stanick88

I think we consider resigning him if he can continue playing well the whole season. Keep in mind, he was injured at the beginning of the year and that may have contributed to his slow start. Plus he had switched teams and had to move across the U.S. But if he can hit 270 the rest of the way with 335 on base % then that would be a success worth looking into resigning for another year. Especially if we can get a true lead off, he would slot in well behind Pujols. Or even have Trout bat lead off, followed by kinsler/simmons, Upton, pujols, simmons/kinsler. 

As much as I like trout in the two hole, that would lead to trout scoring so many more runs and being more of a threat on the base paths. 

Fletcher again. If he can keep it going, and Kole really has re-emerged. We may have a chance this season.

Trout in the man.

do they intentionally walk a run in?

Awww yeah. The fletch man coming through. RALLY TIME FELLAS

OUR RELIEVERS CANNOT HOLD A LEAD IN THE 7TH, 8TH, AND 9TH. AND TODAY IS A BULLPEN GAME SO WE HAVE RELIEVERS PITCHING 1-9. I AM SUPRISED ITS ONLY BEEN TWO RUNS GIVEN UP TO THIS POINT.

25 minutes ago, BackUpTheTruck said:

I can see Thiass, Fletcher, and Fernandez all making the team next year.  I think what could happen is Cozart at second, Fletcher at third, Fernandez as utility infielder, Thiass as first baseman when Ohtani is out of the lineup.  If Kole Calhoun successfully reinvents himself as a contact hitter this year, I think he is our starting right fielder next year.  If not, sign a free agent to a one or two-year deal and wait for Adell and Marsh.

And another .500 season here we come with that lineup. YAWWWWNNNNNNNNNNN. I am not saying we need a big splash at every position but why not use all of the resources we have to try and field the best team possible. No need to focus unjustly on having all options come in house just for the satisfaction of it.

Lets get a win today Angels. New season starts tonight. Let’s get a streak going and chase down a playoff spot. 

Put Harper in a lineup and have him sandwhiched between Trout and Upton and he will receive more pitches as strikes.

Per Avery Yang of MLB.com, Garrett played catch today and it is looking like this will be a short DL stint if all continues to go well. It was also offered that there is a chance he may be able to pitch this weekend if a full bullpen has been thrown and no ill effects are felt. ( https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/angels-garrett-richards-starts-playing-catch/amp/ )

But there is a chance. A shut down closer and another bullpen arm. Along with getting Ohtani back(even I if just for DH, although if he could pitch at the end of the season that would greatly help) would go along way in helping us achieve that goal. I would even consider another bat, and DFA Valbuena, young, and Marte. Heck, even Ward, Thaiss, Canning, or Suarez may provide a spark. And a spark is all we need. Being hot and healthy with a playoff spot(even a Wild card spot) is the recipe for post season success. 

5 minutes ago, artesmustache said:

can't defer money to his personal service contract and not have it count towards luxury tax. every cent on his player contract is counted towards luxry tax.

You are correct going forward. And that is because of Alberts contract. 10 million was for a 10 year personal service contract. Because of that, the MLBPA and MLB outlawed that for the future after Albert. But what you can do, and what I am suggesting, is buy out his contract and have him retire and become a coach. Which will wipe his contract from the luxury tax. And then have him hired and have part of or all of his buy out as an instructor/coach/assistant salary (which effectively starts his personal service time portion of his contract start early). 

The only time the Angels have ever qualified as a wild card is........................................................................................................................................................................................2002; the only year we won the Wold Series. Lets go for two in a row. 

Now before someone gets all crusty and try’s to be all pessimistic, I know that the format was different and the Wild Card now only gets you into the opening round of the playoffs where you have to beat the other wild card in a one game series. However, that is the point. It only takes getting in as a wild card to have a chance. With Mike Trout, anything can happen in one game. And remember back in 2002, we probably had the worst chance of all the other playoff contenders to actually win it all. And we won it all. Sometimes you just have to go for it. And now is one of those times. I am not saying we gut our farm, but I say a few moves would definitely help us. And who know, we may just go 2 for 2 as Wild Card World Series Winners. 

9 minutes ago, Torridd said:

I agree, Chuck. It's very tiresome. Only 10 teams of 30 make the playoffs. He'll get his shot.

Let’s do all we can do so he gets that shot with us. 

Just now, Tank said:

maybe he could sign with golden state.

Or May be team up with lebron? 

There is a difference between the “poor Trout” narrative, and the “we need to feild a team that can win as soon as possible so we give our selves the best chance to resign him to retire as an Angel as the best player of all time” narrative. But I agree that the poor Trout narrative is alittle annoying. 

8 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

I didn’t forget.  They need to pay him what he’s owed and move him into his post playing days role.  AKA the “personal services” contract.  Albert isn’t going to make a deal for the Angels because he simply doesn’t have to.  He’d be out of his mind to not get every single cent.  I’m sorry, there’s no reason to believe he’ll give the Angels a break.  Would you do your employer any favor when it comes to what they owe you ? Of course not.  And you’d be wholly justified in that.  Just as Albert is. 

You are correct. But I think his personal service contract is for 1 mil a year for 10 years. So if we paid him 10 mil a year as the personal service contract, it would roughly be around what we owe him overall. It is just a way of allocating a buy out so his contract doesn’t count again the luxury tax. I guess we were both kinda getting to the same point. 

5 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

No.  We have to pay him out.  

The end. 

No. You forget he has a 10 year personal service contract with the Angels after his playing career is over. 

May Be we can convince Pujols in the off-season to void his remainder of his contract, retire, and then pay him 10 mil a year to be an assistant Bench Coach, Assistant hitting instructor, or whatever else it will take to get his contact from counting towards the competitive balance tax threshold. That we can can get a competitive player to play for the same price we were paying Albert. Long shot it mAy be. But it was a long shot to sign Pujols to bein with many moons ago.  

14 minutes ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

Would they consider Blash and young everyday player LOL! I mean technically he's not old and technically he "plays" every day.

Calhoun (Young) is young and can play everyday.   

Edit: Young is Young. (Literally his name is Young). Since Calhoun had a good day back. May be Calhoun can be a spark. 

44 minutes ago, The Boogie Man said:

That’s splitting hairs.  You simply said it better than I did.  If they aren’t ready to fail at this level and learn from it then that is the loss of bringing them up too early.  I’d release both Valbuena and Marte when Cozart comes back.  

Yes please. And if we are not going to make any trades and/or are clearly out of the running early, I’d love to see Ward and thaiss get some regular at bats, and to see what Canning, Suarez, and others arms can do in the Majors. But LET ME MAKE IT CLEAR; I would rather try to improve this club via trades and go for it this year. 

7 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

Brach has been far from good this year. He would fit in with the rest of our relievers.

1.70 WHIP? Dear God. Explosion waiting to happen.

Wow. I didn’t realize Brach’s stats  And his career stats are nothing great either. But I’d take a look at Britton. 

The Herrera trade was for the Nats #11 and #12 or so ranked prospects and a upside arm ranked outside their top 20-30. To us that would be like Hermosillo(ranked #9 by MLB), Leonardo Rivas (ranked #14 by MLB) and Hector Yan (ranked #29 by MLB). Who knows who the Royals or any team we may trade with may like over other similarly ranked prospects in our system, but something like that or even less would likely have gotten us Herrera or another Reliever in a trade. Why not go get Brach and Britton from the Orioles. Or Hand and or Familia. But I think a cost like that may be worth a trade or two. 

2 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

If we trade prospects for any of the guys listed above, I would think that we would be preparing to sign them to extensions. Because I just don't see the point in giving up prospects for these relievers if they aren't going to be part of our future.

I see the point in doing so. The point is quite simple actually. The point is to get relievers who will help us keep games close, keep leads we may have, and close games out. All things needed (especially things we as the Angels need the most) to win. Now if we can resign these players or trade for players with controllable/future years remaining then that is a further plus. But we need help, and we need help now. I understand not wanting to gut our system. But to part with some mid prospects to me is a no brainer if we think it would give us a chance at the a wild card and the lost season. 

21 minutes ago, Taylor said:

So we've heard. You and Claude get synchronized half-chubs every time the topic comes up.

I do lot think it would be a chub. Or even a semi-chub. It is a realistic and sad yet very possible outcome. We need to surround Trout with a chance to compete in the playoffs, or he may be gone. It is a realistic nightmare. No one gets a chub about the idea of Mile Trout leaving. Just some people here do not want to go for the all in approach and try to win championships now while we have Trout.