elbooboo

Assuming Ohtani is able to pitch again, how are the Angels going to stretch him out? Will he just pitch in simulated games and stay in the majors or will the Angels put him on the DL again and send him to the minors?

I wonder if the Angels don't sign Ohtani if they could use this year's international bonus for Kevin Maitan, since they now have more than the $2.2 million he signed for.  It would be great to Ohtani but preserving next year's bonus pool isn't the worst fallback.

I get it on my iPhone as well. Never on a computer

Cardinals losing interest in spending the money needed to sign one of the top free agent outfielders. We know KC won't spend the money needed for Gordon ... yet he's still on their wish list.

Rosenthal reporting that Giants are going hard after Cueto. I wonder if the price for Gordon got too high and they are changing course. Maybe Gordon to the Angels soon?

I would be happy with Fowler. His splits are a bit concerning but he still has an away slash line of .247/.340/.708 over his career. His line was .262/.370/.726 in 2014, the one year he was in the AL West. That might not be the sexiest line but a .340 obp is good enough for me. Defensively, I read somewhere that he should have better metrics if he moved to left. 

I think most of us like Gordon more than Fowler, but the question is whether you want to pay close to a $100 million over 5 years for Gordon, or Fowler around $50 million for 4/5 years. Those are obviously just guesses on my part, but Gordon might be expensive since the Giants, Cardinals, and Royals all have known interest in him. 

If Arte wants to compete over the next five years with Trout, he better open his wallet and sign a premium LF. I can live with Giavotella at 2B and Cowart/Kubitza at 3B, since they are affordable and have potential upsides. What I can't live with is a platoon in LF when there are 5 premium FAs on the market that can fill that hole (I'm including Fowler). 

I would trade 2 years of Santiago for 1 year of Walker, especially since the Angels can probably get a draft pick for Walker if they don't resign him next year.

Walker can play 2B and 3B, which gives the Angels the flexibility to give Cowart/Kubitza a chance. They could start Walker at 2B and if those guys struggle move him to 3B and go back to Gio. Walker is also a switch hitter, so he would give some balance to the lineup.

The only reason I would be hesitant is if Santiago is more valuable than I think. Obviously if would be better to trade him for a young controllable player for 2B or 3B, but i don't think a team would be willing to do that.

All things being equal I take Howie over Murphy, then you read they predict Murphy getting $12 million and Howie $10 million. Yea I'll take Howie over him every day of the week.

Salaries being equal, I would prefer Howie as well but the Angels might like Murphy because he bats from the left and can play at least some third base.  

If the Angels are giving up their draft picks, I wouldn't mind Fowler and Kendrick. 

If those contract numbers turn out to be accurate, I'd rather have Upton or Fowler. Especially, if we are signing a Murphy, Kendrick, or any other FA that costs a draft pick.

No thanks on Kennedy. Angels should only invest in a SP if they want to go after an Ace, otherwise what we have in house is fine.

I'm happy with giving Cowart/Kubitza a chance. If one of them works out that is six years of club controlled production. It is hard to win without having those type of players to balance out the high priced veterans.

That said, I really hope the Angels give Freese a QO. I would be happy to bring Freese back for the 10 million and 2 to 3 year range but I think he will get a lot more than that on the market. Seems like an acceptable risk to offer the QO, since we would be paying him 15+ million if he accepts. We would then get one more year to see if Cowart's resurgence is legit. If he rejects, then we most likely get a draft pick. 

Some good information.  Unfortunately, I disagree that the CBT is going to go up significantly.  Especially with rumblings right now that the Mets and Pirates don't have the money to keep all their free agents.  While I can somewhat understand the Pirates, the Mets not being able to sign their players should be a red flag about the real health of the game.  

If TV contracts keep on going up, the CBT will go up as well. Just look at the NFL and NBA. Of course, the cable bubble could burst and then who knows what happens. 

No way Fowler get 5/100.  5/75 will be his max and he would be worth it IMO.  He had a so-so year in CF for the Cubs this season, I don't see him moving to LF being an issue.

I hope you are right and that he signs something like 5/75 with the Angels. About as good as a fit as there is for the Angels on the FA market.

I would love Fowler but I think it will cost more than the 4/5 at 8/15 mlbtraderumors is estimating. I bet Fowler gets closer to 5/100.

Hopefully, Fowler doesn't mind switching to LF, because the angels aren't going to move Trout.

Angels farm system rankings:

2011 = 6

2012 = 23

2013 = 30

2014 = 30

2015 = 28

Perhaps it's not such a bad idea if we start from scratch

Maybe the issue isn't Servais but that the Angels usually spend the least amount internationally and have one of the smallest scouting budgets in baseball. 

If you aren't spending a ton internationally and you typically don't have high draft picks, then you have to out scout everyone else in order to sign under the radar prospects to maximize limited resources, which the Angels don't appear to be doing. 

Maybe the blame of the farm system should be on Dipoto and Servais but I think it really rests on Moreno and the amount he invests in scounting and signing international players

I'm fine bringing back Freese for anything in the 2/20 range but I think he will get a lot more than that considering the 3B options on the market.

If that is the case, I'd rather give Cowart/Kubitza a chance and spend on a top tier LF that can play everyday. I definitely don't want to see Kubitza/Cowart at 3B with Murphy in LF.

I've always felt using market share is kind of silly when looking at the Angels TV ratings, since the Angels are in the giant LA market. If you look at the actual audience size, the Angels are usually slightly better than the middle of the pack.

Depends on the amount of years. 2/28 is reasonable considering the market.

This. I would rather pay Lohse 2/28 than Blanton 2/15