KDWells

Any Stanton/Gordon deal that doesn’t involve giving up Adell and Barria is a total win in my eyes.

28 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Could be on Eppler's radar..

https://mobile.twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/932746213002182656

@ChrisCotillo Phillies designate former no. 1 overall pick Mark Appel for assignment.

 

Seems like a likely move, try and refine his pitch distribution as they have done in the past to great success. 

2 minutes ago, ettin said:

 

Calhoun is better than Panik IMO.

Kole Calhoun, Chris Rodriguez, and one more mid-tier prospect puts us into that conversation easily in comparison I think.

It's very complex though so I'm not getting my hopes up but we could manage it, if that is truly our goal.

I agree with you on that, there's so many moving parts it is tough to get a gauge on what fair market in a Stanton deal would actually be. I had assumed they would only be looking for young prospects with the full six years of control left so the Panik rumor is a little surprising to me.

3 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

I read somewhere that the Giants are offering Panik, Shaw, and Beede.

Can we beat that?

I assume Gordon is also involved in that hypothetical deal and the Marlins eat a notable chunk of cash. Probably not honestly, but if the Angels were feeling froggy/foolish and felt like offering something surrounding a package of Bridwell/Barria/Canning they'd have their foot firmly in the door.

Only having one team listed on his plaque in Cooperstown would be worth any potentially poor seasons on the back-end of his career. He'd be so beloved at that point anyways it probably wouldn't matter what his actual performance was at the time for most fans.

3 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I imagine pitching - Bedrosian and/or Middleton and/or starters - plus an OF prospect would be on the menu.

Makes some sense.

Other idea....Heyward? 

I have a feeling we will see Eppler pull off a pretty substantial trade this offseason and then fill other needs with minimal FA commits.

Bedrosian and Hermosillo is what I was picturing in a hypothetical Schwarber deal.

1 minute ago, Scotty@AW said:

Angels talked Schwarber with Cubs.

Interesting. Was just thinking about this the other day, most likely they see him as a potential first baseman.

12 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Trumbo used to murder his hands, sending Ebel to the bench ultimately.  

Trumbo was truly merciless, you could see Ebel doing his best to sort of shrink away from the contact to lessen the blow to little success.

Nice of the Angels to give Ebel a few years to recover from the hellacious high fives Trout would give Dino as he rounded third base after a home run.

With how flush the market is with first base types this offseason and not a ton of need out there, I'm guessing Eppler is going to sit back and wait and see if he can get one of these Morrison/Santana/Alonso types for the best value possible a little later in the offseason.

7 minutes ago, Mark68 said:

So...soulless?

Words hurt.

Just now, JarsOfClay said:

1b, 2b, 3b, C (Yes dont argue) all need major upgrades, so does the bench honestly.

Also need two SP that can pitch deep into games, and a legit closer.  There's your 8 upgrades.   

You can have mediocrity in 1 or 2 positions, but my god not 7 or 8 of them.  That's if your going for a ring.  If your content with the 2nd wildcard then by all means enjoy yourself.

If you think catcher needs an upgrade after how important Maldonado was to the team's defense and success of the pitching staff last year, there is really nothing further to discuss because you have no idea what you are talking about.

Just now, Dtwncbad said:

History suggests the next 3 years of Trout will be the prime of his prime.  Call me crazy but punting for three years to convince Trout better days will be ahead hoping he might believe you so you can land him for fiture years likely to inferior to the next three immediate years. . .that just sounds pretty stupid to me.

Totally agree with you. You have to maximize the greatest player in franchise history’s peak while you can. Best case scenario he signs a long term extension after three great years that guarantees he retires an Angel.

As a fan it would mean a lot more to me to see Trout retire an Angel than being a competitive team when he’s on the downside of his career. Totally understand I’m possibly in the minority on that one.

In a perfect world of course. If we get to his free agency without the Angels winning a playoff game, it’s pretty tough to sell him on this being a winning situation. 

Obviously I’m just speculating, but Trout seems like the kind of guy who needs to see it to believe it. Doubtful he’s keeping close tabs on the progress of prospects in the Angels pipeline.

The next couple of seasons are about convincing Trout to stay in 2020. Convincing him to stay involves being a playoff contender now. Being a playoff contender means making some win now moves that are not great for the franchise in five plus years. 

I’m okay with the team making some moves to maximize Trout’s prime even if it means an aging Trout playing on some pretty ugly looking squads. That’s just the opportunity cost the Angels would have to pay in their current situation.

I’m in agreement with you here for the most part, there will be some minor moves to convert over the offseason cause Eppler’s gonna Eppler. But I think the core of the bullpen is already there.

20 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Here's the best proof so far that we're going to trade for Stanton:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/assessing-the-trade-market-for-giancarlo-stanton.html

We aren't even one of the 15 teams mentioned.

That is just goofy. Obviously it's a low percentage chance but to have Minnesota and Seattle on there and not the Angels is bizarre to say the least.

I'm just trying to avoid doing work and read Hot Stove rumors instead, so if these front office big wigs could cancel their vacations and get to making those splashy moves I would really appreciate it.

It's already been confirmed he is returning for the 2018 season, so there isn't much of a reason for it to be discussed at this point. I personally thought Scioscia had his best year in 2017 that he has had in a long while as well.