Angels acquire Dexter Fowler and cash from the Cardinals for a PTBNL or cash

[Angels 1961]

Minasian signing players that still have gas in the tank. I see it now up ahead gas stations on highway 2022. Petit and Jose Alvarez have gas in tank sign them.

[Angels 1961]

Fowler waived his no trade to come to Angels, if Angels wanted to trade him would he have to waive it again?

[AngelsFaninGA]

Wouldn't be a proper Angels offseason without signing some aging vet that'll get 400 AB's and bat .200. It is what it is, as long as the other 8 guys in the lineup hit

[Junkballer]

This is another floor-raising/insurance move albeit less so than the Cobb acquisition. 

I tend to give first year GM's a lot of slack with the exception of when they unwisely handcuff themselves, especially when it isn't clear what budget they are actually afforded.  In going through the interview process no doubt he had to answer questions about why the Angels are less than the sum of their parts and no doubt some of those answers were about the extremely limited options available when players were hurt or underperformed, and team cohesiveness.  He has addressed some primary holes (SS, Closer) and increased options in the rotation and RF.  True that Cobb and Fowler don't make the team appreciably better on paper but they do provide the staff with options that will allow the effects of injuries and underperformance to be mitigated through a long season, and, gets them through the beginning portion of the season where they are still evaluating the goods that are in their cupboard (Ohtani, Adell).  

More needs to be done.  As much as I really want one more quality starter, I can be satisfied with another solid bullpen arm.  I understand not being thrilled with the trade but it doesn't make them worse, does provide some insurance, and doesn't impact their budget for their remaining needs.

[Tank]

9 hours ago, Fregosi said:

Really?  I'd rather have Betts or Acuna.

interesting proposal. give me a few days to think it over . . .

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Tank

[Robrock30]

I like the Dexter Fowler deal as he is practically free, has WS Championship experience and permits the Angels to open up with him in RF while Jo Adell improves in AAA.  I was in Wrigley Field for his return after being traded to the Cardinals and he was very warmly received with scoreboard tribute and ovation and connected on a HR.  The Cubs current manager and former Catcher Ross was in the booth and appeared on the scoreboard during the 7th inning stretch.  

[ThisismineScios]

I mean, do people actually think guys like Joc, Eaton, Schwarber or Rosario wanted to come to our OF situation? Everybody and their mother knows our RF spot is a placeholder. Why would guys like that go for it on a 1-year deal when they need to parlay this next year into a multi-year deal? It's not that we didn't go after guys like that; it's that they would be pretty dumb to take a deal to keep the seat warm for Adell/Marsh. Fowler costs $1.75 million, is a LH bat, a good locker room guy, and a BB machine. That's bad in the 8-9 hole? Huh? Can you imagine relying on Ward and Schebler to platoon all year? It's another floor-raising move. And when you raise the floor, you reduce the margin for error. 

I get it. I wanted a top-notch starter or two, 2-3 elite bullpen guys, and a good catcher. But we've spent $29 million this offseason (all of which expires after this year), and filled 4-5 holes. We are most likely not done. Bauer is about to get $33-35 million a year. We really would rather have Bauer than 2 back end starters, 2 relievers, a backup catcher, and a stopgap/4th OF? I'm good with filling multiple holes in the boat rather than installing a turbo engine and hoping everything else works out. But I get why fans wanted more, so I'm just speaking for myself. 

[floplag]

Just now, ThisismineScios said:

I mean, do people actually think guys like Joc, Eaton, Schwarber or Rosario wanted to come to our OF situation? Everybody and their mother knows our RF spot is a placeholder. Why would guys like that go for it on a 1-year deal when they need to parlay this next year into a multi-year deal? It's not that we didn't go after guys like that; it's that they would be pretty dumb to take a deal to keep the seat warm for Adell/Marsh. Fowler costs $1.75 million, is a LH bat, a good locker room guy, and a BB machine. That's bad in the 8-9 hole? Huh? Can you imagine relying on Ward and Schebler to platoon all year? It's another floor-raising move. And when you raise the floor, you reduce the margin for error. 

I get it. I wanted a top-notch starter or two, 2-3 elite bullpen guys, and a good catcher. But we've spent $29 million this offseason (all of which expires after this year), and filled 4-5 holes. We are most likely not done. Bauer is about to get $33-35 million a year. We really would rather have Bauer than 2 back end starters, 2 relievers, a backup catcher, and a stopgap/4th OF? I'm good with filling multiple holes in the boat rather than installing a turbo engine and hoping everything else works out. But I get why fans wanted more, so I'm just speaking for myself. 

i think a guy like Puig, one a one year deal, absolutely would have to reset his value and show he can still play.  Besides you think Upton has much left? 
I dont think we come out of all this with both Marsh and Adell, one of the will be traded to get the arm we want, so we will still potentially have an OF spot and Adams wont yet be ready.

[fan_since79]

Let's see...we have a few really good hitters and at least six #3-4-5 starters. 

(assuming a 154-game season) a record of 70-84 seems plausible.

Looking forward to 2022 when we have an extra $30 million (Pujols) to spend on a frontline starter or two. 

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, floplag said:

i think a guy like Puig, one a one year deal, absolutely would have to reset his value and show he can still play.  Besides you think Upton has much left? 
I dont think we come out of all this with both Marsh and Adell, one of the will be traded to get the arm we want, so we will still potentially have an OF spot and Adams wont yet be ready.

I think Upton and probably Fowler have better years than Puig.  

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Pederson, Eaton, Schwarber and Rosario all signed one year prove it deals while they play for their next contract.  If any of those guys play well enough they aren't losing their jobs in 2021.  Even if some young player makes them expendable they'd have value to another team via trade.

Regardless for what the Angels will end up paying for Fowler it's a low cost move.  It's not exciting and I don't expect it to move the needle much but it's another veteran presence and gives guys like Adell and Marsh more time.  If it doesn't work out then the Angels can cut him or have him as their 4th OF'er. 

[southpaw]

2 minutes ago, fan_since79 said:

Let's see...we have a few really good hitters and at least six #3-4-5 starters. 

(assuming a 154-game season) a record of 70-84 seems plausible.

Looking forward to 2022 when we have an extra $30 million (Pujols) to spend on a frontline starter or two. 

and end up signing an underwhelming starter like Chris Stratton, Alex Cobb, Matt Harvey, etc. 

[Stradling]

3 minutes ago, fan_since79 said:

Let's see...we have a few really good hitters and at least six #3-4-5 starters. 

(assuming a 154-game season) a record of 70-84 seems plausible.

Looking forward to 2022 when we have an extra $30 million (Pujols) to spend on a frontline starter or two. 

This team as currently constructed will win 85 plus games if they play 162.  

[Stradling]

I’d rather have Fowler than Eaton at his price, Puig or Goodwin.

[Redondo]

Did we ever find out what we are sending back? 

[floplag]

3 minutes ago, Stradling said:

I think Upton and probably Fowler have better years than Puig.  

Opinions vary. 

[Angels in 2030]

6 minutes ago, Stradling said:

This team as currently constructed will win 85 plus games if they play 162.  

That's actually realistic and doable imo.  It's likely their ceiling if everything goes well.  I'd say 80-85 is their win range personally.  As you said, as currently constructed because things can change with an important add or minus (injury).

[DMVol]

34 minutes ago, Junkballer said:

.....More needs to be done.  As much as I really want one more quality starter, I can be satisfied with another solid bullpen arm.  I understand not being thrilled with the trade but it doesn't make them worse, does provide some insurance, and doesn't impact their budget for their remaining needs.

I don't think you will see any multi-year deals, if anything, maybe another one year deal.....the more I think about it, I tend to think what Minasian has done not only indicates that Arte doesn't want to go over the salary cap but he is positioning things for a 2022 lockout/strike.....

[mmc]

Don't get why people act like Puig with his sexual assault lawsuit was ever a possibility, especially with our pitching coach being suspended for sexual harassment

[Angelsjunky]

Man, I can't read 13 pages to catch up to this thread, but for $2.25M it isn't so bad. Hopefully the PTBNL isn't a legit prospect, but I'm guessing he will be.

[ThisismineScios]

17 minutes ago, floplag said:

i think a guy like Puig, one a one year deal, absolutely would have to reset his value and show he can still play.  Besides you think Upton has much left? 
I dont think we come out of all this with both Marsh and Adell, one of the will be traded to get the arm we want, so we will still potentially have an OF spot and Adams wont yet be ready.

All of these guys I mentioned, including Puig, are looking at the whole year. They don't just look at money, they look at situation. If Adell and/or Marsh crushes AAA, you think the Angels are going to keep them down because Puig on a 1-year deal is doing really well? If Puig is doing really well and Adell or Marsh is crushing it and ready, guess what? The Angels are 100% trading Puig for an asset and bringing them up. They are not going to block the development of their own guys so Puig can reset his value. This is absolutely true, but even if you don't think it is 100% agents for all the guys believe it's a possibility. So why sign with a team where you think you will likely get benched, platooned, or traded mid-year instead of a team that is promising a full-time job all year? 

It doesn't matter what Upton has left. They probably tried to dump his contract, but nobody is touching him with 2 years left. Next year they may be able to dump him. 

I agree they will have to trade one of those three, I just don't think it's a guarantee to be Adell or Marsh. Trout in LF, Marsh in CF and Adell in RF can be among the best outfields in the majors if they play to their talent. 

[m0nkey]

Are we still outraged? I need to know how to feel

[Stradling]

12 minutes ago, mmc said:

Don't get why people act like Puig with his sexual assault lawsuit was ever a possibility, especially with our pitching coach being suspended for sexual harassment

I forgot about his issues. But I never really wanted him.  

[Lou]

Fowler had a higher OPS+ than Pederson last season. 

[fan_since79]

22 minutes ago, Stradling said:

This team as currently constructed will win 85 plus games if they play 162.  

I'll split the difference with you and predict 80-82.

The pitching is still not there.