Jared Walsh Hypothetical

[HaloMilliVanilli]

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

I think its funny that tots puts out a discussion thread and it gets shit on by some regulars.  

I will say this about the idea.  I want to add talent, period.  If you can get Freeman and that creates depth that you can use to acquire pitching, then go for it.  If you can sign Sterling Marte and that creates depth to trade for pitching, go for it.  It is about adding talent and moving the team in the right direction.  If they think the team is better with Freeman plus the starter they trade for than it would be with a free agent starter and Walsh/Marsh/Adell then so be it.  

In regards to this thought experiment, this ^^^^^

[ScottT]

The Angels need cheap production. I doubt Walsh is going anywhere in the near future.

[ettin]

9 hours ago, totdprods said:

Starting off, this is not at all what I'd want to see, but I know it was mentioned a bit last winter that Minasian could look at pursuing Freddie Freeman given his SoCal roots and the Braves connection. 
Robert Murray at Fansided speculated further today that the Angels, Dodgers, and Yankees could be interested given that he's reached the open market. 

If the Angels were interested in Freeman and reached a deal, there's a couple different things they could do. 

They could turn around and trade Walsh, almost in the same manner as the rumored Marsh for Meyer deal. 
I imagine the Dodgers, Yankees, Walsh's hometown Braves (ironically), the Rays, the Indians could all have considerable interest in him, and have enough young, MLB-ready SP to make an offer in return. 

Alternatively, Walsh has the arm to handle RF, and I believe, with some work, could probably grow have at least league-average defense out there. This would make it easier to move Marsh or Adell in a trade for a young SP. 

I think almost every one of us will immediately respond with "No! We don't need a 1B! We need pitching!!!" but let's just say something like this actually does come to fruition...

Let's say the worst happens and the Angels make the same mistake and sign an expensive vet 1B.
Which would you rather see? Walsh moved for an arm, or Walsh moved to RF and an OF prospect moved for an arm? Who could Walsh bring back in a trade?
Would a ~5/$130m deal be better spent on Freeman or Robbie Ray? Keeping in mind that while both Freeman or Ray costs a draft pick, signing Freeman allows us to deal Walsh/Adell/Marsh, probably landing us a SP around the equivalent of that pick. Freeman could be a safer investment.

Moving Walsh is one type of permutation to this offseason, which I also mention in the Primer Series. This is all about the available information in trade discussions that Minasian is accumulating and there will be clearer paths he and the front office can see that others may not expect, such as a Walsh trade.

On the flip side, I do speak about how unlikely this particular scenario is when you consider how well Jared destroyed RHP last year and he wasn't too shabby against LHP, either, so his youth, pre-arb control, and great production makes it less likely overall (but not impossible!).

[jsnpritchett]

33 minutes ago, ettin said:

 when you consider how well Jared destroyed RHP last year and he wasn't too shabby against LHP, either,

He had a .565 OPS against LHP (almost 450 points lower than against RHP).  And his career OPS against LHP is .604.  That's awful.

[ten ocho recon scout]

9 hours ago, True Grich said:

If the Angels sign Freeman, Minasian is an idiot and Arte Moreno has lost his freakin' mind.

 

[ten ocho recon scout]

Freeman would be a dumb move if we did it.

But, it would make the board fun for the winter. And it would mask Cobb being our only pitcher signing.

And it would appease the gods, and make it so trout and rendon FINALLY play a year together. 

(Because freeman will get tommy john and miss the year).

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

Not a chance they sign a 1Bman. Pitching, pitching and Oh, pitching...

[Angels 1961]

I'm just thinking outside the box hypothetically. Angels sign Freeman and trade Trout for pitching and have Walsh, Adell and Marsh OF. Trout and Upton to Dodgers for Julio Urias, Lux and some prospects. 

[Angels 1961]

Just now, Angels 1961 said:

I'm just thinking outside the box hypothetically. Angels sign Freeman and trade Trout for pitching and have Walsh, Adell and Marsh OF. Trout and Upton to Dodgers for Julio Urias, Lux and some prospects. 

I forgot to take my meds

[HaloBronco]

The idea of signing Freeman is idiotic...........!!!!!

In the words of Ace-of-Diamonds, "Pitching, pitching and Oh, pitching..." that is what we need!

[WicketMaiden]

3 hours ago, Dochalo said:

 

I think it's reasonable to consider all options (for the most part) when trying to upgrade the major league roster and in particular trying to do so without severely damaging the long term future of the club.  Walsh is a nice player.  Not sure where some people are getting the idea that he plays poor defense as his defense is quite solid.  

 

I've been wondering that too because it's more than solid, he was actually an elite First Baseman on defence for 2021: Gold Glove nominee; 3rd in AL for fielding pct .995; 2nd fastest 1B over 40 yards which means he can range farther from the bag during shifts (biggest in the AL). Here's an interesting dive into it from fangraphs: 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-perks-of-a-rangy-first-baseman/

I think it would be a backwards step to replace him with Freeman as I think their offensive production profiles will cross over during the next year or two, but if the Angels did do that (and it IS a very Angels thing to do) I'd want a seriously good pitcher for him in trade.

 

[HanfordGuy]

6 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

It's hot stove time and what does that mean? Halos will get burned.

[ettin]

3 hours ago, jsnpritchett said:

He had a .565 OPS against LHP (almost 450 points lower than against RHP).  And his career OPS against LHP is .604.  That's awful.

I think I clicked wrong looking that up, my bad.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Before anyone lights up tot any further, yeah, we can all agree it would be the wrong move. But its not "retarded".

Its unrealistic. But if you could get freeman for like a 5 year deal (you cant) for decent money (you cant), and flip Walsh for a bonafide decent arm (maybe you could?), it wouldnt be horrible. 

It just wouldnt work out that way.

But freeman would be cool. Just for the home grown thing. Hes an Angel fan. Local kid that grew up seeing the stadium from his house. Would have been cool to have drafted him, like Trumbo

[AngelsLakersFan]

You gotta at least find out how much of a discount Freeman would give to play for his home town team.

[jsnpritchett]

Just now, AngelsLakersFan said:

You gotta at least find out how much of a discount Freeman would give to play for his home town team.

[Tank]

5 hours ago, ukyah said:

haven't you realized? in this thread, all things are possible. why won't you talk about how the angels want ohtani in the outfield!

Because he seems more like a second baseman to me.

[Inside Pitch]

11 hours ago, jsnpritchett said:

He had a .565 OPS against LHP (almost 450 points lower than against RHP).  And his career OPS against LHP is .604.  That's awful.

Technically he's correct.  He wasn't "too shabby"...  Lol...