Junkballer

Congrats to @Robrock30

So does this pretty much guarantee Gosselin being moved?

The Angels need to dump or get off the pot in re: their catcher of the future. Stassi is FA after this season. If he's their guy, extend him soon. Given Stassi not having a history of being able to catch 90 games in any season they need to have that backup C really be a legitimate starter that they'd feel comfortable with down the stretch of a playoff race.

The Angels have too many needs to re-sign Iglesias, not the least of which is to improve the defense. Unless of course they blow up the budget which isn't going to happen, Iglesias fills one hole but blocks others. Perhaps if they could get him to drastically back-load his contract it might happen but again, highly doubtful. They need, at minimum, a mid-range starter with a history of health/innings, a closer, setup arm, SS and backup C. I'd sign Kendall Graveman, and another late innings arm. You can possibly pay for Graveman and the setup arm for the price of Iglesias. I still think Jon Gray is a good bet. He won't be a Stroman, but there is a good chance that outside of Colorado he can adjust to the AL and succeed here. Perhaps it may take the first portion of the season to get his legs under him but he can be had at a reasonable price and likely needs only a 3-year commitment. Trade for a solid defensive SS. He can have a below league average bat. See if there is a reasonable trade market for Fletcher and if yes, plug in Rengifo at 2B. I feel the Angels should seriously explore aiming higher than for a run of the mill backup C. Stassi likely won't start 100 games, possibly significantly less than that, and he seems to get run down towards the end of the season even with a moderate workload. This is an area where I wouldn't mind them overpaying for the purposes of insurance and just pencil in Stassi and the acquisition at 81 games each.

Minasian and Maddon have yachts too?

2021 could've really used a Ruh Roh icon. Hopefully it won't be needed for 2022

I like the idea of saving Marsh and Adell until at least the trade deadline. 1) their trade values, assuming their continued improvement, will increase by then, particularly with Adell. 2) To get an impact player at the deadline either to fill holes or just take a step towards playoff legitimacy, you'll need one of Marsh/Adell. We don't know what the team's trade deadline needs will be now, as you can't predict injuries or unexpected underperformance, but there will undoubtedly be an area that requires a significant move in order to finish a playoff race. If the club is healthy and they don't need a type of player that commands a Marsh/Adell, then better to keep them both for when Upton is gone.

You don't even know what the lux tax is going to be next year. If they strike a deal with MLBPA that includes the initial lux tax proposal they are over the threshold with no payroll increase from last year.

Gotta say, Stroman seems to be a fantastic teammate as well as a dependable, just shy of ace material arm. If the clubhouse vibe narrative is still as strong as it seemed to be, he is definitely an asset. 5-7 years though. Oof.

According to @Jeff Fletcher This appears to imply that it was not solely a Minasian decision. Even if it was, to make any single GM personnel move a cause for firing, outside the body of his work is dubious, particularly in their freshman GM year.

I think they have one borderline ace in Ohtani, who would be considered an ace if he started every 5th day, but who would trade his offense for that? Syndergaard has that potential, if healthy and can regain most of his pre-injury form. Hopefully the Angels have done their homework on his rehab. With Ohtani/Syndergaard as 1/2 and Sandoval and Suarez at the back end, a starter with #2 upside gives them a solid rotation to go along with a hopefully injury-free formidable offense. Now solidify the bullpen, and the defense with a solid SS glove and they are looking much improved.

Considering that they could potentially sign a solid closer and setup man for the price of Iglesias, not re-signing him could potentially be the move that allows budget for significant TOR signings and still be considered win-now.

First, welcome back, haven't seen you post since around opening day. I also think that the reason why people are including the two in trade scenarios are -They have been used to having the Angels brought up as interested parties in FA arms so often, only for those deals to come to naught, as well as a history of FA arms crapping the bed on arrival. Although Minasian is a second year GM and should be given the benefit of the doubt that he will be wiser than the choices made in the past, there is understandably some flashbacks to missing out on surer FA bets and the resulting signings. -The Angels OF is one of their few areas of immediate surplus, and their top two trade pieces just so happen to be OFers. Replacing an OF position is Geico Caveman easy compared to quality starting pitching. With Upton gone after this year it would be ideal to not have to trade Marsh/Adell and have a Marsh/Trout/Adell OF. We should admit though that the Angels are in a two-year window to make the leap from playoff pretenders to legitimate contenders. Getting two quality starters by FA and/or a trade that does not include Marsh/Adell is certainly preferable, but until we start seeing Minasian have some success with pitching where his predecessors have not, our collective confidence level makes trading one of them a more acceptable outcome.

Just a tidbit. Darryl is now a speaker on the Christian men's group circuit. Pretty powerful testimony about the depths of his spiral and God's impact on his life/recovery and was a much better speaker than I'd have thought, considering that he didn't seem to have that in him when he was a youngster. I saw him at a Victor Marx event and he briefly discussed Doc Gooden, their friendship and reaching out to him.

Great read.

I'd only consider them as either/or. If they sign two starters, one of them have to be considered as being on the higher end of probability regarding being able to pitch to their apex. That can't really be said about either of those two, at least at this point, both having come off serious injuries and significant downtime.

Since we aren't discussing that he's 32 and his contract will certainly be lengthy, impacting the roster in the re-signing Ohtani phase, I'll say that I'd prefer that Walsh be moved. Walsh still has an outfield learning curve and may never be better than passable and the DH spot is already crowded. I'd prefer sending a quantity package out with Walsh for a less substantial arm than trading Marsh or Adell at this point. I feel that trading those two at this juncture will not bring back their true value.

The balk calls will be totally worth it.

I'd like to see Minasian be aggressive with getting a 2nd tier starter right off the bat (Gray?), if possible, while he is waiting for the CBA shenangigans to play out. Last thing they need is to be making desperation moves as the season looms.