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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 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 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 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 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 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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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

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

The rhetoric coming out of the FO is exactly what it should be. If the front office were to signal that they were willing to spend recklessly to add a big bat, they would lose leverage in every negotiation. If they were to say that they offered Hayword 200 million, every agent would know their budget. I'm not saying that the team is going to make a splash, but the information that hits the media has to be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone getting bent out of shape over what's being reported publicly needs to take a breath and understand why the message is what it is.
I still think we add one or two more bats.

The rhetoric coming out of the FO is exactly what it should be. If the front office were to signal that they were willing to spend recklessly to add a big bat, they would lose leverage in every negotiation. If they were to say that they offered Hayword 200 million, every agent would know their budget. I'm not saying that the team is going to make a splash, but the information that hits the media has to be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone getting bent out of shape over what's being reported publicly needs to take a breath and understand why the message is what it is.
I still think we add one or two more bats.

Murph and DeJesus have both hit the ball hard. Those'll start falling. Victorino is a good piece to have off the bench, but was probably an unnecessary addition with Robertson here.

Hey, neighbor.
 
To me, this is reason enough to trade Josh.  I'm sure the show would love the drama of having one of it's stars forced to deal with her husband's trade.

exactly what we hoped Blanton would be.  Very rarely is he brilliant but rarely is he abysmal.  He's just good and steady--keeps us in games and lets his offense go to work.  He's a very nice fit at the 5.  I expect a little regression but even with some regression he'd still be effective for the Angels.
 
It's nice to have a guy like him.

I think it'd be a good strategy to sign high upside California high school kids.  "Look, you could end up in Cleveland or Canada three years from now.  Why not just sign with us and, in a few years, you could be playing in your backyard?"
 
Bouchard - 3B w/ great bat speed from San Diego
Adams - C from San Diego
Cameron Bishop - LHP/OF - Brea Olinda
Coltin Gerhart - OF - Vista Murrieta (Toby's brother)
 
These guys fit the bill. 

Add Yency Almonte to the list of guys off to a solid start.  Only two starts, but he's posted a 1.80 ERA.