Ariamus

Some of my thoughts are inline above in red text.

I'd be impressed if you could vote for him once...

If I had a vote, I'd go with Jeter, Walker, and Schilling. I'm not done punishing Bonds and Clemens yet and they've got a couple more years of eligibility so they can wait. That said... My guess is that Jeter is the only one that gets the nod from the BWAA today. Ryan Thibodaux's Hall ballot tracker just crossed the 50% mark of revealed ballots this morning and Walker, Schilling, Clemens, and Bonds' numbers don't look good. The current tally does have Schilling (78.1%) and Walker (83.7%) above the 75% mark needed but probably not by enough. Traditionally, the writers who reveal their ballots before the announcement tend to be more liberal with their votes. Those that don't are more conservative. With almost half of the ballots "still out there", it's hard to imagine Schilling and Walker's numbers improving. The same is true for the PED-boys and they're in much worse shape. Both Bonds (71.6%) and Clemens (70.7%) are already below the rate needed and the likelihood of that improving with the more traditional voters is low. I do think Schilling gets in next year if he falls short today. I also think the "Modern Baseball" eras committee of the Hall of Fame will elect Walker the next time they have a ballot (December 2021 for 2022 induction I think) if he falls short in his last try on the writers' ballot. And I think Bonds and Clemens will be let in out of the doghouse by the Writers either next year or, more likely, in 2022 in their final year of eligibility.

The 2012 and 2013 AL MVP votes were bullshit. 2015 and 2018 were not.

I'll take "Teams Trevor Bauer will never sign with" for $800, Alex.

5

Yeah, Bauer is a bit of an odd bird. However, if he does drop his one-year thing, by the time he does, it'll probably be too late for him to get even a Corbin-like deal. Bauer will be 30 before the 2021 season starts and he just doesn't have the track record even Corbin does. Three years at $20-25 million per might be the best he'll be able to do in free agency next winter. Maybe an optional fourth year at the same rate...?

I find myself surprised to hope that the Halos are done for now making big moves. They obviously still need "top of the rotation" pitching but there's none left via free agency. There's also none being dangled via trades that warrants cashing in one a top prospect. I'm sorry, but Clevinger, Gray, and Boyd just don't do it for me on that level. Barring injury, they have enough pitching to start the season and at least be competitive. And if the lineup is as good as many project it will be, the Angels will be in the hunt for a wild card come mid-season. By then, someone like Syndergaard might be available via trade and the guys already mentioned (along with Bauer) probably will also be. With more options out there, the price in prospects is more likely to be lower. So, I would rather they play things cautiously rather than make a rash move between now and Opening Day. About the only major thing I could support them doing is seeing about extending Simmons at a lower rate than he might get if he hits the market.

For what it's worth, this piece in The Athletes Hub has Simmons signing with the Reds after 2020 for three years at $15 mil per. They also have the Halos signing Bauer for three years and $20 million per. Now, I love Simba...however, if they both have bounce-back years, I'd certainly rather have the pitcher. But of course, there's always...:

Heard this earlier today...it was good. I do like the idea of Marsh and Adell flanking Trout in the Halos' outfield for the bulk of the 2020's.

I'm not sure there's going to be a big market for Simba come free agency next winter. I kind of see him in a similar boat to Didi Gregorius, except 18 months (at the time of free agency) older. Gregorius is obviously not as good defensively but he is a much better hitter when healthy. So they're good analogs for each other. Gregorius got a $15 million "show-me" contract for 2020. I don't think Simmons will be in as good a position for a similar "prove-it" contract because he will be older. If the Halos make him an offer in the $12 million per range for a guaranteed three years and perhaps a fourth as an option, that may be enough to get it done. So I'd offer Simmons an extension along those lines sooner rather than later but wait at least to see if he's healthy and likely to bounce back in 2020. Maybe spring training will be the time to do so.

That may have been true under the Wilpons but recently billionaire Steve Cohen announced he's buying the Mets. And they also recently traded for C.F. Jake Marisnick. So it's likely that unless the Angels are offering Trout there's no traction there The Wilpons will remain in control of the Mets for five more years. Even if Cohen's purchase is approved, and it hasn't been yet, he won't be splashing the cash around until after Syndergaard hits free agency. Also, Marisnick is a fourth outfielder. He's only topped 300 At Bats once in his career.

Bet they’d listen if the Angels were offering up two SPs like two of Sandoval, Barria and Suarez, and a solid hitting prospect. Big overpay first a rental but Stroman seems like he’d be a fairly good extension candidate. Just offer him something between Keuchel/Ryu and Wheeler. Actually, the Mets and Angels line up pretty well for a trade. I live in Jersey and I get a lot of NYC sports-talk radio and news so I know the Mutts and Stankees pretty well. The Mets are in desperate need of a true center-fielder. They have four outfielders that are all decent or better in Comforto, Cespedes, Nimmo, and JD Davis but none of them are center-fielders. Also, I think the Mets would be open to trading pitching. Sure, as the old saying goes, you can never have too much pitching, but the Mets probably have too much pitching now. With the additions of Porcello and Wacha to the back of the rotation, they Mets now have seven quality starting pitchers; even with the departure of Wheeler. deGrom, Syndergaard, and Stroman are as good a front-three as there is. Matz, Porcello, and Wacha makes six. Seth Lugo is a starter but he's being sent back to the pen. He's already expressed his displeasure with the move. And Giselman was originally a starter. Furthermore, these aren't the Angels' pitchers. The Halos had a heck of a lot of starters last season but only because of all the injuries and tragedy. Porcello, Stroman, Matz, Syndergaard, and deGrom all pitched over 160 innings last season. And going back years previous. Wacha seems to be trending back in that direction after his injuries woes of 2018-19. And there's no reason to believe Lugo can't do the same. These guys are all going to want to pitch and there are just so many starts to go around. The Mets have flirted with trading Syndergaard numerous times before. I think their belief is they'll never be able to afford him when he hits free agency. Now that they've lost Wheeler, another pitcher they openly pursued trading several times, for nothing, they're likely to be more motivated to move Thor. Brandon Marsh is a true center-fielder whose stock has risen a lot in the last six months or so. I think that's enough of a framework for a substantive discussion to be had. I certainly hope that Eppler is having those talks. More so than all the talks we keep hearing about Boston and David price.

The Angels need an ace/top of the rotation arms. They should part with Marsh and Canning, if necessary. Again, I don't understand why Cleveland is looking to deal Clevinger. However, if the Angels can get him for Marsh, Canning, and Jackson, then the only reason Eppler doesn't say "yes" right away is because he wants to put Mike Chernoff on hold so he can do a celebratory dance a'la Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in the movie "Moneyball" before doing so.

Lindor isn’t necessary. The putting together a package for Clevinger part is up to Eppler. He’s the GM. The Angels surely have something that can entice Cleveland, right? I don't understand why Cleveland would ever be motivated to move Clevinger. I get it with Lindor...he'll be a free agent after 2021 and he's going to get very rich. He's already very expensive just by way of arbitration. But Clevinger is just entering arbitration now and is under control through 2022. That said, if Cleveland is using Clevinger as a way to get a significant return for a trade that everyone knows they have to make, then I would love for the Angels to be in on it. And I wouldn't go about it with the usual "gaggle of prospects" approach. I'd offer a couple of higher-end prospects and I'd also offer Simmons. I realize this might sound foolish. Teams looking to shed high-ticket players don't ordinarily look for veterans who get paid well. But Simmons would give Cleveland a more than viable replacement for Lindor and he'll also offer much more cost certainty. Simmons is a free agent after 2020 but he isn't going to get a ton of money. My guess is he either gets a "show-me" one-year contract in the order of what Gregorious got from Philly or he gets a three or four-year contract or extension for a similar and maybe even lower yearly rate. Lindor's going to get more than that in each of his last two arbitration seasons and then walk away for nothing. So yeah, I doubt it'll happen, but if a package of let's say Marsh and another high-end prospect not named Adell, plus Simmons, and plus an arm going back a'la Canning can get you a front of the rotation starter and arguably the best shortstop in the game (albeit for just a couple of years), it's a no-brainer. PS: please don't take my post as some sort of thing against Simmons. I love Simba. He is a joy to watch play shortstop. He's arguably the best defensive shortstop since Ozzie and that's just plain fun to see every day. But if the option exists to exchange Simmons for Lindor, I'll help Simba pack and even drive him to the airport.

Currently, Eppler gets a "C" or "C-minus" from me but only because his off-season is functionally incomplete. And I'm not talking about starting pitching either. Functionally, they have a full staff as it stands. It's not a great staff, mind you. But, with the additions of Bundy and Teheran, they are better than they were when out 27 of game 162 of the 2019 season was recorded. And with Ohtani's return to the mound some time in 2020, they'll be better still. Again, not great, but at least complete. No, the piece the club is missing is a catcher. I do expect Eppler will get a pretty decent receiver, especially now that the club hasn't spent really anything on starting pitching. And once he does that, then my grade moves up to a "B or B-minus". That's the best-case scenario that's left, too.

Nothing that Trout has ever done in the way that he comports himself suggests he would ever do such a thing. People can change, sure, but I would be shocked if Trout, in the middle of his prime, and heading into a season where he'll have a legitimate second superstar hitter in the lineup with him for the first time in his career, asks to be traded. Politely or otherwise. Now, if we're sitting here five or six years from now and the club hasn't made any progress and Trout's in his mid 30's but still playing at a high level, then I could see it. But not before.

No.

I'm not a fan of adding Price, even if the BoSux pick up a substantial portion of his remaining contract; one third at least. i'd rather the Halos pursue a trade with the Mets for Syndergaard even if it means trading one of the top three prospects for him. I don't believe New York has any intent in retaining Thor when he hits free agency. And the two clubs could actually be a fit. The Mutts are in desperate need of a true center-fielder and Marsh could fill that need. The obvious stumbling blocks for such a deal are twofold. First, the Mets may not feel Marsh is big-league ready for 2020 and they'd probably be right. Second, Syndergaard has two years of control left. He doesn't become a free agent until after the 2021 season. So it's likely one significant prospect won't be enough to pry him away. Still, I would much prefer Eppler pursue Syndergaard than Price.

One guy, it has to be the catcher. But we need two more guys so let's get Keuchel and Willson Contreras.

I'm not going anywhere near that one...

Serious question... I don't think it'll come up in 2020 because it's not likely both Adell and Marsh will break through next year. But in 2021, it's going to come up. Say Adell is coming off a rookie season where he was in the RotY conversation. He follows that up with a big spring. Marsh tears up AA-AAA throughout 2020 and has a massive spring in '21 as well. The Angels then break camp with a foursome of outfielders of Trout, Upton, Adell, and Marsh. Obviously, Upton's the fourth guy in that equation. The only way they would play him more than kids who are better, younger, and faster is if they're hoping he'll do enough to make moving the last year and change of his big-ticket contract viable. That means the starting outfield would be, as indicated, Trout, Marsh, and Adell. Everything I've heard about Adell is that he's a corner outfielder; right field likely. And everything I've heard about Marsh is that he's the best defensive outfielder in the organization right now. So my question is, does Mike move to Left (or Right) to make room for a superior defensive player? I love Mike and appreciate that he is the best player not only of his generation, but perhaps the best in a half a century. I also love that he's worked so hard on improving himself all his career. He's never had a great arm but he's worked incredibly hard on his technique so that he's become someone opponents think twice about running on. He's a very good to excellent center-fielder. But everything I've read suggests Marsh is better. So...thoughts?

you don't speak Spanish, do you? oh, and welcome to AW! A little...I'm Portuguese by birth and fluent in my native tongue. The two languages have some similarities. Also, I have enough need for and exposure to Spanish because of where I live (central New Jersey) that I can get by in a pinch. Oh, and thanks for the welcome

93-95 is a little optimistic...it'd mean everything breaks our way. i.e. the things we take as givens (Rendon & Trout) stay that way. It'd also mean the things we are hopeful for (bounce-back years from Upton, Simmons, Ohtani, Adell is at least as productive as Calhoun, and Teheran and Bundy are indeed diamonds in the rough) go the way we hope. But I do like where your mind is...

Ola