Pancake Bear

I hope so. Too early to know how Maddon will handle Pujols.

1B La Stella 2B Rengifo 3B Fletcher 1B solved.

Angels adding John Mallee In an assistant hitting coach role per Fletcher on Twitter. No word on what that means for any of the guys currently on staff.

Hamels would bring a strong, vet presence. Can’t help but see that as a positive. Also has a connection to Maddon and is from SoCal. Eppler already pursues Grandal last season and made an offer. I think they up their offer this year and bring him in. I have no facts to back this up, but I feel like Cole will sign earlier than that.

Honestly, trying to be aware of the needs of all 30 teams and where they might upgrade is always gonna result in quite a few head scratcher predictions in articles like this. It isn’t just SI. Pretty much any article like this will have the same problem.

I could see where we could use an upgrade. But considering La Stella got more value than that in the first half and Fletcher was miles ahead of that, this isn’t it. Starlin couldn’t get an infield bench spot on this team right now.

Fletcher just confirmed it on Twitter. Done deal.

The Indians had the best cumulative ERA in the AL from 2013-17. Mickey Callaway was their pitching coach. Now he's going to be the Angels pitching coach. Edit: Confirmed by Fletcher and Heyman.

Yep. These kinds of articles are Bleacher Report level analysis. If we were gonna get an infielder, that wouldn’t be it.

I don’t think they have inside info on who he will sign with. I do think they’re aware that he wants to play as close as possible to home. The Angels are an obvious fit. That’s why unless they screw it up, I think he’ll have a contract signed before the new year.

I'd been wondering if this was going to be another, "Let's give the MVP to someone other than Trout again" season. But he won MLBPA's top player award, SN Player of the Year. I'd be stunned at this point if he doesn't win MVP.

I already made my three predictions in the other thread (and have forgotten half of them). But I'll indulge a lengthier take here just for kicks: I think the Angels will sign Cole. The timing of his free agency is a perfect storm. The Angels have the need, the means, and the desperation to make the high bid. They have the connection to him and the word on the street is he's looking to come back to CA. There are no sure things in baseball, but I'm about as confident as one can be without being certain that he'll sign with the Angels. I could be wrong. Usually with things like this, the narrative ends up not happening, but there is too much that makes sense about this for it to not happen, imo. I don't think the Astros, Yankees or Dodgers will make a serious play for Cole (that is, I don't think any of them will make a truly competitive offer in both years and total money to what he ends up with). I think the Astros stand pat on pitching, and the Dodgers will maybe re-sign Ryu, but nothing else. I think the Yankees won't want to make the commitment to Cole. I think Cashman goes hard for Wheeler and gets him. I don't think Eppler will want to make a big trade, but if he struggles to get a second guy, I think Arte will push him to make a second major acquisition. I think Eppler goes after Hamels or one of the other 2/3 tier guys. I think we could afford to grab Cole and Strasburg, but with Cole in the bag they won't want the risk of another long-term deal. If Eppler can't find a second tier pitcher he likes that is good enough for Arte, I think he will be pressured to make a big trade for Syndergaard or Boyd. I doubt that happens, but I think Arte is tired of waiting. Maybe Eppler pushes for someone like Ray to try to keep the farm as intact as possible. I think Eppler pursues Grandal big time and brings him in. I don't think we pursue Rendon at all. I think Callaway is brought in as pitching coach. I have no idea on bench coach. I'm gonna guess it's someone I'm not really familiar with. I think there's a slight chance Maddon lobbies for and succeeds in getting Zobrist to the Angels on a one year deal. It really only makes sense because of the Maddon connection, that Zobrist is older and not looking for a big deal, and still can play effectively. Slight chance, though. I'm on the fence about whether Eppler makes anything more than low level moves for the bullpen. I think he would probably stand pat, but Arte may want a name guy. I am 100% confident on these picks. At least for now.

I think so, too. I’m just thinking about ways the deal might get blown. Arte being afraid of getting hamstrung by a risky contract is one way.

Or because Arte wouldn’t sign off on a seven year deal.

Almost exactly every word of this. I actually won a free round of golf on a bet with my brother that CJ would sign with the Angels.

We’ve talked a bit around here about getting at least two starters. Thing is, starting pitchers tend to have a high risk, especially over long term contracts. One way to avoid that is through the trade market, but that becomes expensive in prospect currency. So that really isn’t a better option than throwing a five year contract at someone like Wheeler. I guess what I’m saying is if their target is Cole, I’m dubious that Eppler gives out two (or more) contracts of 5 (or more in the case of Cole) years to a free agent SP. It’s risky enough going all in on a long term deal at SP, but doing it multiple times the same offseason could really jack up the franchise long term if both contracts underwhelm. It makes me wonder if we’ll pursue a trade or a shorter term option after Cole - assuming he’s our top target.

I don’t think Fletch had enough games at 3B to get the votes. But it’s totally awesome to see him get the recognition.

NY media said they were expected to pursuehim. Their payroll is already quite high and they’ve been reluctant to go George-level big. They went low on years on Corbin last year and he even wanted to go to NY. I’m skeptical their offer is top 3. Maybe they’ve gotten desperate, but recent history suggests they won’t go all the way in.

I’m not sure that’s how it runs as much anymore. It used to be some owner would come in with the high bid and win the offseason. These days front offices are reluctant to budge much from their internal valuation of a given player. Maybe that changes with Cole, but I’m skeptical we see a bunch of teams just upping the bidding. 35m is significantly more than any other pitcher has gotten before now for 7 years. Usually the market doesn’t shift that sharply. Again, that could change; these things are always to some degree in flux. But the teams most likely to push their internal budget are the teams most desperate. That won’t be the Red Sox or Astros, probably. I suppose it could be the Yankees or Dodgers if they’re desperate for a championship and feel its worth the risk of the highest pitcher contract of all time, but I would probably expect to see them try for a shorter deal with an opt out or a really high aav on 4-5 years. I doubt Cole goes for that. Free agents rarely do. The Angels have a strong likelihood because they have a good team apart from starting pitching, and they’re desperate to return to the playoffs, and they have the money. The teams most likely to be in the bidding will be those teams who are in a similar position, in my opinion. I could be wrong, though. I’m often wrong.

No one has a greater need than the Angels. They have plenty of room in the budget for a 35m contract (or more, theoretically) if it comes to that. Unless some other team gets really stupid and offers an insanely high contract, there’s no reason they should be outbid.

Hmm.

If we’re talking Grandal, I probably lean that way. Having said that, it’s close and I would be happy if we’re in a position where either one is possible.

I like Maddon’s approach: Fun and numbers.

True for me. When we’re not playing them, I think Altuve is awesome. I hate the Yankees with the Patriots more than any other teams in any sport. After that it’s a drop off. But generally speaking, the Red Sox would be up there. Honestly, in order of division rivals I hate the most, I probably hate all three of the others more than the Astros right now.