Apparently the Angels are sellers (according to Fangraphs)

[Angelsjunky]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-time-for-reach-out-calls-has-begun/

I don't think he's wrong, but as an Angel fan it is hard not to hope for that one hot streak that gets the team back to .500 and a good month or two to return to contention. But, of course, chances are that it won't happen - especially with Trout out.

So what to sell? This has been discussed before, but might as well consolidate it.

The Angels' best chance of making sales is if their veteran starters start pitching better, and then selling off at least a couple of Cobb, Heaney, Bundy, and Quintana. The problem is that the guy(s) that people might give something up for are also the guys that the Angels might want to bring back next year.

Right now I think it is Cobb and one of Heaney or Bundy. Cobb is old but it seems like he's having a legitimate, and surprisingly, resurgence. He has the most value for a team that needs an extra starter for the stretch run, and thus might get the most back in return. I think the Angels have to entertain offers and if someone makes them an offer they cannot refuse, go for it.

Heaney also has some value. While he's Mr Erratic, he isn't the worst guy for a contending team to have pencilled in at #4-5 and, who knows, he might thrive in a new environment. 

Bundy is tricky. He really seems lost and no one would want him right now except as a reclamation project. So the Angels might want to hold onto him in the hopes that he figures things out and then signs a one-year "prove myself" contract for next year.

Quintana...I suppose someone might take him off our hands for a fringe prospect. At this point it would mainly be about saving a few bucks.

Among relievers, the best bet for a decent return would be Raisel Iglesias, and he could actually fetch a nice prospect or two. Actually, I'd say he's the guy that is most likely to go. The other veteran guys...well, I just don't think they have much trade value. Maybe someone wants a Watson or Cishek or Claudio, who knows.

As for hitters, it would be an amazing feat if Perry could find someone to get rid of Upton, even if it is was only a small portion of his contract. Stranger things have happened, but I don't see the Angels getting much in return and any more than about $5M of salary relief. But even that would be worth it.

Taylor Ward and Jose Iglesias are also possibilities, but neither will get more than a fringe prospect, or possibly be packaged with one of the pitchers as a throw-in for a slightly better prospect in return. I suppose the same is true of Juan Lagares, who someone might think, "We need that guy on our postseason roster to pinch-run and as a defensive replacement," but the return would be minimal.

So in summary:

Most likely: R Iglesias, Cobb, Heaney

Possible: Bundy, Ward, J Iglesias, Watson, Cishek, Claudio, Mayers

Unlikely, but you never know: Upton, Lagares, etc

[Angels 1961]

I think Ward stays, Suzuki if someone needs a catcher. Upton only goes if halos eat most of that contract.

[Taylor]

I'm excited for the Angels to trade Iglesias for a journeyman reliever and call it a day.

[Angels 1961]

Sad to see Angels listed with other losers in MLB

[halonatic13]

6 out and we are sellers already?  Flippen heck!

 

[Chuck]

13 minutes ago, halonatic13 said:

6 out and we are sellers already?  Flippen heck!

Well I think even if they are winning they would sell a few of these guys. 

I mean, Rengifo could easily replace Iglesias at SS or 2B and move Fletcher to SS. Same could be said for giving Wong a shot. 

Heaney, Bundy, Quintana, Cobb, R. Iglesias are free agents in addition to Jose Iglesias. Of that group, I would only approach our closer and Cobb with an extension if they're kicking ass still as the trade deadline approaches. 

Sign two free agents from a large crop of SP's this offseason, give Wong or Rengifo the 2B job. If Ward has a full season of at bats in RF and continues to look good defensively there and clubs some HR's, you could trade one of Marsh/Adell for pitching and the remaining of the two top prospects can replace Upton in LF. Unless Upton turns shit around I'm guessing he won't be in the Angels 2022 plans. 

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

As an Angels’ fan its not that hard to accept the reality that we should be sellers and that this pitching staff will not allow a hot streak to get to .500. This team is done. 
 

Sell anything possible — Heaney, Bundy, Cobb, etc...bring up any player that is on the fringe of breaking through and any player that deserves a final look and lets see what we got. 

[Inside Pitch]

They have a month to prove they aren't sellers -- but if they are sitting below .500 on July 1st....  They better be sellers.   And if not sellers then they better decide if they want to extend someone.

[Justin]

40 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

Sad to see Angels listed with other losers in MLB

Several of those other teams are probably saying that about us. 

[DMVol]

R Iglesias, if he is reasonably consistent for a month, might be the best chip we have...proven closer.....If Heaney is decent for a month, he would have decent value.....

[Inside Pitch]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/rpi/_/sort/sos

https://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/rpi

If these asshats could simply defend well then there might be reason to hope they turn it around.  But every night there is at least one defensive gaffe that seems to suck the the life out of the team.

 

[Angel Oracle]

How did the defense get so bad?

The Maddoning alignments?

Team defensive slump creating more pressure on every play?

[totdprods]

I really wanted the Angels to deal Bundy this past winter, to either the Dodgers, Padres, Indians, Twins, someone who would have maybe sent back a Top 100 SP prospect. Angels would have probably needed to kick in another piece - and maybe get some MLB depth back, relievers, catcher, etc., but it will be an opportunity I think they squandered. Thought it would be better to lose Bundy's 'proven' upside for one year in order to gain another good MLB-ready SP prospect for the long-term.

I could still see a team like the Dodgers or Giants having interest in Bundy, and Heaney will definitely have suitors as well.

Edited June 1, 2021 by totdprods

[nate]

People need to stop blaming the defense. The team still has the worst ERA in baseball by a good amount. It isn't just mistakes in the field.

[T.G.]

You all need to chill because results don't matter.

[jsnpritchett]

6 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I really wanted the Angels to deal Bundy this past winter, to either the Dodgers, Padres, Indians, Twins, someone who would have maybe sent back a Top 100 SP prospect. Angels would have probably needed to kick in another piece - and maybe get some MLB depth back, relievers, catcher, etc., but it will be an opportunity I think they squandered. Thought it would be better to lose Bundy's 'proven' upside for one year in order to gain another good MLB-ready SP prospect for the long-term.

I could still see a team like the Dodgers or Giants having interest in Bundy, and Heaney will definitely have suitors as well.

Why would the Dodgers be interested in Bundy?  They have great starting pitching, and even with injuries, they've been able to mix and match with internal options.  I don't see why they'd see Bundy as an improvement over anything they can find internally, especially when they'd have to give up something (even if it's only a marginal player) to get him.  Same with the Giants, though to a lesser degree.  Their SPs aren't as solid/proven as the Dodgers--but then again, Bundy has been outright terrible this year, so would trading for him (even if he rolls off a few good starts in a row) make them feel any better about the overall stability/depth of their staff?  Maybe I'm just being naive or too pessimistic, but I just don't see anyone offering much of anything for Bundy (or Heaney, really).  If anyone DOES offer even a marginally decent prospect for either, I would immediately take the offer.

[tdawg87]

7 minutes ago, nate said:

People need to stop blaming the defense. The team still has the worst ERA in baseball by a good amount. It isn't just mistakes in the field.

Do you understand how defense plays a roll in that? Not every mistake gets scored as an error. Hell I'd say most aren't.

[nate]

4 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Do you understand how defense plays a roll in that? Not every mistake gets scored as an error. Hell I'd say most aren't.

They are 4th worst in FIP, so at worst they are only slightly better than their ERA shows.

[Angels in 2030]

Come and get it MLB.....there's enough for everyone

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, jsnpritchett said:

Why would the Dodgers be interested in Bundy?  They have great starting pitching, and even with injuries, they've been able to mix and match with internal options.  I don't see why they'd see Bundy as an improvement over anything they can find internally, especially when they'd have to give up something (even if it's only a marginal player) to get him.  Same with the Giants, though to a lesser degree.  Their SPs aren't as solid/proven as the Dodgers--but then again, Bundy has been outright terrible this year, so would trading for him (even if he rolls off a few good starts in a row) make them feel any better about the overall stability/depth of their staff?  Maybe I'm just being naive or too pessimistic, but I just don't see anyone offering much of anything for Bundy (or Heaney, really).  If anyone DOES offer even a marginally decent prospect for either, I would immediately take the offer.

This is what I was wanting last winter, pre-Bauer signing, early in the winter. Not even sure they knew Price would be back. Giants didn't apply much last winter, but other teams did. Bundy would've been a perfectly reasonable acquisition for any of those teams if they were interested in bolstering their rotation fairly cheaply - before any FA deals were handed out or major trades occurred. 

Tough to see anyone giving up anything substantial for Bundy right now, but I imagine he'd still fetch a Sandoval or Rengifo-type prospect. Heaney as well. Dodgers might still need a bit of help and could have fringe 40-man guys to clear up. Giants are thin if any of those guys go down. I could see the Astros or Athletics having interest too.

Edited June 1, 2021 by totdprods

[Second Base]

The Angels are never big sellers, even when they're out of it. Arte doesn't like his GM's selling off popular pieces, more like expiring relievers.

But you can't get future value unless you're willing to give up some present value. 

If I'm Minasian, I'm selling Suzuki, Iglesias, Upton, Ward, Bundy, Heaney, Quintana and every single last person in that God forsaken bullpen except Chris Rodriguez. 

I don't care if it means selling them for pennies on the dollar, just get them off the roster, and get something in return, even if it's just minor league depth. 

Then start rebuilding the team next year with your building blocks, Trout, Ohtani, Rendon, Walsh and Fletcher. 

Next, sprinkle in some prospects, Adell in LF, Marsh in RF, Thaiss at catcher with Stassi, Rengifo in the utility spot, Detmers and Rodriguez in the rotation. 

And finally, go and get players THAT ARE NOT ONE YEAR RENTALS. I'm so sick of the Angels being filled with a bunch of overpriced one year options. Go get some long term answers at shortstop and pitcher. 

The only player in not selling off is Alex Cobb and that's only because he needs to be re-upped. Magically, you get him out of the AL East and have him visit actual knowledgeable modern coaching and development services like Driveline, and he's a mid rotation starter again and it has nothing to do with a gimmick or velocity increase and everything to do with him spotting his pitches which allows him to keep the ball on the ground. 

[jsnpritchett]

2 minutes ago, totdprods said:

This is what I was wanting last winter, pre-Bauer signing, early in the winter. Not even sure they knew Price would be back. Giants didn't apply much last winter, but other teams did. Bundy would've been a perfectly reasonable acquisition for any of those teams if they were interested in bolstering their rotation fairly cheaply - before any FA deals were handed out or major trades occurred. 

Tough to see anyone giving up anything substantial for Bundy right now, but I imagine he'd still fetch a Sandoval or Rengifo-type prospect. Heaney as well.

Dodgers might still need a bit of help and could have fringe 40-man guys to clear up. Giants are thin if any of those guys go down.

I understand you said that's what you wanted last winter, but in the post I replied to and again here in this one, you're still saying you think the Dodgers and the Giants might give up fringe/marginal prospects for Bundy and/or Heaney.  I'm saying that I have a hard time seeing that.

[Stradling]

HOMER ALERT

It will be interesting to see how they play the next 6 weeks when they aren’t playing the best teams in the league every game. My guess is it will be much of the same as we tend to do a really good job of beating ourselves (gross or is it?).  However it isn’t out of the question they are above .500 again before the break.  I would be sellers and buyers at the same time if it makes sense in the moment.  So if someone is looking to sell off a controllable pitcher, don’t be afraid to make that deal this year.  

[jsnpritchett]

8 minutes ago, Stradling said:

HOMER ALERT

It will be interesting to see how they play the next 6 weeks when they aren’t playing the best teams in the league every game. My guess is it will be much of the same as we tend to do a really good job of beating ourselves (gross or is it?).  However it isn’t out of the question they are above .500 again before the break.  I would be sellers and buyers at the same time if it makes sense in the moment.  So if someone is looking to sell off a controllable pitcher, don’t be afraid to make that deal this year.  

Over the next 6 weeks, the Angels play 10 games against Seattle (currently a better record than the Angels), 3 against Oakland (better record than Angels), 4 against the Yankees (better record than the Angels), 3 against the Red Sox (better record than the Angels), 3 against the Giants (better record than the Angels), 3 against the Rays (better record than the Angels), and 3 against the Royals (better record than the Angels).  While it's true they're not playing the best teams in the league "every game" and they do have 10 games against the lowly Tigers/Orioles/Diamondbacks, the next 6 weeks aren't really all THAT easy.

EDIT: Edit to add that, yes, I realize W/L record this early isn't always the best way to measure the strength of a team (witness Seattle's negative run differential).  But just saying the upcoming schedule maybe isn't the cakewalk you and others have suggested it might be.

Edited June 1, 2021 by jsnpritchett

[tdawg87]

1 hour ago, nate said:

They are 4th worst in FIP, so at worst they are only slightly better than their ERA shows.

I didn't say the pitching isn't bad. We all know it is.

But defense is a significant part of the "run prevention" equation. And our defense is atrocious.