Angels_Fan

“Since 2014” probably doesn’t mean much in the year 2020. Donaldson is well past his peak. Rendon is five years younger and at his peak right now. I also still trust him to be better in five years than Donaldson is right now (or close to it).
 

Well, yes. Going from the Dodgers to the Angels is a massive downgrade, not gonna lie.

The starting rotation is far from good (as a whole), but saying that every other team has at least one starter better than anyone the Angels have is disingenuous, imo. Ohtani, for example, may be on an innings limit and coming back from injury, but he has potential to be one of the best starters in baseball. Let’s also not forget that he was pretty good in 2018. 

Good catch. If we remove Trout’s 50 worst games, he’d be Bondsian (and more). But you know what I meant. 100 games of typical Trout is worth more than another players typical 100 games.

Truth. The Indians are in win-now mode, so they have no real reason to trade Clevinger unless they get an offer they can’t refuse....they’d have to be overwhelmed. I don’t think Eppler would trade Adell for Clevinger straight up, anyway. He seems close to untouchable. And an Adell for Buehler type swap would never happen, so...

I, personally, wouldn’t make this trade because I’d much rather see the Angels sign a good starter instead (oops, too late) or trade lesser prospect(s) for someone like Jon Gray, who isn’t THAT much inferior to Clevinger. Keep in mind that Clevinger will also turn 30 later on this year. Not saying he’ll decline over the next 3 years, but who knows.
The Angels can still make the postseason with a Jon Gray. I’d keep Adell and target someone like that.

Eppler will be gone if we don’t make the playoffs.  Arte and Trout are sick of losing and I can’t imagine Maddon signed up for it either.

He’d be a perfect fit on the team and not just because he’s good. The Angels probably have the best defensive IF (left side) in all of baseball...and he happens to be a GB pitcher. 

That helps. Still one good starter away from being a legit postseason contender, though.

That helps. Still one good starter away from being a legit postseason contender, though.

The Angels probably aren’t going to get a difference maker via trade without including at least Marsh.

The Indians would never, ever trade Clevinger for Canning straight up, though. Not even close. 

Eppler needs to add a good SP (someone like Gray, Syndergaard, Clevinger, etc.)  before this team can be considered a true postseason contender. It’s possible that they can make the postseason with what they currently have, but they’d also need a lot of things to go right.

Eppler has done a lot of good things (extending Trout, convincing Ohtani to sign here, rebuilding the farm system, etc. etc.). With that said, this game is all about results on the field. So far, the Angels have yet to make the postseason under his reign and have had poor records. One also has to feel that he’s had plenty of time to fix this team. He’s well past the point of being new on the job. If the Angels fail to make the postseason this upcoming season (which would likely be due to the pitching staff), he’ll most likely be gone. I hope he can surprise by acquiring a good starter via trade soon rather than just being content with who he’s gotten.

2020 will be a make or break year for Eppler, and it’s all going to come down to how well the pitching staff performs. So far, none of his pitching acquisitions inspire any confidence. We’ll see what he does on the trade front. It’s clear that the Angels need to aim a lot higher than just stockpiling back-of-the-rotation arms. 

Why are many people so adamant that Marsh not be traded? If the opportunity exists to trade Marsh (as a centerpiece) for a frontline starter with more than one year of club control, you take it.

Please no. The Angels have enough back-of-the-rotation arms. They don’t need another one.

Please no. The Angels have enough back-of-the-rotation arms. They don’t need another one.

Why are many people so adamant that Marsh not be traded? If the opportunity exists to trade Marsh (as a centerpiece) for a frontline starter with more than one year of club control, you take it.

Why are many people so adamant that Marsh not be traded? If the opportunity exists to trade Marsh (as a centerpiece) for a frontline starter with more than one year of club control, you take it.

Why are many people so adamant that Marsh not be traded? If the opportunity exists to trade Marsh (as a centerpiece) for a frontline starter with more than one year of club control, you take it.

Why are many people so adamant that Marsh not be traded? If the opportunity exists to trade Marsh (as a centerpiece) for a frontline starter with more than one year of club control, you take it.

Why are many people so adamant that Marsh not be traded? If the opportunity exists to trade Marsh (as a centerpiece) for a frontline starter with more than one year of club control, you take it.

Eppler must be working on a trade. It’s honestly the only thing that makes sense. I refuse to believe that Eppler can be dumb enough to think the current rotation is adequate enough.

Why are many people so adamant that Marsh not be traded? If the opportunity exists to trade Marsh (as a centerpiece) for a frontline starter with more than one year of club control, you take it.