Capital_Dave

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

After all the DRAMA over Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, planes flying in and out of Vegas, the White Sox recruiting friends and family members, stake outs, one-year-deal rumors, endless ESPN pablum.
Mike Trout, with no build up at all.  At 7AM.  On a Tuesday.  Quietly, humbly, and with finality.
So Mike Trout.

Who woulda thunk that on February 26th, we would STILL be nowhere near resolution of this contest?

Yep, I'll bet dollars to donuts that the Phillies are negotiating against themselves.  These national reporters want to cutlivate good relationships with the agents so they just trot out whatever self-serving BS they're given, without confirmation.  
Man, I'd love to see Boras have to swallow his pride and take an inferior deal to Machado's.  Machado seems to me (and likely to many owners) a far safer and more valuable bet than Harper.

Bob Nightengale/Jon Heyman reporting the latest Bryce Harper rumors.

Gotta love an Angels late-inning reliever who squints.  

Gotta love an Angels late-inning reliever who squints.  

Gotta love an Angels late-inning reliever who squints.  

Don't worry, none of them give you a negative mark like our old "Thumbs Down" reaction, they're all neutral. 
So with that said, here are the new Reactions to choose from:
 

I love Castellanos, but he seems like the last player that a defense-first GM like Eppler would target.  

I'm just here for the @Jeff Fletcher replies.  He's likely the only one here with an informed opinion.

That's what I meant. I stand by my statement.
In fact, let's look it up.
Let's just call 50 games and an ERA of 3.50 or better "exemplary." That's a pretty low bar for exemplary.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/tiny/3RN1N
There have been 13 pitchers who have done that each of the last three years. Only 40 pitchers have done it two of the last three years.
Point is, relievers are a huge crapshoot. Your chances of getting quality out of an $8M reliever are not much better than a $2M reliever.
 

I'll tell you what, that 7/$175M offer is getting a lot of ink today.  Now is the time, if you're Eppler, to make a one-time 24-hour take-it-or-leave-it offer.  8/$200M sounds like a good number: would be a terrific value...

His courtship and landing of Ohtani, in and of itself, merits an extension and a full-letter-grade bump.

Insider-only article by a staff writer ranks the Angels in the "Big Gainers" category with the Nats, Reds, and Mets.  Something for the "less is more" / "trust Eppler" partisans.
 
4. Los Angeles Angels
Change: Gain of 5.6 wins
Current forecast: 87.5 wins (2019 rank: 9 | 2018 final rank: 15)
The Angels have added Matt Harvey, Jonathan Lucroy, Trevor Cahill and Justin Bour, and can also expect to get a key piece back from injury in Zack Cozart. More than anything, though, the Angels haven't lost anybody of impact except maybe starter Matt Shoemaker. Only two teams have lost less WAR from its season-ending 2018 roster than L.A. As it stands, the Angels are positioned to battle the Tampa Bay Rays for the second wild-card slot in the American League. Traditionally, that slot -- from the hot stove perspective -- is highly volatile. The Angels could stand to make major gains from the addition of another couple of impact pitchers.
 

Insider-only article by a staff writer ranks the Angels in the "Big Gainers" category with the Nats, Reds, and Mets.  Something for the "less is more" / "trust Eppler" partisans.
 
4. Los Angeles Angels
Change: Gain of 5.6 wins
Current forecast: 87.5 wins (2019 rank: 9 | 2018 final rank: 15)
The Angels have added Matt Harvey, Jonathan Lucroy, Trevor Cahill and Justin Bour, and can also expect to get a key piece back from injury in Zack Cozart. More than anything, though, the Angels haven't lost anybody of impact except maybe starter Matt Shoemaker. Only two teams have lost less WAR from its season-ending 2018 roster than L.A. As it stands, the Angels are positioned to battle the Tampa Bay Rays for the second wild-card slot in the American League. Traditionally, that slot -- from the hot stove perspective -- is highly volatile. The Angels could stand to make major gains from the addition of another couple of impact pitchers.
 

Insider-only article by a staff writer ranks the Angels in the "Big Gainers" category with the Nats, Reds, and Mets.  Something for the "less is more" / "trust Eppler" partisans.
 
4. Los Angeles Angels
Change: Gain of 5.6 wins
Current forecast: 87.5 wins (2019 rank: 9 | 2018 final rank: 15)
The Angels have added Matt Harvey, Jonathan Lucroy, Trevor Cahill and Justin Bour, and can also expect to get a key piece back from injury in Zack Cozart. More than anything, though, the Angels haven't lost anybody of impact except maybe starter Matt Shoemaker. Only two teams have lost less WAR from its season-ending 2018 roster than L.A. As it stands, the Angels are positioned to battle the Tampa Bay Rays for the second wild-card slot in the American League. Traditionally, that slot -- from the hot stove perspective -- is highly volatile. The Angels could stand to make major gains from the addition of another couple of impact pitchers.