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The Official 2022 Spring Training Hot Stove Thread

With some rules going to be altered what are your thoughts on them or how would you like them to go?

Pitch Clock:

One proposal I saw had it 14 seconds for the pitcher to pitch if no one is on base and 19 seconds when someone is on base.  

I am fine with this as this will also force the batter to stay in the batters box.  The game used to be much quicker pace and I would like to get back to that.  

The Shift:

I would propose one of two things, but not both.  I would like either two guys on each side of 2nd base or all four infielders being on the dirt or in front of the dirt.  If we have two guys on each side of second they can be anywhere on the field as long as it is on the correct side of 2nd base.  If we decide all four have to be on the dirt or in front of the dirt they can be anywhere on the field.  

Playoffs:

I don’t have an opinion really of how many teams are in the playoffs, whether that is 12 or 14.  I would say that if a division winner has to play in the opening round they should get not just home field advantage but play all three games at home.  Oh and none of this ghost win shit.  

Four teams voted against Steve Cohen as the new owner of the Mets, presumably because he'd spend too much money: Angels, Diamondbacks, Reds, White Sox. 

Now there's this:

3 of the same 4 teams.  Welcome to the Asshole Caucus.

Matchday Calories: The MLB’s Biggest Comfort Eaters

A new report from Bookmakers.com reveals how many calories MLB fans consume on game day depending on their team’s win-loss record.

The Baltimore Orioles’ on-field performances over the last five years has prompted fans to potentially consume 128,880 extra calories than the American average.

So let's use this thread to post all news related to the ongoing negotiations with the union and owners that has a very real chance of leading to shortened 2022.

Matt Harvey to be named as possible drug source at Tyler Skaggs trial


https://nypost.com/2022/02/08/tyler-skaggs-trial-matt-harvey-named-as-possible-drug-source/

ORLANDO, Fla. — Former Mets ace Matt Harvey will be named as a possible drug source for late Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, according to the defense attorney for former Angels employee Eric Kay, who is on trial for his purported role in Skaggs’ death of a drug overdose.

According to ESPN’s T.J. Quinn, who is covering the trial, Kay’s attorney said in his opening argument that, when Kay asked Skaggs on the night he died (July 1, 2019) where he acquired pink pills, Skaggs replied, “Those are Percocets I got from Harvey.” Harvey will be called as a witness in the trial this week, the attorney added.

Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras, declined comment, as he is not representing Harvey in this matter.

ESPN reported in 2019 that no Percocet was found in Skaggs’ system when he was found dead in his hotel room in Southlake, Texas. A coroner’s report said Skaggs had choked to death on his vomit with a toxic mix of alcohol and the drugs fentanyl and oxycodone in his system.

Leading Trading Card Company Kicks off 2022 Baseball Card Season with Annual Set


(New York, NY, February 8, 2022) – The Topps® Company, a leader in sports and entertainment trading cards and a part of Fanatics Collectibles, today announced the launch of its annual, highly anticipated 2022 Series 1 Collection to welcome back the official start of this year’s baseball card season, and to continue its rich heritage in trading cards.

Available starting on February 16, and boasting a brand-new bordered base card design, the 2022 Series 1 Collection features a 330-card base set including modern day stars, rookies who debuted during the 2021 season, 2021 league leaders, and team cards. Reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani, who was voted card number one in the checklist by fans, is doing double duty as this year’s cover athlete, being shown both pitching and hitting on the box and pack wraps. This year, a new wave of young talent including Wander Franco, Jarren Duran and Luis Gil will receive their first Rookie Cards. Collectors can also look for autographs and game-used memorabilia cards featuring Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Fernando Tatis Jr., and more.

How about some baseball talk?  

I don't absolutely love it but I think it's got potential to be very very good and it's the most confidence I've had in our pen for probably the last 10 to 15 years.  

The 2014 pen morphed into a really good pen but mostly in the second half with Street et al.  But I can't say I felt great about that crew going into the season. 

Iglesias - I think he'll have another really good season.  Probably not as good as 2021 but still dominant.  His only nit was being used in non save situations early in the year.  
Mayers -  Had a strong second half and I think he's due for another good season.  
Loup - was amazing last year.  Won't be as good but I think he'll be a very strong late innings option.  
Warren - I like him a lot.  He has good stuff.  Had issues with walks in the minors a bit but I think he's figured it out. 
Quijada - a bit of a wild card because of his control (or lack thereof).  But he misses bats and they should be able to use keep him out of high leverage.  He'll be the classic type of guy where he's either got it that day or he doesn't and you'll know that pretty quick. 
Buttrey - personal history aside, he was very good in 2019.  Whether he dropped off because he didn't care in 2020 or whatever, if he can be similar to his first couple seasons then we've got a really nice option for the 5th/6th/7th.  I guess I'm not banking on this but my gut tells me he's gonna make the team and be solid. 

Was arguing with someone about a particular player, who I was a big fan of, but I think is overrated.

And I started mentioning guys from the past who had far better numbers, but nobody remembers. As Angel fans, Tim Salmon works perfect here. And that recent Abreu thread I think was pretty surprising, and hes a good example.

Anyway, I was looking up guys from the past that nobody remembers, or at least talks about, and one who really surprised me was Shawn Green. I totally forgot he was a pretty decent base stealer too, to go along with his power numbers.

Who you got?

Recently, I started reading FB for the first time in years and found a baseball group. Theres like a whole movement out there to argue this topic, it seems.

Whats everyones take here? Obviously were Angel fans so were going to be biased, but all that aside, whats everyone think?

Forget his Reds years. He was hurt, and his Seattle years were about the length of Trouts career to this point.

 

One way to compare teams is to consider how frequently they're in a place to compete. Every team goes through cycles from good to bad; even the franchises that we might characterize as bad, have periods of time in which they are good. Remember when the Orioles made the post season in three of five years? It wasn't that long ago: 2012, '14, and '16. Or remember when the Rangers made the World Series two years in a row (losing both times)? That was just a decade ago, and they reached the postseason five times from 2010-16.

On the other hand, some teams seem to always be good - and sometimes almost always are. Everyone knows the Yankees are the premier franchise in baseball history: they've won as many World Series (27) as the next three franchises combined (Cardinals with 11, Red Sox with 9, and Dodgers with 7). But what have you done for me lately? Well, after a characteristically poor period in which they didn't reach the postseason from 1982-94, the Yankees have reached the playoffs (including wildcard) in 23 of the last 27 years (1995-2021), including five World Series titles. Even though they haven't won--or been to--a World Series since 2009, they've reached the postseason in 9 of the last 12 seasons. In fact, the Yankees haven't had a losing record in 30 years: since 1992.

2021 Marked 50 Years of Angels Baseball - Time to Throw a Fancy Party?

So, before we dive into the numbers, we need to have a discussion about the approved payroll number that Angels owner Arte Moreno provides to General Manager (GM) Perry Minasian.

As the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher reminded me recently, that number Moreno provides is not transparent, it could include or not include player salaries, player benefits, Minor League player salaries, non-guaranteed salaries, the cost of a Pepsi or Coca-Cola out of the clubhouse vending machine, yacht fuel, etc. The point is that we, as fans, do not know, so determining how much payroll the Angels have available for the upcoming season is not entirely clear.

The current 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), clearly states the following regarding ‘Actual Club Payroll’:

Was Raisel Iglesias a One-Off, Elite Closer for the Angels?

The Angels started the 2021 season with what could only be described as a questionable bullpen with two exceptions, in the form of Raisel Iglesias, an established, premium arm, and Chris Rodriguez, a young, promising prospect from the farm system. As the team limped past the Trade Deadline, the front office shook things up and made a series of promotions from the farm system to audition some new, young arms in anticipation of rebuilding the 2022 bullpen.

Realistically, if Minasian focuses most of the available payroll and resources for one or more starting pitchers, a shortstop, etc., that will leave little left for relief help, thus relying heavily on that aforementioned bastion of young arms. The signing of Aaron Loup did not come without a cost, so barring a Moreno financial flex, it is quite possible the Angels front office may be done in this area, despite a potential desire to retain Raisel.

Angels and Reds have discussed Castillo trade, remain far apart

I'm thankful that you all enjoy the house that I've built that has become YOUR home to discuss all things Angels Baseball (and more). I'm especially thankful for the friendships that have been made since 2004.

Let's be thankful for our health, our loved ones, Ohtani's historical season and so many other things that we've been blessed with.

Thank you everyone.

 

Shohei Ohtani wins the 2021 AL Most Valuable Player Award (unanimously)

46 HR, 103 Runs, 100 RBI, 26 SB, 8 Triples, 151 wRC+, fWAR & bWAR leader, .372 OBP, .965 OPS, 9 Pitching Wins, 3.18 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, .207 BAA, 156 K's in 130 1/3 IP.

 

It seems that a lot of folks can't resist thinking of multiple ways to trade Marsh and/or Adell. I just don't get it. Well, I get that the Angels need pitching, but this is the beginning of the offseason with lots of free agents available, and Minasian has $50M or more to spend. I also know that $50M isn't enough get everything they need to make them a clearcut contender, but shouldn't other options be considered first before trading away two quality young pitchers?

The Angels haven't had a position player prospect with star potential since Trout. And now they have two that aren't just prospects, but major league ready. Marsh was essentially a league average player last year, even while still struggling at the plate, so the potential for stardom is there. Adell made leaps and bounds from 2020, and so the trajectory is going in the right direction.

Why so intent on trading these guys?

$50M is limited, but with that you can sign a very good starter, an elite closer, a good middle infielder and/or a #4ish starter and a solid infielder, and maybe even have a few bucks to spare for a veteran reliever. So maybe you still need to bolster the bullpen, but there are other options of players to trade, and by that point you have the big pieces.

Now if the Marlins call and say they want Marsh for Meyer, I might say "Sorry, Marsh is off the table but we've got this kid named Jo Adell." But even then I'd hesitate and maybe not make that trade.

I want to see these kids play - as Angels.

Update: Done deal!


 

We've had prediction threads, we've had offseason wishlist threads, we've had what you want to see happen, what you think we'll see. Almost every thread recently has devolved into an 'offseason plan' thread at some point.

But what I'm hoping for this thread though is (for the time being) no discussion, no debate, no arguments for or against, just a very simple list what you would do this offseason if you were GM in a quick, easy format.

The idea being we can revisit this later and discuss midseason/next offseason and see how things are going for everyone’s respective plans.

You can edit/revise your plans at a couple different times:

Nov. 17th: Deadline to accept/reject Qualifying Offers, since a lot of these players will be mentioned in plans.


Dec. 1st: Around Dec. 2nd, 8pm ET, at the non-tender deadline. A significant number of free agents will be added, some of which could alter plans significantly. 


Should any breaking CBA news dramatically change the scope of this offseason.


In addition, I will potentially bump the thread once or twice this winter with an option to edit. The first will be if we learn of a specific amount from Arte/the FO is intending to spend this offseason, and the second will be late into the offseason, perhaps even right before Spring Training, in order to allow any last minute bargains. 

When this happens, please edit your post but keep original plan detailed still. Strikethrough the text or write out your edited plan. 

As of now, we’ll assume the Angels can add up to $50m in salary to the 2022 payroll. It could be less, could be more. 

Overall, try to be as specific as possible when it comes to your money offered or players involved in trade. There are links below to help us work within a standardized set of trade and contract values. 

Feel free to offer contingencies, i.e, pivoting to Stroman if Ray doesn’t sign, but try to limit yourself to a couple options, maybe a Plan B or C, for the sake of the exercise. 

And think outside the box - sometimes it's the little moves that makes the biggest impact. 

A few handy links to reference in forming your plans:

List of free agents can be found here and next year's FA class (good for trades) can be found here. 


Determining contract terms (values/lengths): https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2022-top-50-free-agents/ or the MLBTR Predictions


Determining trade values (approximate, standardized): https://www.baseballtradevalues.com

Go ahead and include trade values in your posts from here just for reference's sake 



The 2020 thread and Results thread 


The 2021 thread and Results thread (coming soon).


If applicable, using the projected arbitration salaries from MLBTR.

As expected

 

Suck it, Astros!

Welcome to the off-season....  

Go Perry!

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/10/projected-arbitration-salaries-for-2022.html

Always a great resource going into the off-season, and usually really accurate.

For the Angels, Guerra and Barreto are easy non-tenders I would think. Perhaps Barreto is re-signed on a minor league deal. Gosselin at $1.5m is a bit much, especially with our infield depth, so it is likely the Goose is turned loose. Stassi and Mayers almost certainly return, unless the Angels have bigger plans.

I would closely look at the names for the Rays, Athletics, Guardians, Yankees, Orioles, Braves and Reds. All are tight on salary and looking to trim. The Rays, with 19 arb. eligible players are especially ripe for picking. The Yankees are in the same boat, and I expect arhat team does quite a bit of a shuffle this winter. Lots of players could be of interest to the Halos in trades or as non-tenders.

The Tigers, Mets, and Twins a bit as well, mostly due to sheer number of arb. eligible players they have, but most are cheaper and less inclined to deal.

I wanted to tease out a specific element from this thread, specifically a remark from Dan O'Dowd that I addressed in a long post on the second page, but had a follow-up thought that I wanted to develop more fully. Dan O'Dowd said:

"It's not just about spending money in this game, it's about developing an organization that operates wholly, from every aspect to make your big league team good."

This "holistic approach" is key, and what separates the really successful organizations from the pack. Or rather, I would posit three general types of organizations:

The contenders: These are the teams that understand the holistic perspective, who are perennial contenders or, at least, go through cycles of contention and short fallow periods between. 

The pretenders: These are teams that, on paper, should contend--they have the resources and certainly at least make a show of doing so--but for whatever reason, rarely seem to get there, and only for short periods of time.

The fakers: These are the organizations who clearly aren't really trying, with owners for whom their teams are just cash-cows. 

Agree with a lot of the stuff being said here.

We may need a stickied Ohtani-centric thread.

I like this one: Ohtani currently leads the majors in Power/Speed, which is the harmonic mean of HR and SB.

With 7.2 through 27 games he's on pace for 43.2, which is just below the record (A-Rod in 1998 with 43.91). I don't expect him to match that, but still very impressive.