KDWells

Having a second baseman who moonlights as your solid defensively at all three spots fourth outfielder seems to fit the versatile defensive agenda the Angels have been pushing this offseason!

Seeing it confirmed for 5/110 for Martinez with an opt-out after year two. 

So it looks like the money is laid out like $25M, $25M, $20M, $20M, $20M if J.D. decides to opt in for 2020.

Cozart has not played in over 122 games since 2014. Switching over to a less physically demanding position at third may help his durability some but his track record of health is not exactly a secret. The likelihood of Valbuena being needed to play fifty or so games at third base is a very real possibility so I am not so sure why everyone is so eager to try and send him packing.

Break in case of emergency option for some 1B at-bats. I've always been fond of Carter's ridiculously all or nothing approach from a surface level viewing intermittently over the years.

2 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

I tend to disagree with most defensive metrics. I haven't found a single reliable one that serves better than the human eye.

Any scout will tell you Trout is better than average in CF. His routes are precise, he goes to the wall better than anyone and has an average but accurate arm. 

Any number system you find will tell you the opposite.

For me, I trust what I see in regards to Trout. His arm is weaker than average in my opinion and he's below average coming in on balls. He's also great going back and plays the walls in the gaps very well. He's in place when the balls bounces and he rarely allows a triple.

Hes good.

Agree with you on every part of this. This coupled with when Trout was bumped over to left field by Bourjos a few years back he seemed frustrated and his offense didn't fully take off until he was playing in center full time, it just makes sense to leave Trout there for the next ten years. He will probably only be a good defender for six of those but you cross that bridge if you are lucky enough to come to it.

Have to think they will try and flip Santana and Broxton for pitching now. I am hoping for several weeks of Santana for a starter talk to fill the new Yelich to the Angels shaped trade speculation void in my life.

2 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Thank GOD! We can now put an end to the Yelich trade proposals on here.  

We can finally move on to making Realmuto trade proposals!

Good return for the Marlins and one they desperately needed, I like the move for the Brewers as well they dealt from their surplus and added a great player on a fantastic contract that may even take another step up with the way their park accentuates left handed hitting.

I'd see after Harper/Machado sign next season if I could try and convince him to tack 10 more years on his deal. Probably end up looking something like 12/420 (Nice.) That is probably a little short of what it would take to get it done though unless Trout is just really loving how 2018 plays out.

4 hours ago, ettin said:

I see Thaiss has more of a Matt Carpenter-lite type. Don't see him getting to quite the level Carpenter did but if he can rope about 15 HR's and 30 DB's with a .340 OBP that has some value on the right team.

How is he agility wise? Does he struggle with moving laterally to the point where it's tough to see him having real success at any position that isn't first base?

I like what I have seen from Thaiss so far, I need to look more into his defensive abilities. It made him a lot less exciting of a prospect when they flipped him from catcher to a first baseman out of college, if he was playing at 3B right now he would have a lot more buzz around him. He must be limited enough in his mobility that they decided it wasn't even worth a try.

1 minute ago, floplag said:

The reason i like Headley is versatility.   He could be the primary 1B, backup 3B, and 4th OF as needed a day or so a week.  I like Morrison as well and mentioned him many times, actually had him in the draft of the post, but took him out due to limited versatility making him less likely. 

I think Valbuena will be much better next season having a spring training and not having to jump right into action in May, so I would probably rather keep him for the 1B/3B and just roll with break in case of emergency fourth outfielders like EYJ or Hermosillo in case of a longer term injury.

I personally don't see Cutch or Headley being big enough upgrades to justify making those moves at this point. If the Angels were hellbent on moving on from Cron/Valbuena I would rather just see them sign a guy like Logan Morrison instead of a stopgap like Headley playing out of position. 

There is a pretty good chance that Calhoun and Cutch put up similar numbers next year and Calhoun is better defensively which adds to his value. I do not see a huge upgrade to Calhoun out there on the market right now so I don't see the Angels making a move for RF unless Eppler is in love with a longterm solution guy like Clint Frazier and tries to swing a deal of that nature.

The 2014 team overachieved to be sure, but Richards knee exploded and the team ended up resting for most of September after they clinched only to run into a red hot buzzsaw of a Royals team that was making every clutch play possible while the Angels looked rusty by comparison. That combined with throwing a floundering C.J. Wilson out there instead of rolling with the Rasmus led bullpen games that they had success with in the final month made for a tough end to a great season. I don't see the 2018 having as great a regular season, but on paper they are certainly better positioned to do some damage if they sneak into the postseason.

27 minutes ago, DMVol said:

I don't disagree...Eppler put together a really good pen with virtually no money last year....but I guess my concern is whether he can he do that again....lightening in a bottle and all that....

I think it is fair to expect improved and more consistent seasons from young live arms like Bedrosian and Middleton that would hopefully offset any regression from the rest of the bullpen. Maybe I'm putting too much stock in 2017 but between Eppler, Nagy, Maldonado I feel like the bullpen is in good hands and is more likely to be a strength than a weakness in 2018.

I was certain the bullpen last season was going to be a big weakness and they ended up 6th in ERA and 5th in WAR so I am fully on board with Eppler's low budget path to bullpenning at this point. I would have been stoked to add a Petit or Reed at the deals they landed but I can't argue with Eppler's results.

One day my dreams will be answered and they’ll bring the little a uniforms from ‘71 back into circulation.

I think that is pretty close to right. I am sure some will want Scioscia or Fregosi swapped out for either Ryan or Salmon, but I think your list is pretty spot on.

2 minutes ago, ettin said:

Yes KDWells said bukkake and then you repeated the word bukkake, creating two instances of the word bukkake in this post.

Well it makes us look bad when you put it like that.

7 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

Trout Pron

Ohtani ______

We all know you're just trying to get someone to write bukkake on the forums.

26 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

He'd be a solid #2/3 at those numbers. But I'm seeing an 80 grade fastball, a 70 grade splitter and a 60 grade slider. 50 being an average pitch. 

I think Ohtani is going to show up and immediately be one of the top 5 pitchers in baseball.

I think I'm asking too much, but he's that good as a pitcher.

I agree with you, but with how fluky and inflated HR/FB rates can be nowadays it would be tough to blame him too much for a 3.48 ERA over his rookie campaign. I would personally be pretty stoked if he puts up peripherals similar to a guy like 2015 Chris Sale in his first taste of big league action. I know the stuff gives high hopes, but it will still be a big adjustment for him.

19 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

I'll be honest, I'm expecting Ohtani to be better than that...

I think he'll be an elite ace level pitcher. At the plate, that's what I expect, except more power.

I think even at those numbers he would be considered an ace in a lot of circles, especially if he hes averaging 11 K's per 9.

Baseball was a lot of fun when dudes were jacked up on steroids. I don't know if Albert ever took HGH, but I certainly wish he was on it now!

Over his last three seasons Cozart is slashing .271/.340/.480. If he puts up numbers in that range over the next three seasons as well with his defense and versatility, I’d say that’s a great signing.

Relax everyone Duquette said today that the Orioles front office will be flying back to Baltimore and we shouldn't expect them to make any moves tonight, So we'll probably have to wait until sometime next week for those inevitable Machado to #Angels tweets.