Warfarin

It's why our pending trade with Philly is being held up.  The deal is contingent on him still being alive. 

It's why our pending trade with Philly is being held up.  The deal is contingent on him still being alive. 

One thing to consider in Bridwell's performance is that he had the luxury of pitching to an elite defensive catcher.  This is not to dispute his stuff or his abilities, but there is a chance that anyone who pitches for the Angels right now might be made to look a bit better than they truly are, as they are pitching to one of the best catchers and backed by one of the best defenses.  Bridwell had a nice season for us, but I think he's eminently tradeable.  
I agree, Barria is the one that gave me the biggest pause.  Perhaps another name can be substituted in here, like Nick Tropeano (unlikely).
Again, it's not a slam dunk deal, and I do generally agree with the principle of going with value and finding a strong deal.  That said, we have absolutely zero 2B talent in our minor leagues, and I would ideally like to find a long-term solution for that hole and am willing to deal from a position of strength to fill that hole.  Our current positions of strength are OF and SP depth.  I wouldn't want to trade any of our top 3 OF prospects (Jones, Adell, Marsh), as I feel they all have a significantly high ceiling, higher than either of the two SPs that have been identified in this trade.
 

Neither Ozuna nor Yelich fit our team currently.  Yeah they'd be cool, but our OF is filled, and we have a bevy of OF prospects in the lower minors too.  Save the money/resources for areas of need (corner IFs, 2B, future catching depth, pitching).

I'd do it because he is significantly younger than the alternatives, fits the mold of everything we want (defense, OBP), and is cost-controlled for the next 3 years.  Cron is unnecessary on our current team and hasn't really shown too much over the course of a season.  Bridwell was surprising, but realistically is a back-end starter.  Barria, at best, might be a #3, but is also more realistically a back-end starter too.
None of those guys are high-ceiling talent, which is why I'd be okay with it.  Same thing as when we traded Newcomb for Simmons - he was by far our best pitcher AND had a very high ceiling.  But Simmons filled a position of need and has proven to be a tremendous asset. 
I don't think that'd be the best deal, but I think we'd be getting a player who would be a tremendous asset to our current team for the next few years, moreso than the players that are being dealt in the deal.

Neither Ozuna nor Yelich fit our team currently.  Yeah they'd be cool, but our OF is filled, and we have a bevy of OF prospects in the lower minors too.  Save the money/resources for areas of need (corner IFs, 2B, future catching depth, pitching).

Teams knew this.  They had access to his medicals.  We are signing him to a minimum contract.  Even if we found out he definitely needed TJ surgery, still would be a worthwhile investment.

Teams knew this.  They had access to his medicals.  We are signing him to a minimum contract.  Even if we found out he definitely needed TJ surgery, still would be a worthwhile investment.

Agree.  Kinsler's a good 2B still.  If Detroit is willing to dump him for salary relief, then I'll gladly take him on if we can't get Cesar Hernandez at a reasonable price.  He'd fit nicely as our leadoff hitter.

Are people still butthurt over the "get off our field" thing?  lol what is this kindergarten.
Seriously, get over it people.  He's a good player and would help this team tremendously.

Unfortunately, the problem is two-fold:
1.  Pujols still considers himself "The Man" and won't happily accept a demotion in the batting order and/or less playing time
2.  Scoscia is loyal to veterans and will honor Pujols' request
In an ideal world, we could do something similar to what the Dodgers have been doing to Adrian Gonzalez.  AGon has been declining the last few years, but flat out ran out of gas this year.  Bellinger came up and played great, effectively displacing AGon from his role.  They basically DL'd AGon and kept him there, not really allowing him to truly return.  He got a shot at the end of the year to play some games and show what he had, but when it was clear he didn't have much, they just DL'd him again and moved on without him.
Optimistically, I am holding out hope that we do the same with Pujols.  If he starts playing this year and doesn't have it, I hope we DL him to allow him to "recover" and rehab his foot injury, or whatever it is they want to say the issue is.  This way, it at least frees up the active roster space and enables us to play the best lineup possible.
This, to me, is probably the best we can truly hope for out of this unfortunate situation.

I agree, and truthfully, it's prudent for our FO (or any FO really) to be proactive and address holes before they become urgent needs.  The acquisition of Simmons is a great example, as we didn't really have a need at the moment, but look at the end result - we have the best defensive player in the game, locked down at a discount for several more years.
One area that I'd like to be proactive about is catcher.  I know we have Maldonado, but he's a FA after this year and is on the wrong side of 30.  I am all for keeping Maldonado, but I would like to proactively search for catching talent, as you never know when a catcher will suddenly lose his defensive edge, given how grueling the position is.  Who that target might be, I'm not sure, but the Dodgers are a good place to start looking, as they are absolutely stacked with major and minor league catching talent.

I agree, and truthfully, it's prudent for our FO (or any FO really) to be proactive and address holes before they become urgent needs.  The acquisition of Simmons is a great example, as we didn't really have a need at the moment, but look at the end result - we have the best defensive player in the game, locked down at a discount for several more years.
One area that I'd like to be proactive about is catcher.  I know we have Maldonado, but he's a FA after this year and is on the wrong side of 30.  I am all for keeping Maldonado, but I would like to proactively search for catching talent, as you never know when a catcher will suddenly lose his defensive edge, given how grueling the position is.  Who that target might be, I'm not sure, but the Dodgers are a good place to start looking, as they are absolutely stacked with major and minor league catching talent.

I agree, and truthfully, it's prudent for our FO (or any FO really) to be proactive and address holes before they become urgent needs.  The acquisition of Simmons is a great example, as we didn't really have a need at the moment, but look at the end result - we have the best defensive player in the game, locked down at a discount for several more years.
One area that I'd like to be proactive about is catcher.  I know we have Maldonado, but he's a FA after this year and is on the wrong side of 30.  I am all for keeping Maldonado, but I would like to proactively search for catching talent, as you never know when a catcher will suddenly lose his defensive edge, given how grueling the position is.  Who that target might be, I'm not sure, but the Dodgers are a good place to start looking, as they are absolutely stacked with major and minor league catching talent.

Ehhh.. pass on Machado.  We have some prospects on the right side of the infield now.  Find someone who can cover the next 3-4 years, then let those prospects take over.

I'd be fine dealing one of those starters for Hernandez.  Hernandez is talented, patient, strong defensively, and cost-controlled.  That's worth sacrificing one of those young SPs.

The evil empire has returned.  It sucks, but in some ways, it's good for baseball.  I look forward to beating them in the playoffs

Jerry is too impatient.  He makes a trade, sees something isn't working, then quickly makes another trade, etc.  He makes far too many moves.  It's fun at first, but then you realize your farm system is gradually being weakened, your roster gradually getting older, and your team progressively getting worse.  He's not the worst GM, but he's definitely in the bottom half.

We are finally rebuilding the farm system to the point where it's become average.  You don't build it up like that only to gut it for one guy.  Archer's a good pitcher, but he'd cost us most of our farm system.  I'd rather pay the extra money for Darvish and retain the farm.

Jerry is too impatient.  He makes a trade, sees something isn't working, then quickly makes another trade, etc.  He makes far too many moves.  It's fun at first, but then you realize your farm system is gradually being weakened, your roster gradually getting older, and your team progressively getting worse.  He's not the worst GM, but he's definitely in the bottom half.

Right, exactly.  I think if we sign Sabathia, it means we're probably shipping one of our younger starters in a deal for someone, most likely a 2B.

We are finally rebuilding the farm system to the point where it's become average.  You don't build it up like that only to gut it for one guy.  Archer's a good pitcher, but he'd cost us most of our farm system.  I'd rather pay the extra money for Darvish and retain the farm.

I'd rather be thought of as a classy organization and not do something like this.  Bad karma to try to run a player out so much that they fall apart.  

No way should we overpay.  Yeah, Hernandez would be a great fit, but again, there are tons of options available.  A buyer who overpays in a buyer's market is a poor buyer.  Eppler is disciplined and will take the whole picture into account.

Well, it's a buyer's market at 2B.  There are tons of options.  Hernandez is the most ideal in that he's young and cost-controlled, but if the Phillies are asking too much, then move along and pick from one of the cheaper trade targets.  Hernandez, Kipnis, Castro, Kinsler, Walker, Dozier, etc.. there are lots of players available and few teams looking for one.  Laws of supply and demand