Angels sign Kurt Suzuki (1 year, $1.5 million)

[Chuck]

5 minutes ago, floplag said:

Hes an impact player at a position lacking them.  For me its that simple.
Defensive Cs arent hard to find, one that checks all the boxes, yeah, much harder. 

Yeah that's not my point. Everyone and their mom knows Realmuto is the overall better catcher and quite possibly the best in the game. I wouldn't give him the money he should get paid because it would cost us way too much that we should spend on starting pitching, another bullpen arm and perhaps a right fielder. 

My point is if I was looking at signing with the Angels but had questions about their starting catchers that I'm throwing to, I would much prefer knowing that Suzuki will be there for a year and Stassi as well later on than just Bemboom and who the hell knows who else from the minors. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

2 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Not as much as if they add a zero to their current offers to those pitchers.

So if we say "X amount of dollars, and you can have baldoquin" we'll sign bauer?

 

Gotta break eggs to make an omellette. Hand over the cuban like elian!

[Angels 1961]

3 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Cheap backup signing.  Let's be real here, he's a 37 year old catcher.  Not expecting more than 2 games a week out of him.

I think he shares time with Stassi. 60 to 40 Stassi if he is healthy.

[Lazorko Saves]

1 hour ago, beatlesrule said:

What sad times these are when people are getting excited over a 37 year old catcher that had his best bWAR at age 24.

I read that in Roger the Shrubber's voice.

Edited January 15, 2021 by Lazorko Saves

[Angels 1961]

26 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Yeah that's not my point. Everyone and their mom knows Realmuto is the overall better catcher and quite possibly the best in the game. I wouldn't give him the money he should get paid because it would cost us way too much that we should spend on starting pitching, another bullpen arm and perhaps a right fielder. 

My point is if I was looking at signing with the Angels but had questions about their starting catchers that I'm throwing to, I would much prefer knowing that Suzuki will be there for a year and Stassi as well later on than just Bemboom and who the hell knows who else from the minors. 

Graterol and Bemboom in minors

[Angels 1961]

2 minutes ago, Lazorko Saves said:

I read that in Roger the Shrubber's voice.

Wait till we sign Happ and Hill

[GoodTimesGoneBad]

Essentially it probably boils down to Realmuto or help for SP. I’m not saying Bauer is a sure thing but this will at least leave room for 2 2nd tier SP if Bauer doesn’t happen. 
 

Personally I would take Odorizzi, Musgrove, and Hand vs Bauer alone but I can understand why some still want Bauer. 

[tdawg87]

18 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Yeah that wasn't my point. My point being that it helps because prior to Suzuki we had Bemboom. 

There was absolutely no way we could have signed Realmuto and paid big $$$ for FA pitching. It would leave us having to trade our prospect capital to add SP. Which I'm against being that the FA SP market is deep. 

I made that point in another post but it wasn't directed at you. I agree. I didn't want Realmuto because we don't need him.

[Lazorko Saves]

2 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

Wait till we sign Happ and Hill

Me when we sign Happ and Hill:

[beatlesrule]

36 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Yeah that's not my point. Everyone and their mom knows Realmuto is the overall better catcher and quite possibly the best in the game. I wouldn't give him the money he should get paid because it would cost us way too much that we should spend on starting pitching, another bullpen arm and perhaps a right fielder. 

My point is if I was looking at signing with the Angels but had questions about their starting catchers that I'm throwing to, I would much prefer knowing that Suzuki will be there for a year and Stassi as well later on than just Bemboom and who the hell knows who else from the minors. 

Arte can pay for all those positions though. He is just choosing not to. It's pathetic that once again, he won't go over the tax. He has a lot of money coming off the books in the next 2 years. He absolutely should be going for the best possible FA Bauer/Realmuto etc and suck it up for one year. Sign the best players available at all the positions where you have a need. Show the fan base you are actually trying to win a world series. Signing a 37 year old catcher is not doing that.  Unless this means Stassi is being traded and the Angels are gonna sign Realmuto with Suzuki as the backup, it's another small market/team payroll move. Why just stop at signing Trout and Rendon to big contracts  when you have HUGE needs elsewhere and some awesome players available right now that won't cost you any young players in a trade? Trout and Rendon alone are not going to win a World Series.

The Angels are in a position to sign arguably the best catcher in the game and a top SP and so far, haven't done either of them. They have some good young talent that will replace the huge contracts of Pujols and Upton for cheap. They have no one remotely as good as Bauer and Realmuto. Signing them is a nobrainer. Sign the best FA you have a need for and use your farm/cheap guys to fill areas they are weak in or have a vacancy. I don't see why this is so difficult to grasp.

[Angelsjunky]

I like this on a couple levels.

1. It is cheap and saves money for pitching.

2. Suzuki is very experienced, and can provide mentorship to Stassi.

[AngelsLakersFan]

I'm a fan. He's not very good but he provides a nice safety net at the position for a very limited cost.

So far Minasian has fairly closely followed the offseason plan I laid out. We'll see how he approaches the starting pitching and right field.

[tdawg87]

8 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

Arte can pay for all those positions though. He is just choosing not to. It's pathetic that once again, he won't go over the tax. He has a lot of money coming off the books in the next 2 years. He absolutely should be going for the best possible FA Bauer/Realmuto etc and suck it up for one year. Sign the best players available at all the positions where you have a need. Show the fan base you are actually trying to win a world series. Signing a 37 year old catcher is not doing that.  Unless this means Stassi is being traded and the Angels are gonna sign Realmuto with Suzuki as the backup, it's another small market/team payroll move. Why just stop at signing Trout and Rendon to big contracts  when you have HUGE needs elsewhere and some awesome players available right now that won't cost you any young players in a trade? Trout and Rendon alone are not going to win a World Series.

The Angels are in a position to sign arguably the best catcher in the game and a top SP and so far, haven't done either of them. They have some good young talent that will replace the huge contracts of Pujols and Upton for cheap. They have no one remotely as good as Bauer and Realmuto. Signing them is a nobrainer. Sign the best FA you have a need for and use your farm/cheap guys to fill areas they are weak in or have a vacancy. I don't see why this is so difficult to grasp.

That's about 50 million in added payroll. At least. Probably closer to 60.

It just isn't realistic.

Arte didn't become a billionaire by making ridiculous business decisions. 

Yes, he could do it. Hell maybe he will. But I think the Suzuki signing is proof that he isn't going to. We got a cheap catcher so now we have money to spend on pitching. How much we have is yet to be determined, but precedent indicates we don't have more than 25-30 million.

Talking about what Arte should do isn't going anywhere. I actually agree with you. We unfortunately need to spend to get out of this mess. Trading prospects puts us back to the Dipoto age.

[Pancake Bear]

Did Ohtani approve of this?

Also, good move. Provides depth and quality at a fantastic price. We'll see if Minasian can work his magic on SP, but so far on catcher, closer, and SS, I'm a fan. 

[Pancake Bear]

20 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

Arte can pay for all those positions though. He is just choosing not to. It's pathetic that once again, he won't go over the tax. He has a lot of money coming off the books in the next 2 years. He absolutely should be going for the best possible FA Bauer/Realmuto etc and suck it up for one year. Sign the best players available at all the positions where you have a need. Show the fan base you are actually trying to win a world series. Signing a 37 year old catcher is not doing that.  Unless this means Stassi is being traded and the Angels are gonna sign Realmuto with Suzuki as the backup, it's another small market/team payroll move. Why just stop at signing Trout and Rendon to big contracts  when you have HUGE needs elsewhere and some awesome players available right now that won't cost you any young players in a trade? Trout and Rendon alone are not going to win a World Series.

The Angels are in a position to sign arguably the best catcher in the game and a top SP and so far, haven't done either of them. They have some good young talent that will replace the huge contracts of Pujols and Upton for cheap. They have no one remotely as good as Bauer and Realmuto. Signing them is a nobrainer. Sign the best FA you have a need for and use your farm/cheap guys to fill areas they are weak in or have a vacancy. I don't see why this is so difficult to grasp.

Paying because you can is dumb. Why not get good production for a fraction of the cost. Rays and A's have been lapping everyone else for years that way (among other strategies). It's what smart teams do. Paying for expensive players =/= getting good players. It might, but it's no guarantee. Minasian has done great work upgrading the team this offseason so far.

[beatlesrule]

7 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

Paying because you can is dumb. Why not get good production for a fraction of the cost. Rays and A's have been lapping everyone else for years that way (among other strategies). It's what smart teams do. Paying for expensive players =/= getting good players. It might, but it's no guarantee. Minasian has done great work upgrading the team this offseason so far.

Both of those franchises are WAY smarter and have WAY better scouts than the Angels. Both of those teams have better SP too. The Angels can't be choosy. Arte has dug himself into this situation and needs to do things those 2 teams don't need to do.

[tdawg87]

7 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

Both of those franchises are WAY smarter and have WAY better scouts than the Angels. Both of those teams have better SP too. The Angels can't be choosy. Arte has dug himself into this situation and needs to do things those 2 teams don't need to do.

I agree with this.

But it is what it is. We have to assume Arte has a strict budget because he has never shown otherwise (except 2004, but that was just a statement that he's willing to spend).

I agree that we're in a tight spot. We could probably swing a trade for Gray or Musgrove, but it's going to hurt. Spending is really the only option to keep this system moving forward. But dumb spending is also a poor decision (see Pujols, Hamilton, and potentially Upton).

But we also need to realize that Arte does spend. The payroll this year will likely be in the top 3 or 4. Hell we're already in the top 6 and Arte is likely going to spend even more. 

Edited January 15, 2021 by tdawg87

[beatlesrule]

30 million of that is just on Pujols. One of the worst contracts in the history of sports. Arte has spent really really badly. I could buy a diamond studded swimming pool. Hell, that means I spend right? This sums up Arte's ownership with the Angels when it comes to signing FA, and scouts and front office people and GM's etc

[ukyah]

43 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

Arte can pay for all those positions though. He is just choosing not to. It's pathetic that once again, he won't go over the tax. He has a lot of money coming off the books in the next 2 years. He absolutely should be going for the best possible FA Bauer/Realmuto etc and suck it up for one year. Sign the best players available at all the positions where you have a need. Show the fan base you are actually trying to win a world series. Signing a 37 year old catcher is not doing that.  Unless this means Stassi is being traded and the Angels are gonna sign Realmuto with Suzuki as the backup, it's another small market/team payroll move. Why just stop at signing Trout and Rendon to big contracts  when you have HUGE needs elsewhere and some awesome players available right now that won't cost you any young players in a trade? Trout and Rendon alone are not going to win a World Series.

The Angels are in a position to sign arguably the best catcher in the game and a top SP and so far, haven't done either of them. They have some good young talent that will replace the huge contracts of Pujols and Upton for cheap. They have no one remotely as good as Bauer and Realmuto. Signing them is a nobrainer. Sign the best FA you have a need for and use your farm/cheap guys to fill areas they are weak in or have a vacancy. I don't see why this is so difficult to grasp.

from my recollection, and i'm virtually 100% on this, the angels have 3 of the largest contracts in mlb right now in pujols, trout, and rendon, and no other team has more than two. perhaps that's changed, but it was true very recently. when or if the angels sign bauer or realmuto, then they would likely have four. it's a very unfair criticism of arte to lay spending as one of his faults. criticizing bad spending is not the same argument.

[beatlesrule]

9 minutes ago, ukyah said:

from my recollection, and i'm virtually 100% on this, the angels have 3 of the largest contracts in mlb right now in pujols, trout, and rendon, and no other team has more than two. perhaps that's changed, but it was true very recently. when or if the angels sign bauer or realmuto, then they would likely have four. it's a very unfair criticism of arte to lay spending as one of his faults. criticizing bad spending is not the same argument.

I went over that. He spends big on Trout and Rendon but he's been so bad with spending on players like Pujols that he needs to spend even more to dig himself out of this whole. If he never signed Pujols, that's around 30 million this year that's free to use on Bauer and Realmuto. The Angels aren't one player anyway from a World Series or even winning the division. They need to fill multiple positions with REALLY good players to contend for a World Series. Suzuki does not show your fanbase you are serious about winning. Suzuki is not the player you need to compete for a WS. Realmuto is out there and has proven he is the best at his position and is only 29. He is almost a guarantee for at least a 4 bWAR. The Angels have no catchers in their system even close to his talents. It's a missed opportunity. All it would cost is money. They would get to hang onto their cheap farm players but no. Arte again shows his ineptness.

[Docwaukee]

2 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

I'm not gonna have to turn my head and cough while those two grab my junk am I?

hold my beer.  

seriously.  I like having both hands free.  

[T.G.]

5 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

hold my beer.  

seriously.  I like having both hands free.  

Ummm... that's not beer.

Edited January 15, 2021 by T.G.

[Inside Pitch]

19 minutes ago, T.G. said:

Ummm... that's not beer.

You stole my joke.   Well played.

[Jeff Fletcher]

43 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

I went over that. He spends big on Trout and Rendon but he's been so bad with spending on players like Pujols that he needs to spend even more to dig himself out of this whole. If he never signed Pujols, that's around 30 million this year that's free to use on Bauer and Realmuto. The Angels aren't one player anyway from a World Series or even winning the division. They need to fill multiple positions with REALLY good players to contend for a World Series. Suzuki does not show your fanbase you are serious about winning. Suzuki is not the player you need to compete for a WS. Realmuto is out there and has proven he is the best at his position and is only 29. He is almost a guarantee for at least a 4 bWAR. The Angels have no catchers in their system even close to his talents. It's a missed opportunity. All it would cost is money. They would get to hang onto their cheap farm players but no. Arte again shows his ineptness.

How do you know that Bauer and Realmuto would be good contracts?

[Vlad27Trout27]

its safe to say that our roster is rounding up nicely, we've got an closer, a Bp arm, a ss and finally a catcher. WIth that we're at 161 mil in totol saleries, sounds to me like we making a run for Bauer and than adding one more Bp arm.