Angels Free Agency Predictions

[Erstad Grit]

4 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Personally, if they want to add a bat I'd like to see insurance in the OF more so than at 3B -- particularly since the DH spot is up in the air.  I'd almost rather have the worst version of Moustakas at 1 mil per than the dollars and years it may take Candelario -- and Im not trying to shit on him he's not garbage, I just believe it's likely easier to get a decent floor performance wise elsewhere.

I wish Minasian could magically pull a Stoneman and pluck a Brad Fulmer, and David Eckstein off some discard piles than spend on most of the available position players.

Also --we havent been hearing much about Yariel Rodriguez lately.

Moose on a 1 yr deal seems like a no-brainer. Worst case scenerio is he is a nice option off the bench. Far better than Goose and previous options. 

[BTH]

37 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

The thread didn't ask me who I wanted Angels to sign, it asked who I predicted they would sign lol

I'd sign (assuming ohtani walks)

Snell----incredible 5 inning SP 

Stroman or Gray----good RSP to balance rotation

Bellinger 

a few good pen arms 

And that would cost like $80M

I know what the OP asked. I just don’t see why the Angels would sign two below average bats who mainly play 1B.

[BTH]

36 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

Moose on a 1 yr deal seems like a no-brainer. Worst case scenerio is he is a nice option off the bench. Far better than Goose and previous options. 

Worse case scenario he’s a nice option off the bench?

He’s already worse than a nice option off the bench. 

[Pancake Bear]

6 minutes ago, BTH said:

Worse case scenario he’s a nice option off the bench?

He’s already worse than a nice option off the bench. 

The Moose obsession is weird. He was a bad hitter last year, full stop. I realize he brings a good clubhouse and dugout presence, but....he can't really hit anymore. 

[Tank]

I wouldn’t mind seeing them resign Urshela. I’d prefer him over someone like Fletcher. 

[Hubs]

35 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

The Moose obsession is weird. He was a bad hitter last year, full stop. I realize he brings a good clubhouse and dugout presence, but....he can't really hit anymore. 

He hit fine in limited action, but when he was pressed into more regular duty, he slipped.

He also fell apart the time the whole team did, around August 9-10. He has a .278 BA and an .806 after the game on August 9th. He finished the season slumping down to .247 and .627. 

That means that in his first 273 PA these were his numbers.

His last 113 plate appearances dropped his average 30 points for the year and his OPS down to 170 points. That's a major slump. He had 2 walks in this time frame and 4 sacrifice hits. So he was 19 for 107, (.178 BA) with 29 strikeouts (25.6%). His OBP would be nearly what his average is (.186) and his SLG would have been incredibly low (.215).

On a minor league deal, he's still a good bench bat.

[Blarg]

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

Since Schanuel is still something of a question mark,

You keep saying that and I m not sure who you are tryng to convince. He is not going to start in AAA, he has the plate discipline that is elite and I'm sure Washington will clean up any of his defensive flaws. It's as if you never saw him play last season and so willing to shuffe him off to AAA where he doesn't belong. 

The Angels need a leadoff hitter. Hell, they could use a #2 hitter that can move a runner to 2nd by a hit or walk. What they don't need is another stiff that strikes out 180 times but hits a home run once every 5 games so you can say you have a power hitter. 

[Hubs]

MY prediction is as follows:

1) Ohtani re-signs, they get two starters, one via trade (not Glasnow) and one via free agency (Gray or Stroman or Imanga). They also sign Jung Ho Lee from Korea and an infielder. Yes I realize this is likely (45+22+10)

2) Ohtani signs elsewhere, they sign Bellinger (25 per but over 11) and get Yamamoto (7 years 203). They also sign a lower tier starter like Seth Lugo (3/42). They also sign Tim Anderson (1 year 7M).

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Pancake Bear said:

The Moose obsession is weird. He was a bad hitter last year, full stop. I realize he brings a good clubhouse and dugout presence, but....he can't really hit anymore. 

There isn't much to get excited about. He doesn't get on base.  He is iffy defensively these days, but the guy is still capable of getting hot for periods of time and is a better option at 1 year and peanuts than someone for 3 years @ 10 mil per in most cases. I wasn't even thinking of the clubhouse stuff when I mentioned him, to be honest it seems like they have been doing it right and addressing that particular need with the coaching staff.

I'm anything but obsessed with him, I was one of the few arguing he was overrated when everyone actually wanted him -- but if they sign him for a mil and he tanks they lose nothing and he's better than most guys who never had a MLB career and we have used as stopgaps.

My preference is that Mr Glass at 3B just be healthy and repeat his projectable data from last year.

[Erstad Grit]

1 hour ago, BTH said:

Worse case scenario he’s a nice option off the bench?

He’s already worse than a nice option off the bench. 

Your expectations for a bench player for a perennially sub .500 team seem very high. 

Moose is far better than Goose, Mayfield, and other guys who have been in that role. 

[Erstad Grit]

1 hour ago, BTH said:

And that would cost like $80M

I know what the OP asked. I just don’t see why the Angels would sign two below average bats who mainly play 1B.

and Ohtani would be 50 million

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

You keep saying that and I m not sure who you are tryng to convince. He is not going to start in AAA, he has the plate discipline that is elite and I'm sure Washington will clean up any of his defensive flaws. It's as if you never saw him play last season and so willing to shuffe him off to AAA where he doesn't belong. 

The Angels need a leadoff hitter. Hell, they could use a #2 hitter that can move a runner to 2nd by a hit or walk. What they don't need is another stiff that strikes out 180 times but hits a home run once every 5 games so you can say you have a power hitter. 

Nah, he's still a question mark. I have no problem with him being the everyday 1B right out of the gate, and I love his discipline and his potential. He will only benefit defensively being around Washington, and he can learn on the job in the bigs. He's a near perfect #2 hitter in front of someone like Trout, and behind someone with some SB capacity. No question or qualms about it, and totally comfortable with that being the plan in '24.

But he's definitely still a question mark at this time after 100 September MLB PAs (and less in the minors) and even in a lineup where everyone is healthy, barring someone like Rendon or Trout being the full-time DH, there's not really full-time playing time for him, at least not out of the gate and as this roster is constructed. Between Ward, Trout, Moniak, Adell, OF and DH are somewhat covered, as is IF with Rendon, Neto, Rengifo, and Drury. If at any point anyone has a nagging injury, or a regular needs to occupy DH for an extended period, especially in the outfield, it could eat away at regular playing time for Schanuel. Could someone be moved? Totally. Could someone be brought in that pushes names even further down the depth chart? Absolutely. By that token, would not be surprised if Schanuel opened in AAA or saw time in AAA during '24. I don't make a move specifically with the intent to push Schanuel to AAA either, but he's the only IF or OF we have outside of Neto with an option at this point.

Edited November 22, 2023 by totdprods

[mmc]

2 hours ago, Erstad Grit said:

Moose on a 1 yr deal seems like a no-brainer. Worst case scenerio is he is a nice option off the bench. Far better than Goose and previous options. 

He is not a nice option off the bench.  Not in any way, shape, or form

[Mark68]

I think the first one off the board will be Anderson. He would actually make a nice one-two top of the order with Schanuel--whom I don't see being demoted unless he really slumps--or the Angels play some service time manipulation games. 

 

The biggest name: Yamamoto. I cannot stress how much this team needs someone like him at the top of the rotation. If you can grab him and, say, Sonny Gray, and move everyone down a couple of notches, that's a pretty nice rotation--with Yamamoto/Gray/Sandoval/Detmers/Anderson. If Anderson is our 5th starter, I wouldn't be mad. 

 

By no means would these acquisitions make this team a favorite to make the postseason. It would give PM the flexibility to deal a Rengifo for some bullpen help. I think these moves would at least raise the floor. 

[Inside Pitch]

27 minutes ago, mmc said:

He is not a nice option off the bench.  Not in any way, shape, or form

It's a bad scenario.

The best case scenario is some rule 5 type guy that does one thing well and could fill a role.  Preferably someone that can milk walks and not be a complete black hole offensively, but when push comes to shove most of those guys end up being as bad or worse as the worst version of Moustakas.

The shallow end of the FA pool is full of landmines.

I hate that the team is where it is.

[Angels 1961]

2 hours ago, Pancake Bear said:

The Moose obsession is weird. He was a bad hitter last year, full stop. I realize he brings a good clubhouse and dugout presence, but....he can't really hit anymore. 

So repetitive gets old

[Angels 1961]

Yariel Rodriquez

[BTH]

1 hour ago, Erstad Grit said:

Your expectations for a bench player for a perennially sub .500 team seem very high. 

Moose is far better than Goose, Mayfield, and other guys who have been in that role. 

Because the goal is to be a playoff team, not a sub .500 team.

If the goal was to build a sub .500 team, they’d need to do nothing because they already have one.

Yeah, Moose is better than those guys. But there are countless players better than Moose.

[Pancake Bear]

If we were to pick up something like Ohtani, a top tier starter like Yamamoto, Bellinger, and a good reliever, I'd probably be okay with filling our infield need with Moose at league minimum. But he's at best okay. 

[totdprods]

Matt Thaiss makes Moustakas, and even Candelario, something of a stretch. With Stassi back, there's no need to carry a 3rd catcher on the roster lest he's playing elsewhere in the field, and since Thaiss is out of options and has corner IF experience, he basically defaults to being the back-up 1B/3B at this time. Having Thaiss is a good thing, as it gives us three catchers on roster, and he can work a walk and offer some positional versatility. His catching graded out well. But he also won't see a lot of reps behind the plate - which he needs - even though he'd be a great back-up once Stassi hits FA after '24, especially with Quero gone, so you don't really want to cut bait with him yet.

It's why someone like Anderson makes some sense than Candelario or Moustakas, in that having a more pure 2B/SS back-up IF on the roster in case Neto struggles or gets hurt fills a need better than a corner guy. 

[jsnpritchett]

4 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

If we were to pick up something like Ohtani, a top tier starter like Yamamoto, Bellinger, and a good reliever, I'd probably be okay with filling our infield need with Moose at league minimum. But he's at best okay. 

Oh, is that all?  Just "something like" that?  Lol.  That would add roughly $100M to the payroll.

[Erstad Grit]

14 minutes ago, BTH said:

Because the goal is to be a playoff team, not a sub .500 team.

If the goal was to build a sub .500 team, they’d need to do nothing because they already have one.

Yeah, Moose is better than those guys. But there are countless players better than Moose.

Why aren't we ad nauseam discussing our back-up catcher situation?  

It is important, but not a high priority or component that will shift this team from below .500 into a playoff team.

Neither will Moose, or whomever you recommend,  on the bench. 

The real discussion for me are...

Is Rendon just done?

Who will replace Ohtani if he leaves?

How can Trout stay healthy?

Who is at the top of our rotation? 

Is Nolan our 1B? 

I could go on. 

Moose, or whomever is on the bench, is a strange topic to get so frazzled over. 

[BTH]

45 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

Why aren't we ad nauseam discussing our back-up catcher situation?  

Because there’s nothing to discuss right now.

It’s between Stassi and Thaiss, and we have to see how Spring Training plays out.

46 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

Moose, or whomever is on the bench, is a strange topic to get so frazzled over. 

It’s important because, due to all the questions you just mentioned, a “bench ayer” on the Angels is gonna be relied upon a lot.

This isn’t 2005 when the backup infielder starts once a week, if that.

If Moose is on your bench, you’re gonna have to rely on him when Rendon inevitably gets hurt. Which is why it’s important to have someone better than Moose on the bench.

[Pancake Bear]

1 hour ago, jsnpritchett said:

Oh, is that all?  Just "something like" that?  Lol.  That would add roughly $100M to the payroll.

My bad, I assumed when I said "something like" that it would be obvious I was using those guys as examples of top tier players at multiple other positions. The point, in case it wasn't clear, is that if we're spending higher amounts to fill other holes than Moustakas works as an extra infielder. If we're going moderate to cheap elsewhere, than we really ought to be aiming higher than Moose to fill that extra infielder role. 

[mmc]

4 hours ago, Erstad Grit said:

Why aren't we ad nauseam discussing our back-up catcher situation?  

It is important, but not a high priority or component that will shift this team from below .500 into a playoff team.

Neither will Moose, or whomever you recommend,  on the bench. 

The real discussion for me are...

Is Rendon just done?

Who will replace Ohtani if he leaves?

How can Trout stay healthy?

Who is at the top of our rotation? 

Is Nolan our 1B? 

I could go on. 

Moose, or whomever is on the bench, is a strange topic to get so frazzled over. 

I think it’s dumb for anyone to be advocating for adding any bad players to the team.  Whether it’s Moose, Anderson, or someone less discussed doesn’t really make a difference to me