I have taken it upon myself to solve the Angel's problems.

[Jim]

Trade CJ Wilson and Matt Shoemaker and a player to be named later to the Colorado Rockies for Carlos Gonzalez. Plus we will eat $10 Million of Wilson's contract.

 

With Troepano and Santiago ready if any of them go down. Also, after the 2016 season, Weaver's $20 will be coming off the books and it will be time to bring up Newcomb. 

 

Let the comments begin!

Nice thought, but you already traded Newcomb. The Rockies might show some interest in Wilson, but there is no way they take on Shoemaker.

Not to mention we now have a 31 year old ex Rockies hitter with only two more years on his contract, which will probably end up being a good thing. Have you seen his home and away splits?

Good post though 

[marcosantinia12]

Well thought out ideas, I think they are creative and a little different than what has been mentioned around here. With that being said, I also think there are some flaws with it.

1. Daniel Murphy
I was pretty big on the guy prior to the post season. He doesn't give much value to defense but has a solid (slightly better than Freese). I think he has more upside than Freese going forward as he is younger like you noted. The thing is that he was a good buy-low guy. I think if we were able to get him for 8-11 mil/year for about 3-4 years it would be nice. I think that boat has sailed and he will be overpaid for his post season heroics. Is he really worth it? I think a better option for third base would be via trade. I mentioned the idea of Prado a while back which would provide Murphy's offensive production plus the defense. Neil Walker has also been mentioned, an I think he would be equally as valuable as Prado. Maybe more. 

2. Doug Fister
I actually like this idea. I don't know if I am missing something, but I don't understand why people are so opposed to having him. Although I disagree that he is an ace, I think he is an ok #2 or very good #3. I think he adds a lot of depth by pushing everybody back a spot and would be a great buy-low (relatively) candidate. He also makes some of our younger guys expendable. I think he could be had for 50-60/4 because of the surplus of pitching in the market this year. My only issue with this is if we should be investing in pitching. Don't get me wrong, I think that we could definitely get stronger in that department, but I think that we will be much better than last year. The young guys will come in with more experience and I think Richards and Shoemaker could bounce back (somewhere in between their 2014 and 2015 numbers). I think our SP will be ok in 2016. Not great, but not bad. If we can afford to improve, than by all means, but I would say that our main priorities are to fill our wholes in the outfield, third base (unless we plan on a Cowart/Kubitza platoon), and relief pitching. 

3. Alex Avila
I think he could be ok as a backup like you mentioned, maybe as a reclamation project but is a 20+ million commitment worth it? WAY too much of an over pay especially when we have a backup catcher in Bandy. 

4. Carlos Gonzalez
We can all agree that Carlos Gonzalez is as big an impact bat as we can get. However, there is NO way that the Rockies take this trade. I agree, they would like to shed Gonzalez's salary, but they are definitely capable of getting a quality prospect or two and on top of that shed the salary. They have no need for a guy like CJ who is in his 30's and would suffer in that park. I think any possible deal with them includes Newcomb or Heaney a long with a package of cost controlled young pitching. We would have to drain a considerable amount of our Farm system to pull it off. 

Overall I like the flow of ideas though. Well thought out, and they open conversation to other possibilities. 

Edited October 21, 2015 by marcosantinia12

[Hollyw00d]

And to echo AO, get on some planes and go international and throw $60 million on someone under 30.

Can't do that. Blew our load on bobert Baldwin already

[gotbeer]

How about chill for a few years, collect and draft some first round studs, and have a real f*cking team in five years, instead of this Freeze/Price/Fister yesterday's news bullshit that's always advocated here?

 

Ordinarilly I would say yup.  But a certain fish expires in 5 years.  And the only guarantee is that he may play here for the next 5 years.  I would like to take advantage of that.

[Jay]

I think you have to assume you won't get anything for Wilson, Santiago, Shoemaker.  Or at least not very much.

[Jobu]

Can't do that. Blew our load on bobert Baldwin already

How's that working out?

[ten ocho recon scout]

Ordinarilly I would say yup. But a certain fish expires in 5 years. And the only guarantee is that he may play here for the next 5 years. I would like to take advantage of that.

yep. Not to mention, theres no guarantee in the drafts.

Gotta figure, even these teams were seeing as being very strong today, who did it from developing, it still took a lot longer than 5 years. Then you have to look at teams like the mariners

The 2010 draft should tell us all we need about first round picks. Not on anyway saying im not for developing a strong system. I prefer it (by far) to free agency. The problem is i dont have a lot of faith in our system. Weve struck gold with trout, and did very well on guys like richards, calhoun, etc etc. But weve done poorly as well. My only point is that not every draft is going to have future studs. Id rather not miss out on guys who can help us in FA while crossing fingers we picked the right high school kid.

[mtangelsfan]

How's that working out?

 

Thanks Dipoto!

[Troll Daddy]

Sorry, I'm not buying the idea of two youngsters as our catchers for next season. I think it would be a mistake starting the season with only Perez & Bandy. You can count me in on a veteran in the mix for catching duties.

 

Murphy has a draft pick tattooed on his back that looks like a dollar sign.

[ten ocho recon scout]

How's that working out?

thats one of the moves dipoto will definitely have to be held accountable for one day. Maybe this guy lives up to it, and we all say "damn dipoto was smart, really miss that guy". Or we we remember how bad of a move it was. Being that we gave up 3 years of international signings to get him, it can only be one or the other really.

Off topic, but hows that kid we traded for kubitza doing? Thats another one that could come back and sting (though i thought the move made total sense)

[ettin]

I have no idea why there is any concern at all regarding the back up catcher position. By definition this is a position that should be filled internally and Bandy will do just fine at league minimum.

mtangelsfan is correct that our catching situation will likely be solve internally.

[mtangelsfan]

mtangelsfan is correct that our catching situation will likely be solve internally.

 

blind squirrel, nut.

[Docwaukee]

I appreciate the effort, but I am not a big fan of the plan.  

 

The Rox are gonna want to use Cargo to help them rebuild.  They would want a couple of near ready pitchers.  The only way you get cargo on the cheap is if you absorb his salary along with that of Reyes.  That a 40mil hit to payroll for the next two years.  Not exactly an efficient use of limited financial resources.  

 

Avila had one very good season and mostly pretty weak otherwise.  Interesting thought as a backup or platoon vs. rhers.  Only if you can get him on the cheap.  

 

Fister is the no go for me.  We've got enough middle to back end rotation depth.  

 

If Murphy costs a pick, he's a no for me as well.  And at this rate, he probably will.  He's also falsely elevating his value.  

 

You don't have to sit on your hands for the next five years OR spend a ton of money in free agency.  It's not binary.  You can be somewhere in the middle because with a couple of solid moves, the team is likely somewhere between 2014 and 2015.  

 

Think of it this way.  Mike Trout gives you about 7 wins above the average player.  If you field a team of completely average players otherwise, you are almost at 90 wins.  If you replace the production of guys like Joyce, Featherston, Iannetta, and Giavotella with average players, it's the statistical equivalent of going from an average player to a very good one.  

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/team_compare.cgi?lg=MLB&year=2015

 

the above is a chart of where the halos stack up by position in terms of wins above average.  

 

How big of a difference does Zobrist at 2b, and someone like Parra in LF?  A couple of good back end relievers?  A couple of decent bench guys?  

 

Those aren't break the bank scenarios.  They aren't 7, 8, 9, 10 yr commitments.  

 

They cost you some money in the short term, don't cost you any draft picks and the impact is significant because of how awful the guys they are replacing were.    

 

There are a lot of options between spending 200mil on a guy or just sitting around and hoping for the best.  

[WallyWorld]

If your entire hot stove master plan involves Aybar leading off you have completely failed at roster building.

Never loved you more, Eric.

[yk9001]

I am looking at Cliff Pennington for a back of the rotation starter.

 

He's cheap ($3.3 million this year), his arm is fresh, and his fastball is 7 mph faster than our ace's.

[greginpsca]

As far as catcher goes, yes we have Perez and Bandy. But that is all. We have no real depth at that position in case of an injury. Signing or trading for a good defensive catcher on the cheap makes for a good insurance policy. And it might be best to have Bandy at AAA getting his work in.

[Hollyw00d]

How's that working out?

Its going swimmingly

[Second Base]

I think people are really going to be pleasantly surprised by Kubitza next year.

[AngelsLakersFan]

Fister's career is spottier than Wilsons. This is obviously a fan pick and not one based on anything more than thinking the guy is a better solution.

 

The same with David Murphy that has never hit more than 14 home runs and has a career OPS of .755. That is neither an impact bat nor a true defensive replacement. So he is just there because nothing better is standing by that bag.

 

In the interest of holding down payroll to afford a better player, put Cowart in the position and focus on getting a true leadoff hitter, preferably one that plays left field.

 

Unfortunately I agree. I'm not a fan at spending big money on marginal pieces. I don't think the team can afford to go for the value acquisitions all over the diamond. The money should be the risk this off season, not the talent.

[AngelsLakersFan]

I still like the idea of trading Santiago for Trevor Plouffe. Trevor is projected to get about $7mil in arb. Santiago should get a little less than that,so we add only a little payroll there. With Freese gone we will actually save a few dollars.  Then get a lf'er/ leadoff hitter. Then as much pitching as we can afford with the remaining $.

 

Are we really at the point where we all just assume that Arizona is flat out stupid?

[tdawg87]

Plouffe plays for Minnesota.

 

Wouldn't mind having him but he really isn't much better than Freese.

[Troll Daddy]

Kubitza may surprise ... but what if he doesn't? We saw how the team struggled without Freese ... it's my belief that the Angels will sign him to a friendly contract before he files for free agency. If not, then I hope you're right about him.

[Blarg]

Are we really at the point where we all just assume that Arizona is flat out stupid?

Until they prove otherwise you just have to keep testing them.

[greginpsca]

Plouffe plays for Minnesota.

 

Wouldn't mind having him but he really isn't much better than Freese.

I think he has a little more power, and it seems he is more consistent at driving in runs. Defensively he is about average. But he is 4 years younger than Freese and possibly cheaper.

[Second Base]

Kubitza may surprise ... but what if he doesn't? We saw how the team struggled without Freese ... it's my belief that the Angels will sign him to a friendly contract before he files for free agency. If not, then I hope you're right about him.

 

I'm also a proponent of signing Martin Prado to take over 2B.  He's also a capable 3B, so if Kubitza and Cowart both crap the bed, we can slot Prado back and 3B and Giavotella back at 2B.