angelsnationtalk

No I didn't. Just thought it was an interesting opinion and figured I'd share.

I read a great article that talks about why the Angels never went after Harper or Machado. You can read it HERE The end states that we could have traded Calhoun and Upton to clear more room to afford one of them and still afford Trout. Not to mention Pujols' contract expires decently soon. I also do believe that the owners are too money happy and care more about running their team as a business first instead of a competitive team built to win. Just thought I'd share with everyone. Write down how you feel about this viewpoint.

Just seems like a lot of low risk mid-reward type crap we’ve seen all offseason

Our bullpen is set now....

I almost responded to you with exact same thing haha. I believe you. The Angels are their own person. Sure, there's an owner, but the Angels are paying the contract not Arte Moreno.

We can do more. Unfortunately "business" has overtaken wanting to win. Arte will never lose money being the owner. The only thing that loses money "technically" is the Angels. Arte can spend whenever he wants and however he wants..... He just needs to wake up and do it.

Upton is not that guy. Lazy defense and a terrible arm in the outfield. He should be our first basemen so would could have made a run at Brantley, Harper or Pollock. I just never why he'd be hesitant on players that are 26 years old when he signs guys that were 32 year old. That's 6 years of someones prime. I'd rather eat the last 3 years of a 10-year contract than eat 9 years of what Pujols got. Like i've said earlier in this thread.... It's a load of shit if Arte or Eppler is afraid to dish out money to young talent. If he's afraid then he shouldn't sign Trout cuz he's about to be the biggest investment he's ever made. This should have been the offseason where the Angels puffed their chests after puffing it back 7 years ago with Pujols. It's nothing but a disgrace for them to sit around with baby 1 year contracts. Utter disgrace.

You said it well. "50 million beneath it". I HIGHLY doubt that Arte himself loses any money. The Angels are their own person and Arte's money that he pays the players with comes from the Angels not Bank of America Arte Moreno. Mike Trout is waiting and this is the time to step the hell up and get it done. Also, Eppler saying "top 5 farm system" means we need to trade players for some prospects as well. Where the hell are those trades then? Something just doesn't add up. Either we have some surprise waiting, or Eppler is just losing his mind.

You said it perfectly.

To be honest, and I think I speak for many Angels fans, I think our budget is a complete and utter joke. In real terms, we could sign Harper and still not have to worry about paying the tax. With global recognition as Arte being the first Spanish owner and now Ohtani, the Angels are in an incredible financial and eye-catching spot to stand out. Yes, I understand that we could be waiting in the back of the room until our prospects are ready, but Arte himself said he will always put a winning team on the field or else he’d step away..... well..... we haven’t won a playoff game in 10 years so..... I know we could be waiting for players such as Adell, Canning, Jones and Marsh. Problem is everything we think of them is pure projection based on comparisons and stats. Sure, they could be a cost-effective way of spending minimum for a superstar, or they could be a Brandon Wood. Fact of the matter is we have the best player in the world and maybe one day one of the best players to have ever stepped on the field. Yes, long term he could be a winner with us, but it is a complete and utter disgrace to the fans and to Mike Trout to have never won a playoff game with him. Hearing the “Pujols contract” excuse is also the biggest joke I’ve ever heard. Arte knew exactly what he was getting himself into. The man is worth $3 billion dollars so don’t tell me we have nothing to spend. To sum it up, that’s what I think of our payroll. I like building the farm to an extent, but holding it down to be a top 5? Sure it looks great on paper, but there’s no proven talent at all. Staying top 10-15 works for me.

I want to think the majority of long term prospects and beyond are people that we either trade or never ever see. My list would stop at Smith, Suarez, Canning, Pena, and Sandoval

Ohhhhhhh I get it... cuz he went bargain shopping at a thrift store... haha.... see what you did there

It was a sarcastic scenario not a realistic one so there’s the answer to the confusion......

Obviously I’m saying swooping by giving an over exaggerated statement. But we were never known favorites for Pujols and it always felt like we just drove on in a took him away

i'd take a hair flip over a douche too. Obviously it just worries me because it's a lot of money

My money is on the Phillies

I'd expect him to have the mindset that someone his age like Trout does. Someone who knows they are the best player but is also the humblest of players.

I still think I'd rather have consistently good numbers across the board every season. I don't like the idea of Harper having Ervin Santana like seasons where one year he's great then the next year he sucks. With that being said, If we ever did sign Harper i'd still be happy

Harper isn't the best of teammates as well either. Just ask Papelbon or the pitchers he's charged. But i still agree with you.

Watch the Angels randomly swoop in and sign Machado or Harper just because it took them too long to sign elsewhere. You know that's in the far back of Arte's mind since he loves to do that. Then they interview them afterwards and Eppler says "This has always been our game plan heading into the offseason". Later we trade either Calhoun or Cozart (depending on who we sign) and still find a way to have the AAV under $206M so there's no tax. Pujols announces retirement after 2019 and differs contract to take 30M off the books. Prospects offset the costs in 2020 and suddenly we can still spend on a good starter or bullpen arm. At the end of everything we look back in disbelief... This is just me saying the Angels are going to do something stupid with money or do something stupid in terms of pretending they're on a budget.... again.

Watch Machado get $275M and Harper gets $325M. My mind will explode on how the hell a shittier player got more money.

I'm still baffled how Harper might get way more money than Machado. As much of a douche as he is, he's a wayyyyyy better player than Harper is. Offensively and defensively.

Can we call the runner up one in this thread the winner? Only seems fitting....

We aren’t going to get any more infielders...

My sources indicate that Taco Bell might be in on that as well. Hearing the offer might be a bit more in terms of hours on the toilet.