Angels DFA Justin Upton, reinstate Ty Buttrey

[jsnpritchett]

15 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

The rosin bag looks like a duck.

That's not a rosin bag.  I photoshopped in a small goose.

Edited April 3, 2022 by jsnpritchett

[Torridd]

7 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

I guess they figured out he couldn't play first base...

 

I don't really like this move, unless they have some other plan in the works. Upton probably wasn't going to contribute a lot this year, but when he's healthy I think he can still hit. Given the roster it's now pretty much sink or swim for Adell, Marsh and Ward, and there isn't really anything else beyond them depth wise.

Yeah, it's a bit scary but we knew this was coming , just not so quickly. The organization is showing a lot of faith in the Adell/Marsh tandem. I think they figure if there's any setback, talent/injury, they can grab an outfielder pretty easily. I'm inclined to agree.

[Torridd]

7 hours ago, bloodbrother said:

Well with Marsh in the OF and Upton off the team, that certainly is a massive boost to the teams overall OF defense. Marsh also should allow for the Angels to get Trout off CF here and there throughout the year and have him play some games in LF himself.

Guessing we'll see Marsh vs RHP and Ward vs LHP

This is also a big boost of confidence to both those guys. Maybe a bit more pressure, but in a good way. They're saying, "Here are the reins and run with it." That bit of confidence may make them more likely to excel.

[totdprods]

Haven’t seen this mentioned, but this also puts quite a bit of pressure/confidence on the young pitchers. Because we aren’t getting significant pitching help via trade now. Not with Adell, Marsh, and Detmers essentially all key regulars now.

[Torridd]

7 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

I think you are probably right 85-90% of the time. I just don't see a lot of downside to giving Upton at least through April to see where he's at. It's not like they couldn't wait for him to get hurt to move on.

I understand where you're at, but Upton ultimately wasn't in the team's long-term plans. If the team is playoff-bound, Upton would not be on the roster and if we're not, he won't be on the roster. The organization believes they can replace him easily. I tend to agree with them. Yes, he may have a great season this year but the pattern says no. 

[Torridd]

6 hours ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

Surprising move for sure. Hope people don’t bash minasian when upton hits .300 for someone like giants.

We shouldn't. It's a calculated risk, but I think Perry's made the best move here. If Upton bounces back, good for him but even if that happens I think we'll sink or swim without him. He won't be the reason the Angels win or lose. 

[Torridd]

5 hours ago, Dochalo said:

probably gives the halos a few more options as well.  Let's be realistic.  Upton 'could have' rebounded a bit but he's had about a 90 WRC+ over his last 800 or so at bats with terrible defense, no positional flexibility, and no speed.  What were the odds he was gonna be any better than that?  

now the halos have the option of gong with Rojas, or to add some speed and defense to the roster or some positional flexibility.   They could grab another guy off waivers or pick from what they've got and frankly, the random parts a likely at least as good as Upton and using them right could actually make the team better.  

But Justin is a cool dude and I'm sad to see him go under these circumstances.  

Unless he wants to.

[Torridd]

3 hours ago, Jason said:

I guess some folks put a lot of weight behind ST stats as opposed to the big picture 

They don't understand the entire picture. Upton may have requested this and he'll definitely get work this season.

[AngelStew43]

There are still a couple of bad contracts that we could trade him for.  

The Dodgers have two.  Price and Bauer.  

[Lou]

10 minutes ago, AngelStew43 said:

There are still a couple of bad contracts that we could trade him for.  

The Dodgers have two.  Price and Bauer.  

They don't need Upton. 

[mmc]

25 minutes ago, AngelStew43 said:

There are still a couple of bad contracts that we could trade him for.  

The Dodgers have two.  Price and Bauer.  

The Dodgers are a day removed from dumping an overpaid outfielder for an overpaid player at a different position

[Vegas Halo Fan]

8 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Be thankful the team understands the concept of a sunk cost.  

Better than continuing to run Pujols out there because he was owed so much money.

[beatlesrule]

4 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

I think you could argue that Trey Cabbage is as good as Justin Upton right now. 

Anyhow, Upton finishes his Angels career with 2.8 WAR for $96M total (adjusting 2020). That's $34.3M per 1 WAR. Compare the money per 1 WAR, adjusted to what the Angels actually paid:

Upton: $34.3M ($96M for 2.8 WAR)

Pujols: $43.0M ($232M for 5.4 WAR)

Hamilton: $44.8M ($107.5M for 2.4 WAR)

Wells: $125.5M ($75.3M for 0.6 WAR)

Meaning, as bad as Upton's contract ended up being - and it was very bad - it wasn't nearly as bad as those three. 

Pujols was worse than the above implies, because the total contract was so much larger. If we consider a free agent contract that is $8M/1 WAR as breaking even, Pujols only "earned" about $43M of his $232...meaning, there's about $190M wasted over the value of his actual performance. Hamilton is $90M, Wells and Upton about $70M each.

 

How did you total up the War for those players? I used bWAR and only checked out Pujols and he came up as 12.9 bWAR during his Angels stint. fWAR has him at 5.4? Either way, it's clear that Moreno signs the wrong people and hires the wrong people that are supposed to know what they are doing.

[stormngt]

4 hours ago, OhtaniRule said:

Angels eat the money regardless. Whoever signs him pays the league minimum.

700k is nothing to sneeze at

[greginpsca]

9 hours ago, DMVol said:

Not trying to bash him just to bash him but who exactly would want Justin Upton in their OF, even for free? He can't stay healthy, he is an awful defensive OF'er and, with age, his hitting skill set is awful.....

NL team needing a DH

 

[Angels 1961]

4 minutes ago, stormngt said:

700k is nothing to sneeze at

buys a lot of hot dogs

[greginpsca]

Knew Upton would get Pujols'd. Just didn't think it would be this soon.

[Warfarin]

7 hours ago, Dochalo said:

probably gives the halos a few more options as well.  Let's be realistic.  Upton 'could have' rebounded a bit but he's had about a 90 WRC+ over his last 800 or so at bats with terrible defense, no positional flexibility, and no speed.  What were the odds he was gonna be any better than that?  

now the halos have the option of gong with Rojas, or to add some speed and defense to the roster or some positional flexibility.   They could grab another guy off waivers or pick from what they've got and frankly, the random parts a likely at least as good as Upton and using them right could actually make the team better.  

But Justin is a cool dude and I'm sad to see him go under these circumstances.  

Yeah - I think that bolded part is the key thing.

Upton is a LF/DH on a team with an elite full-time DH.  Upton is streaky and can hit sometimes, but at this point, there's probably more value in having a guy on the bench who can rotate and cover different positions, thus conferring more positional flexibility.

With Ward and (probably) Rojas on the bench now, they have some options in terms of having guys who can cover different positions and move around.  

[HaloBronco]

Seems I’m in the minority, He’s committing to the talented youth in the system. The future has arrived. Perry has proven he’s not afraid to make bold moves. It’s risk but isn’t everything. Absolutely love all the moves made so far. 

[Blarg]

5 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

Neither is Rojas

Fletcher is a better SS and 2nd baseman than Rojas so why weaken two defensive positions, both infeild and outfield by moving Fletch to the outfield?

 

[Angels 1961]

7 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Fletcher is a better SS and 2nd baseman than Rojas so why weaken two defensive positions, both infeild and outfield by moving Fletch to the outfield?

 

In a pinch Fletcher can play OF that does not mean Rojas is at 2B or SS. Maybe Wade and Duffy at 2B and SS. 

[angelsnationtalk]

Trade on the Angels incoming

[Angels 1961]

38 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

Yeah - I think that bolded part is the key thing.

Upton is a LF/DH on a team with an elite full-time DH.  Upton is streaky and can hit sometimes, but at this point, there's probably more value in having a guy on the bench who can rotate and cover different positions, thus conferring more positional flexibility.

With Ward and (probably) Rojas on the bench now, they have some options in terms of having guys who can cover different positions and move around.  

This makes Maddon's job easier by not worrying what to do with Upton. 

[Angels 1961]

38 minutes ago, HaloBronco said:

Seems I’m in the minority, He’s committing to the talented youth in the system. The future has arrived. Perry has proven he’s not afraid to make bold moves. It’s risk but isn’t everything. Absolutely love all the moves made so far. 

Not as risky as you might think. Putting best players on the field and as you said future is here at start of season. On paper built a very strong bullpen added a top of rotation starter. Most important to me did not trade future away in trading Adell, Marsh, Ward or Detmers. Healthy Trout and Rendon this team will be fun to watch.

[Lou]

1 hour ago, HaloBronco said:

Seems I’m in the minority, He’s committing to the talented youth in the system. The future has arrived. Perry has proven he’s not afraid to make bold moves. It’s risk but isn’t everything. Absolutely love all the moves made so far. 

Huh? Almost everyone agrees it's the right move.