ksangel

Possibly sign Moustakas, platoon Valbuena at 1B with a right handed hitting 1B (Napoli or similar?) and trade Cron?

The Phillies have the #1 minor league 2B prospect in Scott Kingery so his presence would seem to make Hernandez available. Kingery batted .294 with a .786 OPS in triple A after being promoted in late June. He had 18 homers at double A and eight at triple A. Kingery, 23, was the only player in the minor leagues with at least 25 homers and more than 21 stolen bases. He was successful on 29 of his 34 steal attempts. The following was in the Philly newspaper in September... "Keeping Kingery at triple A would be a bit more challenging if he has a stellar spring training for the second straight year. Phillies will likely try to move either Cesar Hernandez or Freddy Galvis in the offseason to make room for a future double-play pairing of Kingery and J.P. Crawford." Another Philly paper wrote... "If the Phillies follow that plan they will have one infield position (second base) to plug and two infielders to do it with. Either player they pick would be a winner. By going with Kingery, they get four years younger and a number of extra years of control. There could be some extra power to tap into with Kingery. That leaves the Phillies the option of trading Hernandez, who is one of the more valuable pieces they have on the roster. They could package him with prospects at a position they already have some depth at for a starting pitcher."

3B - Valbuena - from what I have read Angels feel he will rebound offensively (based upon his 2017 low BABIP) and is adequate defensively. Cowart will also play 3B at times and Valbuena will also play 1B. 2B - Trade for Hernandez - fills lead off role, is above average offensive and defensive player and not a stop gap / older player like Gordon or Walker. 1B - Will give Cron one more year to put up consistent offensive numbers. SP - Sign a Lynn or similar mid-level SP pitcher to make up for loss of SP in trade for Hernandez. RP - Eppler will figure this out like he did last year.

Keep Calhoun and put him in LF so they don't have to resign Upton...saves a lot of $'s that way. Trade Skaggs and high end prospect(s) for Stanton and Gordon...take on all of Stanton's and Gordon's salaries as the key to the deal.

Thaiss has played 11 games. Had 39 at bats Scored 9 runs Had 9 Hits 1 double, 1 triple, ZERO home runs and five runs batted in 12 total bases (7 singles + 1 double + 1 triple = 12) 9 walks and 17 strikeouts 3 stolen bases and has not been caught stealing .231 batting average; .360 on base percentage; .308 slugging percentage; .668 OPS 1 fielding error. Sorry for the unreadable stats...hope this helps. With those type of stats, and yes it is only the Arizona Fall League, is he really the Angels future 1B?

I hear this on this site but wonder if others agree that Thaiss will be a major league 1B in the near future? If not then maybe it would be best to move on from Cron... Arizona Fall League stat line for Thaiss...17 strikeouts in 39 AB's?? I get it that this is only additional playing time for some players but.... 11Games 39AB's 9Runs 9Hits 1Dbl 1Trp 0HR 5RBI's 12TB 9W 17K's 3SB 0Caught .360OBP .308SLG .231AVG .668OPS 1E

Not to be disparaging but I don't think or have read that Skaggs alone will get Hernandez....an unproven pitcher straight up for a competent offensive/defensive every day player?? Plus the Phil's don't have to trade him so they have a leg up there also.

PEDRO!!!

Interesting that Thaiss was not top twenty in Southern League but Jones and Barria were top twenty in California League per BA. Quote from BA on California League Top 20 - "Top draft picks filled the league (California) and excelled, with top-10 selections Brendan Rodgers, A.J. Puk and Cal Quantrill shining in particular before being promoted at the all-star break. In their place came another wave of talent, headlined by Jon Duplantier, Jahmai Jones and Keibert Ruiz."

Per Baseball America website this award is based solely on performance this year and not at all on future projection...notice he was not chosen in the top ten in the league but Chris Rodriquez was.

"Not only was Eaton worth six wins above replacement in the estimation of both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference last season, he’s also on a wildly affordable contract that guarantees him just $19.9MM over the next three seasons and comes with two affordable club options. All told, his earnings can top out at $38.4MM if both options are picked up. For five eminently affordable years of a player of that ilk, it’s not surprising that multiple top 50 overall prospects and a 2016 first-round pick were required to pry Eaton away from the White Sox, who very clearly appear to be in the midst of an aggressive rebuilding process." Above is MLB Traderumors reasoning behind what the White Sox got for Eaton...btw Yelich was at 3.9 WAR in 2017. The Angels could package a deal around Heaney or Skaggs with lets say Jahmai Jones (who should break into the top 100 now) and another prospect for Yelich...that would seem on par with what the Nats traded. In 2013 Skaggs was the #12 prospect, Heaney #43 and even Cowart was #60...and Yelich #41...so trading high end prospects doesn't always mean much - they're just numbers...

Pair him with Calhoun and Trout in the OF - WOW...rather have those three than Trout, Stanton and another LF like the Angels have been putting out there before Upton...

Skaggs, Heaney, Bridwell, Middleton, Bedrosian, Perez, Barria, Chris Rodriquez, Adell, Jones, Canning....etc...The Angels have the requisite MLB and prospects to get Yelich.

Let him walk and spend the $'s on a younger FA like Hosmer...trade for Yelich - younger and on the way up instead of possibly peaked and going down like Upton...when will the Angels start signing FA's who are in their 20's and climbing and not a Pujols, Hamilton...etc. who are past their prime and will be albatrosses in the later years of their contracts... I like Upton but want the Angels to get younger and more athletic...

Other than Gordon, who hit 2 last year, you should get about 35 from Trout (maybe 45+ with this lineup), 20-25 from Yelich, Hosmer and Pujols and 15-20 from Calhoun and around 10-15 from each of Simmons, Nunez and Maldonado...so how many more homers are required??? Houston's everyday eight players had 169. This Angels eight would have 170+.... Hosmer did increase his OBP this year but has a .342 lifetime average vs. Cron at .307...I'd take Hosmer plus he's a much better defensive 1B though Cron has gotten better...plus he's just more athletic than Cron - runs the bases better...etc. Actually stole in double digits earlier in his career and had 6 last year...can't imagine Cron ever having 6. Yelich has a .369 OBP career wise which is what he had last year and his HR totals are going up with age...he's only 25 and had 16 stolen bases last year. Gordon's OBP is .330 career wise so that's not too far off of .341 for last year and had 60 stolen bases last year and he's a plus defender at 2B... Nunez goes up and down between .327 and .353 and I'd take him over Valbuena because of defense and speed - and had 24 stolen bases last year... All in all I chose the lineup because it is more athletic / speed oriented overall at each position and it's not really that bad with regards to HR's. I hear what you say about Calhoun but I love his grit on this team and I think there's a real bond between him and Trout/GRich. I look at him as the Erstad of the 2002 Angels... I also chose this because it seems realistic...one major trade, one major free agent signing and one lesser free agent signing...

Trade anyone but Trout, Simmons, Calhoun, Maldonado or Richards for Yelich & Dee Gordon (a $10M/year contract the Marlins would like to jettison if they really are paring down their $'s) and sign Hosmer (instead of Upton) and also sign Nunez... LF, 3B, 2B, 1B, leadoff and OBP solved. Gordon - .341 OBP Yelich - .369 Trout - .442 Pujols...remember he's going to lose 40 pounds and work on his bunting...OBP of at least .290 Hosmer - .385 Calhoun - .333 Simmons - .331 Nunez - .353 Maldonado - whatever he gives is made up for by what he brings behind the dish. Now that's some OBP and what a defensive team at all positions !!!

This off season Pujols is going to lose 40 pounds and work on his bunting to counteract infielders playing in the outfield...OBP solved!

He had 3 stolen bases this year and Robinson Cano 1...LOL....shows how stats can be so misleading like RBI's...

Lackey was 23 and Bridwell 25... Lackey had TOTR stuff...Bridwell doesn't - no knock to Bridwell - it's the difference between the two

Team - Need LF - $ Nationals - yes and yes Marlins - no and no Phillies - maybe and maybe Braves - yes and no Mets - yes and yes Cubs - no and yes Brewers - no and no Pirates - no and no Cards - no and yes Reds - no and no Dodgers - maybe and oh my gosh yes D'Backs - no and maybe Rocks - no and yes Padres - yes and yes Giants - yes and yes Red Sox - no and yes Yankees - no and yes O's - yes and yes Rays - yes and no Blue Jays - no and yes Indians - yes and yes (Yes for LF because Brantley can't seem to stay healthy) Royals - no and no Twins - no and no Tigers - yes and yes White Sox - no and no Astros - no and no Rangers - yes and yes Mariners - no and yes A's - no and no Angels - yes and yes Regarding if a team "needs" a LF - I stated no if their current LF had a decent year or if they had a young player in the wings (like the Yankees with Clint Frazier) Money is always more important - most do this for only a few years and have to make all they can while it lasts...

I've had the idea he'd sign with the Nationals. He's from the Virginia Beach area, played travel ball with fellow Virginian Ryan Zimmerman and he would replace Jason Werth. The Nationals owner has shown he'll spend the bucks to be a winner. It would be a signing by the Nationals to protect them if Harper went elsewhere in 2019 or they chose to let him go to spend the money elsewhere.

Now that is a totally different universe to be in....thanks for the insight !!!

I'd agree with this...Arte isn't going to sell... After Scioscia said last night the Angels were satisfied with Valboners defense at 3B I had to wonder what alternate universe he's been watching the games in...

Agree with this regarding Cowart...let him play

I run hot and cold on Upton...so another idea I've been mulling over... Trade for Yelich and Dee Gordon (I don't have a total package but it starts with Jones - replacement for Yellich and not needed with Trout in CF and Yellich in RF for years to come, Skaggs plus more) and sign Chatwood or someone similar. Put Cowart at 3B and let him play the entire season like KC did with Moose for four years... Gordon Yelich Trout Cron Pujols (he's going to be here no matter what) Calhoun Simmons Cowart Maldonado Richards, Heaney, Chatwood, Shoe and Bridwell Parker, Petit, Bedrosian, Middleton, Ramirez...and fill in the blank...