The Official 2020-2021 Hot Stove Offseason Thread

[Warfarin]

9 hours ago, mmc said:

Another one of Minasian’s guys

All of those numbers are rather poor, but his scouting report did indicate some upside.  More depth pieces for Minasian, which is fine.  Some excerpts from Fangraphs about him:

In 2019:

Quote

Pannone has excellent changeup command but his limited velo and curveball likely cap his ceiling in the sixth starter area.

In 2018:

Quote

He’s a deceptive lefty who sits 89-91 and touches 93 mph but uses the heater heavily and gets lots of swings and misses due to deception and an understanding of how best to use the pitch. Pannone is a typical lefty in some ways, with an advanced feel to pitch, three average-or-better offerings, and a curveball to which he adds and subtracts to get the desired effect, with scouts regarding the last of those as an above-average pitch.

None of the above is exciting, but for a team who needs pitching, there is no harm in attempting to build some serviceable depth in AAA.

[totdprods]

Depth if they lose Peters or need to deal Suarez, Sandoval, or Naughton.

[totdprods]

I’ve thought for awhile Molina would be a strong candidate to be part of the ‘21 platoon. He could be here with his brother and his best bud Bert. Wouldn’t need to be a full-timer. I believe it.

[T.G.]

If the Angels signed Yadier, it would be novel, but not unprecedented in that all 3 Molinas being Angels at some point.

The Alou brothers did one better... Matty, Felipe and Jesus all played in the same outfield for the Giants.

I feel like AO now...

[angelsnationtalk]

16 hours ago, mmc said:

 

Dude looks like he's in his 60's

[Angel Oracle]

11 hours ago, Kevinb said:

38 year old catcher no thanks. Finally getting the final Molina to complete the set yes please!

MLBTR speculates 1 year/$10 million.

Not for a 38 year-old catcher, even given how good he once was.

[Angel Oracle]

5 hours ago, Warfarin said:

All of those numbers are rather poor, but his scouting report did indicate some upside.  More depth pieces for Minasian, which is fine.  Some excerpts from Fangraphs about him:

In 2019:

In 2018:

None of the above is exciting, but for a team who needs pitching, there is no harm in attempting to build some serviceable depth in AAA.

He would be good with the three batters minimum.

[DMVol]

8 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

MLBTR speculates 1 year/$10 million.

Not for a 38 year-old catcher, even given how good he once was.

^^^^ Need every dollar for pitching....we’ll spend some on C and maybe 2b/SS, but not 10 million on one guy....

[mmc]

 

[Docwaukee]

we should just list the players we aren't in on.  It would be more efficient.  

[Docwaukee]

seems the Angels name is being connected to quite a few people.  While I don't doubt that was the case previously, you rarely saw us listed.  

does this bode well for @Jeff Fletcher?

[Angels in 2030]

$10M for Molina seems like a big mismanagement of funds for this team. I wouldn’t spend more than $5m (at most for right guy) for a catcher.  Not with the pressing needs elsewhere.  

[Inside Pitch]

4 hours ago, angelsnationtalk said:

Dude looks like he's in his 60's

Or the villain in one of the Fast and the Furious flicks.

[Inside Pitch]

2 hours ago, Dochalo said:

we should just list the players we aren't in on.  It would be more efficient.  

Bauer!

[Docwaukee]

4 hours ago, Fourts said:

$10M for Molina seems like a big mismanagement of funds for this team. I wouldn’t spend more than $5m (at most for right guy) for a catcher.  Not with the pressing needs elsewhere.  

I think people undervalue how important a C can be on a pitching staff.  Forget framing.  It's about rapport and confidence in pitch calling.  setup and sequencing.  etc.  Certain guys are elite in this regard yet you really can't quantify it with a stat.  

This is gonna sound cliche and we'll probably hear it like a million times, but I bet the guy who grew up in a clubhouse around all these guys would understand the value in that.  

Even if there's a significant mental component to it where your pitcher is 100% confident that the fingers the C threw down and where he's putting the glove is exactly what was supposed to happen.  If a pitcher doesn't trust those things then they're gonna worry about having to make that pitch perfect instead of just good.  

What might be the perfect pitch doesn't account for the potential margin for if it's not perfect on each of those individual pitches.  It's the big issue I had with Doug White and the disaster that was.  You can ask a guy to throw the right pitch all day long.  That doesn't mean there's a high chance of them executing it.  And when they don't, we saw the results.  

A an elite game caller knows what his pitcher is capable of and not capable of better than others.  They can read confidence from their guy and mentally calculate how to get them to not completely fail without being perfect.  

This is what a Yadier Molina brings and it's worth more monetarily than you think.  

[Pancake Bear]

21 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

I think people undervalue how important a C can be on a pitching staff.  Forget framing.  It's about rapport and confidence in pitch calling.  setup and sequencing.  etc.  Certain guys are elite in this regard yet you really can't quantify it with a stat.  

 

Part of the problem for fans when teams spend money on catchers is precisely that: What the catcher brings can't easily be measured. Even defensively, it's not easy. (Of course, even in general fans have a hard time seeing the comparative value an elite defender brings to a lineup.) For me, since I can't measure Molina's value, I don't know whether I want him to sign here. The relationship with pitchers you mentioned is a big part of why I've wanted Maldonado back pretty much ever since he left. 
 

Edit: Just as an aside on MM, anyone know what the deal was with him and the Cubs? Why did they trade for him and then two weeks later flip him to the Stros?

[tdawg87]

How is Stassi behind the plate? From what I understand he's pretty good. 

But Minasian may have a different plan in mind. He stressed the importance of the C position so I wouldn't be surprised to see him sign someone like Molina. 

[BTH]

7 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

PEdit: Just as an aside on MM, anyone know what the deal was with him and the Cubs? Why did they trade for him and then two weeks later flip him to the Stros?

Wilson Contreras got hurt and the Cubs needed a catcher, so they acquired Maldonado.

Contreras then came back off the injured list when he was eligible to return and the Cubs no longer had a need, or space, with Contreras and Caratini at C. So they ended up trading Maldonado to Houston.

[T.G.]

I heard Minasian on MLB network radio last week and he said he believes the catcher is the most important position on the team. He also said the pitchers like Stassi.

[BTH]

42 minutes ago, T.G. said:

I heard Minasian on MLB network radio last week and he said he believes the catcher is the most important position on the team. He also said the pitchers like Stassi.

It will be fascinating to see who he brings in at catcher to pair with Stassi.

Also, Minasian's belief in the importance of catching makes me wonder if he shells out some decent money on a catcher.

[Docwaukee]

1 hour ago, Pancake Bear said:

Part of the problem for fans when teams spend money on catchers is precisely that: What the catcher brings can't easily be measured. Even defensively, it's not easy. (Of course, even in general fans have a hard time seeing the comparative value an elite defender brings to a lineup.) For me, since I can't measure Molina's value, I don't know whether I want him to sign here. The relationship with pitchers you mentioned is a big part of why I've wanted Maldonado back pretty much ever since he left. 
 

Edit: Just as an aside on MM, anyone know what the deal was with him and the Cubs? Why did they trade for him and then two weeks later flip him to the Stros?

I wonder if it's also even tough to quantify for teams.  Where a strong bat might still outweigh some sort of elite ability with handling pitchers that you can't see on a spreadsheet.  

If what they claim about Molina is as real as they say then it's almost like bringing in some sort of special coach who can actually enact what he's trying to pass along or teach.  

Granted, it's not crazy magic or something.  They're not gonna turn all your pitchers into cy young candidates, but it might be of more help than people realize and worth 8 mil a year vs. paying some mediocre guy with a below avg bat 6m.  

[Jeff Fletcher]

10 hours ago, Dochalo said:

seems the Angels name is being connected to quite a few people.  While I don't doubt that was the case previously, you rarely saw us listed.  

does this bode well for @Jeff Fletcher?

I wouldn’t read anything into it. It seems normal to me. 

[Inside Pitch]

4 hours ago, T.G. said:

I heard Minasian on MLB network radio last week and he said he believes the catcher is the most important position on the team. He also said the pitchers like Stassi.

The times Minasian and MS would have had......

[Docwaukee]

6 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

The times Minasian and MS would have had......

wait till MS is brought in as an advisor.  

[tdawg87]

Is Mathis still playing?