Official: Garza to Brewers

[Inside Pitch]

his era of 4.19 in the AL over three years is exactly the same as his era over his 11 years in the NL. how is he not geared for a transition?

 

His AL ERA was a long time ago.  But it's worth noting that his 4.19 ERA translated to a 112 ERA+.   He was a better AL pitcher than Garza was despite all the yammering about his sub 4,00 ERA.

[Inside Pitch]

So when people say that Arroyo will be Blanton and Arroyo had an ERA of 3.80 last year then they are delusional, in a bad way?

 

Seems like every pitcher who isn't a clear cut ace is compared to Blanton by Angels fans..   There are good risks, bad risks, and cheap risks, Angels can't avoid all risk just because Blanton blew up in their faces.

[nando714]

Didn't Aaroyo pitch in a extremely hitters park

[Inside Pitch]

Didn't Aaroyo pitch in a extremely hitters park

 

He's pitched in hitter's parks for most of his career.  So while that's something people should consider they need also consider he's played in front of some quality defenses.    I think the defenses have helped him more than the park has hurt him.  His 3 year splits show very similar home and away SLG% numbers.  So, it seems that while he does give up more HRs at home, he's still getting hit hard while on the road, difference being some of those HRs are just going for doubles,.

 

He's likely a bad play in the AL, but the Blanton comparisons are a bit rough.

[Angel Oracle]

If JD truly wants to add a righty to go with the two righties and two lefties, maybe I could grow to tolerate the same deal for Arroyo that Blanton got.

No more though

[xboom28x]

Why pay 15M this year for Arroyo and Blanton when you can just use Blanton and not be committed to future money?

[Stradling]

Because Arroyo is a solid major league pitcher. Blanton can no longer get hitters out consistently.

[Hollyw00d]

Why pay 15M this year for Arroyo and Blanton when you can just use Blanton and not be committed to future money?

 

 

I agree.  why take on more payroll for mediocrity (at best) like arroyo.  We already have that in blanton.

[tdawg87]

Man it's either you're a potential ace, or Joe Blanton. There is no middle ground here.

[Stradling]

Man it's either you're a potential ace, or Joe Blanton. There is no middle ground here.

Absolutely this, it's ****ing annoying. What's funny is it's either this opinion or if we did sign a big name pitcher we would have all the experts telling us we can't enjoy it because we overpaid for that big name pitcher.

[ukyah]

arroyo would most likely be a solid signing by the angels. one of the things that has grown to annoy me about dipoto is that he doesn't take ANY opportunities to sign some depth. there are several veteran pitchers right now that are on the market for reasonable contracts, some are coming back from injury and some fully healthy. sign a couple and get some depth for the rotation, we'd still be under the salary cap.

Edited January 25, 2014 by ukyah

[ukyah]

Man it's either you're a potential ace, or Joe Blanton. There is no middle ground here.

 

 

word.

 

on a related note, the angels should keep blanton, because we have no depth. for better or for worse, we need some bodies.

Edited January 25, 2014 by ukyah

[tdawg87]

At this point they should just go ahead and sign him. He's not "the answer" by any means, but he's a solid number 4 at best, and depth at worst. Either way he will likely give them 190+ innings pitched.

[Hollyw00d]

Watch us sign him and he pulls a burnett

[AngelsLakersFan]

I agree.  why take on more payroll for mediocrity (at best) like arroyo.  We already have that in blanton.

 

You gotta be ****ing kidding me.

[Docwaukee]

I am one of the ones who has been big on comparing him to Blanton and I think for good reason. 

 

The thing that Tdawg pointed out about Blanton's 2013 is important though.  I am not saying that Arroyo will ever have that type of season.  Chances are he probably won't. 

 

I do think the switch to the AL will have an effect on him though.  He's had a sub 4 era for 4 of the last 5 years which is impressive.  He's logged a ton of innings and kept teams in games which is also impressive. 

 

I brought up the Blanton comparisons at a time when it was rumored that he was going to get a 3yr deal for money on par with a guy like Nolasco et al.  I think that would have been very bad. 

 

Now, it appears he's more in line for a 1 or 2yr deal.  If the AAV is around 6-7mil then I'd be fine with that because at this point, he makes us better.  His ERA and innings over 4 of the last 5 years makes him seem like a #3 starter.  His peripherals say otherwise.  Maybe he's just a really good and smart pitcher. 

 

I guess if you look at Weaver's peripherals, you wouldn't classify him as more than a #3, but the results are better.  As I've seen Weaver pitch a ton, I can see why.  I have not seen a ton of Arroyo and maybe seeing him pitch will give me more confidence that he can continue to be a couple of standard deviations from the mean. 

 

All I am really saying is that we shouldn't pay or expect to get that sub 4 era guy.  We should expect a guy who gives us 200ip but a 4.5era.  Is there a chance he could absolutely blow up?  I think so, but a reasonable estimation would be a #5 starter which would help right now.

[Cdaniel]

I'm coming around on signing arroyo for 2 years max. It gives us the ability to extend Trout and then go after Price in two years.

[IEAngelsfan]

Man it's either you're a potential ace, or Joe Blanton. There is no middle ground here.

Yup.

 

Welcome to the board of extremes.

[KingJustinian]

Yup.

 

Welcome to the board of extremes.

 

And people who is saying he is comparable to Blanton maybe aren't referring to the one outlier/very bad year out of 10+ for Blanton. I could easily see Arroyo being similar to Blanton excluding 2013.

[tdawg87]

What else would they be referring to? 2013 was the only year Blanton pitched for the Angels. Saying he could be similar to Blanton "in general" is a completely random comp. People are basically saying Arroyo will come over and suck as bad as Blanton did in 2013.

[Brent Maguire]

Any time the Angels have interest in a high HR, low BB, low K pitcher, fans will be immediately reminded of Blanton.

It's unfair but I get why some fans feel that way.

[KingJustinian]

What else would they be referring to? 2013 was the only year Blanton pitched for the Angels. Saying he could be similar to Blanton "in general" is a completely random comp. People are basically saying Arroyo will come over and suck as bad as Blanton did in 2013.

 

I've said Arroyo reminds me of Blanton and was referring to their whole career. I'm just saying that cherrypicking one year out of a 10+ year career is referring to an extreme, even if it is the most recent year.

[tdawg87]

Well....yeah I agree. But I don't think we agree for the same reason.

 

If you are comparing Arroyo's career to Blanton's then that is your opinion, but there is no way that everyone else who has made the Blanton comments isn't referring to his most recent season here. It isn't "cherry picking" when it's the most recent season and it happened to be his only one with this team. Otherwise most people aren't even going to mention Blanton.

[Docwaukee]

If people are predicting that Arroyo is going to come here and have an era of 6 next year then I would certainly disagree. 

 

If people are concerned that Arroyo is going to get market rate as a sub 4 era pitcher (in four of the last 5 years) and not perform anywhere near that, then I would agree. 

 

The Blanton comp is still fair.  The assumption Arroyo is going to have an era of 6 is not.  The concern that he could struggle and be a fringe starter with an era of 4.5-5 is legit. 

 

When there were initial rumors that the halos had interest, there were other players that could have added far more value to the team.  There were also rumors that Arroyo would get 3 year and around 30 mil.  My feeling was always that a number of players could be had for less years and much less money to provide similar production. 

 

Now that it seems the cost of acquiring him is far less than anticipated, he makes a lot more sense. 

 

Even still, his numbers make me wonder whether paying 2/18 for him gives the team that much more of an advantage than pay 4-5mil on a 1yr deal for the likes of Hammels or Capuano. 

[xboom28x]

Well....yeah I agree. But I don't think we agree for the same reason.

 

If you are comparing Arroyo's career to Blanton's then that is your opinion, but there is no way that everyone else who has made the Blanton comments isn't referring to his most recent season here. It isn't "cherry picking" when it's the most recent season and it happened to be his only one with this team. Otherwise most people aren't even going to mention Blanton.

 

If the Angels threw Blanton out there, I don't think his season is as horrible as last year. I think his numbers come down a bit. At the same time, Arroyo's numbers would likely inflate coming back to the AL. Therefore, it is indeed possible that the production of both pitchers could be quite identical next season.

 

So why pay 15+M for the same pitcher next year, as well as commit to someone for 2015 for 7-10M? Arroyo isn't turning this team from a 3rd place AL West team to a playoff contender. Not in my opinion.