Question: What is Minasian doing?

[CanadianHalo]

This is Maddon’s team.

Saving money for Baez next offseason 

[Second Base]

I think it's fairly evident what Minasian is doing. It's the same thing Eppler was doing. Billy Eppler's faults weren't in his strategy, it was execution. Eppler's targets largely failed. Hopefully Minasian's won't.

The numbers point out, the Angels #1-3 starting pitchers were effective enough last year. It was the back end that had an ERA over 9.00. So how do you fix it? You can either be advantageous and acquire front end SP, sliding everyone down a slot, or you can stick with one year deals and fill in the back end. With the exception of Yu Darvish, who Minasian clearly missed on, the front end starting pitching market was wildly overpriced, so he set his sights on back end starters. 

The bullpen led the league in blown saves last year, which ultimately cost the Angels the chance at the playoffs. So Minasian brought in Raisel Iglesias for pennies on the dollar. That should fix many of the blown saves. 

The team clearly needed a RF and he didn't want to bring one in that required a lengthy contract because of Adell, Marsh and Adams. So he got Dexter Fowler for less than 2 million.

Minasian wanted to maintain an elite defensive infield despite losing the best defensive SS in baseball in Andrelton Simmons. So used what he had on hand, sliding Fletcher to 2B where he's gold glove quality, and acquired Jose Iglesias for cheap. Jose happens to also be a very good defensive shortstop in his own right, and seems to have discovered something at the plate that works. He's hit .288 and .373 the last two seasons. 

Joe Maddon clearly felt the clubhouse was lacking the direction it needed, and so the players Minasian was tasked with bringing in, had to be quality clubhouse guys that can be team leaders and instill a winning culture. Minasian himself is a byproduct of this given his upbringing in the game. So Maddon and Minasian worked together to bring in players they both know and are familiar with.

Cobb is the leader of the pitching staff. Fowler will be a leader in the field, joining what's already a cast of high quality individuals off the field in Heaney, Trout, Fletcher, Pujols and Rendon. 

And to top it all off, Minasian has raised the floor of the team by spreading out the value of his acquisitions. Sure, it would've been nice to get Bauer, but getting Bauer would've meant getting subpar value elsewhere on the diamond. And if Bauer got hurt or underperformed, the team would be sunk. Instead, by spreading that value across multiple assets in Jose Quintana, Raisel Iglesias, Jose Iglesias, Alex Cobb, and Dexter Fowler, he's made it so that the success of 2021 isn't dependent upon any trade or free agent acquisition any more than any other. Instead, it'll be more on Trout and Rendon doing their thing, and Shohei Ohtani making good on all that talent. 

And the last part of his approach so far, he's acquired a ton of players on one year deals. This not only opens up the opportunity for the immense prospect depth to take over (Thaiss, Ward, Rengifo, Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, Jordyn Adams, Chris Rodriguez and Detmers all will be in the upper minors in 2021), but it doesn't tie the team down to any single approach.

If they're successful, the team can pursue a longer contract with these 1-year deals. And if not, there's a deeper free agent class next off-season, and Minasian will have more in the way of upside major league ready talent knocking on the door that he can deploy. It's also guarantee he's done. Mark Gubicza seems to think there Angels will acquire one more good pitcher, so we'll have to see about that. 

But, Minasian is playing it smart. I don't know if the Angels will be successful in 2021. If I had to guess, they're an 85-90 win team. But I know they're on a decent financial position. 

My chief concern at this point is Mickey Callaway. He's the best pitching coach in baseball and the Angels might lose him. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Second Base

[Angels in 2030]

35 minutes ago, ThisismineScios said:

This is just a confusing jumble and it's not even accurate. I don't think they should re-sign Heaney. But somebody of his caliber should be a #4-6 in a good rotation, and I think Detmers is good enough to be a #4-6 next year. If you don't, that's ok; but you are disagreeing with the majority of analysts. As for the rest of the confusing part:

-We will have Canning, Ohtani, Detmers, Sandoval, and Barria to fill out the back of the rotation next year. You can go sign 1-2 quality SP and have a good rotation. I don't know why you think we'd have to sign 4 SP. 
-They absolutely should spend big on a SS, $25 million or so for a Baez, Story, or Seager.
-Doubtful they spend a lot on a catcher when no top ones are availble.
-They will have some bullpen arms to replace, but teams don't usually sign more than 1 expensive bullpen guy.
-Adell or Marsh is playing RF in 2022 and there's not really a doubt about that. They make almost nothing, less than a million. 
-They are on the hook for $100 million with Trout, Upton, and Rendon. Ohtani will likely be the only pricey Arb guy (go check the Arb status of their returning guys). They will have anywhere from $60-70 million after arbitration and possibly re-signing Bundy to build the rest of the roster. 

Thanks. 

I love me some Detmer.  But again, he hasn't even pitched in a real minor league game.  Let's see how that goes before accepting he's ready to make 30+ starts next year and 150+ innings.  The guy has pitched sparingly in simulated games + 22 college innings in 2020.  He pitched 113, 28 & 56 innings in each of the prior three years at college.  Hopefully he can get 100+ inning in this year to build up that arm strength.   

Let's say they have $60-70M available next year as you said.  Signing 1-2 quality SPs + a top/young SS in FA + a closer + cheap C/bench/RPs.  Good luck.

We will sign 3-4 SPs like i said.  Not all will be TOR guys.  A couple will be Cobb (or less) like depth guys.  But even they will cost $2-8M depending on the guy.  Still we will need two VERY good guys like Bundy and another guy.  Bundy alone is going to cost $20M+....unless he reverts to bad Bundy in which case you won't want him and need to find another guy.  

[ThisismineScios]

4 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I think it's fairly evident what Minasian is doing. It's the same thing Eppler was doing. Billy Eppler's faults weren't in his strategy, it was execution. 

The numbers point out, the Angels #1-3 starting pitchers were effective enough last year. It was the back end that had an ERA over 9.00. So how do you fix it? You can either be advantageous and acquire front end SP, sliding everyone down a slot, or you can stick with one year deals and fill in the back end. With the exception of Yu Darvish, who Minasian clearly missed on, the front end starting pitching market was wildly overpriced, so he set his sights on back end starters. 

The bullpen led the league in blown saves last year, which ultimately cost the Angels the chance at the playoffs. So Minasian brought in Raisel Iglesias for pennies on the dollar. That should fix many of the blown saves. 

The team clearly needed a RF and he didn't want to bring one in that required a lengthy contract because of Adell, Marsh and Adams. So he got Dexter Fowler for less than 2 million.

Minasian wanted to maintain an elite defensive infield despite losing the best defensive SS in baseball in Andrelton Simmons. So used what he had on hands, sliding Fletcher to 2B where he's gold glove quality, and acquired Jose Iglesias for cheap, who happens to also be a very good defensive shortstop in his own right, and seems to have discovered something at the plate that works because he's hit.288 and .373 that last two seasons. 

Joe Maddon clearly felt the clubhouse was lacking the direction it needed, and so the players Minasian was taken with bringing in, had to be quality clubhouse guys that can be team leaders and instill a winning culture. Minasian himself is a byproduct of this given his upbringing in the game. So Maddon and Minasian worked together to bring in players they both know save are familiar with that fit what the team needs.

Cobb is the leader of the pitching staff. Fowler will be a leader in the field, joining what's already a cast of high quality individuals off the field in Heaney, Trout, Fletcher, Pujols and Rendon. 

And to top it all off, Minasian has raised the floor of the team by spreading out the value of his acquisitions. Sure, it would've been nice to get Bauer, but getting Bauer would've meant getting subpar value elsewhere on the diamond. And if Bauer got hurt or underperformed, the team would be sunk. Instead, by spreading that value across multiple assets in Jose Quintana, Raisel Iglesias, Jose Iglesias, Alex Cobb, and Dexter Fowler, he's made it so that the success of 2021 isn't dependent upon any trade or free agent acquisition any more than any other. Instead, it'll be more on Trout and Rendon doing their thing, and Shohei Ohtani making good on all that talent. 

And the last part of his approach so far, he's acquired a ton of players on one year deals. This not only opens up the opportunity for the immense prospect depth to take over (Thaiss, Ward, Rengifo, Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, Jordyn Adams, Chris Rodriguez and Detmers all b will be in the upper minors), but it doesn't tie the team down to any single approach. If they're successful, the team can pursue a longer contract with these guys. And if not, there's a deeper free agent class next off-season, and he'll have more in the way of upside major league ready talent knocking on the door. 

Minasian is playing it smart. I don't know if the Angels will be successful in 2021. If I had to guess, they're an 85-90 win team. But I know they're on a decent financial position. 

My chief concern at this point is Mickey Callaway. He's the best pitching coach in baseball and the Angels might lose him. 

 

 

 

 

 

Great post. I agree on almost every front. I'd point out that Maria Torres saying the Angels don't have the prospects to get good pitchers is more of an indication that other teams see the Angels farm system as Adell, Marsh, and a bunch of risks. They aren't trading Detmers or Rodriguez, so when you look at the next few guys you're looking at high risk. Do you know what Jackson, Adams, Paris, Vera, Ramirez, and Kochanowicz have in common? 5 haven't played any full-season ball, and Adams got 10 games at High-A. The Angels simply didn't have the prospects to get a pitcher like Darvish, Taillon, Musgrove, or Matz. I didn't agree at first but when I went and looked at the prospects that were traded, they had a little lower risk or they had played a full season somewhere. It just wasn't realistic to make a trade unless we threw in Adell (diminished value) or Marsh (who I think they do not want to trade at all). So Perry did what he could to add around the margins with stable guys.

One thing we don't recognize is the team doesn't really have any vocal clubhouse guys besides Heaney. Trout, Rendon, and Pujols are some of the most laid back leaders you will see. I forced myself to read the Q & A with Cobb and I was pretty impressed. He was honest about how excited he was to come to Anaheim, get out of the NL East, and not play for a perennial loser. He will lead, Fowler will lead, Suzuki will lead. These guys are winners. That's important, but it doesn't really generate excitement on message boards. 

I think the 1-year deals are important because it gives flexibility in many ways. Not because we will go out and spend $80 million on FAs next year, but because if we want a guy like Baez or Story or Syndergaard, we CAN get them. Or we can prowl around for an Arenado and take money on. OR we can extend guys that have great years. 

Agree about raising the floor piece by piece. It improves the whole team. $29 million for all we've done vs. the $40 million it looks like the Mets are offering Bauer for 2021. I'll take this. 

[Lou]

1 hour ago, Fourts said:

+Rendon/Trout raises eat into a lot of those savings.

Trout will be making the same amount next year. 

[ThisismineScios]

41 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

IMO, 2022's rotation should/will be

Yes, agreed re: the pitching staff. Hopefully Bundy can stabilize his value and be one of those 1-2 pitchers, so only one outside pitcher would be sought.

The Angels have a ton of good SS prospects in Jackson, Paris, and Vera. None of them will be ready for 2-3 years, but I don't think they need to or should sign a long-term SS, more of a stop-gap for a couple years. Similar to your logic about Adell and Marsh making almost nothing: you don't want to commit $25M for the next 5-6 years, when you an have a cheap in-house player for half of that.

I think both Adell and Marsh will get significant playing time in 2022, whether that means Upton being put out to pasture (platoon/part-time DH) or Marsh playing 1B. But they'll both be worked into the lineup in 2021, and be close to full-time in 2022. 

I agree, I think unless Bundy falls off a cliff when Callaway inevitably goes, you re-sign him. He's relatively young too. 

I agree, but I think Paris and Vera are still 3-4 years away (haven't even played in Minors yet) and Jackson will move to 3rd. I'm not sold on Jackson until he stops striking out as much. I'd actually be fine with signing Baez or Story to a 4-years deal, but they will get longer offers. But how solid is a Baez/Story-Rendon-Trout threesome? 

I think they may even try to get rid of some of Upton's money by dumping him after this year. Pay part of it or include a prospect to free up even more money. Marsh is too good of an OF defender to move him away from CF. I think you may even move Trout to LF by 2022 to let Marsh play CF like they did with Torii to RF when Bourjous came up. 

[eligrba]

17 minutes ago, Second Base said:

My chief concern at this point is Mickey Callaway. He's the best pitching coach in baseball and the Angels might lose him. 

Hopefully, Maddon, et. al, are working on Mickey to understand the situation he put himself into.  Mickey will need a mea culpa and the Angels will need a plan demonstrating their commitment to being proactive in addressing sexual harassment related issues.  The Angels can easily mandate a counseling plan as well as managing public statements made by Callaway by presenting a plan for his personal and professional growth.

Unfortunately, Callaway initially denied any wrong doing making any efforts by the Angels to help him, and the team more challenging.

[Angels in 2030]

8 minutes ago, Lou said:

Trout will be making the same amount next year. 

Correct as usual Lou -- meant to say Upton.  Ughhhh $28M in 2022.

[Angelsjunky]

2 minutes ago, ThisismineScios said:

I agree, I think unless Bundy falls off a cliff when Callaway inevitably goes, you re-sign him. He's relatively young too. 

I agree, but I think Paris and Vera are still 3-4 years away (haven't even played in Minors yet) and Jackson will move to 3rd. I'm not sold on Jackson until he stops striking out as much. I'd actually be fine with signing Baez or Story to a 4-years deal, but they will get longer offers. But how solid is a Baez/Story-Rendon-Trout threesome? 

I think they may even try to get rid of some of Upton's money by dumping him after this year. Pay part of it or include a prospect to free up even more money. Marsh is too good of an OF defender to move him away from CF. I think you may even move Trout to LF by 2022 to let Marsh play CF like they did with Torii to RF when Bourjous came up. 

Paris could move very quickly - from what I've heard, he's really polished. But sure, they probably shouldn't plan on him being an everyday player until at least 2024. And I agree re: Jackson. But really, we need at least another year of these guys being in the minors to assess them as long-term assets.

Baez concerns me. It is really hard to maintain a good line with a 4.7% to 28.4% walk to strikeout rate. As I said in the other thread, I'd much rather the Angels go after Lindor, Correa, and Seager; there's a big drop from them to the Coors-inflated Story and Baez. But unfortunately Maddon likes his guys and I could see Baez on the Angels next year, hitting .250/.290/.450 for the next six years.

[jsnpritchett]

33 minutes ago, Second Base said:

My chief concern at this point is Mickey Callaway. He's the best pitching coach in baseball and the Angels might lose him. 

 

I'm more concerned about the multiple women he apparently continually harassed, but, hey, you do you.

[ThisismineScios]

1 minute ago, Angelsjunky said:

Paris could move very quickly - from what I've heard, he's really polished. But sure, they probably shouldn't plan on him being an everyday player until at least 2024. And I agree re: Jackson. But really, we need at least another year of these guys being in the minors to assess them as long-term assets.

Baez concerns me. It is really hard to maintain a good line with a 4.7% to 28.4% walk to strikeout rate. As I said in the other thread, I'd much rather the Angels go after Lindor, Correa, and Seager; there's a big drop from them to the Coors-inflated Story and Baez. But unfortunately Maddon likes his guys and I could see Baez on the Angels next year, hitting .250/.290/.450 for the next six years.

Yeah I know that scares me about Baez--he admits he swings at everything. It worked for him in 2018-2019, when he had 6.3 and 4.8 WAR. And he's a stud defensively. But the strikeouts don't fit the Angels MO and Angel Stadium is a pitcher's park. Story--wow. I didn't realize his Home/Road splits were that bad. I was thinking of Arenado, whose H/R isn't bad at all. I'd love Seager. Lindor is re-signing and Correa I'm iffy on. 

[floplag]

45 minutes ago, Second Base said:

My chief concern at this point is Mickey Callaway. He's the best pitching coach in baseball and the Angels might lose him. 

 

 

 

 

 

Shouldnt we?  I mean the same folks that think Puigs issue are disqualifying ... is this different?  If anything it seems worse?
some things transcend the game.
Losing him should be a foregone conclusion at this point i would think and they are just covering their arse under CA law. 

[eligrba]

2 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

I'm more concerned about the multiple women he apparently continually harassed, but, hey, you do you.

The more I think about this, the more convinced I am that the Angels (or any other corporation having such a person like Callaway) are in a position to help the individual address and deal with the issue.  I know my initial thought was to fire him, but in the big picture, that may not be the best way to deal with his behavior.  If the Angels simply fire Callaway, he doesn't need to come to terms with his behavior.  He can just wait for the news cycle to move to a new topic and return to baseball unchanged.

If MLB finds the allegations accurate, I do believe the organizations that Callaway worked for during the times of his harassing should also be held accountable if they were aware.

[eligrba]

1 minute ago, floplag said:

Shouldnt we?  I mean the same folks that think Puigs issue are disqualifying ... is this different?  If anything it seems worse?
some things transcend the game.

In my opinion, domestic violence is a much more egregious act than sexual harassment.  Engaging in unjustifiable physically violent acts crosses a line that should never be considered the same as sexual harassment.

[Second Base]

10 minutes ago, ThisismineScios said:

Great post. I agree on almost every front. I'd point out that Maria Torres saying the Angels don't have the prospects to get good pitchers is more of an indication that other teams see the Angels farm system as Adell, Marsh, and a bunch of risks. They aren't trading Detmers or Rodriguez, so when you look at the next few guys you're looking at high risk. Do you know what Jackson, Adams, Paris, Vera, Ramirez, and Kochanowicz have in common? 5 haven't played any full-season ball, and Adams got 10 games at High-A. The Angels simply didn't have the prospects to get a pitcher like Darvish, Taillon, Musgrove, or Matz. I didn't agree at first but when I went and looked at the prospects that were traded, they had a little lower risk or they had played a full season somewhere. It just wasn't realistic to make a trade unless we threw in Adell (diminished value) or Marsh (who I think they do not want to trade at all). So Perry did what he could to add around the margins with stable guys.

One thing we don't recognize is the team doesn't really have any vocal clubhouse guys besides Heaney. Trout, Rendon, and Pujols are some of the most laid back leaders you will see. I forced myself to read the Q & A with Cobb and I was pretty impressed. He was honest about how excited he was to come to Anaheim, get out of the NL East, and not play for a perennial loser. He will lead, Fowler will lead, Suzuki will lead. These guys are winners. That's important, but it doesn't really generate excitement on message boards. 

I think the 1-year deals are important because it gives flexibility in many ways. Not because we will go out and spend $80 million on FAs next year, but because if we want a guy like Baez or Story or Syndergaard, we CAN get them. Or we can prowl around for an Arenado and take money on. OR we can extend guys that have great years. 

Agree about raising the floor piece by piece. It improves the whole team. $29 million for all we've done vs. the $40 million it looks like the Mets are offering Bauer for 2021. I'll take this. 

Maria Torres is just above Jon Heyman on the totem pole of reporters I actually trust. I don't care if she's minority or otherwise, male, female, or an attack helicopter. She's not a good beat reporter, her articles aren't as good as her peers. She doesn't have an inside source and she presents the garbage she writes as expertise.

The reason why she wrote the Angels don't have the prospects to pull off a trade has nothing to do with other teams not liking the Angels prospects and everything to do with the fact that she knows nothing about the prospects that play for the organization she's paid to cover. Maddon himself has explained multiple times that the way teams evaluate talent now is identical to one another. This isn't about another team not liking Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh, it's about Torres not knowing the Angels system.

The value of the prospects the Cubs got back from San Diego, in conjunction with Caratini being added into the trade means that for Darvish alone, Jordyn Adams and Hector Yan would've been a bigger return for Chicago. Not only did they have to include Caratini, they had to eat some of the money as well. 

Most fans would readily admit, if the Angels could get Darvish for Adams and Yan, they'd definitely pull that trigger. That's not even taking into account Adell, Marsh, Detmers, Rodriguez and Kochanowicz. 

Despite what Maria Torres says, the Angels have more than enough prospects to swing a major trade if they want to. 

 

 

 

 

[Lou]

9 minutes ago, floplag said:

Shouldnt we?  I mean the same folks that think Puigs issue are disqualifying ... is this different?  If anything it seems worse?

No

[Mark68]

14 hours ago, UndertheHalo said:

Armenians bad.  

These guys would like a word...

 

[Second Base]

I love when people adopt pseudo-moralistic stances on large scale social issues so that they look good to their friends on a baseball message board. 

 

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I love when people adopt pseudo-moralistic stances on large scale social issues so that they look good to their friends on a baseball message board. 

 

Which pseudo-moralistic stance are you referring to?

[jsnpritchett]

7 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I love when people adopt pseudo-moralistic stances on large scale social issues so that they look good to their friends on a baseball message board. 

 

I love it when cretinous, dumb, motherfucking assholes are more concerned about a potential perpetrator than the victims.  Shut the fuck up.  Honestly, I don't give a shit what any of you think of me personally.  But it sickens me to see such backwards attitudes on here. 

[ThisismineScios]

8 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Maria Torres is just above Jon Heyman on the totem pole of reporters I actually trust. I don't care if she's minority or otherwise, male, female, or an attack helicopter. She's not a good beat reporter, her articles aren't as good as her peers. She doesn't have an inside source and she presents the garbage she writes as expertise.

The reason why she wrote the Angels don't have the prospects to pull off a trade has nothing to do with other teams not liking the Angels prospects and everything to do with the fact that she knows nothing about the prospects that play for the organization she's paid to cover. Maddon himself has explained multiple times that the way teams evaluate talent now is identical to one another. This isn't about another team not liking Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh, it's about Torres not knowing the Angels system.

The value of the prospects the Cubs got back from San Diego, in conjunction with Caratini being added into the trade means that for Darvish alone, Jordyn Adams and Hector Yan would've been a bigger return for Chicago. Not only did they have to include Caratini, they had to eat some of the money as well. 

Most fans would readily admit, if the Angels could get Darvish for Adams and Yan, they'd definitely pull that trigger. That's not even taking into account Adell, Marsh, Detmers, Rodriguez and Kochanowicz. 

Despite what Maria Torres says, the Angels have more than enough prospects to swing a major trade if they want to. 

 

 

 

 

I'm fine with us disagreeing. And for the record, Maria isn't the first person I'd think would have insight into the FO. But I think she works with a guy who is very connected (DiGiovanna) and he may have helped her out a bit. Much like Rosenthal does with the local beat guys--he gets the info, but shares the credit with the local guys. But she was the one who broke on the Angels not even talking to Bauer (which proved to be true), and said somewhere else the Angels aren't going to make a splashy move because they want to know what they have first. She's been right so far. The Bauer thing was probably an intentional leak to let the fanbase know they weren't going after Bauer. 

My point about the system is they have Adell, Marsh, and a bunch of high risk guys. If you think the Cubs would have preferred and accepted Adams and Yan over what they got, I can't really help you. That's kind of crazy to think the Angels, who we know have been talking to the Cubs this offseason, wouldn't give up Adams and a low level pitcher for Darvish. I don't know what to make of how teams evaluate talent being similar--what bout the Indians asking for Marsh and taking Clase? Detroit wanting Marsh for Boyd? Teams obviously don't evaluate the same way. 

[tdawg87]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

So Minasian brought in Raisel Iglesias for pennies on the dollar.  

$9.5 million ain't pennies. That's more than Eppler paid for any reliever, I believe.

[Second Base]

1 minute ago, ThisismineScios said:

I'm fine with us disagreeing. And for the record, Maria isn't the first person I'd think would have insight into the FO. But I think she works with a guy who is very connected (DiGiovanna) and he may have helped her out a bit. Much like Rosenthal does with the local beat guys--he gets the info, but shares the credit with the local guys. But she was the one who broke on the Angels not even talking to Bauer (which proved to be true), and said somewhere else the Angels aren't going to make a splashy move because they want to know what they have first. She's been right so far. The Bauer thing was probably an intentional leak to let the fanbase know they weren't going after Bauer. 

My point about the system is they have Adell, Marsh, and a bunch of high risk guys. If you think the Cubs would have preferred and accepted Adams and Yan over what they got, I can't really help you. That's kind of crazy to think the Angels, who we know have been talking to the Cubs this offseason, wouldn't give up Adams and a low level pitcher for Darvish. I don't know what to make of how teams evaluate talent being similar--what bout the Indians asking for Marsh and taking Clase? Detroit wanting Marsh for Boyd? Teams obviously don't evaluate the same way. 

Maria Torres says the Angels weren't in on Bauer two months after I said the Angels weren't in on Bauer. Does that make me connected? No, it makes me a random fan on a baseball message board that felt the Angels had more holes to plug than a 30-40 million dollar pitcher. 

Look at the details of the Darvish trade. Chicago included money going back to SD and a good catcher. The Padres (my other favorite team) provided a back end starter and 4 prospects, only one of which has a future as one of considerable hype, Owen Caissie. 

There's this really cool site that isn't 100% accurate, but is there best trade evaluator available to fans right now. It's called baseball tradevalues.com. 

Look up the Darvish trade. Look up the value of the Angels prospects, and then get back to me on what you see.

Again, let me reiterate, this isn't 100% accurate, is just the best we have. Then also consider a trade that involved either Adell or Marsh and just how valuable both those prospects are. 

Maria Torres doesn't know jack-squat about prospects.

 

 

[Warfarin]

2 hours ago, ThisismineScios said:

This is just a confusing jumble and it's not even accurate. I don't think they should re-sign Heaney. But somebody of his caliber should be a #4-6 in a good rotation, and I think Detmers is good enough to be a #4-6 next year. If you don't, that's ok; but you are disagreeing with the majority of analysts. As for the rest of the confusing part:

-We will have Canning, Ohtani, Detmers, Sandoval, and Barria to fill out the back of the rotation next year. You can go sign 1-2 quality SP and have a good rotation. I don't know why you think we'd have to sign 4 SP. 
-They absolutely should spend big on a SS, $25 million or so for a Baez, Story, or Seager.
-Doubtful they spend a lot on a catcher when no top ones are availble.
-They will have some bullpen arms to replace, but teams don't usually sign more than 1 expensive bullpen guy.
-Adell or Marsh is playing RF in 2022 and there's not really a doubt about that. They make almost nothing, less than a million. 
-They are on the hook for $100 million with Trout, Upton, and Rendon. Ohtani will likely be the only pricey Arb guy (go check the Arb status of their returning guys). They will have anywhere from $60-70 million after arbitration and possibly re-signing Bundy to build the rest of the roster. 

Thanks. 

I think this is a reasonable take.

Likely, Minasian, coming from an outside perspective, sees the same thing that most do - this is not a WS team.  He knows his boss, though, wants them to at least make an attempt this year, so he is cobbling together veterans whose deals will be expiring.  This serves two purposes:

1.  It keeps the long-term payroll obligations low, as most are set to be free agents next year

2.  If we can't compete, we can sell off a lot of those players at the deadline.  Yes, the returns will be low, but he can still likely find useful relievers, bench players, etc - all of which are important when constructing a team.

After a year of prospect development and drafting/etc, perhaps he will feel we are better positioned to compete next year, and that at point, with our payroll flexibility AND prospect development, we will be better positioned for him to push harder for better players on longer-term deals.

[Angels 1961]

41 minutes ago, eligrba said:

The more I think about this, the more convinced I am that the Angels (or any other corporation having such a person like Callaway) are in a position to help the individual address and deal with the issue.  I know my initial thought was to fire him, but in the big picture, that may not be the best way to deal with his behavior.  If the Angels simply fire Callaway, he doesn't need to come to terms with his behavior.  He can just wait for the news cycle to move to a new topic and return to baseball unchanged.

If MLB finds the allegations accurate, I do believe the organizations that Callaway worked for during the times of his harassing should also be held accountable if they were aware.

The more things change the more they remain the same