ScruffytheJanitor

Jansen and Chapman are pipe dreams at best. We aren't getting either of them.
Their current teams, LAD and the Cubs, desperately need them and have cash to burn. A team like the Giants will also be in pursuit of a closer. 

history has proven otherwise 

for some reason, you seem to think saving $7 million for one season is a lot of money. it isn't, especially when it comes with losing our our leadoff hitter we had been looking for since Figgy left. 
 

David Fletcher is the love child of David Saltzer and Jeff Fletcher.

you know who else they said would hit a ceiling between 20-25 homers a season? mike trout.
so yes, i agree with you, thaiss is the next mike trout.
nice.

Sounds like the Yankees, and some on this board, overrate Gardner quite a bit. He was a bit of a hidden gem there for awhile, giving people saber-boners when he accrued 11.1 fWAR from 2010-11--that's good enough to be the 8th best player during that span, right between Cano and Pedroia. But that was five years ago. He missed most of 2012 and came back slightly diminished in 2013 and 2014 (3.4 and 3.5 fWAR, respectively) and then dropped another notch in 2015 and 2016 (2.6 and 2.4). At 33 years old I don't expect that trajectory to change. He's still a solid player, just not as good as the "hidden gem" reputation he still seems to have.
I also don't really like this Calhoun-to-first idea. Kole is a good hitter but not a great one. His value comes from all-around above average play, including playing right field well, plus a certain "white guy grit" that people seem to love. I've been a fan of Kole's since he was drafted and look forward to more years on the Angels, but with him 29 already, he might be a trade candidate sometime within the next few years.
That said, I think we could see a bit of an offensive spike from Kole, or at least a career year: maybe a year in which he hits .280-290ish with an OPS in the .800-.850 range and 25 or so HR. If he does that within the next few years it might be a good time to trade him.
 

I asked a Yankees beat writer about Gardner recently and he doesn't think the Yankees have any interest in trading him. They need him. And the Angels don't exactly have anyone to make them change their minds. 
Forget Gardner. 

Most scenarios tend to result somewhere in the middle.  My guess is Maybin is ok with the Angels.  We'll get some decent defense and spend, but the BA and OBP just won't be there.  And Alcantara will make it to the big leagues on the strength of his fastball, but won't ever truly become the dominant closer or set up man he's capable of being.He'll be one of those middle relievers that will have dominant stretches where you're tempted to move him into the 9th, and others when you just want to DFA him.  

Now the rest of the team has to feel awkward during showers 

Kind of a 'meh' trade. I'd probably be disappointed if our left field situation hadn't been such a disaster the last couple years. Maybin is potentially a 3 win upgrade for us next year, which I'd wager Alcantara will be unlikely to surpass over the next 6 years.

You forgot the worst of them all.
JOSH HAMILTON! 

Maybin >>>>>>>>>>>>>> JoyceNavaGentryVictorinoMurphyRobinsonetc

Hopefully the police at Angels stadium are wearing cameras.

No idea why you're being like this. His BABIP was awfully high and that will probably regress. But that doesn't mean I think he is a bad player or that this was a bad trade. I have no particular issue with the trade, it seems fine. I'm just not expecting a 120 wRC+ next year.

Yeah it's nice of those hypothetical outfielders to say complimentary things about Maybin, Trout and Calhoun but having guys who help in a baseball sense is probably more useful.

I'd rather have a couple guys who complement the three.... just saying.

He knew of the trade two days beforehand.
User Actions  Following Taylor Blake Ward‏@TaylorBlakeWard Cameron Maybin posted this to his Instagram account 14 minutes ago with the hashtag "#angelsbaseball"

FB pitchers will love the OF defense now.  #Justkeepthepitchesinthepark

Thought I read something about Alcantara's FB velocity being down in the AFL as well? For a guy who's big calling card IS his FB, that's a concern

User Actions  Following Taylor Blake Ward‏@TaylorBlakeWard Cameron Maybin had the 13th highest wRC+ (120) of AL outfielders with same amount of plate appearances last season #Angels

Lf really is a black hole now

I'm all about this move.  Exactly what we need, cost controlled legit everyday player.  If Maybin gets 500 AB's and is healthy (this is the major issue with him) he'll probably have a pretty good year.  He's a solid player.  This is perfect, and much better then going out signing someone.  This is a nice move.  Great work Eppler. 

Id expect him to regress -- was just moreso saying the BABIP thing might be explainable.   Ichiro was the absolute KING of the weak contact BABIP monsters...   Everything about him was just very out of the norm.

@Oz27, does he really have to duplicate those numbers for this to be a good trade?  I would assume a .330obp some stolen bases and league average defense would be such a huge upgrade that it would be a great trade.  

According to a source, Maybin knew of the deal 2 days ago