Hot Stove Season: The Bottom Line

[Angelsjunky]

1) The Angels need pitching. Desperately.

2) The Angels have depth in the outfield and middle infield.

3) The Angels won't or can't trade Trout, Hamilton, and Pujols, and probably won't trade Calhoun, which leaves Trumbo, Bourjos, Kendrick, and Aybar as possibilities, with Calhoun a lesser possibility.

 

Beyond that, well, its all speculation with varying degrees of probability. For instance, it seems unlikely that we see both Kendrick AND Aybar, or Trumbo AND Bourjos, traded; it seems more likely that we see one middle infielder and one outfielder traded.

 

But here's the bottom line: Dipoto will trade whoever brings in the most value in pitching.

 

He might have his preference, but in the end he's shopping all of the above (and one or two others, like Iannetta and Shuck).

 

[Troll Daddy]

I don't blame the Angels for being reluctant to trade Trumbo. If Cabrera can play third base then why can't Trumbo!

The Red Sox have done well having a permanent DH in their line up .

[HBMike]

I don't blame the Angels for being reluctant to trade Trumbo. If Cabrera can play third base then why can't Trumbo!

The Red Sox have done well having a permanent DH in their line up .

Maybe it's not the Angels being reluctant to trade Trumbo, I think it's more that they  are reluctant to trade Trumbo for what's being offered. Dipoto knows he must win whatever trade he makes after the awful job he did last year. 

[Second Base]

There's quite the philosophical debate between who will be traded.  Do we value defense and OBP more and deal Trumbo, which frees up Bourjos to rome CF and sliding Trout over to LF and Calhoun over to 1B/DH with Pujols?  That would create a better OF defense and give us two players that can run and get on base (Bourjos and Calhoun).  Or we could trade Bourjos and slot Trout into his natural position in CF while keeping Calhoun in LF and Trumbo/Pujols at DH/1B.  The defense wouldn't be as good but you can add 35+ HR back into our lineup. 

 

The same goes for the infield.  Do we trade Aybar, who's solid defensively but clearly holds value because he's under control for 3 more years and can hit the ball.  We'd slot Romine in at SS and he's a defensive wizard but would likely have the bat knocked out of his hands on a regular basis.  Do we trade Kendrick?  He's an alright defender and can of course drive the ball, while Grant Green wasn't very good at all, but can still hit.

 

I know what I'd do (trade Trumbo and Kendrick), but I certainly understand those that'd rather trade Aybar and Bourjos. 

[ELEVEN]

If I'm another club, I'd want Calhoun and Aybar. The rest are overvalued.

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

The Red Sox have done well having a permanent DH in their line up .

What does that have to do with the Angels or Trumbo? Ortiz is one of, if not the best all time DH's. Any team would've loved to have Ortiz as their full-time DH over the past 8+ years.