We traded away the wrong power hitter

[angelduck]

Let's face it, Dipoto made a huge mistake trading away Morales instead of Trumbo or Bourjos. Trumbo's plate discipline scares the shit out of me and Morales is now over a year removed from his first game back..he's going to smash. I called this being a horrible move right when it happened and it looks even worse now with Morales killing the ball in the Spring  . We could have gotten someone better than Vargas if we traded Trumbo (who has club control years left). I just don't get it. If we're trying to win now...you might as well keep the better hitter, and I think Morales is obviously going to have a better offensive season than Trumbo this year.

[Scott34]

a. The season hasn't started

b. You would not get more than Vargas for Trumbo

c. Wait til Morales gets to safeco

d. The season hasn't started

[tdawg87]

Morales costs more than Trumbo.

Morales is a FA after this year.

Morales is a Boras client.

[angelduck]

Morales costs more than Trumbo.

Morales is a FA after this year.

Morales is a Boras client.

 

Since when is Arte worried about cost? I thought we were trying to go all out for the WS NOW? If that's the case...then you should keep the better player in my opinion that is Morales.

[Mile High Dreams]

AD...you should bump this thread in 3 months when it actually might have some merit.

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

Lol. I can't wait until ST is over so there won't be anymore of these stupid "Joe Blow" is killing it or sucking in ST type of threads.  

[tdawg87]

Since when is Arte worried about cost? I thought we were trying to go all out for the WS NOW? If that's the case...then you should keep the better player in my opinion that is Morales.

 

Just because Arte is willing to spend a lot of money on a specific player, doesn't mean he isn't worried about cost. He got Pujols and Hamilton because they were the best hitters on the market and thought they would help the team win a WS.

 

You also seem to be mistaking "wanting to win now" with "not caring about the future". Trumbo clearly has a future with the Angels. Morales clearly didn't.

[shellback]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Aaronkv]

Trumbo can play first base AND outfield.

[Richard]

Jump the gun a bit? There are many factors why it was Morales and not Trumbo. Morales wants to be an everyday first baseman again and the team is already committed to one. Trumbo is under club control and is a much more versatile player.

[angelduck]

Jump the gun a bit? There are many factors why it was Morales and not Trumbo. Morales wants to be an everyday first baseman again and the team is already committed to one. Trumbo is under club control and is a much more versatile player.

 

Pujols will be DH in two years at the rate his knees are going. We could have kept Kendrys to be the 1B. Signed him to a 4 year deal or something

[Eric]

You would not get (sic) Vargas for Trumbo

This.

There was such a dearth in Starting Pitching (Heck, there's still a huge hole there) that it was necessary to trade a good bat for a good arm. And Trumbo was not going to get an above average arm like Morales did.

Besides, some players are just snakebit when it comes to injury, and Morales seems like one of those players, as good as he is when he's playing.

[Stradling]

Trumbo can play first base AND outfield.

This is exactly it.

[Rochambeau]

AD, I cannot tell you how valuable your expertise is to this board with your background as an orthopedic surgeon. Without it, I might have mistaken Albert's off seasons surgery as merely a minor tune up. I now realize his knee is about to give out for good.

Wait... What??? Skipping English 099? My bad, must have confused you with somebody else.

[Angel_Fan_4_Life]

a. The season hasn't started

b. You would not get more than Vargas for Trumbo

c. Wait til Morales gets to safeco

d. The season hasn't started

e. See a - d

 

Spot on Scot34 

[AngelArcher]

My opinion has always been to keep Morales and get a draft pick as he obviously wouldn't take a qualifying 1 year offer, but I guess they wanted to give Bourjos his shot so no room for both Trumbo and KMo in that case. It was fun imagining the sick lineup for the short period between the Hamilton signing and KMo trade.

[Angelsjunky]

I like the fact that Dipoto isn't afraid to make big moves, but I'm not sure that he makes great moves. The Albert Pujols contract, for instance, looks bad after the first year; if he doesn't have a significantly better year in 2013 then I think we're going to be in A-Rod territory in a few years. The Hamilton contract is also very risky.

 

But I'd rather have Trumbo than Morales because I think his upside at this point is higher. I'm not convinced that Morales will get much better than he was last year; maybe .280 with 25 HR, and a .330/.500 obp/slg. But I think Trumbo can be a bit better and, at worst, shouldn't be much lower than that.

[angelduck]

AD, I cannot tell you how valuable your expertise is to this board with your background as an orthopedic surgeon. Without it, I might have mistaken Albert's off seasons surgery as merely a minor tune up. I now realize his knee is about to give out for good.

Wait... What??? Skipping English 099? My bad, must have confused you with somebody else.

 

Dude you're so cool. Insulting me on a message board. How about you actually bring something to the thread topic?

[Second Base]

Did I lose the privilege of using "butt-dart" on this board already?  I should've saved it.  Anyway, I find it hilarious that Trumbo has a poor couple weeks in Spring Training and suddenly we made a huge mistake by trading away 1 year of Morales for 1 year of a LH starter with a decent track record.  

 

Because if we've learned anything, it's that a less than exceptional showing in 2 weeks of Spring Training is completely indicative of how the next 4 years will play out as a power hitter enters his prime.  Brilliant, really AD.  Now that we've solved this why don't we move onto explaining why trading Vernon Wells to the Dodgers for Clayton Kershaw would be a huge win for the Dodgers. 

[angelduck]

Did I lose the privilege of using "butt-dart" on this board already?  I should've saved it.  Anyway, I find it hilarious that Trumbo has a poor couple weeks in Spring Training and suddenly we made a huge mistake by trading away 1 year of Morales for 1 year of a LH starter with a decent track record.  

 

Because if we've learned anything, it's that a less than exceptional showing in 2 weeks of Spring Training is completely indicative of how the next 4 years will play out as a power hitter enters his prime.  Brilliant, really AD.  Now that we've solved this why don't we move onto explaining why trading Vernon Wells to the Dodgers for Clayton Kershaw would be a huge win for the Dodgers. 

 

Did you not watch the last two months of the 2012 season? Trumbo was worse than Brandon Wood. So don't give me the poor couple weeks excuse. The guy has been a mess at the plate for a while. I like the guy, but you should at least acknowledge that he has terrible plate discipline...oh wait I forgot you like to paint a rosy picture about every single player in the Angels system. I remember you telling us Richards was ready to be a 3 starter last year, and is going to be a future #2 starter at worst...1.5 WHIP...enough said. I remember you telling us that Trumbo is a  future .900 OPS bat...still waiting (he's now 27), You've also said in the passed that Bourjos would be a .290 hitter with 15 home runs, 40 steals and gold glove defense...seems pretty rosy to me...we'll see if you're right. You're pretty high on a guy like Cron for a guy who had a 3% walk rate in A ball as a 23 year old. My point is, take off the homer goggles please. Try evaluating players without a bias. I have yet to see you say something negative about an Angels prospect..even the one's with clear red flags. 

[Troll Daddy]

Trading Morales was the right move since they signed Pulos to a 20yr deal. Moving a large sum of money for a larger sum of money makes complete sense because it's for a starting pitcher. Getting a veteran starter like Vargas is huge for the Angels. Besides they really didn't want to add two large sums of money to the payroll.

 

I think if Morales could play a position other than first base ... the Angels might not of signed Hamilton. Morales will get a nice deal next season but nothing near Hamilton money.

 

So bottom line ... a veteran pitcher was priority over a DH. If they could of afforded two large sums on money then Morales would still be here.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

It amazes me how many things are decided for the year based upon what happens in February and March.

[Blarg]

AD...you should bump this thread in 3 months when it actually might have some merit.

Pretty sure it will be bumped for the comedic value.

[Troll Daddy]

Pretty sure it will be bumped for the comedic value.

 

Bargio didn't realize you were a hottie in real life. luv the wavy hair.

[worldofx]

Dipoto is committed to surrounding the high priced guys on this team with younger cost controlled position players, i.e. Bourjos and Trumbo. I could have easily seen Reagins do what the OP suggested, and it absolutely would have been the worse move for beyond this year.

 

For this year only, would Kendrys be more valuable than Trumbo? At the plate, probably. Although considering we'll need Trumbo to fill in at several positions throughout the year, I think you could argue that either way.