The Official 2024-2025 Offseason Thread

[ShotimeDynasty]

1 hour ago, AngelStew43 said:

I don't think so.  They could use a corner OF, they are packed with INF prospects after the Lux deal, and McLain missed all of 2024.  Ward and a lesser arm would probably get it done.

McClain was able to play in the 2024 AZ Fall league and show his bat still has power. He was worth 3.1 fWAR over his first 89 MLB games as a 23yo middle infielder. No reason for Cincy to think he couldn’t play corner outfield with ease. Idk why they would consider selling low. If by a lesser arm you mean George Klassen? Maybe, I guess. 

[Ochocinco!]

Small piece of an article from TradeRumors on Marcus Stroman and his 1YR-$18million remaining that the Yankees are willing to eat part of in order to move:

“The Braves, A’s and Angels are just a few of the teams still seeking rotation help this offseason. Stroman might be New York’s fifth- or sixth-best starter right now, but that’s not the case with many other potential suitors. Stroman is coming off a decent 4.31 ERA in 154 2/3 innings in his first (and possibly only) season with the Yankees. He was hit hard by lefties, in particular, which didn’t play well with Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch; Stroman logged a 5.31 ERA at home compared to a 3.09 mark on the road. A team with a more favorable pitchers’ stadium might view him as a good bet to provide average or better innings at a low cost of acquisition.”

Stroman had a somewhat decent season in NY but had a terrible end of the season and didn’t even make the postseason roster. It’s possible playing in Yankee stadium and the lackluster Yankee defense had a negative effect on his numbers but he is also getting up there in age. If the Yankees took the $8M Evan White deal as the only return then i suppose I wouldn’t mind taking a flyer on Stroman if we got a solid 3B to sure up our defense. 

Edited January 10 by Ochocinco!

[Duren, Duren]

3 hours ago, AngelStew43 said:

Arte will go all in after Vlad Jr. next winter, even if it means going over the threshold.  At that point, we'll only have 1 season left of Rendon.  I think the team would survive a year of Soler playing OF, in that case.

Vlad signed a one year deal at $28 million. Word is that they are getting close on a massive long term deal that will be worked on soon. Jays look to be the favorite to get it done. But he did reject a $300 million plus deal before.

[Hubs]

16 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Vlad Jr.’s stats declined in 2022 and 2023 (.818 and .788 OPSs).

Defense at 1B has  been mediocre.

Is that worth $42 million/season long term?

He has stayed on the field almost every day the past 4 years, and will be only 27 in 2026.

Best to wait until FA to see if he duplicates 2024’s success.

If you look a little deeper, it was injuries and then a lack of workout dedication. He dedicated himself before 2024, and saw the results.

He'll need to stay in shape, and that's true of all players.

He can play 3B in 2026 possibly, and then go to 1B and part time DH after Soler is out. 

 

3 hours ago, AngelStew43 said:

Arte will go all in after Vlad Jr. next winter, even if it means going over the threshold.  At that point, we'll only have 1 season left of Rendon.  I think the team would survive a year of Soler playing OF, in that case.

Soler wouldn't play the OF, as Schanuel may be traded in this case, or they can play Vlad at 3rd for most of 2026 and see what happens.

[AngelStew43]

Vlad is defensively challenged at 1B, no way he can handle the 3B.  And, this team needs offense badly, and another drawing card besides Trout.

[Dtwncbad]

I really don’t know why we are talking about Vlad Jr at all.  He isn’t a free agent and he may not ever be a free agent.

Yes, it’s fine to keep your eye on players that are scheduled for free agency agency next year.

But it is tired and annoying to, every year, start pretending the actual plan is to pursue a specific player that just isn’t a free agent quite yet.

Anybody ever manage salespeople and there is that one guy who never ever hits his quota but always, always, always can show you a projection for great sales next quarter?  At some point it’s an eye roller.

[Angel Oracle]

The problem with Stroman is the high WHIP and low Ks/BBs on the road.  Not to mention the 5 1/3 innings per start everywhere in 2024

[Dtwncbad]

32 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

The problem with Stroman is the high WHIP and low Ks/BBs on the road.  Not to mention the 5 1/3 innings per start everywhere in 2024

Well there is some “problem” with about 80% of starting pitchers.  It’s more about if they can help you at all, and what do you have to give up to get them.  If you end up paying the right price for what you actually get, then maybe it’s worth pursuing.

[Erstad Grit]

Stroman is 1/18.5 on his contract?

Evan White is owed 8 million plus a 2million buy -out? 

I would do that deal in a second. 

 

[tdawg87]

57 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

The problem with Stroman is the high WHIP and low Ks/BBs on the road.  Not to mention the 5 1/3 innings per start everywhere in 2024

This is the definition of nitpicking lol

[BTH]

15 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

Stroman is 1/18.5 on his contract?

Evan White is owed 8 million plus a 2million buy -out? 

I would do that deal in a second. 

 

I wouldn’t.

Taking on a net $10.5M for Stroman is awful.

[Erstad Grit]

3 minutes ago, BTH said:

I wouldn’t.

Taking on a net $10.5M for Stroman is awful.

Sandoval got 2/18

1/10 for Stroman isn't crazy 

Am I the only one who remembers Cueto starting here last year? 

[BTH]

1 minute ago, Erstad Grit said:

Sandoval got 2/18

1/10 for Stroman isn't crazy 

Am I the only one who remembers Cueto starting here last year? 

Imo, that $10M is way better served elsewhere.

I feel like the SP depth is better this year. Kikuchi, Soriano, Anderson, Hendricks, Detmers, Kochanowicz, Silseth, Aldegheri, Dana, Bachman, Hudson, Klassen, Natera Jr, Costieu, Farris.

[tdawg87]

What happened to Stroman's fastball? A 2 mph drop is definitely a pretty big concern. Was he hurt?

Has damaged goods written all over it.

[ShotimeDynasty]

2 hours ago, AngelStew43 said:

Vlad is defensively challenged at 1B, no way he can handle the 3B.  And, this team needs offense badly, and another drawing card besides Trout.

Vladdy played 100 innings at third base in 2024 and saw 40 chances.

Statcast OAA = 1

DRS = 0

UZR = -0.4

[ShotimeDynasty]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

What happened to Stroman's fastball? A 2 mph drop is definitely a pretty big concern. Was he hurt?

Has damaged goods written all over it.

Lowest velo of his his career, lowest GB%, worst K/BB rate… I’d much rather have Hendricks at $2.5M than Stroman at $10M and might even prefer Hendricks with the  salaries matched. 

[Ochocinco!]

Morosi is very often wrong and this wording is comical but 

 

 

[tdawg87]

Was low-key hoping the Angels could get him as he's not exactly a big name, but I can understand the hesitation for handing out multi-year deals for relievers.

[Ochocinco!]

Hoffman plus Santander for the Blue Jays?

[Vlad27Trout27]

Sign Flaherty for 4 years, $88M, with a $22M option for the 5th year, a $5M signing bonus, and $15M deferred. That gives an average salary of $17M over 4 years. After that, bring back Estevez for 3 years, $30M, with $4M deferred. Strengthen the starting rotation and bullpen, and go into the season with solid depth.

Flaherty, despite his injury and performance issues, might offer more value than adding a big bat to the lineup (Pujols, Hamilton, Rendon). He carried the Dodgers, and if he's willing to accept some deferred money, it could work out. The Skaggs situation is still lingering, but that's a whole mystery with different stories. Maybe he just wants to stay close to home, and options are limited for him now. If we sign him, along with Kikuchi, getting 130-150 innings with a 3.60–3.85 ERA could help us stay in the wildcard race

[BTH]

Arte doesn’t like deferrals.

I’ve speculated about Flaherty not wanting to sign with the Angels because he was close with Skaggs, but I also wonder if Arte may not want to sign Flaherty for the same reason. Can’t imagine Arte’s happy about dealing with the lawsuit and may view Skaggs’ former peer as someone he doesn’t want to involve himself with.

[3pitchwalk]

12 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Sign Flaherty for 4 years, $88M, with a $22M option for the 5th year, a $5M signing bonus, and $15M deferred. That gives an average salary of $17M over 4 years. After that, bring back Estevez for 3 years, $30M, with $4M deferred. Strengthen the starting rotation and bullpen, and go into the season with solid depth.

Flaherty, despite his injury and performance issues, might offer more value than adding a big bat to the lineup (Pujols, Hamilton, Rendon). He carried the Dodgers, and if he's willing to accept some deferred money, it could work out. The Skaggs situation is still lingering, but that's a whole mystery with different stories. Maybe he just wants to stay close to home, and options are limited for him now. If we sign him, along with Kikuchi, getting 130-150 innings with a 3.60–3.85 ERA could help us stay in the wildcard race

bro, his injuries are like the worst kind - shoulder and back.

i get that the team needs lots of help but this dude's injury history makes me wanna stay far away and his performance doesn't really justify the risk.

[3pitchwalk]

12 minutes ago, BTH said:

Arte doesn’t like deferrals.

I’ve speculated about Flaherty not wanting to sign with the Angels because he was close with Skaggs, but I also wonder if Arte may not want to sign Flaherty for the same reason. Can’t imagine Arte’s happy about dealing with the lawsuit and may view Skaggs’ former peer as someone he doesn’t want to involve himself with.

i don't think arte knows who flaherty even is, let alone who he was friends with.

[BTH]

7 minutes ago, 3pitchwalk said:

i don't think arte knows who flaherty even is, let alone who he was friends with.

The latter, you may be right. The former, idk.

[Vlad27Trout27]

15 minutes ago, BTH said:

Arte doesn’t like deferrals.

I’ve speculated about Flaherty not wanting to sign with the Angels because he was close with Skaggs, but I also wonder if Arte may not want to sign Flaherty for the same reason. Can’t imagine Arte’s happy about dealing with the lawsuit and may view Skaggs’ former peer as someone he doesn’t want to involve himself with.

Arte prefers to backload contracts, that's his preferred way. 

Honestly, the chances of signing Flaherty are pretty close to zero, but he's probably the only player I'd want to see get a big contract. In all truth, if he doesn’t want to sign here—understandably so—I’d prefer Arte to use that $20 million to invest in player development and analytics. That kind of investment would likely provide better value than bringing in one of these free agents. Similar to how he does not like to deffer money, He also does not like to invest in player development and analytics. if he spend 10 mil on both, ost likely we get the most out of our young players and maybe even the veterans.