in late-April 2019, he might not have that bloated ERA on the back of his baseball card. Bauer had a 1.99 ERA in his first six starts that season, then posted a 5.07 mark after the injury."

[tdawg87]

15 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Trevor Bauer gives some clues as to what he will be looking for in terms of what team he will sign with.

 

This is really, really gay.

It's January 11th you fuckin attention whore. Sign with somebody.

[greginpsca]

13 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

Mark Feinsand did a review of Bauer compared to Cole and Strasburg last year. They're closer over recent history than I realized. 

This one particularly was notable due to the fact it isn't at all a small sample size.

Feinsand also notes that in 2019 (the meh season between 2018 and the short 2020, 

"A look at Bauer's record shows a Cy Young Award-caliber 2018 season (2.21 ERA over 175 1/3 innings for the Indians) during which he made his first All-Star team, followed by a dip in '19 (4.48 ERA with the Indians and Reds) caused in part by a lingering right ankle injury that he pitched through. Then came '20, when Bauer was the best pitcher in the NL, resulting in a landslide win in the Cy Young Award vote."

And,

"Bauer's ability to take the ball every five days -- or every four days, if he has his way -- has been one of his greatest attributes. He's spent a minimal amount of time on the IL during his career, though had he sat out and allowed his ankle to heal after injuring it in late-April 2019, he might not have that bloated ERA on the back of his baseball card. Bauer had a 1.99 ERA in his first six starts that season, then posted a 5.07 mark after the injury."

Pass on him.

[Blarg]

Yup, his salary demands means the Angels are out. 

[totdprods]

Salary aside, I just don't see him fitting with the way this org carries itself. I don't think the Angels have ever really been a team built around strong individualistic personalities recently, especially since Arte bought the team. Vlad? Quiet. Trout? Quiet. Rendon? Quiet. Pujols had some swagger and an identity, but overall, of all the stars in baseball the last two decades, he too was pretty dull. Hamilton is sort of the outlier and whoo boy.

Certainly part of that could just be the Angels haven't had players who carried themselves that way, but for the most part, this team has had a stay-to-yourself, team-first identity. I'm just not sure Bauer's attitude would mesh with that just in the early stages of free agency courting, and even more so if he was on the team. 

[T.G.]

24 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Salary aside, I just don't see him fitting with the way this org carries itself. I don't think the Angels have ever really been a team built around strong individualistic personalities recently, especially since Arte bought the team.
 

There aren't that many "strong individual personalities," in baseball, period.

[Pancake Bear]

Here's an idea: Let's follow our advice and pass on Bauer. Price is clearly out of reach.

Lets instead sign someone really reliable and certain to be healthy like Paxton and Richards.

Fast forward  to June where everyone designated for opening day rotation but Bundy is on the IL.

Everyone blames Minasian for not acquiring starting pitching. 

Good plan, guys. 

[angelsnationtalk]

2 hours ago, totdprods said:

Salary aside, I just don't see him fitting with the way this org carries itself. I don't think the Angels have ever really been a team built around strong individualistic personalities recently, especially since Arte bought the team. Vlad? Quiet. Trout? Quiet. Rendon? Quiet. Pujols had some swagger and an identity, but overall, of all the stars in baseball the last two decades, he too was pretty dull. Hamilton is sort of the outlier and whoo boy.

Certainly part of that could just be the Angels haven't had players who carried themselves that way, but for the most part, this team has had a stay-to-yourself, team-first identity. I'm just not sure Bauer's attitude would mesh with that just in the early stages of free agency courting, and even more so if he was on the team. 

Sure, but the counter is the baggage of players the Angels have had no problem employing. 

Josh Hamilton
Vernon Wells
Jose Guillen

[Angel Oracle]

I figured it out.

Bauer admires this guy, and wants to be like him.   Decision making sucks.

[tdawg87]

Not my money.

[Taylor]

2 hours ago, Pancake Bear said:

Here's an idea: Let's follow our advice and pass on Bauer. Price is clearly out of reach.

Lets instead sign someone really reliable and certain to be healthy like Paxton and Richards.

Fast forward  to June where everyone designated for opening day rotation but Bundy is on the IL.

Everyone blames Minasian for not acquiring starting pitching. 

Good plan, guys. 

As soon as the Angels go on a 3-game losing streak, people will blame Minasian no matter what he does.

[tdawg87]

8 minutes ago, Taylor said:

As soon as the Angels go on a 3-game losing streak, people will blame Minasian no matter what he does.

Nahhhhh we usually hold off until midseason to start blaming the GM. Every loss up until then is on Maddon.

[totdprods]

4 hours ago, angelsnationtalk said:

Sure, but the counter is the baggage of players the Angels have had no problem employing. 

Josh Hamilton
Vernon Wells
Jose Guillen

Vernon didn’t really have an attitude or character issues though. Jose was Arte’s first or second winter. 

Josh was a mess. 

[DCAngelsFan]

A response to the article that tried to justify an equal or greater contract AAV for Bauer than for Cole.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/01/trevor-bauer-gerrit-cole.html

 

 

[gotbeer]

And FYI.  Spotrac has Bauer's market value at

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/free-agents/starting-pitcher/

Quote

Trevor Bauer

SP

30

R

R

CIN

TBD

Market Value: $21,737,174