Dave Saltzer

1 hour ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

The 2012 Angels should definitely get Howie Kendrick.

Here's something that I've been wondering, and would like your thoughts on Jeff. Let's say the Giants trade for Stanton, and include Panik in the trade. Would you prefer to trade for Panik from the Marlins/Giants and what do you think it would realistically take to get him? 

7 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

I appreciate your 4 full paragraphs of speculation (lots of "I think") why the Angels would not chase Stanton.

I mean that honestly.

But it actually feeds into my original, still unanswered question as to why there is zero speculation by the media toward arguing how the pieces fit, rather than not fit.

It's a fair discussion yet it is not happening.

I get why there is no speculation that the Royals could be a fit.

I just don't see how nobody in the media even considers it, even after our exchange here.

There are easily valid arguments to the points you make.

All your comments belong in the discussion, but the discussion for a Stanto to the Angels deal seems oddly incomplete with zero mention to how he could fit.

 

 

I think that the reason why we haven't heard any speculation is that since our big splashes, in which we got burned, we haven't gone on major splashes again. Our owner has talked about staying under the luxury tax. Our MO is to maintain silence about our pursuits. We have several other pressing needs, and most members of the media don't see this as the piece that would fit us (if Stanton played 2B or 3B, it would be a totally different situation).

A few years ago, after our big splashes, we were connected with everyone and everything under the sun. We were overhyped and over-connected to players, many of whom we really were not in on as far as I know. 

If the media saw us go on another big spending spree again, and, we had room for more financial flexibility, I could see us getting connected to more players again in the future. But right now, circumstances suggest that Stanton isn't the best fit for us, as much as we, the fans, might want it.

3 hours ago, Calzone said:

You know that Dave Saltzer is already boning up on his Japanese  for the presser questions.

 

Question #1 Ohtanisan, Angelswin.com ichi?

I would very much want Stanton, and could live with Valbuena at 3B if that meant we got Stanton. And, I'd absolutely love it if we got Stanton and Ohtani.

BUT, if we don't get him, two thoughts:

1) I want the Giants to get him just to piss off all the Dodgers fans. 

2) If the Giants do include Panik, why don't we essentially make it a 3-way and offer them Jam Jones for Panik? That might make it a more palatable deal for everyone. 

14 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

What would the Halos closest equivalent of Panik, Beede, and Shaw be?

I would guess (assuming they would want these players) Calhoun, Cron, and Barria. Yes, that would cost Miamia a bit more than getting pure prospects, but they could probably flip Calhoun for more prospects to lower their financial commitment even more.

Just now, tdawg87 said:

You might be right. But I trust Fletcher more than the average beat writer. I don't think he says things just to get hits.

Will the Angels get Ohtani? Probably not. But I do believe they will make a serious play at him.

I agree. Fletcher does a very good job and doesn't do click bait. He's not that kind of guy, and I respect him for that. We will make a serious play for him, and hopefully we can land him.

1 minute ago, krAbs said:

 

Thanks. Seriously, I know it's not my money, but it's just money. Trout/Stanton/Upton would make for years of compelling baseball to watch in Anaheim. Add in the idea of Ohtani and Arte could easily add another $500 million or more to the value of the franchise. 

Just now, floplag said:

i cant find it right now but it was a few prospects plus taking on 250 mil... i dont think they were all that incredible so its something we could likely match

If you could find it, I would appreciate it. I'm stuck at work, and can't check out all this sites. Thanks!

32 minutes ago, floplag said:

Fascinating, didnt expect this one ill admit.
The pieces are falling into place for a very intriguing possible winter between this and the recent rumor about MIA asking price on Stanton

What rumor is that?

I think you all are missing this key line in the article:

"More to come on this story."

Come on Jeff . . . Get typing!!!!! We need to know!!!

Agreed about the rookie and 20 year old bits. And, at 201 career Hrs, it's a bit grammatical to say hundreds if home runs. 

Again, this is being a bit nitpicky, but I wanted to give it the thorough review that you deserve. I'm sure it will be fine, especially if Trout is already on board with it. 

1 hour ago, Scotty@AW said:

Without going too far into backstory, the Angels scouts were aware of Kevin Maitan several years ago at age 13 and began developing a rapport with his trainer from an early age. It's actually what got them into Baldoquin, their trust andbelief in him as a trainer.

Now that Maitan is available again, and now that he won't cost nearly as much, and given the Angels serious lack of depth on the infield, and their past affinity....the stars could align. 

Maitan would rank #2 on my list behind Adell, regardless of MLB.com's list.

I forgot to say this earlier. You are right Scotty--our sales pitch is enhanced by the serious lack of depth at 3B. I see his future more at that position. Given that lack of depth, he would rise in our system as fast as his bat will carry him, which has to equate as a plus for us. 

12 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

I don't think it's coincidence that our two biggest international free agents this year both came from the Bahamas.

The fact is we still don't have the international presence in the Dominican Republic after we cleaned house down there almost 10 years ago. 

So Eppler and the front office opted to take the lead on the ever-growing Bahamian market. Ever since Lucius Fox signed a record deal with SF, teams have just started paying more attention.

Since we simply don't have the Dominican presence, the Angels should capitalize on this unique situation. Maitan will only get better, and prospects of his caliber don't come along every year.

Similar argument with Stanton. Trading for a player of this age and magnitude might happen once in a decade. Not since Miguel Cabrera and you gotta think Arte was licking himself for balking at the Wood, Mathis, Santana, Saunders asking price.

My biggest complaint against the organization, and particularly the FO, over the past decade has been our true lack of a presence in Latin America. We've been neglecting too much talent for too long. And, when we went in on Baldwin, we didn't go in on so many others at the time to justify the 2-year ban. I agree with trying to get ahead of the curve in the Bahamas, but not if it comes at the expense of Latin America. For what 1 WAR costs these days, we could have and should have the best scouting AND development staff period. 

I agree, when opportunities arise, we have to be ready to capitalize on them. This is one such situation. If Miami is realistic about what they would want in a Stanton trade, again, I'd be ready to capitalize. 

Teams can either use their remaining money from this year or money from next year, as I understand it, but not both. I have been wondering if we would go back and consider side him. It all comes down to what next year's international talent looks like and whom we might get in it. I'd seriously consider tapping into next year's talent to sign him if we don't have enough in this year:s pool. O don't think it would take over $1 million to sign him. 

I'm not as bullish on him right now as Scotty is, but I'd still rank him high on our list. On our list, I'd rank him 6th,right behind Canning and just ahead of Thaiss. 

As we are all sitting here, possibly stuffed like the birds we ate, let's take pause and give thanks to the many good things that we have in life. For me, one of the very good things in my life is AngelsWin.com. No matter how I feel, I can always come here, read something that makes me think, often something that makes me laugh, and have a break from all that is happening in my life. It's a chance to escape, relax, and refresh. And that comes from all of you. For that, I am grateful. 

Happy Thanksgiving AngelsWin.com. 

Does it have to happen? No. Is it probably what is holding up the market. Yes. 

Am I the only one who would live to see Boras so overplay his hand that he has to start offering Black Friday deals, like buy a J. D. Martínez and he'll throw in a reliever too? 

Two questions: 1) how come the agents/advisors involved in the kickbacks and bribes didn't get any kind of ounishment/ban? 2) Which of these guys would we want/would it be worth signing, even if we used some of next year's international money? 

12 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

I think that's fair.  My guess is Torii really isn't that challenged until he gets to AA and he'll probably get there pretty quick.  Guys that have as much talent as Hunter Jr. has (Adell, comes to mind) tend to be able to just physically outplay their competition at the lower levels.  Their otherworldly abilities mask many of the deficiencies.  Once a player reaches AA we begin to find out if they can truly be major leaguers, and I think so much of that is their response to failure, their ability to adjust.  

I'm guessing Torii flies through both A Ball and Advanced A Ball next year alone and finds himself in AA a year from now. 

Good work on this Scotty. 

My bet is Hunter Jr. skips a level and goes to the 66ers and ends the year in AA if he has success. Although he hasn't played much baseball, he needs to catch up to his age appropriate league. I think he can handle the jump, and that would tell us a lot about his status as a prospect. 

12 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I can double-check (not that it really matters) but I am pretty sure I asked about this after the Simmons deal. 

It doesn't make sense that a second team should get the AAV benefit of a backloaded contract when they didn't pay the front. 

First, thanks for responding to my post yesterday. But, I would appreciate it if you would check on this as well and let us know what the correct answer is (not that I doubt you, but, I didn't think that the contract value resets at the time of a trade--just any money sent was spread out). If the contract reset at the time of the trade, that could make things a lot more complicated for teams.

25 minutes ago, arch stanton said:

Right handed hitter. No speed and low obp. To me it feels like putting a $14 million C.J. Cron on the other side of the diamond 

His AAV would be less than his actual cash payout (I think his AAV would only be about $9.5 million). If we want to stay below the luxury tax, that is a valuable asset. Last year he had a WAR of 3.6 and his career numbers are 270/341/483. By way of comparison Moustakas would cost twice as much in AAV and his a career line of 251/305/425. In his career year last year,l he was worth 1.8 WAR according to baseball reference. And, there's no way we're signing Moustakas for less than a 5-year deal. So, as a comparison, is Longoria worth it?

Okay, just speculation because I'm *hoping* the collective wisdom of the board may be greater than what I can come up with at this point (been rather sick and going on very little sleep). But, I read that the Rays may go full rebuild at mlbtraderumors.com and started to wonder if Longoria made any sense. Yes, he's on the wrong side of 30, but so are most of the 3B options we are looking at. Yes, his OB is trending down, but he would still be a big improvement over what we got out of the position. His defense is still solid. His contract is affordable and would give us plenty of room to add a 2nd baseman, upgrade 1B, and possibly add a pitcher. 

So, my two questions to the board are these: 1) Does Longoria make sense for us? 2) If so, what would it take to get him?

My bet is that Jonah Wesley will not be added to the 40-man and he will get taken. That's too bad as I still like him as a prospect and believe he has the stuff to make it. 

Calhoun is a valuable trade chip. So, if we are going to get something, we have to give something. 

Or, the other possibility is that they could move Calhoun back to 1B and we could upgrade RF. That would upgrade the offense overall. 

2 hours ago, Dick B Back said:

All those Florida teams look alike.

There's something fishy about those Florida teams.

2 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

Gordon doesn’t offer us nearly the same long term outlook that Hernandez does.  He’s a one dimensional player that very well could end being another in the long list of miserable failures at 2b for the Angels.  Hernandez is a far surer solution, and again like I said he’s the move a championship team would make. Mark my words.  We’ll be looking to replace Gordon pretty quickly imo.  I’ve had enough of that.  Get a real solution or just wait for a real solution to become available. 

I won't argue that Hernandez is the better option. But, that doesn't mean we line up as well with his team to get a deal done. We can't let the ideal be the enemy of the good. If our choices are Gordon or someone else with even worse problems and issues, then, Gordon becomes the option. No doubt I, and everyone, would prefer Hernandez.

As for getting Hernandez for Lund and De Los Santos, that's a quite an undervaluation by the authors. My bet is it would take a lot more.