BTH

Non-tender Andriese and Robles.

Get two above average starters, either via trade, free agency, or a combination.

Sign an above average reliever.

Sign 1-2 late-inning options for the bullpen. (There are gonna be a flood of guys bc of non-tenders, so they should come somewhat cheaply).

Try to shore up the rotation depth, bullpen depth, and bench depth. Maybe flip guys like Buttrey, Middleton, Suarez, and Jones for more proven options.

Wait out the market for a cheap platoon C.

Wait out the market for a cheap 2B/SS option.

Just quickly looking at it, if the Angels carry 13 pitchers next season, the Angels figure to have 7 playoff team caliber pitchers in Bundy, Heaney, Canning, Bedrosian, Mayers, Pena, and Ramirez. They may not be at the top tier of a playoff team, but they'd be part of the middle/back end of the rotation and bullpen at least. That'd leave them needing 6 new pitchers at max. That number could decrease through internal improvements from guys who have been good before like Barria, Buttrey, Ohtani, and Middleton.

I'd say a fair assessment is they need to add a combination of 3-4 quality pitchers from the rotation and bullpen

No offense to Joel, but I think it's just his own ignorance. If you actually look at the Angels roster, you'd realize they don't need 6-8 pitchers, but I don't think he actually looked at it. He just knows the Angels need is pitching (as everyone knows) and exaggerated the number to make his point or didn't put the effort in to realize that wasn't the case.

3 hours ago, Second Base said:

I'm still astounded that Dustin May went in the third round. The big kick, flaming red hair, six and a half feet tall, and high 90's fastball, like how the frick could a scout not notice the dude?  Clearly the Dodgers saw him. 

Well, he wasn't throwing in the high 90's when he was drafted.

From MLB Pipeline in 2016: "May threw in the low 80s as a sophomore but has added significant velocity as his 6-foot-6 frame has started to fill out. He dealt at 90-93 mph and reached 95 at the outset of his senior season."

I get the impression that Arte is just gonna interfere with baseball ops, and fans unfortunately have to accept that fact. That means he isn't gonna hire an experienced GM because those guys won't want to take a job where they get interfered with. 

It also means that the best person they can hire is someone who is good at scouting and player development. All of these guys seem to fit that mold.

Arte's gonna call the shots on all the big free agent signings, and the GM will be left to make good scouting and development decisions, so they might as well get someone who excels in that area.

7 hours ago, totdprods said:

Good to see. Makes me wonder if all the Dombrowski talk plus this actually does mean they’re more open to a President and GM model. Have a GM who is heavily focused in developing internally and a President capable of pulling trigger on larger moves and guiding strategy. 

I actually think this news makes it less likely that they go with that model. I don't think it will be Dombrowski and one of these guys, but instead just one of these guys.

As much as Arte may want Dombrowski, having input in baseball ops seems like a priority for Arte. Dombrowski isn't gonna take the job unless Arte stays away, and I don't think Arte is going to do that. So that means Arte will just hire another first time GM who Arte can interfere with.

The Angels definitely need to upgrade at 2B, but I wonder if they wait out the market to see who falls to them. With money being tight, there may be a lot non-tenders and there could be more options available at 2B than initially anticipated. Hernandez would be good, but they need to be careful with their allocation of resources. They can't be giving Hernandez a ton of money when pitching is the clear need.

3 hours ago, Warfarin said:

Considering that both the Dodgers and Rays are still playing, I can only hope it's someone from one (or both) of those teams.

Yeah. Josh Brynes from the Dodgers and Peter Bendix from the Rays seem like the top available candidates from those two teams.

6 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Based on the fact that I was told “after the WS,” I suspect at least one of the people they want to talk to is working for one of the teams still playing. 

Yeah, that seems to make a lot of sense.

Appreciate your effort in trying to find whatever you can.

1 minute ago, Second Base said:

But as they start asking permission from other teams to interview their front office personnel, some names will likely be leaked, by other teams. 

The Dodgers and Rays are two of the top teams to poach executives from, so maybe them still being in the playoffs is a main factor in the silence. If they are waiting until after the World Series to interview executives from those teams, then it makes sense why he haven't seen any names leaked.

I know Fletcher reported the other day that they aren't gonna hire someone until after the World Series, but it seems like we should be hearing about some people interviewing for the job.
I haven't seen any reports of someone interviewing for the job or really anything at all. Are they just keeping it really close to the vest, or are they just taking the search really slowly?

I saw a White Sox writer suggest that this is just a front. The writer suggested that fans will be so upset with the idea of La Russa being the manager that they will be totally fine with Hinch or Cora when the White Sox hire them.

I could see this being the case, because La Russa just doesn't make sense as a manager in this day and age.

Facts. It's SO QUIET. I've seen nothing. No mentions of interviews or even rumors. It's incredibly quiet.

The team that "wins the Winter Meetings" is never good the following season. I think at best Arte spends at a similar level to what he did this past season.

It's not gonna happen. He's Arte's friend, going all the way back to before Arte owned the Angels. It'd be better if he was just President of Business Ops, which I think he mostly is. He probably shouldn't be leading the search for a new GM, but they kind of have no choice because they have no one else to do it.

Do you all think that the Angels will hire both a President of Baseball Ops and a GM or just a GM?

I think they should should hire both, but I don't think they will because it will cost Arte more money and it would give him less control.

I will also add that Soriano's injury may make him MORE likely to be taken in the R5 draft if he isn't protected. This is because teams can stash him on the IL and won't have to keep him on the active roster for the entire season.

I think they protect Naughton, Soriano, Rodriguez, and Marsh.

They have a lot of guys who they can easily part with on the 40-man. Bard, Keller, Milner, Peters, Quijada, Briceno, and Soto are all easy subtractions, and they may non-tender Andriese, Barnes, and Robles.

Would Arte pay Theo what he would want/command? Theo was making $10M per season on his last contract.

"The Angels are still working on what their payroll will look like going into next season but Carpino said he believes the club has the resources to continue to improve the roster."

https://www.mlb.com/angels/news/angels-gm-search-will-not-be-rushed

3 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Berti, Alcantara, Sanchez (Sixto), Aguilar, Dickerson, Urena, Anderson, Marte and Rojas off the top of my head. Brinson and M. Harrison as well. 

8 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

Don't ruin it for everyone and make a list! Just give us the number.

Are we allowed to make a list? I didn't because Angelsjunky said not to.

28 off the top of my head, but some of those guys may not be on the playoff roster, but rather appeared solely in the regular season.

$15M #3 starters: Stroman

$10M #4 starters: Quintana.

$9M good relievers: Colome

$6M solid relievers: Wilson

31 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Josh Byrnes - Been fired as a GM before, but a ton of connections and has been intimately involved in Dodgers resurgence of the last half decade. Well liked in baseball circles.

He's been a candidate for the Angels GM job before, and he's been successful with the Dodgers, so I could see it. He'd be up there, in terms of top candidates, imo.

Brian O'Halloran - Red Sox AGM, second in command, connected with both Maddon and LaRussa. Has interviewed for GM spots before.

O'Halloran was promoted to the Red Sox GM job under Chaim Bloom, so the Angels would need to make him President of Baseball Operations to pry him away.

Eric Neander - Second in command in Tampa Bay, part of that Andrew Friedman brain trust that has been pillaged by virtually every successful team in baseball now. Seen as a scouting wizard, finds value where no one else can.

He'd be my favorite as well, but I doubt they can pry him from Tampa.

Matt Arnold - AGM in Milwaukee. Part of that Friedman brain trust we talked about already. Has transformed that organization since his arrival, from mediocre to constant contender. Strong in scouting. 

They'd probably have to make him PBO as well, as Milwaukee apparently is gonna make Stearns President and Arnold GM.

Tony LaCava - Not specifically connected, but well respected in the business. Always seems to come in second or third in GM vacancies. Has done impressive work in Toronto. Offered the O's GM job and notably turned it down to remain an AGM in Toronto. Personally connected to their resurgence over the last decade.

Gammons connected those dots earlier today, and I could see it.

Jed Hoyer - Second in command in Chicago. Had interviewed for many GM openings, strong ties to LaRussa and Maddon. Former GM of Padres, he began the reconstruction of their now insanely strong farm system.

Jed may stay with Chicago because Theo may move on from Chicago after next season.