Say we got Cole last year and no Rendon.

[Docwaukee]

3 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Someone said that Realmuto would be barely a top 10 catcher about 20 years ago, so I thought I’d look into it. He was on pace for his fourth 4+ WAR season in 2020, at age 29. But given the shortened season, let’s look for comparable players through age 28. From 1990-2019 there were 68 catcher seasons of 4+ WAR in any number of at-bats by players age 28 or younger. Here they are:

6 McCann

5 Pudge, Posey

4 Piazza, Mauer, Lucroy, Molina

3 Kendall, Montero, Martin, Grandal, Realmuto 

2 Hundley, Johnson, Martinez, Wieters, Gomes

1 Hoiles, Daulton, Wilkins, Posada, Lieberthal, Soto, Mesoraco, Zunino, Avila, Ramos, Sanchez

Obviously this isn’t a perfect method, but it gives us a rough sense of things. I’m using Fangraphs, which probably overvalued guys like McCann and Lucroy, but who am I to say. Anyhow, one thing to note is that catchers are highly volatile in terms of decline. Most of these guys peter off quite early, some transition to other positions with varying degrees of success, and only a few remain productive catchers deep into their 30s (Pudge, Molina, and Posada come to mind).

The problem with Realmuto is that while he’s a good hitter, he’s not a great one—and not even a very good one (109 career wRC+), so a lot of his value comes from the position he plays, and while good, he’s no Yadier.

So I’d be very hesitant to give him a six-figure contract. He might continue to be a 4-5 WAR player for half a decade, but he very well could have only another year or two of his prime and then turn into a very expensive average plus 1B/DH—paying $25M for the type of guy who can be found on the free agent market for $8M or even in the minors. That’s the last thing the Angels need, and not worth the risk.

btw, I thought about doing something like this and then I was like.  F it.  AJ will do it.  

[Angelsjunky]

I’m not disinterested, Doc, but love the Bernie meme.

[notherhalo]

Edge: Lowell

[RallyMo]

We got Cole last year and no Rendon.

[Lou]

10 minutes ago, fishbulb said:

We got Cole last year and no Rendon.

[ten ocho recon scout]

18 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

I’m not disinterested, Doc, but love the Bernie meme.

Your reaction led me to notice we had one.

 

Well done, aw.com

[ten ocho recon scout]

We need a trump one for "gonna be the best you ever saw" for when we sign guys nobody had on the radar, but we get optimistic because its someone new.

[ten ocho recon scout]

And then a biden reaction for "cmon man" when we sign guys we universally all think suck, like blanton

[2112]

On 1/21/2021 at 9:55 AM, Mark PT said:

Are you saying that Bauer is not coming to Anaheim? Or does not want to come here?

The Angels are always the other team, mean to drive the price up.  I don't think anyone seriously wants to come here.  

[Lou]

2 hours ago, 2112 said:

The Angels are always the other team, mean to drive the price up.  I don't think anyone seriously wants to come here.  

 

[Stradling]

1 hour ago, Lou said:

 

Yes, but besides the last big free agent, other than that guy, who else?  

[Inside Pitch]

On 1/21/2021 at 2:24 PM, Dtwncbad said:

So he gets overhyped because he is the best catcher in baseball when most catchers are terrible?

OK.

There is a lot of truth to this.  For all the hype he gets, he's not better than guys like Darren Daulton, Mike Stanley, Javy Lopez, Piazza...   Then you had the defensive guys like Charles Johnson, Alomar Jr.    That decade also had two guys who looked like they were going to be absolute studs (Jason Kendall and Dave Nilsson) who had their careers impacted/ended by injuries.