HBAngel13

@Dave Saltzer one of the best articles we have had on AngelsWin. Fantastic job!! I am a big fan of Perry and his approach and am bullish on the future of this team if he is allowed to continue. While it’s a bummer to start the season knowing that this is likely not “the year”, I love the approach of assessing the young talent and not chasing free agents that likely won’t change the outcome. This offseason is as much about what they didn’t do as what they did do. Perhaps a hot take, but I give this offseason an A-. They brought in Wash and staff, avoided LT contracts for mid-tier FA that would block the young guys, and they even committed to a pitching lab to beef up player development. All of that breeds optimism! My only criticism of the offseason is they didn’t take better advantage of the payroll space to bring in guys that could shore up depth and possibly have trade value at the deadline. Also, this would have been the perfect time to prey on small market clubs by buying their prospects in exchange for taking on bad 1-2 yr contracts. Perhaps they can do some of that at the deadline. I am as critical of Arte as the next guy, but if he is actually listening to the baseball people now, that is the first step to rehabbing his reputation and legacy. Excited to see what this season holds…

I have been against adding Snell on a mega deal, but if he could be had on a three year deal, we should be all over that. I don’t want his contract extending past 2026 when Rendons contract drops off. Martinez is a tough one. In a vacuum his bat makes us better, but if his presence prevents us from using the DH to keep Trout and Rendon fresh in addition to pushing Adell out of regular PT, I don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze. Especially if that would inhibit our ability to shop for another starter from next years FA pool. Even with a Snell and Martinez we still need a ton of things to break our way to contend. One long shot possibility would be to bring Martinez in and then move Ward in a package for someone like Cease.

Trading any long term assets (Ward, Moniak, Silseth, etc…) for one year of anyone is exactly what the Angels shouldnt do, especially for a middle infielder. This team has potential, but they are not one piece away.

I’m on record as saying “no” to Snell, but if you could overpay on AAV and get him for 4/120 I would be on board with that. Montgomery at 4/80 would be even better since he won’t cost the pick. Same applies to Chapman- 3/65 Bellinger is the most tempting seeing as he can play OF and 1B. Would definitely circle a 5 yr deal. 6 yrs would be a reach. Plus there would likely be an accompanying trade of an OF for another starter Lorenzen at 1/5 is a no-brainer i still say Bauer makes too much sense. This teams rep is already at an all time low, just bring him in. He will cost peanuts so you can just release him if it doesn’t work. Snell/Montgomery + Bauer and the revamped pen vaults this team into legitimate contention. Love the idea of Soler or Martinez’ bat, but not at expense of clogging DH or blocking the young guys. We need that spot for Trout/Rendon as well as getting ABs for our OF corp. i would be very careful in giving out out any high AAV deals that stretch past the end of Rendons contract. If the young players don’t come together, 2026 offseason may be a point to do a scorched earth reset.

Would be interested in the WAR totals for each milestone. Won’t be exactly apples to apples to compare pitchers to everyday players but curious on the context.

Schanuel should be the main guy at first unless he struggles. Hoskins can DH a chunk of the time and play 1B against lefties. My fear with Schanuel is a complete dearth of power at a corner infield spot.

I hope the Angels are taking a look at Rhys Hoskins. He could probably be had on a high AAV pillow contract. From what I understand, he would provide some coverage at 1B and not totally clog the DH spot. Would also be a great deadline trade piece if we aren’t in contention. If healthy, he is probably in the ballpark with Soler and Martinez.

As unsexy as this offseason has been, I do like this overall approach. Shore up depth with calculated moves that don’t hamstring the future. If the arms aren’t there to help the rotation at a reasonable cost, keep building out the pen to compensate. The SP FA options are much stronger next year and by then we should have a better idea on the young guys development curve. While it won’t impact 2024, I do like the idea of a 2-yr get healthy gamble on Brandon Woodruff. Also, I know many of us have written off Suarez, but he is only a year removed from being a quality back-end innings eater. I think the pitch clock probably messed with him a bit. If Enright can get him back on track, that would be huge for our young starters adjusting to a heavier workload Keep raising the floor Perry.

I would love a Sandoval for Musgrove/Kim package with Angels picking up the tab. Trade simulator has the deal tipped in the Pads favor, so perhaps Angels could get a prospect and/or a reliever to even it out. 4/80 for Musgrove is a better deal than what Snell, Montgomery or Stroman will net. Angels would still be $40Mish under the luxury tax threshold and could make other moves. Plus the deal doesn’t torpedo the future. Acquiring Kim would make for a crowded infield. Could open the door for a Drury trade. I prefer to keep Renigfo and put him at 3rd three times a week if Rendon is in there. Otherwise he is the utility guy. Either way, he should be getting everyday ABs. i wouldn’t give away Drury, but if you could cash him in for decent prospects and/or a leverage reliever and then reinvest the money in SP or pen, I would definitely do it.

I wouldn’t agree with this. He can pitch at that level, but not consistently. Therein lies the problem with giving him a 7 yr contract. I would love Snell on a 3-yr deal or Bellinger on a 4-yr deal, but 7 and 12 (?) is a poor choice for those players. Ask SD how they feel about that Xander Boegarts contract after one year….

Another great episode Chuck! Keep ‘em coming!

I like Snell in a vacuum, but my fear is the cost and years, especially for a team that is likely 2 years away from making a serious push. Not saying they can’t win in 2024/2025, but so much would have to come together just right. Snell is a very good pitcher that can be great, but he isn’t Gerritt Cole. Working off the premise that the next year or two are transition years, I would prefer guys on 1-3 yr deals. Last offseason there was a lot of discussion about “raising the floor”. Our final record didn’t reflect it, but I think that philosophy served us very well and would like to see that continued in 2024. Target guys that can give solid performance on a reasonable commitment. I don’t think Snell fits that profile.

Garver would also allow O’Hoppe to DH and get closer to a full season of ABs without diluting our in-game coverage at C. O’Hoppe looks like a 25-30 HR bat which will backfill some of the power drain from losing Ohtani. Really liking this the more I mull on it. MLB trade rumors had Garver at 3/39. I would do that yesterday given what everyone has stated above.

Great post! I like the Garver suggestion a ton if he can play a competent 1B and still catch occasionally. Kind of an ideal fit. We likely need to reserve a chunk of DH AB’s for Rendon and Trout, but Garvers positional flexibility could work well here. Not sure what his market is, but a 2-3 yr deal works for me. I like Pederson as well. Kind of a poor man’s Bellinger without the long term commitment. He would be a good FA backfill IF we could package one of the OF for a controllable pitcher (probably Moniak). Otherwise he is redundant. I think Ward and Adell’s trade value is down and they are worth more to us as upside performers going into the season. Although Ward is a guy I would look to move at the deadline if we are out of it. Martinez/Soler would be good adds, but would clog DH. They will be expensive as well. These are the “win-now” moves that we should probably shy away from. I don’t see us as 2024 contenders, so I would opt for a multi-year deal for Garver. PS - I think Snell would be a mistake, so “no” to Sanchez.

This is actually not bad. I would pass on Stroman, but the other moves make sense if the team wants to try and compete in the short term without destroying future flexibility. Stroman seems like fools gold to me.