Angels acquire Jose Iglesias from the Orioles for Garrett Stallings and Jean Pinto

[rafibomb]

Minasian stressed run-prevention as a key this offseason

 

[Erstad Grit]

53 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

A key thing is that acquiring Iglesis at 3.5mil effectively upgrades us defensively at two positions - SS, because Iglesias will play that over Fletcher, and 2B, because Fletcher gets to stay there.

If we signed Wong, while he's great at 2B, Fletcher would have moved to SS, which would have been a downgrade.  And it would have cost us more than acquiring Iglesias did.

Fantastic post

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, Warfarin said:

I don't think so.  Arte already said the budget will go up.

I think we are just seeing a new GM remake the team in his image.

He didn’t say it would go up. He said it wouldn’t go down. 

[Warfarin]

1 minute ago, totdprods said:

He didn’t say it would go up. He said it wouldn’t go down. 

Well..

Unless he spends the exact same amount, it means it is going up, even if it is just by 1 cent

But really, the key thing is payroll isn't being slashed, which is what many teams are currently facing right now, so I think that's important.

[totdprods]

6 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

Well..

Unless he spends the exact same amount, it means it is going up, even if it is just by 1 cent

But really, the key thing is payroll isn't being slashed, which is what many teams are currently facing right now, so I think that's important.

If we have ~$30m to spend, allocating a third of that to a SS or 2B would have been tough, even with non-tenders adding a few more mil on top of that $30m, and that’s what it looked like a Wong/Hernandez/Profar/Semien would have cost. 

Addressing that need for $3.5m is huge. We really only *need* an additional catcher on the position player side now, and Eppler routinely found guys under $5m for that, sometimes even cheaper. Even if Minasian got wild and threw $10m AAV at Yadi or McCann, he’d still have over $25m for pitching now, rather than $20m or less if he signed a bigger name mid-infielder. That said, I expect us to acquire an outfielder still as well. Hunter Renfroe perhaps?

This move gives him a lot of flexibility even if Arte caps payroll as same as last season.

 

Edited December 3, 2020 by totdprods

[Warfarin]

2 minutes ago, totdprods said:

If we have ~$30m to spend, allocating a third of that to a SS or 2B would have been tough, even with non-tenders adding a few more mil on top of that $30m, and that’s what it looked like a Wong/Hernandez/Profar/Semien would have cost. 

Addressing that need for $3.5m is huge. We really only *need* an additional catcher on the position player side now, and Eppler routinely found guys under $5m for that, sometimes even cheaper. Even if Minasian got wild and threw $10m AAV at Yadi or McCann, he’d still have over $25m for pitching now, rather than $20m or less if he signed a bigger name mid-infielder. That said, I expect us to acquire an outfielder still as well. Hunter Renfroe perhaps?

This move gives him a lot of flexibility even if Arte caps payroll as same as last season.

 

We'll see what Minasian does at catcher, but I'm guessing it'll be a very significant move of some kind, whether signing a FA, trading for someone, etc.

Whatever the case may be, Minasian just cleaned out the bullpen and saved $$.  We probably need like 3+ relievers now lol, but given how many of them are on the market, he can fill this need rather cheaply if need be.

[Angel Oracle]

How much would Pillar cost?

Good defense and power 

[totdprods]

1 minute ago, Angel Oracle said:

How much would Pillar cost?

Good defense and power 

Forgot about him, he’d definitely be an option. Souza is kind of intriguing too. And I like Renfroe. Lots of solid RF options out there, right, left, defense, offense, big name, platoon. Hard not to imagine they bring someone in. Makes one wonder if Adell is discussed in trades more now too. 

[Blarg]

This is the kind of trade I was hoping Minasian would execute. Low cost defensive upgrade at SS while he sorts out the pitching. It didn't cost much in farm prospects, no one that looks to be an immediate impact was lost in the deal so if Iglesias is just a one year stopgap there is no damage to the overall prospect currency.

I would say this is a good start to his tenure as GM. 

[arch stanton]

1 hour ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Didnt have time to read every post, but did anyone already make a joke that we had a Latino player (excuse me, LatinX) named Pinto? Like pinto bean?

Fun(?) fact. Pinto is the Tagalog word for door

[aznhockeyguy]

Not a fan of this move.  He's a solid player for the price, but signing someone like Freddy Galvis for probably the same amount would've been better.

[ten ocho recon scout]

23 minutes ago, arch stanton said:

Fun(?) fact. Pinto is the Tagalog word for door

That is fun!

And Minasian.... showed him the.... Pinto

(Insert dicaprio cheers meme)

[Angelsjunky]

The big takeaway: Minasian isn't confident in Rengifo/Barreto. My guess is one is moved in a trade and the other becomes UT.

This is very meh. Iglesias is a 2 WAR, 90 wRC+ player. Not very exciting. But he's solid, and Stallings is decent but didn't project as better than a #4-5 starter.

But this isn't "saving money for Bauer." There was no certainty that the Angels would spend on MI, with Rengifo and Barreto, so it is added 3.5M payroll. The downside is no Wong, who is much better than Iglesias.

My hope is that James McCann is up next, which would really shore up the lineup.

[Blarg]

Simmons produced a 1.9 WAR in 2019. A 0.3 WAR in 2020. 

This is an upgrade. 

[Warfarin]

16 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

The big takeaway: Minasian isn't confident in Rengifo/Barreto. My guess is one is moved in a trade and the other becomes UT.

This is very meh. Iglesias is a 2 WAR, 90 wRC+ player. Not very exciting. But he's solid, and Stallings is decent but didn't project as better than a #4-5 starter.

But this isn't "saving money for Bauer." There was no certainty that the Angels would spend on MI, with Rengifo and Barreto, so it is added 3.5M payroll. The downside is no Wong, who is much better than Iglesias.

My hope is that James McCann is up next, which would really shore up the lineup.

Barreto's numbers have been terrible, and he just had a significant shoulder injury, so I doubt he is being counted on to do much.

I think Rengifo still holds a lot of potential, but he still needs further refinement.  The best teams in baseball typically have significant depth at key positions.  What this move does is it means Iglesias and Fletcher will both start, while Rengifo can work on his game in AAA and earn his spot in the MLB when he's actually ready, vs just being thrusted into action even if he isn't.

For similar reasons, I would expect another move in the OF, especially given how flooded the market is now, which means Adell will start in AAA and get promoted when he's actually ready.

[T.G.]

This clearly means the Angels are signing Lindor next year!

 

[T.G.]

2 hours ago, Taylor said:

Do we still like Perry?

Gaylord, Katy, Matthew or Corey?

[Angels 1961]

3 hours ago, rafibomb said:

Stallings would be tough to give up. I know a lot of guys in the prospects thread were fairly high on him. 

you have to give up something  

[Second Base]

It's not a bad trade, but not one that I would've made. Iglesias isn't a bad player, but it's unlikely he's a particularly good one. The 3.5 million dollar price tag is right around what I would've paid for him on the open market.

So losing Stallings and Pinto doesn't seem worth it to me. Stallings is your typical college starter. Solid bet to be a 5th starter or swing starter. And Pinto is your typical lotto ticket. High potential, little refinement.

I like Iglesias, always have. But I'm not entirely convinced Iglesias at SS and Fletcher at 2B is going to be so much better than Fletch at SS and Rengifo or Barreto at 2B. 

On the upside, the Angels shed enough payroll in non-tenders that Iglesias doesn't really mess with their money available for pitching.

Edited December 3, 2020 by Second Base

[ten ocho recon scout]

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

He didn’t say it would go up. He said it wouldn’t go down. 

Thats the worst.

[Angelsjunky]

32 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Simmons produced a 1.9 WAR in 2019. A 0.3 WAR in 2020. 

This is an upgrade. 

Only if you ignore context and upside. Iglesias is a much safer pick to perform at his salary level, while Simmons has a much higher upside, if he's able to regain some of his 2017-18 level.

[Angelsjunky]

10 minutes ago, Second Base said:

It's not a bad trade, but not one that I would've made. Iglesias isn't a bad player, but it's unlikely he's a particularly good one. The 3.5 million dollar price tag is right around what I would've paid for him on the open market.

So losing Stallings and Pinto doesn't seem worth it to me. Stallings is your typical college starter. Solid bet to be a 5th starter or swing starter. And Pinto is your typical lotto ticket. High potential, little refinement.

I like Iglesias, always have. But I'm not entirely convinced Iglesias at SS and Fletcher at 2B is going to be so much better than Fletch at SS and Rengifo or Barreto at 2B. 

On the upside, the Angels shed enough payroll in non-tenders that Iglesias doesn't really mess with their money available for pitching.

Pretty much how I see it. Not sure why you trade for a guy like this when similar players can be had on the open market. Minasian must really like Iglesias, or think some of his offensive spike is sustainable. I highly doubt it is. I vaguely remember him starting one year hitting really well, maybe 2013 or 2015, and then coming back to earth. Players go on hot streaks, and that's all 2020 was. Chances are he's the 85 wRC+, good fielder that he's always been.

[Bronson]

34 minutes ago, T.G. said:

This clearly means the Angels are signing Lindor next year!

 

Even though your comment is meant to be sarcastic... I think this move greatly increases the odds that we go after a big time shortstop in free agency next year.

[T.G.]

4 minutes ago, Bronson said:

Even though your comment is meant to be sarcastic... I think this move greatly increases the odds that we go after a big time shortstop in free agency next year.

What makes you think I was being sarcastic?

[Angel Oracle]

40 minutes ago, T.G. said:

Gaylord, Katy, Matthew or Corey?

Fred?