AngelsWin.com Today: The future of the Angels rotation

[AngelsWin.com]

By @Brent Maguire, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter

Just for a moment, imagine what a healthy Angels rotation could potentially look like. In a perfect world, Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, Matt Shoemaker, Tyler Skaggs and Nick Tropeano would create the makings of an average or better rotation, while all 5 guys were also in the middle of their primes while coming at cheaper, under market value prices. Add in rotation depth with J.C. Ramirez, Alex Meyer, Nate Smith and possibly some veteran signings and you have a 8-10 starters who can win you baseball games at the highest level. Much like life at times, baseball can provide cruel and unexpected events. The Angels are certainly not the first or only team that has dealt with injuries before but considering the circumstances, this type of bad luck seems to be very rare.

2016 was a brutal season for the Angels, not just based on the 73 wins they accumulated, the worst total since they won 70 games in 1999, but due to the injury bug that crushed their rotation. C.J. Wilson was paid 20.5 million dollars to not throw a pitch in the major leagues last year. Garrett Richards and Andrew Heaney both tore their respective UCLs(Ulnar Collateral Ligaments) in their throwing arms, ending their 2016 seasons. Richards opted to rehab his arm rather than undergo Tommy John surgery, with the results showing up as positive entering the offseason. Heaney, meanwhile, also tried rehabbing his arm unsuccessfully, eventually undergoing surgery during the summer and ending his season and likely his 2017 season as well. Not to be outdone, Nick Tropeano also tore his UCL in July, ending his 2016 and 2017 seasons. Tyler Skaggs, who underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2014, missed all of 2015 and didn’t throw his next MLB pitch until July 26th 2016. The injury big even struck the minor league level when Nate Smith, the arguable top pitching prospect in the Angels system at the time, dealt with elbow tightness which shut down his 2016 season while he was on the verge of reaching the majors.

Entering 2017, the same uncertainty surrounded the Angels rotation, first starting with Garrett Richards debunking the conventional approach by allowing stem cell therapy and platelet rich plasma(PRP) injections to fix his torn UCL. Tyler Skaggs dealt with his own injury issues once again, missing numerous starts at the end of 2016 due to shoulder soreness. Fast forward to April 2017 and the injuries once again plagued Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs, putting them out of action and sabotaging the potential of the Angels rotation. Richards was pulled after 5 magical innings in his first start due to an irritated nerve in his right biceps, which has put his return this season in question, with many saying he could pitch in August or September if rehab goes well. Tyler Skaggs left his April 28th start due to a strained oblique, this being his 5th start of the season. He’s likely to return in July if things go well.

This ongoing trend of important Angels pitchers getting hurt has influenced the organization in a big way. With so many pitchers going under the knife, the club needed to allocate resources towards finding pitching to keep the Angels afloat and possibly competing for the next few years. When Hector Santiago was traded last year, the return of Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer appeared to be very underwhelming, but the trade was almost a necessity. Nolasco remains a boring back end starter who isn’t here for his results but rather his stability as an innings eater who won’t kill your rotation. Meyer represented another potential starter with previous top prospect pedigree, although is likely future home remains in the bullpen. Had the Angels not endured so many crucial injuries, it’s possible Santiago could’ve been moved for help elsewhere on the diamond, possibly in left field, 2nd base, 3rd base or at catcher. Instead, the Angels had to utilize their biggest(and realistic) trading chip last summer to obtain a starter to give innings for 2017 and a lottery ticket in Alex Meyer.

If you assume the Angels still brought in Jesse Chavez as the aforementioned veteran starter for 2017 but didn’t have Ricky Nolasco on the team, the team would have had 12 million dollars in extra money this prior offseason. If you had an Angels rotation that was fully healthy, or even mostly healthy, the team would’ve been rolling out a higher quality rotation along with potential upgrades elsewhere which would’ve created the upside for a 85-88 win team. The consequences of the injuries the Angels rotation has endured not only affects the rotation quality but the whole roster as a whole. With some semblance of good luck for the team, they’d have a better rotation and the necessary funds to fix the roster in other areas.

The 2017 Angels rotation currently ranks 25th in WAR, due to an American League high 63 home runs allowed that has led to a 4.25 ERA. The rotation is missing bats at a league average rate while not walking many batters but the quality of contact allowed has been very poor, mainly due to Ricky Nolasco and Jesse Chavez’s bad contact quality they’ve allowed. The huge surprise in this Angels rotation has been J.C. Ramirez(4.11 ERA, 3.97 xFIP), who many questioned as a legitimate starter, myself included. Other than Ramirez, it’s been a disheartening performance from the collective unit, who have not been helped by the losses of Richards and Skaggs. Matt Shoemaker, who enjoyed a monster 2016 season along with a frightening line drive off the skull in September, has barely pitched above replacement level this year. Alex Meyer has started 6 games and walked 20 batters in 29.1 innings. The only help on the near horizon right now is Doug Fister, signed on a minor league deal in May, who tossed 5 innings of 1 run ball with 7 strikeouts in his first AAA start Tuesday, allegedly sitting 88-91 mph on his fastball. If Fister can give quality innings, it really helps the 2017 squad stay afloat. His presence still doesn’t fix the problems beyond 2017, however, which need to be addressed in the offseason.

As 2016 and 2017 have shown, you can never have too much rotation depth, especially when the pitchers you’re counting on have legitimate injury concerns. It would be foolish to enter the 2018 season assuming Richards, Skaggs, Heaney and Tropeano will all be healthy and give the rotation the bulk of the innings. With those injury concerns in mind, the team is almost a lock to look outside of the organization for more starters, whether that be through the trade market or in free agency. The trade market is unlikely, considering the Angels still don’t have good enough farm system to compete with other teams in trades and if they attempt to, they’re throwing away some of the good work the team has done in the last few seasons trying to fix the farm system. Free agency is the likely source the Angels utilize for fixing their rotation woes. Luckily for them, the upcoming free agency class is rich in starting pitching.

You want a frontline starter? Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta(arguable at this point) and Michael Pineda are free agents with the potential for Masahiro Tanaka and Johnny Cueto to join them if they opt out of their deals. There’s also an outside shot that Japanese superstar Shohei Otani comes to America, which would create a flurry of trade rumors involving the Angels. There’s also a huge collection of #3/4 starters such as Marco Estrada, Lance Lynn or Alex Cobb. Even if that’s too rich for the Angels taste, there’s some quality back end starters such as C.C. Sabathia, Tyler Chatwood, Clay Buccholz and John Lackey(can you imagine a Lackey/Scioscia reunion?). With other holes to fill at 2nd base, 3rd base, left field and in the bullpen, it’s unlikely that the Angels dish out 150+ million dollars for an frontline starter but the Angels do have approximately 50 million dollars of spending money, not including arbitration raises and contract raises for particular players. Realistically, the Angels will have around 35-40 million dollars to spend, which gives them enough to potentially target one of the 3/4 arms.

If you assume the Angels have interest in spreading out the resources to obtain multiple players, the ideal group of starters the Angels will target will be those mid rotation starters. The aforementioned Estrada, Lynn and Cobb all make a boatload of sense for the Angels. Estrada will likely command a pretty big deal, considering he has pitched like a mid rotation starter for 3 straight seasons and has been a quality arm since 2012. He’ll likely demand a 3/45 or 4/60 deal. Lynn and Cobb are different cases, as both guys are coming off recent injuries and are still trying to build up full workloads following those injuries. Cobb was once a very good #2/3 starter who dazzled but couldn’t consistently stay healthy but he’s more of a #4 type of starter now, which is still highly valuable in this league. Lance Lynn has had an extremely solid and underrated career and has been very consistent in his Cardinals tenure. He’ll likely command the most money of these 3, especially if he puts in a full season of work. Given his age(30 years old) and his consistent production as a #3 arm, he might command a deal similar to Mike Leake’s deal, commanding 5 years and 80-85 million dollars.

Even if one of these pitchers are signed, there’s still some uncertainty surrounding the rotation and the depth beyond those 5 main starters. Given there are 4 starters with injury issues entering 2018, another buy low veteran starter might need to be brought in to offer some depth. This could include Clay Buccholz, Jaime Garcia, Miguel Gonzalez or Derek Holland. Let’s pick one pitcher from each group and look at a potential Angels rotation. The Angels decide to sign Marco Estrada to a 3 year 48 million dollar deal and Miguel Gonzalez to a 1/4 deal. This gives the Angels this crop of starters: Marco Estrada, Matt Shoemaker, Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs, Andrew Heaney, Nick Tropeano, Miguel Gonzalez, J.C. Ramirez, Alex Meyer, Nate Smith. This doesn’t include potential starters in the minors such as Jaime Barria, Troy Scribner, Luis Diaz, Osmer Morales and Jake Jewell, who are all prospects with some sort of potential to pitch in the major leagues in the next 2-3 years. That may look like an excessive amount of starting pitching but as the Angels have become accustomed to, there’s never enough pitching depth. You can hypothetically move Meyer, Ramirez and potentially Skaggs into the bullpen to use as multi inning relievers, which still gives the Angels 7 other starters, with 4 of those starters being question marks. For a team with playoff aspirations, this type of approach might be a necessity to make sure the Angels can cover for the injury bug striking again.

In this scenario, the Angels spend roughly 20 million dollars, which still leaves about around 20 million dollars to spend on a new third baseman, 2nd baseman, left fielder and potential relief help. In this day and age, you’re not getting 3 starting position players and a reliever on the open market but you can try to get 2 of the 4 while obtaining the remaining 4 via trades and waiver pick ups. Regardless of the approach Angels general manager Billy Eppler has, he’ll have to get awfully creative trying to fill numerous holes and adding depth without spending an absurd amount of money. Going the proposed route above, however, stabilizes the rotation while giving the team the option to move players to the bullpen or send players to AAA, giving the whole pitching staff more depth.

Regardless of what moves the Angels make in the foreseeable future, the team really needs some of their hurt pitchers to provide production in 2018 and beyond. The law of balances says the team should see some good luck coming their way soon but if the woes continue, the Angels will still be stuck in a spot where they’re giving far too many innings to players who shouldn’t be starting MLB games. The rotation has improved upon last year, even with the injuries they’ve sustained already, but there is a lot of improvement to be made for this team to be consistently winning ball games with a formidable rotation. With some good luck and an active offseason in the upcoming free agent market, the Angels could have an above average rotation in 2018, which could mean the Angels are nearing playing playoff baseball for the first time since 2014.

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[Angel Oracle]

There is TOTAL uncertainty with GRich and Skaggs.   There is mild uncertainty with Tropeano, due to his complex delivery.   I am hopeful about Heaney.

Although Estrada would be returning to where he had his college success (LB St.), he turns 35 in July 2018.   That is old to be getting a nice contract.

Pineda is only 29 in 2018, and is off to a mostly solid start (11 starts, sub 4.00 ERA, sub 1.20 WHIP, and nearly 6 inn/start).    His mediocre 2015/2016 seasons could help to keep his salary down enough to sign him to a 3/4 years deal while still having money to address other areas (one additional starter too?). 

[Inside Pitch]

Here's another view of the future of the Angels pitching rotation...

I kid....  I kid....

[Angelsjunky]

I'd like to see them go all in on Otani. Other than that, stick with what they've got and hope for the best. Something's wrong with Arrieta, and I wouldn't spend big on him. I'm not sure anyone will, so maybe he'll sign a one year deal with someone to prove himself. Something is REALLY wrong with Tanaka and I'd stay away. Someone is going to trade a bucket-load of prospects for Darvish before the dead-line and be hell-bent on re-signing him, so he'll be priced out. The rest...well, I'd see how the current pitchers look health-wise in October, and then maybe sign an insurance starter in later winter.

The Angels org is in bad enough shape that no amount of spending and trading will fix things. They have to hope for good drafts, player development, and some luck with injuries to get back to respectability. The best-case scenario is that the Angels have a great draft, a bunch of current prospects develop well with some nice surprises for once (Marsh? Nonie? Duensing? Rodriguez?), and at least a few of the starters are healthy. All of this happens and the Angels return to 85-90ish wins next year, start having a good farm system, and the future looks bright. But that is a very rosy-colored picture. Chances are one or both of Richards and Skaggs will never be healthy, Heaney and Trope will take awhile to return to form and be nothing more than mid-rotation guys, and Meyer won't reach his potential. Then the rotation is a mess and we have to hope for Barria, Duensing, Rodriguez, Castillo to pan out in a few years.

Another name that gets lost is Grayson Long. I could see him getting an audition later this year, and maybe replace Nolasco or Chavez as a decent back-end starter.

[Troll Daddy]

26 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

There is TOTAL uncertainty with GRich and Skaggs.   There is mild uncertainty with Tropeano, due to his complex delivery.   I am hopeful about Heaney.

Although Estrada would be returning to where he had his college success (LB St.), he turns 35 in July 2018.   That is old to be getting a nice contract.

Pineda is only 29 in 2018, and is off to a mostly solid start (11 starts, sub 4.00 ERA, sub 1.20 WHIP, and nearly 6 inn/start).    His mediocre 2015/2016 seasons could help to keep his salary down enough to sign him to a 3/4 years deal while still having money to address other areas (one additional starter too?). 

Why are you picking on Skaggs?

[Troll Daddy]

8 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

I'd like to see them go all in on Otani. Other than that, stick with what they've got and hope for the best. Something's wrong with Arrieta, and I wouldn't spend big on him. I'm not sure anyone will, so maybe he'll sign a one year deal with someone to prove himself. Something is REALLY wrong with Tanaka and I'd stay away. Someone is going to trade a bucket-load of prospects for Darvish before the dead-line and be hell-bent on re-signing him, so he'll be priced out. The rest...well, I'd see how the current pitchers look health-wise in October, and then maybe sign an insurance starter in later winter.

The Angels org is in bad enough shape that no amount of spending and trading will fix things. They have to hope for good drafts, player development, and some luck with injuries to get back to respectability. The best-case scenario is that the Angels have a great draft, a bunch of current prospects develop well with some nice surprises for once (Marsh? Nonie? Duensing? Rodriguez?), and at least a few of the starters are healthy. All of this happens and the Angels return to 85-90ish wins next year, start having a good farm system, and the future looks bright. But that is a very rosy-colored picture. Chances are one or both of Richards and Skaggs will never be healthy, Heaney and Trope will take awhile to return to form and be nothing more than mid-rotation guys, and Meyer won't reach his potential. Then the rotation is a mess and we have to hope for Barria, Duensing, Rodriguez, Castillo to pan out in a few years.

Another name that gets lost is Grayson Long. I could see him getting an audition later this year, and maybe replace Nolasco or Chavez as a decent back-end starter.

I'm not so sure the Angels org is in bad shape. Things turn around quickly in baseball. I see clear skies in 2018 with good health and the right tweaks. 

[Chuck]

Once Nate Smith returns to the hill (which I believe is soon), you got him, Long and Barria that are three guys that can anchor the middle to end of our rotation long term.

Add in Meyer, Bridwell, Scribner and Morales and you got some good SP depth coming on to go along with Ramirez & Shoemaker.

I agree with AO that Skaggs and Richards should only be viewed as a bonus if they come back healthy and STAY healthy. 

I want the Angels to go all in on JD Martinez and Moustakas. 

Give the 2B job to either Fletcher or my favorite, K. Cowart.

If Cron gets his shit together he can be included in our 1B plans for 2018 and if not, we may want to look at a high OBP FA or via a trade player for 1B.  

Yonder Alonso would be perfect IMO and he's a FA at the end of the year. Lefty bat who has finally tapped into his projected power this year (16 bombs already). He gets on base and plays good defense. The other option would be more expensive in Hosmer. 

This lineup would look great...

SS Simmons

CF Trout

1B Alonso

LF J.D. Martinez

3B Moustakas

DH Pujols

RF Calhoun

C  Maldonado 

2B Cowart/Fletcher

 

[Angel Oracle]

25 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Why are you picking on Skaggs?

Maybe because of making only a handful of starts in the past 2 2/3 seasons?

[Angel Oracle]

Chuck may be alluding to a good point.    Good AND healthy pitching is harder to gauge from outside an org, and thus not many FA pitchers turn out to be all they are cracked up to be (see Price and Grienke).   Everyday players with solid stats seem to be better bets to maintain it.  

Make the lineup better (J-Mart, Moustakas, and Alonso), sign a second tier pitcher like Pineda, focus on a pitcher in the 1st round in the draft, and grow their own pitching while only viewing Skaggs and GRich as bonuses.   

Let's be honest about Maybin.   He misses too much time each season, to be viewed as anyone other than a very valuable part-time player.  

Let's be honest about Cron.   He's 27, and still without the necessary consistency to play 150 games/season. 

[Dick B Back]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

Once Nate Smith returns to the hill (which I believe is soon), you got him, Long and Barria that are three guys that can anchor the middle to end of our rotation long term.

Add in Meyer, Bridwell, Scribner and Morales and you got some good SP depth coming on to go along with Ramirez & Shoemaker.

I agree with AO that Skaggs and Richards should only be viewed as a bonus if they come back healthy and STAY healthy. 

I want the Angels to go all in on JD Martinez and Moustakas. 

Give the 2B job to either Fletcher or my favorite, K. Cowart.

If Cron gets his shit together he can be included in our 1B plans for 2018 and if not, we may want to look at a high OBP FA or via a trade player for 1B.  

Yonder Alonso would be perfect IMO and he's a FA at the end of the year. Lefty bat who has finally tapped into his projected power this year (16 bombs already). He gets on base and plays good defense. The other option would be more expensive in Hosmer. 

This lineup would look great...

SS Simmons

CF Trout

1B Alonso

LF J.D. Martinez

3B Moustakas

DH Pujols

RF Calhoun

C  Maldonado 

2B Cowart/Fletcher

 

Mike will tell you that you've got Albert in the wrong spot.

[Brent Maguire]

@Chuckster70 As awesome as that lineup looks, I doubt they have the sufficient funds for that. Martinez likely gets a 4/85 type of deal. Moose gets 4/80. Alonso might get a 3/36 type of deal after these swing changes he's made. That's roughly 53 million dollars per year added to the payroll and the team likely has 40 mil max to spend due to arb raises and contract raises to Trout, Pujols and Simmons.

Whatever route the Angels go, it seems like a necessity to add one more stable starter at the very least. Otherwise, you're asking for trouble and a repeat of what we've seen the past year and a half. 

[Chuck]

1 minute ago, Brent Maguire said:

@Chuckster70 As awesome as that lineup looks, I doubt they have the sufficient funds for that. Martinez likely gets a 4/85 type of deal. Moose gets 4/80. Alonso might get a 3/36 type of deal after these swing changes he's made. That's roughly 53 million dollars per year added to the payroll and the team likely has 40 mil max to spend due to arb raises and contract raises to Trout, Pujols and Simmons.

Whatever route the Angels go, it seems like a necessity to add one more stable starter at the very least. Otherwise, you're asking for trouble and a repeat of what we've seen the past year and a half. 

Yeah, I guess it all depends on how Meyer, Shoemaker & Ramirez look for the rest of the season right?

We'll have Heaney, Richards, Skaggs, Tropeano and all of those other cats waiting in line to get a spot in the rotation. 

If the prior three look solid from here on out and Skaggs and Richards come back at sometime this season and stay healthy, we may be able to go all in on offense and skip out on spending $$$ on a SP.

[Make Angels Great Again]

JD Martinez for LF and Neil Walker for 2B. Those are the two biggest holes by far outside of the rotation. JD Martinez gives a big compliment to Trout on the offensive side and Walker makes for a nice 6 slot hitter while giving a massive OPS swing from the putrid production we've had so far from 2B. Those have to be the prime targets for those positions.

 

I really like Lance Lynn for the rotation. Under valued for sure.

[Brent Maguire]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

Yeah, I guess it all depends on how Meyer, Shoemaker & Ramirez look for the rest of the season right?

We'll have Heaney, Richards, Skaggs, Tropeano and all of those other cats waiting in line to get a spot in the rotation. 

If the prior three look solid from here on out and Skaggs and Richards come back at sometime this season and stay healthy, we may be able to go all in on offense and skip out on spending $$$ on a SP.

I hope the rotation can get itself healthy. I'm just not sold that it's going to happen. Like I mentioned in the first part of my article, a healthy Angels rotation looks like a potentially good one on paper. But if you're heading into 2018 with playoff aspirations and you're relying on 4 pitchers with injury issues, it puts a whole lot of risk on the season. At the very least, I believe they need to bring on one legitimate 3/4 arm or better who can add to the depth of the pitching staff. 

[Brent Maguire]

1 hour ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

JD Martinez for LF and Neil Walker for 2B. Those are the two biggest holes by far outside of the rotation. JD Martinez gives a big compliment to Trout on the offensive side and Walker makes for a nice 6 slot hitter while giving a massive OPS swing from the putrid production we've had so far from 2B. Those have to be the prime targets for those positions.

 

I really like Lance Lynn for the rotation. Under valued for sure.

J.D. Martinez would be a huge add offensively but I do worry about him defensively moving forward. If he were added to the club, I'd like to see him get the majority of his reps at 1B. In this scenario, you can try to shop Cron for whatever you can get and use Valbuena as a utility guy at 1B/3B and use Martinez sparingly in left field. 

[JAHV76]

4 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Here's another view of the future of the Angels pitching rotation...

I kid....  I kid....

 

[ettin]

Average Annual Value Cap in 2018 is $197M.

The Angels, if they retain all of their contract option players, are, according to my spreadsheet at about $150MM right now for the 2018 season. That leaves approximately $47M in AAV space.

If the Angels trade and/or do not pick up Street and Nolasco's options (very likely on both in my opinion either at the deadline or during the offseason) and they trade away C.J. Cron (since Valbuena can replace him) who is entering his 1st arbitration season and is likely, due to his bat, to make about $4-5M, they will clear out an additional, approximate, $25M or so.

That leaves the Angels with approximately $72M in AAV cap space.

Assuming they keep cap space open for a Trout extension (they'll need about $10M-15M to do that) the Angels will have approximately $60M in AAV cap space to spend. I believe they will go out and buy at least two, possibly three or four, MLB free agents (at least one Major acquisition depends on how they allocate). Then they can use some of their Minor League assets (or possibly MLB players like Cron) to obtain one, possibly two, more trade targets.

The 2018 team is going to be significantly improved across the board. It will, barring weird free agent decisions, be a big turnaround next season in my opinion. We have the cash, some trade assets coming up here at the deadline (Chavez, Norris, Petit, Hernandez, Maybin, Escobar, et al) and possibly in the off-season (Street, Nolasco, Cron, et al), as well as an international opportunity that could possibly fall in our lap if we're lucky (Otani). These trades won't be huge but they should supply us with relievers and role players, possibly even a more major acquisition, to fill out the 40-man and give us a lot of good depth options.

I trust Eppler he has been quite solid so far and I think he's going to bring home a real contender next season. He tried to gamble this year and it just didn't work out but next year is not a gamble it is a premeditated, well thought out plan that should vault us back into Division contention moving forward.

[GrittyVeterans]

You have Meyer, Heaney, Ramirez as starting pitchers that should definitely be around next year. Skaggs and Richards have reached the point where you no longer can count on them for anything with all their injuries. The rest of the rotation is replacement level right now with no upside (Chavez, Nolasco, etc.) - those guys need to go. 

You need one big arm and one serviceable arm this offseason. As much as I love Kole Calhoun, I'd look into trading him for a young #2-3 starter. Then I'd sign either Chatwood or Pineda if you miss out on Otani.

 

[Angel Oracle]

13 hours ago, Brent Maguire said:

J.D. Martinez would be a huge add offensively but I do worry about him defensively moving forward. If he were added to the club, I'd like to see him get the majority of his reps at 1B. In this scenario, you can try to shop Cron for whatever you can get and use Valbuena as a utility guy at 1B/3B and use Martinez sparingly in left field. 

This is a good thought.   Then they wouldn't need to sign one big offensive year Alonso (GMJHGH ring any bells?), but instead focus on Martinez and Moustakas and use the rest of the money on pitching and hoping that Maybin learns how to stay healthy.

[Make Angels Great Again]

If we got Martinez and Walker i'd give Cowart the starting 3B job, he has to sink or swim. J.D. Martinez may be rough defensively, but if Manny Ramirez can stick in left field I think we can manage it if he gives us a line of .290/.370/.550

 

If Cowart can maintain his high OBP he's found at SLC he would make a fantastic lead off hitter. They just have to bring his ass up and play him to see if it's actually a valid option.

[arch stanton]

7 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

If we got Martinez and Walker i'd give Cowart the starting 3B job, he has to sink or swim. J.D. Martinez may be rough defensively, but if Manny Ramirez can stick in left field I think we can manage it if he gives us a line of .290/.370/.550

 

If Cowart can maintain his high OBP he's found at SLC he would make a fantastic lead off hitter. They just have to bring his ass up and play him to see if it's actually a valid option.

Since Since 2009 the only non-Trout to slug even .500 was Albert in '12. I wouldn't pin any hopes on Martinez reaching .550. You're more apt to get .490

[stormngt]

16 hours ago, Brent Maguire said:

@Chuckster70 As awesome as that lineup looks, I doubt they have the sufficient funds for that. Martinez likely gets a 4/85 type of deal. Moose gets 4/80. Alonso might get a 3/36 type of deal after these swing changes he's made. That's roughly 53 million dollars per year added to the payroll and the team likely has 40 mil max to spend due to arb raises and contract raises to Trout, Pujols and Simmons.

Whatever route the Angels go, it seems like a necessity to add one more stable starter at the very least. Otherwise, you're asking for trouble and a repeat of what we've seen the past year and a half. 

Contract raises are already factored in the salary cap limitations.

[Make Angels Great Again]

15 minutes ago, arch stanton said:

Since Since 2009 the only non-Trout to slug even .500 was Albert in '12. I wouldn't pin any hopes on Martinez reaching .550. You're more apt to get .490

Why? He's having his best season so far slugging .747 and has slugged .535, .535, and .553 the previous 3 years. He's only 29 so it's not like he's going to suddenly tank due to age.

[stormngt]

Go with a mediocre starting pitching with a lot of depth.  Make sure you have a lockdown bullpen with a lot of depth.  Then fill the holes of our everyday lineup.  Getting nothing fro . 2b, and lf for three years now.

[Make Angels Great Again]

Reading it a second time, not sure if serious when you say .490, lol.