marcosantinia12

I really, really hope we pick him up. 4 win player just a year ago. Best case scenario, he still has gas left in the tank and gives us a 2-3 WAR. Worst case, we are on the losing end of a really small and cheap 1/2 year commitment.

Agreed. He actually makes a great fit except for the fact that he has a pick attached.

Pay 10mil + for a platoon player with no standout split? Freese's tOPS+ vs RHP is 102 vs 94 vs LHP That difference becomes even less notable when you factor in the difference in BAbip he had against the two (.341 vs RHP, .225 vs LHP). So to my point again, Freese is a decent player. But he isn't worth the price due considering we have two major league ready players. I'll put it this way, lets say we got .245/.310/.390 from Cowart and Kubitza. I think that's pretty much their floor, with chance that they'll be much better in the OBP department. That means a 30 point OPS drop off with substantially better defense, younger, and much cheaper.

I really hope we don't sign him. Not that I dislike the guy but he did his time here and its time to move on. No need to give a 3/30 type contract to a 33 year old in decline with mediocre offensive numbers and poor defense. Personally, I'd rather spend those resources elsewhere and even if we don't I would rather roll out Cowart/Kubitza and have that money n the side for financial flexibility in the case of emergency. I just don't think the drop off from Freese to them is worth a 30M commitment (which I'm guessing Freese will get). Here we have a chance to get younger at third base which is supposed to be the goal of the team. If the goal is to be competitive within the next 5 years (Trout years) I don't think signing a guy like Freese is the best decision. Pick up guys that will be controlled through their prime (if possible) which seems like it can only be done through trade. If not, let's see what we have with our in house guys and put that money to use on something that will really impact the team other than a .723 OPS with poor defense.

Of course. I'd personally avoid Samardzija altogether.

I made this exact suggestion in some other thread. I would love to get Heyward/Upton but I'd take those 4 acquisitions over the big OF (assuming we fill LF with someone adequate). Throw Fernandez in there.

Ok so in response to Doc and Scotty, that makes sense. I guess like a prospect who still hasn't figured it out but according to his actual stuff and make up he has the potential. Problem is this 'prospect' is 31 and been in the league 7 years (although low mileage). It makes sense though. Depending on team philosophy - preferring an unproven pitcher with the raw stuff or a proven pitcher who has fell off, in hope of finding himself again - Happ, Volquez, etc. The Pirates do a good job with those types.

Yeah, it seems like a lot of sources are predicting Cardinals. Kind of surprising to me considering the depth they have due to the exceeded expectations from their younger guys (Pham, Piscotty, Grichuck). They aren't the type of organization to throw big money around unless they are in big need. I'd say they are just the opposite with their young OFer's. They could instead use that money for SP or a power bat (some sources are predicting Davis).

Is it for a particular reason or is it the fact that the Angels for whatever reason stay out of outsourced players? I'd love to get Maeda. I think he would provide great value considering his worth if he were to be in the US market and he does make so much sense. That said, if we got a big profile player like Heyward I would understand why we would not be in play for him.

Okay the supposable $100 Million offer is absurd if even true.. But aside from that, what is the big hype with this guy? I know his stock went down this year, but even then he is a perceived #2 as it stands it seems. Last year even, he was perceived as an ace or maybe a very strong #2 as portrayed by the media. Since being a starter (discounting the 81 IP in his first 3 seasons), he has had 3 seasons above league average (ERA+) and 2 below. And that's being nice, considering that he only pitched 88 innings in one of his 3 above average seasons (his best in fact). A 4.09 ERA mostly coming from the NL, in a time where pitching has become so dominant is far from impressive. I don't understand why the guy is perceived so high in value. Anything that I'm missing? I mean, we all want to throw Weaver out of the rotation when he allowed .3 runs less per 9 (obviously his speed and declining factors/age are factors but still). Just curious as to what people on here value him for and how much they would be willing to give him.

Plouffe, Prado, Walker, Escobar... You think those are reaches? I feel like those are very possible trades as we can return solid fits (our excess cost-controlled pitching for example). I think those are much more modest expectations than signing a big name or even 2nd tier FA for that matter. I don't think its anything out of this realm to get 1 year of Prado for 2 years of a 27 y/o SP with a consistent 3.55 career ERA in the AL. - Santiago

I think the key with this is the returning player has to have 2-3 years of control and idk if we would get a decent enough piece of that control for Santiago. I agree its no guarantee to sign him, but I say go completely nuts and pay him what it takes. Even if we outbid on other teams the value of signing him from the international market will be substantially higher than the value per dollar we'd get signing a guy here. There's the risk factor that he has to translate his game to the majors but I feel like this guy has a solid foundation that makes it less likely that he will bust due to his high contact rate and extremely well plate discipline. Maybe he isn't the star he is in Cuba but how about .280/.360/.400 w/ little power and not great speed, but not slow either. Sounds like a great #2 hitter/tablesetter in front of Trout.

Seriously we have to get in on Fernandez. Be aggressive before he draws any major interest from teams especially once Murphy, Zobrist, Kendrick sign. Time to go go out on the international market and pick up Fernandez, Hwang, Oh, and hopefully Maeda. I'd be okay with passing on any big names if we were to do this and pick up an adequate LF. My choice is Span (Aoki would've been great aswell). That would be a great offseason. Edit: I probably come out as asking too much but even with us outbidding teams for all of these players we would be spending drastically less than any of the big names.

Hey that trade option doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. Wonder why clubs haven't implemented yet (that I know of). Like a clause that vests if a player chooses not to opt out.

Thanks, I thought there was another name out there (it was 'Oh' by the way). Hadn't heard much about him but after looking him up his numbers look incredibly good.He is a past 30 though (33) but relievers tend to be effective for longer time plus that only means we get him for a lesser price. If we got Maeda we have the flexibility of flipping Wilson for a solid reliever and at the same time save some $. Getting a decent reliever for Wilson + 'Oh' would solidify the pen.

Damn, I'm bummed too. I would really like to pursue Ben Revere now if he indeed isn't tendered. Another one of the many routes to take: Sign Maeda - 20mil (posting fee) + 5/60 = 5/80 total 12AAV Sign Hwang - Kang got 5M post. fee last year plus 4/11..lets estimate that to be the MAX for Hwang though I'd expect less..5 + 4/11 = 5/16 2.75 AAV Sign Revere - 6.7m projected this year... let's say average of 9 per between 2016-2017 arb raises = 3/27 9AAV Sign Leake - 5/80 16 AAV Sign Utley for bench role on a 1 year deal Flip CJ and Santiago for other pieces (relief pitching/2B) Adds on roughly 40M AAV + Utley's 1 year deal. It isn't bad considering that you get 3 players for 5 years through their prime and 3 good years in Revere. Plus we would exceed that by going for a player like Heyward/Upon/Cespedes (assuming you still fix other holes via FA) This gives us a sexy rotation. No big ACE's but a very solid group overall. 1. Richards 2. Maeda 3. Leake 4. Heaney 5. Skaggs/Tropeano/Weaver/Shoemaker You basically have 3 #2 types at the top and a very good #4/potentially #3 in Heaney. I also still believe Skaggs will develop into a #2-3. Meanwhile we don't add the big bat we want but th lineup is better than last year's. Not advocating for this route, just another possibility.

I would like to kick tires on both Madea and Hwang at this point. No idea how Hwang's defense is but its solid I would be thrilled to see his numbers translate from .290/.350/.521 to .260/.330/.420. We would essentially be getting Freese back at a big discount while younger and better defensively (hopefully). Maeda will command substantially more money but we would almost certainly receive a lot more value per dollar and risk then if we were to shop in the American market.

Anybody surprised he got such a cheap deal? 12/4 is nothing more than change by today's standards. Obviously at age 29, with no Major league experience Park wasn't going to get a huge Tanaka-like contract but even after the bidding quantity (12.85M), he seems like a bargain. I don't know what 105 HR, .324/.434/.700 in the past 2 years translates to but how can they even lose this deal at 3M per year??

I'm super late on commenting lol but I was a bit busy earlier.. Anyways, I'm going to get a lot of s*** for this but oh well. I'm a big Red Sox fan. Pretty much it's the team that I grew up watching and rooting for. And no I'm not from Boston, I live in AZ. Nevertheless I have been following the Angels a lot more the past couple of years, especially this year, and obviously have grown a fandom from that... It started by following Calhoun who me and my dad would go and watch play while he was in High School here in AZ as well as at ASU (my dad worked with his dad). I never really understood the Boston hatred from people on here lol, personally I have always liked the Angels even before I followed them and always saw them as a respectable and solid team even throughout the mid-late 2000's during all those Redsox-Angels post season series'. Currently, I guess you could say I've grown a soft spot for both teams and follow them both, though the Angels more as of lately like I mentioned. Anyhow, I'm getting off topic... I don't like this Price deal a lot. coming from a fan, I'm excited to see him but it honestly is a horrible decision. Not completely because of the money but because of the situation. For example, I think he was a perfect fit for the Cubs even at this 'Price' (pun intended) because they are in win NOW mode. They have a great 1-2 combo and a potent lineup that will only get better with maturity. The next 3 years is for them to win and this is the perfect time for them to forget about any possible regrets/consequences a few years down the road. Especially given their situation with the whole curse thing. For Boston, that time may come in the next couple years once some of their prospects develop. Mookie/Boagarts become the bonafide stars that I think they are capable of... maybe JBJ reaches his potential. Benintendi, Devers, Moncada, etc. Some will get traded obviously and some will bust, but you get the point. They could have been in Chicago's position in a 1-3 years and one of the biggest factors to that was there large financial flexibility going forward. Although they still have the young talent, They don't have that flexibility with Price anymore no matter how endless their pockets may seem. As for the opt out... I think it's pretty absurd to think about Price opting out. Everything would have to fall into place and even then it would be very difficult. This is due to the back loaded contract in which price will have a 127M commitment through his last 4 years (31.75 annually), into his age 37 season. Meaning that he has to pitch EXTREMELY well for three years for a team to be crazy enough to buy his age age 34-39 (2019-2024) seasons for something like 150/6. That's insane for a player of that age an honestly anything lower than that probably would not be worth to Price who would be on pace to accumulate more than a quarter of a billion anyways. And even if he was offered 150/6, this would be assuming that he would want to pitch an extra couple seasons and risk having to relocate for an extra few million. I just don't see it.

Revere, Revere, Revere... Please.

Yeah, can't argue with that.

Agree on JBJ. I don't know if Boston would do this while eating salary though. Would you do CJ for JBJ, Holt, and Ramirez with no salary eaten?

Ok, I see... That makes sense.

Notti, of course I did. I mentioned specifically that this trade works only if its not a player-for-player trade. Let me ask you this... What do you value Ramirez ? What would he be value in the FA market? What do you value Holt? What is his FA value? Ramirez: Despite his down year last season (only the 2nd time in 10 years he has had an OPS+ below 100) his 3 year average is 2.2 WAR. that translates to 15.4M per year. You can make the case that this should be lower because of the factors that statistics do not account for (health issues, decline, etc.) but you can also make the case that last year was an outlier and that age 31 he did not suddenly turn into a pumpkin. Lets say that his true value lies between 13M (being modest for an impact bat when healthy) to 16M. Holt: In his first 2 seasons, he has been a very consistent 2.3/2.4 player(with 106 and 129 games played btw). His value translates to about 16.45M. Let's say teams pay 12-15 for him (i'll be modest again, because of his lack of experience). To sum it up, that is at the very minimum 25M in value that you would receive for at most 18M + league minimum & arbitration raises. Edit: If Ramirez got injured, which I'll admit myself will probably happen at one point, Cowart/Kubitza/Giovotella our at back up options. You say the team crumbles when we have to rely on our depth... but as it stand, that depth is currently our starters.

Did you take into account Wilson's salary that we would send over? we wouldn't be taking on 66-88 million. We would be taking on 48-70. I'd be thrilled for Boston to pay 10 mil which I think its pretty doable.