halosfan1970

I get the Soto move too. A one-year $2.8m contract is pretty easy to swallow. Long-term Bandy may be better, but this is risk mitigation. Going with Perez/Bandy at C and Cowart/Kubitza at 3B is a lot of risk at one time. I fail to understand the moves with Ramos and Salas. Ramos was never amazing, but he performed well in what he was asked to do even if he wasn't given many high leverage opportunities. Salas, however, was given high leverage opportunities. Those mostly ended up in flaming wreckage.

If a platoon with a veteran FA at 3B is the way to go until Cowart or Kubitza assert themselves... it might make more sense to go with Kubitza and sign Uribe on a one-year deal as a platoon.

Well that's an improvement over the 60 OPS+ Matt Joyce put up last season.

Trevor Plouffe just looks to be a younger David Freese but with a lower OBP. His defensive metrics last year were only about one run saved better than Freese. I'm not sure he was worth a trade anyway. Martin Prado may not get the Angels younger at 3B, but his OBP and defense are both clear improvements.

The Angels need men on base in front of Trout. Donaldson batted with something like 78 more men on base than Trout in 2015. The Angels need baserunners in front of Trout. The 2014 Calhoun was better at getting on base than the 2015 Calhoun. If the Angels can get men on base in front of Trout (Heyward, Prado, Revere, whoever...) I'm fine with the 2015 Calhoun. At that point, Calhoun can maximize ISO and hit 5 behind Pujols.

Archer is obviously unattainable. However, if you told me Hector Santiago and Kole Calhoun could bring back Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon, I'd be in.

Not related to Mark Trumbo... Kole Calhoun needs to stop selling out for 25 HR and get back to the 2014 Calhoun that had 15 HR, more doubles, a better BA, and closer to a .330 OBP.

Cueto was acquired in a mid-season trade; therefore, the Royals could not make a Qualifying Offer. The team that signs Cueto does not lose a draft pick.

Giving up both Brock Holt and Jackie Bradley Jr just to get out of the Hanley Ramirez contract seems like way too much for Boston. Holt seems a more likely trade piece than Bradley.

On what assumptions can we base Ramirez's defensive abilities at 1B, 2B, or 3B? He's never played 1B or 2B at the major league level. He's played 99 games at 3B of which 98 were in 2012. His 2012 3B defense was below league average. He will be older and significantly heavier in 2016. He may fit an offensive need, but it's ridiculous to believe he can be anything other than a pure DH.

Bruce Bochy? Cookie Rojas and the ghost of Gene Mauch are still available.

Exactly. Salas gets more scorn on here than his performance warrants. Good K/BB and his FIP outperforms his ERA. He gave up too many HR's in high leverage situations. He's a respectable middle inning option if you avoid using him with inherited runners.

Wei-Yin Chin is a younger CJ Wilson. Chin is to Wilson as Trevor Plouffe is to David Freese.

I agree with you. I think David Freese has been a consistent performer (slightly above average offensively.) His age, his durability, and his defensive limitations are known. If the goal is to trade to get younger, to get more athletic, and to get better defensively at 3B, Brett Lawrie is a prime candidate. He's younger than Trevor Plouffe (25 v 29) with one more year of control. I also think Lawrie has a higher ceiling than Plouffe. Without tradeable MiLB prospects, what do the Angels have that would interest Oakland?

MATHIS!

Brett Lawrie is just another 3B like Trevor Plouffe that the AW community can obsess over to replace David Freese. Plouffe and Lawrie are both younger versions of Freese. Neither has posted an OBP or OPS+ record at Freese's level yet. Both play marginally better defense than Freese at this point in their careers. Freese is disliked by many on this board for one reason... GRICHUK... Not Freese's fault. Blame Dipoto.

If it's that lineup, I leadoff with Gordon. He's left handed, so his HR production at home isn't important. The more doubles the better. Getting baserunners in front of Trout is a priority. Zobrist at #2 and Calhoun at #5 could be reversed. I'd like to see Calhoun stop selling out for 25 HR like 2015. The 2014 Calhoun that hit for more doubles, that had fewer strikeouts, and that had an OBP closer to .330 would be a good #2 hitter in front of Trout. Zobrist, Cron, and Lawrie take the lineup much deeper, with better protection behind Pujols, than the 2015 lineup. 1. Gordon 2. Zobrist 3. Trout 4. Pujols 5. Calhoun 6. Cron 7. Lawrie 8. Perez 9. Simmons

Brett Lawrie as a leadoff hitter? 2015 OBP .299 (.316 career), 2015 SO 144 (124 career). Umm... Why?

Iannetta... Freese... Salas...

So it's possible the 2016 Angels' roster could be without Iannetta, Freese, and Salas. The AngelsWin community is going to need to quickly decide on three new players for constant scorn.

You are sentimental. CJ Cron's offensive stats and Mark Trumbo's stats look nearly identical. Cron hits for a little more BA. Trumbo hits for a little more SLG. Both have a terrible OBP around .299. Trumbo is a passable 1B backup. His defense as a COF is abysmal. Trumbo costs $9m. Cron costs $520k. Easy choice.

If Mark Trumbo could take a walk like Ortiz, he'd have a .350 OBP. He would then be worth that $9m arbitration estimate.

I agree. Marcell Ozuna is the more achievable target from the Marlins. I just don't see them parting with Christian Yelich. However, I'd think bigger and look at trading for both Ozuna and Dee Gordon. Start with Santiago and Kole Calhoun for Ozuna and Gordon. It probably takes more. I don't know, but that isn't a total mismatch in value. Trading Calhoun makes signing Heyward for RF imperative. Ozuna - Trout - Heyward is a strong outfield. Gordon at 2B is a huge improvement.

Utter Desolation.

Heyward has been spotted at the Wienerschnitzel on Chapman Avenue.