Right Field Options for the Angels

[Warfarin]

3 hours ago, Dochalo said:

It's never too early to speculate.  This is Angelswin dammit!  I was about to start a thread speculating what round the Angels will draft Beckham Trout.  

I've said this before.  Adell is probably still exactly who everyone that matters though he was.  A tremendously talented 21yo who has the potential to be an elite talent in the majors for many years yet not right this second.  

The people that may or may not trade him probably don't feel any differently about him than they ever have and his struggles in 2020 likely changed nothing for them.  The reason that he's become AW tradeable is that he was unfairly put on a pedestal by most (myself included) as the guy that walks in a takes over the game like Ron Acuna or Fernando Tatis jr or Juan Soto.  That's who many of us were hoping he was yet his short stint in the major opened some eyes.  

Now he's back to being an elite prospect with some work to do before he has success in the majors.  You don't trade the next Ron Acuna but maybe you trade the next Yoan Moncada for someone who is a top of the rotation guy with 3+ years of control if that's what your team is in need of to get them to the next level.  

There's a difference between wanting to trade Adell and now having the willingness to do so. 

And I am worried about RF for 2021.  Maybe Marsh or Adell turn a corner but it's ultra risky to bank on that after what we saw of Adell and the fact that we've never seen Marsh who's also never had an at bat above AA.  So the team should absolutely cover their bases which they can very much do without committing big chunks of money.  

Bingo.  If you look at RF production on Fangraphs, we were basically at the very bottom.  If you look at the cost of a corner OF in this market, it is rather cheap, at least in comparison to other areas (SP, C, etc).  If we can upgrade from essentially a 0 fWAR in RF to a 2-3 fWAR player who costs maybe 6-7mil a year, that's a huge upgrade.

Adding Joc Pederson would be huge for this team, IMO.  If we end up getting someone like Schwarber instead, while not as optimal, he can still definitely play a role, too.

Consider that right now, we effectively have 1.5 lefties in our regular lineup - Walsh (who is far from a sure thing still) and Ohtani (who only will bat up to 4 times per week).  That's not an insignificant issue.  Adding a Pederson or Schwarber gives us a RHP-mashing presence in the middle of the lineup, and can be done for a fairly cheap price.

[totdprods]

Thinking outside the box a little bit, I read that Joe Musgrove and Adam Frazier are getting a lot of hits in trade talks with the Pirates.

Frazier has played a decent amount of time in RF, though most of it earlier in his career. He’s a lefty who has a solid .774 OPS against righties, is under control for two more years, and will cost around $4m in arb.

Musgrove has been speculated on here a ton, and I think with Minasian on board now he’s even more of a target. He was drafted by Toronto when Perry was there, and the Braves were interested in him in trade talks. Parting with an elite package for Musgrove might be a little risky, but expanding it to add a reliever, Stallings, or perhaps now Frazier as a UT guy and platoon option with Ward could be another scenario.

[Angelsjunky]

8 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I worried exactly to the extent that you are actually.  A capable 4th OFer who can sub a bit in CF.  GFB something happens to our CFer (can't even write it) and I think we'll see Marsh or Adell get the call.  But yes, a 1yr rental/stop gap at most which we might already have in Schebler.  I'm also quite sure there will be others who slip and slide through the Covid cracks.  

Don't sleep on guys like Kean Wong or Jam Jones for their positional versatility which Maddon loves.  

Other options could be a DeShields, or a Ben Gamel

Yes, I think Jones will be a factor next year and he has the makings of an excellent super UT. In fact, it will be interesting to see if he or Albert gets more PA. I think it will be close.

8 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I'm gonna put on my psych hat for a second so brace yourself.  

Adell seems like a very confident person on the surface.  Not in a bad way.  And it looked like he was trying very hard to go out and hustle for the team and try his best.  But to me, you could tell his confidence was shaken a bit.  And that might not be such a bad thing.  A little bit of failure might have been good for him as he seems the type to take that and find a way to make himself better for it.  

Yes, we can hope so. We can hope he's more Mike Trout than Chevy Clarke in terms of work ethic.

[Angelsjunky]

2 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Yes, we can hope so. We can hope he's more Mike Trout than Chevy Clarke in terms of work ethic.

Racist.

[failos]

18 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Remind me.... did he canseco a ball over the wall, or something like that? 

Definitely reminiscent of that, but arguably worse. I will say, the team/Maddon didn’t shit on Adell for that play and it ended up being a valuable lesson for him to do better as he made an amazing grab towards the end of the season.
 

Adell would’ve committed seppuku If Ersty were the manager.

[Lou]

It wasn't worse than Canseco's.

[failos]

10 minutes ago, Lou said:

It wasn't worse than Canseco's.

In your opinion 

[Lou]

1 minute ago, failos said:

In your opinion 

Nope. There's evidence that proves it.

[failos]

1 minute ago, Lou said:

Nope. There's evidence that proves it.

You crack me up, Lou.

[Lou]

1 minute ago, failos said:

You crack me up, Lou.

[failos]

2 minutes ago, Lou said:

[Angels 1961]

David Dahl off the board so looking like Sho  to start shagging fly balls.

[Docwaukee]

4 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

David Dahl off the board so looking like Sho  to start shagging fly balls.

please stop.  

[Lou]

4 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

David Dahl off the board so looking like Sho  to start shagging fly balls.

[ukyah]

5 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

please stop.  

for real. i don't understand why blatant trolling isn't a suspension/ban. personally, i think if a posts only reason for existence is to intentionally take away from the conversation, then kick rocks.

[Stradling]

25 minutes ago, ukyah said:

for real. i don't understand why blatant trolling isn't a suspension/ban. personally, i think if a posts only reason for existence is to intentionally take away from the conversation, then kick rocks.

Yep, Chuck did an amazing job recently of cleaning house. I think this dude is harmless but with some of his shit he certainly isn’t moving the conversation forward 

[T.G.]

I miss Kole Calhoun.  He had a .864 OPS last year.  Had the Angels signed him to a two year deal, we wouldn't be having this conversation...

[Angels 1961]

10 hours ago, Dochalo said:

please stop.  

I ask the question how many inn has Ohtani pitched in the last 4 years. If he is unable to comeback as a pitcher what do you do with him? I hope he can pitch but you have to face the possibility he may not. The halos worked him out at 1B and OF last year. If he cannot pitch at his age and talent he will not just be a DH. Please look up last four years as a pitcher.

[tdawg87]

9 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

I ask the question how many inn has Ohtani pitched in the last 4 years. If he is unable to comeback as a pitcher what do you do with him? I hope he can pitch but you have to face the possibility he may not. The halos worked him out at 1B and OF last year. If he cannot pitch at his age and talent he will not just be a DH. Please look up last four years as a pitcher.

The reason I know you're trolling is because 

A: You have made intelligent posts in the Political forum.

B: If Ohtani can't pitch, then he can't throw a ball from LF.

This is dumb. 

[Angels 1961]

43 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

The reason I know you're trolling is because 

A: You have made intelligent posts in the Political forum.

B: If Ohtani can't pitch, then he can't throw a ball from LF.

This is dumb. 

Not true if he cannot pitch does not mean he can't be an OF. They are totally different, you do not throw splitter or curve balls from OF, those are pitches putting stress on arm.

[OhtaniSan]

2 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

Not true if he cannot pitch does not mean he can't be an OF. They are totally different, you do not throw splitter or curve balls from OF, those are pitches putting stress on arm.

I agree and think the idea of Ohtani getting some RF time is absolutely worth entertaining. He has the arm strength and athleticism of what could be solid to maybe even gold glove defense. If he continues to heavily struggle as a pitcher, transitioning to our new all star right fielder is a damn good second option. 

 

I believe someone mentioned earlier that Maddon confirmed Ohtani will be getting some RF work. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been working on his fly ball routes right now during this offseason to prepare, Ohtani is a resilient and hard worker after all and also seems the type to do whatever it takes to help the Angels win. 

[Warfarin]

10 minutes ago, OhtaniSan said:

I agree and think the idea of Ohtani getting some RF time is absolutely worth entertaining. He has the arm strength and athleticism of what could be solid to maybe even gold glove defense. If he continues to heavily struggle as a pitcher, transitioning to our new all star right fielder is a damn good second option. 

 

I believe someone mentioned earlier that Maddon confirmed Ohtani will be getting some RF work. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been working on his fly ball routes right now during this offseason to prepare, Ohtani is a resilient and hard worker after all and also seems the type to do whatever it takes to help the Angels win. 

I mentioned last season that Maddon said Ohtani being relegated to a DH is a waste of his athleticism.  I do agree with you that Ohtani is probably working on fielding a position during the offseason.  It remains to be seen whether he'll get any game action on the field, but Maddon's statement does indicate they are at least considering him playing in the field.  This isn't just fans saying "well, he once played RF many years ago, so why not now?" - it's his manager.  

Ohtani actually being able to play RF would be a game changer.  I'd actually consider signing Schwarber if the FO felt Ohtani could play RF.  Between Ohtani, Upton, and Schwarber, we could have them occupy RF, LF, and DH.  When Ohtani sits, Ward can play RF, and maybe just occasionally, Schwarber (I know it is not optimal, but I imagine he could play it once every now and then).

[Pancake Bear]

8 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

I mentioned last season that Maddon said Ohtani being relegated to a DH is a waste of his athleticism.  I do agree with you that Ohtani is probably working on fielding a position during the offseason.  It remains to be seen whether he'll get any game action on the field, but Maddon's statement does indicate they are at least considering him playing in the field.  This isn't just fans saying "well, he once played RF many years ago, so why not now?" - it's his manager.  

Maddon says a lot of stuff. Until we actually hear reports of this happening (doubtful this year), I'd view this as nothing more than Maddon blowing smoke. 

[ukyah]

13 hours ago, Stradling said:

Yep, Chuck did an amazing job recently of cleaning house. I think this dude is harmless but with some of his shit he certainly isn’t moving the conversation forward 

good to hear. i don't notice when someone is gone. so, i wasn't aware of any cleanup. 

i'm all for different opinions, in jokes, comedy, even some lighthearted trolling, but some dudes just want to destroy any conversation and i don't enjoy that.

[Warfarin]

Just now, Pancake Bear said:

Maddon says a lot of stuff. Until we actually hear reports of this happening (doubtful this year), I'd view this as nothing more than Maddon blowing smoke. 

Right, and that could be entirely true too.  I'm merely floating it as a suggestion of what we may see, not really an assertion of it being the plan.  That said, I wouldn't expect to really hear any reports of anything like that until spring training, so we'll see.