Pancake Bear

Right now, I’d be happy just getting one (preferably Cole).
If we got both, after the initial freak out, I’d probably be concerned about long term effects on the payroll and how Stras will hold up over the course of the contract (Cole, too, although to a lesser degree).
Plus, with multiple teams in on both, I just don’t see Arte having the desperation to do whatever it takes to sign both. 

Right now, I’d be happy just getting one (preferably Cole).
If we got both, after the initial freak out, I’d probably be concerned about long term effects on the payroll and how Stras will hold up over the course of the contract (Cole, too, although to a lesser degree).
Plus, with multiple teams in on both, I just don’t see Arte having the desperation to do whatever it takes to sign both. 

Most are bad pitchers. Compare his career to date with other top aces. This just isn’t a convincing argument. 

Better coaching. Unlocking what was already there. The Angels now have arguably one of the best pitching coaches and managers in the league with Callaway and Maddon. No reason he should regress. Also, it’s not like he’ll suddenly forget whatever he learned in Houston that unlocked the improvement. 
The notion that somehow the Astros got something out of him that no one else could and that he’ll turn into a pumpkin wherever he lands next makes zero sense to me. Perhaps you can enlighten me on why you think he can’t sustain his improvement. 

I'm pretty much in the 'whatever it takes' crowd if there is one.  
there's a difference between paying for past performance and paying someone based on their track record.  It's the job of the buying team to perform due diligence and determine whether that previous performance is sustainable and for how long.  The older a player is when you sign him decreases those chances.  
I want the Angels to be all in on Cole because I don't think they have a chance to win without someone like him over the next 3 years and there is no one else even remotely close to what he brings coming from the halos system or in free agency any time soon.  
Let's assume for a second that he and Wheeler perform similarly in 2020 as they did in 2019 and the delta in their performance stays similar the next 5 years or so.  Over that 5 years, Cole is gonna cost about 10 mil more per year than Wheeler over the next 5 years but provides more more value for that additional 10m.  
Beyond 5yrs is when the contract gets tricky but there is precedent for ace level pitchers aging well like Verlander, Scherzer and Greinke.  The ones that haven't aged well into their mid 30's have had shoulder issues like Felix and Johan Santana.  So personally, I really like Cole's chances of being very good later in the contract.  
And let's be clear.  This is not the Pujols contract.  Albert started a 10 year deal with the Angels in his age 32 season.  Cole would be starting an 8 year deal in his age 29 season.  
If you're risk averse and don't think the current team is worth investing in then so be it.  But I see the sweet spot of this deal being from 2022-24 when Trout is 30-32 and Ohtani is in his late 20's.  A bunch of our young talent will be in the majors and several will have a couple years of ramp up time by then.  And if Eppler plays his cards right, two years from now a lot of the guys in rookie ball will be in AA so there will be a pot of tradeable assets to further improve the team.  Also by that time, there will be a fair amount of dead weight off the books

This is the way. 

They are interested in both. They just probably won’t sign both. 

This is the way. 

This is the way. 

So do we! They made good moves. Eppler needs to do the same. I'm losing patience seeing all this talent getting moved in trades and FA's getting signed and just like last offseason we just get a token blurb about being interested. 
If he doesn't sign one of Cole or Strasburg and make another key move for pitching and a hitting catcher... he can just walk away like Dipoto.
Good riddance if he doesn't improve this team by a lot this offseason. Way too much talent available via FA and trades not to.
I have spoken.

Name one impact player you get for under 10M?
Its absurd to say they have prioritized bats over all, they havent, and they publically said pitching first, but what do you want them to do if the guy nears 400M?
 

I hate to say it, but i partly agree with this. 
Ill be fine if we signed him, hes a fantastic pitcher. He just strikes me as the type the baseball gods would laugh, hard, and go "maaaaan... you angels never learn!"
Fwiw, someone I know whos connected at a low level mentioned him to me back in october as a target, saying supposedly (i stress supposedly) he was interested in coming here.

No disagreement there - but I also get that he could start getting a little Mike Ilitch streak as he ages and the Angels don’t win a championship. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.

I get that and I’ve defended the approach from last off season because of this. So now we will see if he’s “all in”. 

Imagine Cole, Strasburg, and Ohtani!!  And then you have the best player in baseball on top of that. I do think it’s in the realm of reality that this could happen, but I know it’s not likely. 

It would only put us over the Luxury Tax for two years, so I don't think it is totally crazy but it is very difficult to pull off and requires Moreno to do something he has never done before.

I know it's not what AJ is asking, but plan b is to spend more money than you thought you'd have to in order to get Cole.  
There isn't another FA like him coming any time soon and we have no one in the pipeline coming any time soon.  He is literally a magical addition to this team.  We have very little chance to accomplish what we'd like without him.  
and a 1-2 of Cole, Ohtani for the playoffs would be just fine.  

That’s what scares me.
”If you’re always rational about every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent.”
Sometimes you have to spend stupid money. This is one of those times. If the Yankees or Dodgers do decide to get competitive (I’m skeptical, but both teams have the financial means to do so if they choose to), we will have to have the high offer to have a chance. Sox were highest for Wheeler and still lost. 

You may well be right, but I do not accept that as fact. 

If the Angels don't significantly improve their starting pitching through free agency this year, it's not going to happen that way next year, either (they could obviously make trades, though).  Here's the projected list of starting pitchers who'll be free agents after next season.  Not exactly a lot of difference-makers in this batch:
Chase Anderson (33) – $9.5MM club option with a $500K buyout
Chris Archer (32) – $11MM club option with a $250K buyout
Jake Arrieta (35)
Trevor Bauer (30)
Tyler Chatwood (31)
Anthony DeSclafani (31)
Michael Fiers (36)
Cole Hamels (37)
J.A. Happ (38) – $17MM vesting option
Merrill Kelly (32) – $4.25MM club option with a $500K buyout
Corey Kluber (35) – $17.5MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Mike Leake (33) – $18MM mutual option with a $5MM buyout
Jon Lester (37) – $25MM mutual/vesting option with a $10MM buyout
Mike Minor (33)
Charlie Morton (37) – $15MM vesting option
James Paxton (32)
Jose Quintana (32)
Robbie Ray (29)
Garrett Richards (33)
Jeff Samardzija (36)
Anibal Sanchez (37) – $12MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Marcus Stroman (30)
Masahiro Tanaka (32)
Jordan Zimmermann (35)

Probably not too reliable, but what the heck:

seems like a fair trade and all, but why not just sign a mediocre back of the rotation innings eater like Kyle Gibson for a few mil more instead of giving up prospect capital?  
and now all of a sudden people like WAR to determine this guy's worth?  
I'll reserve my final judgement until everything plays out over the next couple months but my initial thought is that this is the second piece to the rotation with Cole being the primary.  A cheap catcher and we are likely done.  Anything more than that and I will be pleasantly surprised.  

No he doesn’t stink.  

What do you think? What would have happened had The Angels moved to Long Beach? The Angels would have truly been the Los Angeles Angels which would have ended any curse. But Anaheim at the very least would have been stuck with a stadium that probably never would have been used again, or the city would have demolished the stadium which probably would have been replaced by more condos. Either way, there would have been a big hole being left in the Platinum Triangle and the city as a whole.

holy crap. you actually believe in curses?