ispy45

Commiting $300 million to a really good player makes sense for some teams.  But man I'd feel much better about it after a Trout extension.  

He's too good and too young not to get prospects in return even with his contract.  Our best prospects don't need to clear waivers because they aren't on the 40 man. 

I think if Eppler finds a deal that makes sense for the team this month, he'll do it.  If no moves happen, it is not because Eppler wasn't trying.  Teams aren't just going to give away guys like Verlander and Kemp because they have big contracts.  They will still want prospects.

I'm incredibly smart

It turns out Eppler knows better than us. Imagine that!

Actually I think you're assuming he didn't try to make such a deal happen. 

You are the one upset they haven't done anything yet this year.  They haven't happened this year, so you are assuming a deal of taking on money without giving up talent should have happened even though none of those have happened this year.  

1-2-3. Strikeout. Street Watch.
Forearm appears not tight.
Knee bends OK.
Oblique bends correctly.

Welcome back Huston. Great inning.

Get ready for another rough start. Lots of new faces always seems to have that effect, plus open tryouts in the bullpen just about ensures it.

Pujols just had surgery on his foot. He will be the primary DH with Cron playing first most of the time. Revere will rotate around the outfield and should get 350+ AB. Pujols may be a le to play 50 games at first at best.  

I'm not sure what people see in him. May be a decent signing, but people are acting like this was some game changing move.

The mediocre reliever isn't relied upon but in situations where there is an expectations of a positive results. The flaw in your argument is x reliever's success translates the same to a higher work load regardless of situation. 
Numbers are fun. But Morin for two innings isn't. Hell,  Morin for two batters can be a disaster. 

The Angels and most of baseball would require far more talent than they currently have on their roster to limit their starters to two lineup rotations per start. 
It works on short series like the playoffs but if you really examined what those teams were doing it was tax only three arms in the bullpen every game, effectively burning these guys arms up to the point even Chapman was getting hit. You would not be able to do that over the course of the season and would expose arms that are more effective in match ups to failures that leaving a starter in would not experience.
Hypothetical is not real world when you expect your small sample size to expand like raster independent fonts. Hey, bodini bold looks just as crisp in 30 point as it does in 150. So your bullpen is going to just expand innings pitched and give you the same results, on paper.
I would much rather see if a starter is able to navigate innings 5-7 than make it a policy to clip his wings. It creates the small fish in a small bowl pitching staff.

You're going to wear out your relievers if you go too much in this direction. 
You can't just look at a pitcher's performance over 60 innings and say it would be the same over 80 innings or 100 innings. 
In 2015 specifically I recall the Angels bullpen imploding down the stretch because of overuse, at least that was Mike Scioscia's belief. 

I actually believe this is the Angels thinking. 
Every dollar you spend is a dollar you don't have for something else. It's not like you lose the money if you don't spend it. So if there's no one worth spending it on, you shouldn't spend it just because you can. 
The most impactful pitcher available as a free agent now is Ivan Nova. Ivan Nova? If he hadn't had a 3.08 ERA in 2 months after he was traded who would even want him?
You know who had a 3.21 ERA in 2 months after he was traded?
Ricky Nolasco
 

He does. 
Luxury tax is based off the average annual value and that's what this table reflects.

I love when a guy we drafted comes up, develops before our eyes, and succeeds.  There is nothing more satisfying besides perhaps picking up some scrub off the scrap heap and watching them kill it for us while another team scratches their head.  
For that reason, seeing them get rid of Jett before he has a chance to realize his potential is a bit disappointing.  
That said, upon seeing Bandy's swing and approach, he was never going to be what we wanted him to.  If his deficiencies to come are that obvious to me, I can only imagine how obvious they were to people who do this for a living.  
They got a strong look at him.  They saw how he handled the staff.  His pitch calling.  His framing.  His defense otherwise.  His approach.  The holes in his swing.  His work ethic.  His potential.  And they traded him for a more established guy.  That tells me something.  Even though I was interested in seeing him develop, I had my concerns about how far that was going to go after seeing him play.  
Eppler is betting on the fact that the teams same reservations weren't growing pains but a lack of projectable talent.  
Most of all, it's just not that big of a deal.  

Marte is also very valuable as depth right now as well. Good teams have good depth. If Escobar is dealt and Marte slides up one slot, then everyone below Marte slides up a peg - Pennington, Cowart, Fontana, etc., 
Replacing Escobar with Marte may be a good-sized bump, but replacing Marte with AAAA filler is a much bigger drop off that negates a lot of that.
Sure, we may not need that depth and it may be moot, but after last year, better safe than sorry. If Cron breaks a finger or Escobar pulls a hammy, Marte is there. If Escobar has been dumped, then we are back to Choi, Cliff, and Cowart getting ABs.

I see no reason to just dump Escobar, and I don't think it's as easy as 'move him for the best reliever/4th OF/prospect you can get' because I don't think anyone is offering even that much.
There is also zero market for 3B recently, and that's about all Yunel is able/willing to play. No teams needed a 3B last midseason, and no one has really needed one this offseason - Turner only had one serious suitor, Valbuena is still a FA, etc.

How many teams could use Yunel Escobar at third? I struggle to think of any who don't already have someone or have a more interesting piece to play there.

I love Marte's much needed power at the plate. He had a breakout season at the plate ... no rush IMO. 
I love Escobar's ability to lead off for the team. Most are under rating the importance of his role in the lineup.
Defensively I'll stick with Escobar for now. 
Marte future third baseman ... the possibility is there. 

what?

Nope, not yet. Don't want to rely on Maybin or Simmons as a lead-off hitter yet. Escobar will be fine if he keeps getting on base. Our defense elsewhere is strong enough now to make up for it.

You are obsessed with Turner. Why torture yourself?  He's simply too expensive.  Arte won't go over the tax or close to it.  

Espinosa is basically Ryan Schimpf but with much better defense. 
What's not like about this trade? We gave up at best a couple depth guys down the road, but that could possibly never even make it to the big leagues.