Dipoto Report Card Redux

[Angelsjunky]

Am I allowed now? Let's take a look. Obviously all transactions aren't equal in importance, but let's just take a look at Dipoto's and see how they look in total.

 

Key:

A: Great - the deal worked out wonderfully (so far) with the Angels getting tremendous value for money/trade

B: Good - a solid deal, worked out well for the Angels

C: OK - could take it or leave it, not bad but not good either

D: Bad - worked out poorly (so far) for the Angels
F: Terrible - an outright disaster

 

 

TRADES

 

Chatwood for Iannetta: D+

Iannetta's been OK, although poor defensively, and Chatwood has, surprise surprise, finally found himself, with a 3.15 ERA in 15 starts for the Rockies. This trade is looking worse and worse. Iannetta has produced a 2.2 fWAR in his two years as an Angel, while Chatwood has produced 1.8 fWAR in 15 starts this year. Ouch.

 

Mathis for Mills: C+

Inconsequential, really. It may even be that some folks miss Mathis, given the poor defense of Iannetta, but at least it got Mathis out of the lineup.

 

Amarista and Roach for Frieri: C

Looked good last year (B+), but Frieri has collapsed and Amarista and Roach - while not future stars - are looking like serviceable major leaguers.

 

Segura, Pena, Hellweg for Greinke: D

Can't give it an F because Greinke pitched well and it was a solid attempt by Dipoto to make the postseason, but in the end it didn't work out so well and even though Segura has come back down to earth, he's still a very good young player.

 

Santana for Sisk: D

I know, I know - Santana probably wouldn't have pitched this well for the Angels, but the simple fact is that he is pitching this well.

 

Walden for Hanson: D

Yet another Dipoto risk that didn't work out.

 

Morales for Vargas: C+

This is the best kind of trade - one that works out for both parties. It should be a B, but Vargas has been injured and Morales is returning to his pre-injury form. Plus we don't know if Vargas will be back next year.

 

Wells for Sneed & Cayones: B

Its amazing Dipoto got as much money from the Yankees as they did. I'm giving this a B, but it doesn't come close to making up for the original blunder by Reagins.

 

Geltz for De La Rosa: C+

A decent trade, although who knows how it looks in the long-run.

 

Downs for Rasmus: C

I think the Angels could have gotten more if they waited longer, but Rasmus could be better than advertised. We'll have to wait and see.

 

Callaspo for Green: B

A hesitant grade. I think this will look very good in the long-run. We have to remember that Green was a 1st round draft pick, and chosen before Trout in the 2009 draft. He's been reading for a year or two now and, in my opinion, should be the everyday third baseman next year. Jury's out, but this looks good.

 

FREE AGENT SIGNINGS

Albert Pujols: D

I hope Albert turns it around, but so far this hasn't been good, plus we've got eight more years. I think he'll bounce back in 2014 and have his best season as an Angel so far, but that's speculative.

 

CJ Wilson: C+

All things tolled, CJ has been a solid pick-up for the Angels: what I would call a "#2.5" starter, not quite good enough to be a legit #2, but better than most #3s. I suppose his performance has been slightly disappointing in that he's not quite as good as he was in Texas, when he should have been better considering the ballparks.

 

Josh Hamilton: F

What to say? A complete disaster.

 

Joe Blanton: F

Ditto. If he turns out to be good in the pen and/or the Angels can trade him and most of his contract, then the F might turn into a B, but this was a terrible signing.

 

Sean Burnett: C

If he was healthy this would have been a B.

 

Ryan Madson: F

Not much of a loss but this obviously didn't work out at all.

 

EXTENSIONS

Dipoto has done well here, particularly with regards to Jered Weaver, Howie Kendrick, and Erick Aybar. Callaspo was OK, and has turned out well with the Green trade, but the Iannetta extension isn't looking so great.

 

 

OVERALL: D

Jerry Dipoto has not been a good General Manager - actually, he's been poor. Maybe not Reagins bad, but he's a far cry from Bill Stoneman and couldn't shine Billy Beane's shoes. He talks a good talk, but in the end the proof is in the pudding and the pudding sucks.

 

If we added a category for moves not made - players not re-signed or pursued as free agents - then we have to include Hunter, who has been a much better player than Hamilton and for much less money.

 

I personally think Dipoto deserves one more chance - particularly because his biggest mistakes are actually Arte's mistakes. But that shouldn't obfuscate Dipoto's bad moves, and there are plenty of them. I'd like to see what he does this offseason and how the team looks during the first couple months next year. If the Angels are 10 games behind again next year come mid-season, then Jerry has to go.

[Ohtaniland]

Nice read AJ. I think Weaver was extended by Reagins if I remember right. Dipoto has also been hit by a lot of bad luck. No one could had predicted Hamilton hitting .217

[ispy45]

You forgot letting Torii go.

[Troll Daddy]

You forgot letting Torii go.

Which eventually led to the Hamilton signing. Which may have been his biggest blunder.

[ispy45]

Letting Torii go is worse than Napoli for Wells trade  Reagins did. if you disagree it's because you're only remember Napoli for homeruns not game winning hits or being clutch which Torii has ben doing for the Tigers. It fricken sickens me.

[mtangelsfan]

I'm pretty much in agreement with your rankings AJ.  Most of you know I'm not a fan of Teflon Jerry.

 

That doesn't mean I'm going to dump on him for things rational thinking says I shouldn't.  I think not signing Hunter or Santana were the right moves at the time.

 

I just didn't see the need for Hamilton even without Hunter. 

[Angel Oracle]

As Crocker would say on Fairly Oddparents:
FFFFFFFFFF

 

That doen't include the drafts of the past 2 years, because we truly don't know how they will fare at the MLB level or how much they will return in trade.    That might improve his grade long term.

[Guest]

He gets an F. He's a terrible GM, and he's done nothing right since he's been here. He traded most of our future talent for a rental and one of the worst catchers in the league. He needs the boot.

[mulwin444]

Letting Torii go is worse than Napoli for Wells trade  Reagins did. if you disagree it's because you're only remember Napoli for homeruns not game winning hits or being clutch which Torii has ben doing for the Tigers. It fricken sickens me.

I disagree because we assumed a bloated contract for a player who played worse then the player for whom he was traded.  Letting Torii go was a calculated move based upon age and projected performance.  The real mistake came in signing Josh Hamilton after Torii was let go.  Regardless, the trade for Wells is one of the worst in league history while not re-signing Torii, while regrettable, could at least be reasoned.

[Torridd]

Still think his intentions were good and if Pujols and Hamilton did their jobs this wouldn't be an issue. I don't blame him for that similarly to not being upset with Reagins for Wells.

 

There was no way in knowing these players wouldn't perform based on their history.

[Jay]

Dipoto should be sent down to the minors, he's not ready.

[xboom28x]

I'd like to know what the grades were the day of each transaction or signing. I bet the are drastically different. It's not DiPoto's fault that these guys aren't performing to their expectations under Scioscia. Everyone agreed that Hamilton would not be the MVP he had been while in Texas. But no one thought he would be this bad. Is that DiPoto's fault? The only way you were going to get the best hitter in baseball was to give him an outrageous contract. Everyone knew it was too much the day he signed, but most agreed that as long as it brought 1-2 WS titles, it would be worth it. We are not even through the 2nd year of that contract and that grade gets a D? Come on!

[mtangelsfan]

Isn't that kind of like saying a draft grade should be decided on the day of the draft and not after a couple of years?

 

Dipoto's job is to make the team better.  Do you honestly see that happening?  It's nice to go the hyperbole route and talk about wolrd championships, but I think a majority of fans would have like to see just a small improvement over the last two seasons, not the team getting worse.

[Scott34]

I'm happy Torii the bigot is gone.

I would have preferred Calhoun as our starting RF this year.

[OregonLAA]

I've been a Dipoto supporter and thinks he deserves one more chance (with a different coach). But the moves that kill me are Cowgill and Stange moves. They don't seem to be a big deal, but Scioscia plays these guys and they get called up over the likes of Calhoun and Berg. They are moves I just don't understand. Pujols and Hamilton have been disasters but no one expected it

[Brent Maguire]

Can't disagree with anything here. 

 

I was hesitant with the Hamilton move but I thought we'd at least get an .825-.875 OPS bat. I thought Iannetta had way more pop but the dude slugs like Mathis. 

[mulwin444]

Overall I'd give Dipoto a "D" as well.  Even with injuries and non performance that is hard to anticipate, his job is performance based and, so in his tenure, they have not improved.  However, Scioscia should be held to the same standard as well.  If the players are not performing well, for better or worse, he shares the blame in that non-performance.  Some of the more curious-er things I have to question about Dipoto is his fetish for failed NL West prospects and independent league "All Stars".  If you are riding the D-Train, you are going nowhere.  

 

Chatwood for Iannetta: C

 

At the time, we needed a C and Chatwood was a question mark.  Ianetta has been good for walks but is not much at handling pitchers or throwing out runners.  Chatwood, intially struggled in COL in 2012 and, despite a good 3.15 ERA also has a 1.39 WHIP and .279 BAA and is now on the DL for elbow inflamation.  If Chatwood comes back and is a solid 3-4 starter, the grade could drop down to a D or F

 

Mathis for Mills: C

Basically, a non-move but it got rid of Mathis. 

 

Amarista and Roach for Frieri: B-

Still like the deal, despite Frieri's recent struggles.  The guy can miss bats when he's on but he seriously needs an effective secondary pitch.   Amarista had no place in the line-up or on the 40-man roster at the time and his lifetime .243/.283/.661 line is not making me yearn for his return.

 

Segura, Pena, Hellweg for Greinke: D

Only makes sense to do this deal if you go balls-out to sign him.  With Santana and Haren's options not being exrcised, there were holes in the pitching staff too deep to be filled question marks, projects and 1-year fill-ins. 

 

Santana for Sisk: D

I'm fine with not exercising the option on Santana is your countermove is not signing Blanton for more money. 

This move didn't appear to be thought out. 

 

Walden for Hanson: D

Walden had struggles for the Angels and there were injury concerns but why trade a BP piece, which was and still is a weakness 

 for a SP who has struggled and has injury concerns.  Walden is a fixture in the Atlanta BP while Hanson is a non-ternder candidate.

 

Morales for Vargas: B -

Morales was not going to be re-signed and the Angels needed a SP.  It was a good swap between interdivision rivals.  I'm not going to blame Dipoto for a blodd clot so I'll judge it based on Vargas' performance on the field, which has been solid. 

Wells for Sneed & Cayones: B

Might be the highlight of his tenure.  Getting the Yankees to kick the amount of money they did was nice work.

 

Geltz for De La Rosa: C+

Dane has been decent in a late relief role but he seems more suited for middle relief like maybe the 4th option out of a good BP.  Geltz has pitched well in Durham so this trade may look better or worse in the upcoming years.

 

Downs for Rasmus: C

The Angels weren't getting much for Downs so Rasmus seems like a decent return.  Overall, he's pitched effectively this season but I'd like to see him up with the big club before making a final judgement.

 

Callaspo for Green: B+

Nothing for something.  Seems like a good trade to me. 

 

FREE AGENT SIGNINGS

Albert Pujols: C

Signing the best righthanded hitter of this generation didn't seem like a bad idea at the time.  So far, it's been ugly, but if he turns it around and leads them back to the playoffs during his remaining 8 years it may not look as horrible.  Still waiting on this one. 

CJ Wilson: B

Despite his tendency to nibble, Wilson has been a solid 2 to Weaver's 1.  Years and money are reasonable as well.  Good deal. 

 

Josh Hamilton: F

With Josh's history, why would you commit that kind of money to a question mark?  Poorly thought out signing.

 

Joe Blanton: F

Wow, hard to understand what he was thinking with this one.   

 

Sean Burnett: C

Good idea at the time.  See if he can make this work better in 2014. 

 

Ryan Madson: F

Waste of money no matter which way you look at it.

[The God of Runs]

Dipoto will be on Academic Probation for the next 2 years

[robblin17]

F-

[Marsaka]

My grades....

 

Dipoto F

 

Arte F

 

Scioscia F

 

This team needs a complete overhaul next year starting with the top.

[Second Base]

I think the premise of the thread is incorrect given that we haven't judged Dipoto in the full scope of what a GM does, only of results at the Major League level.  GM's, or specifically Dipoto, have a huge hand in shaping the Front Office and the minor league structure as a whole.  In that respect, Dipoto's been both good and bad.

 

Good in that Dipoto has the right personnel in place and has had a huge hand in drafting some of the better talent in the system.  Dipoto and Ric Wilson put a much greater emphasis on collegiate level talent than Reagins and Bane ever did, and this has resulted in Alex Yarbrough, Mark Sappington, Eric Stamets, Michael Roth, Mike Morin, Reid Scoggins, Yency Almonte and Michael Snyder all in one draft.  Who knows how many players we just grabbed in this draft that'll turn into solid prospects.  Right now Middleton, Morris, McGowin and Swanson all look pretty good for college arms.  

 

But his arrival has been bad in that he depleted the system of players that didn't fit his mold.  Chatwood, Roach, Amarista, Segura, Pena, Hellweg...  These were all solid prospects and I think it's a reflection of extremely structured thinking that led to such moves.  Chatwood's going to be a solid #3/4 SP or good RP, Roach will be a good back-end SP, Amarista can play pretty much any position and provide better than average offense, Segura's a freakin' star, just because we had Aybar and Kendrick doesn't mean you trade him away, Pena and Hellweg are both projectable arms that could've helped the Angels beginning next year, at a time where their pitching has and will need it the most. 

[bloodbrother]

Seeing that list is depressing. Dipoto's been worked when it comes to trades. Just awful

 

Do or die offseason for him

[ScottT]

Those grades seem entirely based on results. 

[Caralho]

Results are what matter at the end of the day. Maybe his process is better but it's hard to tell with the crap out on the field.

[fan_since79]

It's not Jerry's fault that Pujols is breaking down so quickly and Hamilton forgot how to hit.