Hubs

5/110 to 6/156 is my comfort range.

Their initial bench last year was moved into the starting lineup in the second half and even then almost none of the guys they were playing would be on my projected bench for 22. 
 
I think they need to add in the middle infield unless they are gonna give the job to Davis and he hits. Rengifo struggled with the bat. But he, Mayfield and Wade are good infielder bench I guess and Thaiss as backup C plus Ward and Upton is a good bench. If Rengifo is the starter and Wade the backup, uh oh but I like Wade, Thaiss and Ward as the primary bench pieces. Especially if Davis wins the SS job and hits. 
 

5/110 to 6/156 is my comfort range.

5/110 to 6/156 is my comfort range.

Someone on Twitter is trying to convince me Suarez isn’t a good starter cuz he had a 4.44 ERA last year as a starter. And that Detmers and Canning suck and the other depth pieces are also bad.
His solution is to sign Stroman, trade for Sonny Gray and sign Cobb. In addition to Syndergaard and Iglesias of course.
I don’t think the Angels will be limited to $50M in FA spending but I also don’t think they are gonna spend $100M either.

They actually allowed the fewest runs in the American League in both bullpen and starting pitching. That staff was surprisingly great. Just like 2011 staff which was the best staff we had under Scioscia. It’s a lot of preparation. but then you need a little luck too

I think they will add a journeyman catcher and at least one catcher for AAA like Briceño or Bemboom or Butera. But they'll let Thaiss try to win the backup job in ST. Ward is the emergency catcher, and backup INF/OF. They are going versatile players.
They're not spending money at the position, just like they apparently aren't spending money on the Middle Infield.
And for those who think they need more experience, how many games do you think 31 year old Bemboom has caught in the majors? He's started 40 in parts of 4 seasons. Briceno has started 36. Wallach 58.
These guys have started more in the minors, but Thaiss was the Angels 2016 draft pick, and yes they moved him off the plate, and put him at 1st. He was a catcher his whole life until 2016. He started 54 games for the Bees at Catcher last year, essentially in a three-way platoon with Butera and Bemboom. He caught more than they did.
Suzuki was a luxury and he hit terribly. Thaiss managed a .879 OPS in AAA. He's not hit in his limited action in the minors, but his versatility is key. And he's left handed. The Angels have a very nice bench with Thaiss and Ward and Wade, if Davis is the starter at SS. Upton I think is technically the starter or in a three-way platoon with Adell and Marsh.
 
 
 

I think they will add a journeyman catcher and at least one catcher for AAA like Briceño or Bemboom or Butera. But they'll let Thaiss try to win the backup job in ST. Ward is the emergency catcher, and backup INF/OF. They are going versatile players.
They're not spending money at the position, just like they apparently aren't spending money on the Middle Infield.
And for those who think they need more experience, how many games do you think 31 year old Bemboom has caught in the majors? He's started 40 in parts of 4 seasons. Briceno has started 36. Wallach 58.
These guys have started more in the minors, but Thaiss was the Angels 2016 draft pick, and yes they moved him off the plate, and put him at 1st. He was a catcher his whole life until 2016. He started 54 games for the Bees at Catcher last year, essentially in a three-way platoon with Butera and Bemboom. He caught more than they did.
Suzuki was a luxury and he hit terribly. Thaiss managed a .879 OPS in AAA. He's not hit in his limited action in the minors, but his versatility is key. And he's left handed. The Angels have a very nice bench with Thaiss and Ward and Wade, if Davis is the starter at SS. Upton I think is technically the starter or in a three-way platoon with Adell and Marsh.
 
 
 

I see Canning only being feasible trade bait as part of a package for another SP, such as Sonny Gray or one of the Athletics.

I think they will add a journeyman catcher and at least one catcher for AAA like Briceño or Bemboom or Butera. But they'll let Thaiss try to win the backup job in ST. Ward is the emergency catcher, and backup INF/OF. They are going versatile players.
They're not spending money at the position, just like they apparently aren't spending money on the Middle Infield.
And for those who think they need more experience, how many games do you think 31 year old Bemboom has caught in the majors? He's started 40 in parts of 4 seasons. Briceno has started 36. Wallach 58.
These guys have started more in the minors, but Thaiss was the Angels 2016 draft pick, and yes they moved him off the plate, and put him at 1st. He was a catcher his whole life until 2016. He started 54 games for the Bees at Catcher last year, essentially in a three-way platoon with Butera and Bemboom. He caught more than they did.
Suzuki was a luxury and he hit terribly. Thaiss managed a .879 OPS in AAA. He's not hit in his limited action in the minors, but his versatility is key. And he's left handed. The Angels have a very nice bench with Thaiss and Ward and Wade, if Davis is the starter at SS. Upton I think is technically the starter or in a three-way platoon with Adell and Marsh.
 
 
 

If it were my choice, I'd pay Stroman, even though he's not the hard thrower. He has a longer track record of success and more than two pitches. 
Gausman is a major question mark for me, and he's one of the two guys of the "elite-ish" FA guys that I want to stay away from. The "elite-ish" are the guys who will probably (or did) make more than $20M annually being Stroman, Scherzer, Gausman, Ray, Rodon, Syndergaard, Kershaw and Verlander. Rodriguez was next....though I doubted he'd make $20M annually.
Gausman I'd stay away because of his limited success with the Giants, his two pitch mix, even if they are a very good two pitches, and his age.
Rodon and Kershaw are no's for me because of Injury, Verlander because of Injury and Age.
That leaves four, and we signed one already. That leaves three choices, Stroman, Scherzer, and Ray. I'd take any of those three over Gausman, then go to the next tier if we're unsuccessful there or don't have the budget for it. (Gray, Cobb).
 

If it were my choice, I'd pay Stroman, even though he's not the hard thrower. He has a longer track record of success and more than two pitches. 
Gausman is a major question mark for me, and he's one of the two guys of the "elite-ish" FA guys that I want to stay away from. The "elite-ish" are the guys who will probably (or did) make more than $20M annually being Stroman, Scherzer, Gausman, Ray, Rodon, Syndergaard, Kershaw and Verlander. Rodriguez was next....though I doubted he'd make $20M annually.
Gausman I'd stay away because of his limited success with the Giants, his two pitch mix, even if they are a very good two pitches, and his age.
Rodon and Kershaw are no's for me because of Injury, Verlander because of Injury and Age.
That leaves four, and we signed one already. That leaves three choices, Stroman, Scherzer, and Ray. I'd take any of those three over Gausman, then go to the next tier if we're unsuccessful there or don't have the budget for it. (Gray, Cobb).
 

Jon Gray is a hard thrower which is what the Angels typically go after. Also they don’t need two more starters. With Sandoval, Suarez, Barria, Detmers, Canning, Naughton, and Junk… plus other minor league guys on their way up… they’ll be fine with one more add.

I'm 100% with Scooter Gennett here. Correa is a fucking cheating bastard and he and Altuve are the worst of the lot. They're trying to push this narrative that the Astros are clean now, but somehow I fucking doubt it.
They won a WS by exploiting a loophole. The front office gave up the sacrificial lamb, but they absolutely should've been punished harder. Vacate the WS and explain that any further cheating schemes get them a post season ban, or even removed from the league for a year.
Fuck the Asterisks.
 

If he's hitting to a .750 OPS his defense makes him a plus sign. In his career with Atlanta he had one .750 OPS year followed by a .692 year, then two years in the low to mid .600's. Then they traded him to us. He immediately went back to a .690 OPS, followed by two good years in the .750's. Followed that up with a .673 OPS then missed half the games in a pandemic shortened season at .702. Then went to Minnesota and his offense cratered to a .558 OPS.
His defense is still elite, but he's not going to produce the 4.4 / 7.9 / 5.7 bWAR if he's not hitting somewhat efficiently. And I know average is a bad stat, but he dropped to a .223 AVG.
I'd rather give Davis a shot than bring Simmons back at this point. There are a lot of elite defenders, if not quite as good as Simmons who can hit to a sub .600 OPS.

I'm 100% with Scooter Gennett here. Correa is a fucking cheating bastard and he and Altuve are the worst of the lot. They're trying to push this narrative that the Astros are clean now, but somehow I fucking doubt it.
They won a WS by exploiting a loophole. The front office gave up the sacrificial lamb, but they absolutely should've been punished harder. Vacate the WS and explain that any further cheating schemes get them a post season ban, or even removed from the league for a year.
Fuck the Asterisks.
 

I'm 100% with Scooter Gennett here. Correa is a fucking cheating bastard and he and Altuve are the worst of the lot. They're trying to push this narrative that the Astros are clean now, but somehow I fucking doubt it.
They won a WS by exploiting a loophole. The front office gave up the sacrificial lamb, but they absolutely should've been punished harder. Vacate the WS and explain that any further cheating schemes get them a post season ban, or even removed from the league for a year.
Fuck the Asterisks.
 

I'm 100% with Scooter Gennett here. Correa is a fucking cheating bastard and he and Altuve are the worst of the lot. They're trying to push this narrative that the Astros are clean now, but somehow I fucking doubt it.
They won a WS by exploiting a loophole. The front office gave up the sacrificial lamb, but they absolutely should've been punished harder. Vacate the WS and explain that any further cheating schemes get them a post season ban, or even removed from the league for a year.
Fuck the Asterisks.
 

I'm 100% with Scooter Gennett here. Correa is a fucking cheating bastard and he and Altuve are the worst of the lot. They're trying to push this narrative that the Astros are clean now, but somehow I fucking doubt it.
They won a WS by exploiting a loophole. The front office gave up the sacrificial lamb, but they absolutely should've been punished harder. Vacate the WS and explain that any further cheating schemes get them a post season ban, or even removed from the league for a year.
Fuck the Asterisks.
 

Not until 2024. Ohtani is under control for two seasons at 5.5 and then 20-25 in arbitration. Upton’s 28 Comes off after this year so that will pay for Ohtani’s raise

Matz is not getting only $10M if Heaney got 8.5.
And I don't understand where people got this $50M figure that everyone is sticking to. They had a $180M payroll last year, and had $110M in commitments to 5 players before this offseason began. They have a small arbitration class, Stassi and Mayers and Gosselin, (Now Wade). which by MLBTR Arb estimates make 6.5M to 8M, and the club control guys will get another 9 or so. That puts them at $125 or so, $55M less than last year, and a modest increase takes them to $65. 

Not until 2024. Ohtani is under control for two seasons at 5.5 and then 20-25 in arbitration. Upton’s 28 Comes off after this year so that will pay for Ohtani’s raise

I'm 100% with Scooter Gennett here. Correa is a fucking cheating bastard and he and Altuve are the worst of the lot. They're trying to push this narrative that the Astros are clean now, but somehow I fucking doubt it.
They won a WS by exploiting a loophole. The front office gave up the sacrificial lamb, but they absolutely should've been punished harder. Vacate the WS and explain that any further cheating schemes get them a post season ban, or even removed from the league for a year.
Fuck the Asterisks.
 

I'm 100% with Scooter Gennett here. Correa is a fucking cheating bastard and he and Altuve are the worst of the lot. They're trying to push this narrative that the Astros are clean now, but somehow I fucking doubt it.
They won a WS by exploiting a loophole. The front office gave up the sacrificial lamb, but they absolutely should've been punished harder. Vacate the WS and explain that any further cheating schemes get them a post season ban, or even removed from the league for a year.
Fuck the Asterisks.
 

I guess we will see how committed they are to win now.