UCLAngel

I feel the same way...if those guys get held back a year in AAA, we likely have three high achieving prospects rather than three underachieving MLBers. If 2 of the 3 take a significant step forward, we could be looking at a solid core of young arms.

Like AO mentioned, ideally Upton moves to first/DH and forms a platoon split with Thaiss/Ohtani at those spots. If Maddon has the balls to do it, I think Albert is going to largely sit in his final season. Marsh/Adell/Trout/Upton rotate in outfield as well. There are ABs for all of them but we have to put AP on the bench where he belongs.

I hope Eppler holds onto Marsh. Having two above average outfielders on league minimum contracts for 3 years would give us so much financial freedom to improve other areas of the team.

I believe it's opening day. If a player is traded during the season, he isn't eligible for a qualifying offer. The real problem is Ray very well may accept the QO and based on his recent results, he probably isn't worth that AAV.

You very well could be right--these are somewhat far fetched moves. But each team views team building differently--some value leadership and others value bottom line returns. They've also got Kinsler in that clubhouse who likely fills a similar role. And your point might make the Pirates more attractive a partner--I'd much rather give up quantity that's far from the majors than quality that's close. I'd give up Adams, Jackson, Kochanowitz + more for a guy like Keller. That would fit their timeline better and would help us hold on to Adell/Marsh.

That's a good point--Myers would make more sense to dump than Hosmer.

Someone posted in another thread that Eppler might be working on a completely unexpected trade. I could see that happening as well. So I started looking at which teams have an excess of pitching and how a deal could be structured. These are still more unlikely than a Price/Gray/Ray trade, but they'd be interesting to see if they could be worked out. Padres - Padres have a lot of young pitching with Gore and Patino nearing their MLB debuts. Paddack, Lauer and Lucchesi probably aren't going anywhere. But Dinelson Lamet is the type of pitcher Eppler likes--throws hard, lots of spin, strikes guys out, controllable through 2023. Plus the Angels might be able to package him, one of their catchers and take a chunk of Hosmer's salary. Hosmer is a millstone around the Padres' necks, but he's a decent platoon guy (career .291 against righties and hit 21 of his 22 homers last year against righties). Platoon him with Albert for 2 years and then platoon him at first with Upton after that. We could hopefully give up a limited haul (maybe Thaiss and a younger pitcher) to make the deal happen for taking Hosmer off their books. Lamet walked too many guys but could really benefit from Callaway. Braves - This would be a harder one because we'd almost certainly have to include Marsh as their future replacement for Markakis. But they have a wealth of young pitching--the most likely target would be a guy like Kyle Wright--really good fastball and lots of minor league success even if he's struggled in his limited MLB action. He's still got 6 years of control and is only 24 years old. He could develop into a frontline guy. Pirates - While there's been rumors about Musgrove, I think you push to get Mitch Keller away from them. He'd require a package of Marsh + a couple others most likely. Young guy (23). Rough go of it last year (7.13 ERA in 48 innings) but underlying numbers more positive (12.2 K/9 and 3.19 FIP). Still has 6 years of control. The one thing I've like about Eppler's moves is he isn't willing to sacrifice the long-term success of the team for short term returns. That's hard to do as a GM in a contract year. The easier route would have been to move Marsh for Kluber and boost immediate returns to get himself an extension.

It'd be great to hook up with the Pirates, but I'd like to see them pry away Mitch Keller. Pirates wouldn't want to give him up, but a package of multiple high ceiling prospects (e.g., Marsh, Jones and Paris) might get it done.

What's funny is how many people want to do EXACTLY what got us into this mess in the first place--pay too much for too long to a player who has a high likelihood of crapping out half way through the deal. We aren't the Dodgers or Yankees that can spend indiscriminately. Fiscal management pays off in the long run. I'm glad the Angels didn't sign Cole at that price. He'd have been great to have but Yanks went two years too long and about $50M too much. We have too many holes on the roster to spend a huge portion on one guy.

They're 1 year contracts. The SP FA market next year is pretty solid. Rather than the Angels clearing a path for young arms, I think they're looking at 2020 and ensuring they have the ability to add guys-- MadBum, Sale, Cole, Gibson, Odorizzi, Wheeler and some good veterans as well--Verlander, Hamels. Nova, Porcello, Hill.

He's in OC today--just ran into him, his family and his advisors at Yardhouse in Fashion Island.

Do we have two Young, Jr.s on the team

Can you share this pic? I haven't seen it and would love to have a bit of my faith restored that Pujols can bounce back. Thanks!

No. Collusion involves cooperation between groups. One player using various teams' offers to get the best deal from a team the player prefers is not collusion. Now, if a player went to say the Dodgers and said, "I'm signing with the Giants no matter what, but if you offer me more money then they'll feel like they have to match it," then that's collusion.

If I remember correctly, we're again able to spend International this year. Is that correct? For those of you who follow this more closely, are we expected to land any top International talent this year? Seems like there are often early leaks about who these kids are going to sign with.