WeatherWonk

Very weird. Sanchez has caught 206 games total, in his short career since 2016. Yet, he's in this guy's top 10 of the last 10 years? OK.................

Kenny's list must have little to do with actual catching skills and more to do with hitting. Come on, man, Gary Sanchez??? Actually, Sanchez didnt hit last year, either.

I dont see the Los Angeles Angels on your better list, Strad.

Just 'cause we are done, doesnt mean the rest of the division is. Actually, neither is the rest of the league. So much of how a team will do is based on how good their opposition is. The Mariners appear to be significantly worse. The Rangers dont appear to be significantly better. The Astros may be slightly worse. Jury still out on the A's. Too early to make a bold prediction, when the teams we play nineteen times may not be done.

I agree with Strad. The Cubs already have an expensive, can't-hit-good-fielding right fielder. Jason Heyward.

Great subject to bring up, AJ. Looking forward to more thoughts on it. I dont try to predict salaries and years of service. Too difficult.

Well, that's your perception. Until any player pans out, it's only a perception. It wasnt that long ago that Ward was a perceived strength at catcher. Things dont pan out, sometimes. We have had perceived strength at 3rd base before. It continue to be a bit of a black hole for us since Glaus left, excepting maybe one season with Figgins.

Obviously. Otherwise we wouldn't have signed him at all. But it could be a concern that would prevent us FROM signing him. We certainly appear to be in a strategy where we don't spend big (or long term) in areas where we have perceived strength in the minors. Especially if they are only 1-2 years away. This is a very wait-and-see year, IMO. That, and hope that MINN, OAK and TB are on a par with us and we can compete for that 2nd WC.

A Trader Joe's? That's a joke, right?

While I'm disappointed with the closer we ended up with, at least we do have a bonafide, tested closer. I think having LaStella, Bour, more Cozart, more Fletch and a better Ward will have us much improved in 2019, over the whole Marte, Valbuena, Kinsler experiment. Enough to get the 2nd WC? Possibly. A's wont be as good. Rays seem like a team that will regress from a simply incredible year, especially given the division they were in. We're a legit WC team.

Sloppy seconds always gets a discount. No one would give him even a two year contract, so his agent said, ".........well, looks like we'll have to call the Angels."

Win-win, baby! Except that................can you imagine how badly Arte will have to overpay, to keep him here. And how that will limit the Angels, going forward. Albert 2.0, in terms of contract limitations.

Trout just turned to his wife, after reading this on AW, and said, "....honey, you can stop worrying about me being stuck on the West Coast for half the year, after 2020." "I'm comin' home, I've done my time............"

Pretty much. You're a quick study. You should hang here more.

Let's see how the physical goes.

Yep. Was available on Ebay and Craigslist, but the posts expired in 2018.

Maybe I'm remembering the playoffs..........not that he'll get a chance.

I DISAGREE. Guy has been garbage for 1.5 years. It's like the jr. high dance, when there is only one girl left.

The Yankees need bullpen help? Who knew??? Chapman thru 2021. Britton thru '21 or '22. Ottavino thru '21. Betances thru next year. Kahnle. Holder. Who am I missing? They are loaded to the gills.

Most likely the A's a la Brett Anderson and Cahill last year. An ex- Beaner. In before someone accuses me of racism.

My buddies and I have sworn off Tempe. That stadium is too old and cant accommodate all the people they pack in there. The concession lines create a horrible traffic jam. We go see the Angels at other ball parks.

Epic pranking!...........but you deserve a spanking.

Could we at least wait until he hits a lick in AAA before we decide what all-star he will be similar to?

“The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.” Besides, isn't the plan "we have a lot of young talent that we are HOPEFUL will come through and allow us to compete for a WC spot at some point in the next 2-3 years, Mike." At best, a one-game shot at the playoffs will be a selling point? Houston will be tough for at least that long. They have three tier 1 prospects (Tucker, Whitley, Alvarez), not to mention Valdez and James who have already made it to the bigs, and were only tier 2 and 3 prospects. We have one tier 1 prospect, Adell, who hasnt hit in AAA yet. Then, there's that infield of Bregman, Correa and Altuve who will be together through 2021, at least. Correa is a FA in '22, Bregman in '23 and Altuve in '25. Alvarez takes over first from Guriel who DHs, I guess, till he is a FA in 2023, Tucker replaces Reddick or Springer. This assumes that Bregman and Correa dont get extended the way Altuve did. Talk about keepin' the line movin'...............

I think they throw Valdez and James into the rotation from the start, to determine whether they might want to extend Cole or Verlander a couple years...........or if they even need to.