This team is one arm in the starting rotation and one in the bullpen from competing in 2014

[Second Base]

I went overkill with Hellickson because I'd like to really make sure the Angels land him.He was having a down year but his performance as of late has been in line with who he's been in his his career so far, which is a legit #2/3 SP.  On top of which, the Angels would have him cheap and under control for three more years.  I'll put it like this, Angels traded Saunders, Skaggs, Corbin and Rafael Rodriguez for 2.3 years of Dan Haren at 12 million a year.  Hellickson's performance should like up favorably to Haren's before he fell off a cliff, except he's younger and costs less money.  So in reality, it may not be too much at all.  

 

RAFIBOMB - I meant that at some point next season Alvarez should join the Angels.  Unless he mows everyone down in Spring Training, he's likely ticketed for AA.  They probably wouldn't even bother sending him to AAA.  As for Morin, I think the consensus is he's major league ready right now and should definitely be in the bullpen. To start next season I'd like to see both he and Maronde in the pen, because long term, those two plus Alvarez are going to line up beautifully. 

[Blarg]

Heloickson is a 26 year old pitcher that is already seeing his fastball teetering on the 90 mph cliff. Last season and his previous he was leaving .83% of runners stranded, this season only .69%. His BABIP is .295. I just don't see the long term value to the guy.

Now it could be an off year or it could be this is a guy that is showing who he really is and it isn't going to get better. I'd rather the Angels trade for fewer risk/reward players.

[stormngt]

Either trade Trumbo or go out and sign free agents to fix the starting rotation and the bullpen.

If we resign vargas and richards sustains consistency I would agree with you.

[Second Base]

I think it's a bit of both Eric.  Hellickson's periphs from previous years certainly suggest a regression to the mean, however this season he sort of experienced what I'd consider the opposite side of that spectrum.  Some of it had to do with the fact that he was working through some things in the first half, but lately he's pretty identical to the past two seasons.  It would only make sense that he settles in somewhere in the middle for the remainder of his prime.  200 innings a year, ERA a shade under 3.50, respectable 6-7 K/9 and a 1.2 WHIP is what I'd expect to see from him.  I'd say that's a prototypical #3 starter on an ideal staff. 

[Chimi]

Or he's another Kazmir that the Rays are looking to get rid of.  Kazmir was the same age when he started to take a dump.

[gotbeer]

Way too much brotha! TB will accept that as soon as you fax it over.

 

I disagree.  3 years of Hellickson is worth a lot more than 2 years of Kendrick, a two AA guys sporting an OPS in the .700 range.   

 

Teams know that pitching is at a premium right now.  And the TB front office has shown that they are not incompetent.

[Tyler]

I disagree.  3 years of Hellickson is worth a lot more than 2 years of Kendrick, a two AA guys sporting an OPS in the .700 range.   

 

Teams know that pitching is at a premium right now.  And the TB front office has shown that they are not incompetent.

 

Considering how deep they are at SP, one of the best 2B in the game on a contender, plus two high ceiling power bats? That's an incredible get for a WS contender..

[gotbeer]

Considering how deep they are at SP, one of the best 2B in the game on a contender, plus two high ceiling power bats? That's an incredible get for a WS contender..

 

Two High Ceiling power bats, that aren't even in the top 100 prospects, that are hitting .736 and .721 at AA.  I think they would rather have Calhoun, instead of scraps.

[Tyler]

Two High Ceiling power bats, that aren't even in the top 100 prospects, that are hitting .736 and .721 at AA.  I think they would rather have Calhoun, instead of scraps.

 

My bad. I forgot brilliant organizations like TB use top 100 prospect rankings to identify talent.

[Corona]

The bullpen is a huge issue. Look at the Yankees, they're running out a bunch of bums on offense but they have Robertson/Mariano and thats why they're over .500.

[ScottT]

They should trade Trumbo or Bourjos. Possibly Kendrick. Hopefully, they all finish the season strong.  I want to see Calhoun stick around.  The Angels could really use another disciplined hitter. 

[SoWhat]

Heloickson is a 26 year old pitcher that is already seeing his fastball teetering on the 90 mph cliff. Last season and his previous he was leaving .83% of runners stranded, this season only .69%. His BABIP is .295. I just don't see the long term value to the guy.

Now it could be an off year or it could be this is a guy that is showing who he really is and it isn't going to get better. I'd rather the Angels trade for fewer risk/reward players.

Yep, I'd rather not trade our most valuable trade chips for risk/reward players. Plus, We already have enough pitchers with diminished fastball velocity

[Vegas Halo Fan]

What if we kept Morales and traded Trumbo and Bourjos this past offseason? Morales is a pure hitter, I don't care what anybody says -- the fatty doesn't get the attention he deserves. Even if we would have been out of it by trad deadline this year, we would have a trade chip in Morales. Vargas is growing on me, probably because of his command + lefty + composure, but it's not a surprise to me to see Trumbo and Bourjos' value drop even more.

 

Dipoto got a starting pitcher for Morales. I don't know what more he would have brought as a "trade chip" a year farther along. Trumbo is what Trumbo was: A big basher who strikes out a lot, does not have a great OBP and does not hit for average.

[Tyler]

I know what Trumbo is, that's why I've been wanting to get rid of him.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

The point is that we wouldn't have gotten more by trading him last season.

[Tyler]

I disagree. I don't think we ever shopped him around. The Pirates even wanted him this past deadline, but with no other impact bats on the market the Angels wanted a ridiculous return.

[Angelsjunky]

I'd say the Angels are one #2-3 starter and one closer away from being a contender. Frieri's a good pitcher to have in the bullpen, maybe even a good set-up man, but he's not a very good closer.

 

But I don't agree with those that say the Angels need two more good starters. Assuming Vargas is re-signed, that is. Then you have:

 

Weaver, Wilson, XXX, Vargas, Richards/Hanson/Blanton/Williams

 

Plenty of great teams don't have a single strong 5th starter - a committee works fine, with Richards being the leading candidate. Vargas is a passable #3 but a strong #4 - sort of a "#3.5".

 

I say try to trade Trumbo or Kendrick, supplementing with Cron, Grichuk, maybe Yarbrough as needed.

[tdawg87]

Is one BP arm really going to fix....this? This bullpen is awful.

[fan_since79]

3 SP and 5 relievers away from competing.

[AngelsFaninGA]

We need about 8 new relievers. 

[ettin]

I'd say the Angels are two GOOD starting pitchers (legitimate #3 SP in MLB) and a good bullpen arm away from being in the middle of a playoff race, and this is assuming that Garrett Richards is as good as I believe he is, which is a solid #3/4 SP for right now.  

 

The good bullpen arm may already be in their system.  Mike Morin, Nick Maronde and R.J. Alvarez should all be in the bullpen in the next year, and when combined with Frieri, a healthy Burnett, De La Rosa, Kohn and Jepsen, you're look at a really good staff.  

 

The hard part is getting those two good SP that I talked about.  I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if the Angels dealt Kendrick, money, Cron and Grichuk to Tampa Bay for Jeremy Hellickson, then use the 9 million they cleared off payroll in that trade to try and sign Matt Garza.

Scotty I don't know why you and some others on here want a Tampa pitcher with a SIERA of nearly 4.00.... Hellickson is just not that good and he is not an impact arm. He's sporting a 4.60 ERA this season? Tell me why he is so valuable, please? We might as well roll Blanton out every 5th day and hope we get a 3.50 ERA game out of him.

[Ohtaniland]

This team is one manager and GM away from competing in 2014

[Angel Oracle]

I disagree. 3 years of Hellickson is worth a lot more than 2 years of Kendrick, a two AA guys sporting an OPS in the .700 range.

Teams know that pitching is at a premium right now. And the TB front office has shown that they are not incompetent.

Unlike Reagins and Dipoto

[Second Base]

Simple ettin, because we'd be buying low on Hellickson right now, who's proven in the past he's a much better pitcher than we're seeing, and he's rounded the corner just in the last month or so. On top of which we'd have him for 3 years pretty cheap.  

 

I know you're just trying to solidify your point, but no one actually thinks Joe Blanton > Jeremy Hellickson and I suspect you don't either. 

[Blarg]

Buying low on Hellickson is not packaging a #2 starter trade together for a guy on the cusp of being a #5 pitcher this season.