The Official 2017-2018 Hot Stove Thread

[DMVol]

Revere gets a minor league deal with the Reds....thought he was undervalued some but I seem to be in the minority....

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/02/reds-to-sign-ben-revere.html

 

[Chuck]

Anyone see this today?

 

[tdawg87]

The price isn't going to be right. He's coming off a 40 save season. Someone's gonna give him 4/60.

[WeaverFever]

I would have loved to pull the trigger on Tony Watson. Anyone know why we didn’t? 

[Tank]

4 hours ago, VariousCrap said:

I really don't like how the Twins keep making themselves better and the Angels appear to be done.  If Eppler thinks the Angels are good enough as they are, he is making a mistake.

there's absolutely no reason to think eppler is done. just because you don't hear the halos mentioned prominently in lots of rumors doesn't mean squat.

[VariousCrap]

58 minutes ago, Tank said:

there's absolutely no reason to think eppler is done. just because you don't hear the halos mentioned prominently in lots of rumors doesn't mean squat.

 

I hope you are right.

[VariousCrap]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

The price isn't going to be right. He's coming off a 40 save season. Someone's gonna give him 4/60.

I bet he only gets three years.  Would it really be that bad to offer him 3/45?  It would be a huge difference maker with the bullpen.

[tdawg87]

For a reliever I'd say so. Blake Parker is costing the Angels 1.8 million this year. In 2017 he put up a 166 ERA+, 11.5 K/9, and a 2.71 FIP. Compare that to Greg Holland: 139 ERA+, 11.0 K/9, 3.72 FIP.

I'd love to have him but not at 15 million a year over 3 years.

[Rico]

LoMo would have been nice for that price.

[ettin]

I am not a particular fan of Greg Holland post-surgery, however he would strengthen the bullpen. It is not really a Holland vs. Parker/Bedrosian/Middelton/Johnson question it is more of a "is Holland an upgrade to one of our current options" and the answer to that is probably yes.

The next question is then how much? 3 years at $15M per season isn't terrible but seems like a real stretch for the Angels budget.

That being said it could be a precursor move to trading someone like Bedrosian (who is a Super Two player) or Middleton (6 years of team control) in a deal for some other piece or pieces that would give us better cost control (like a 3B prospect for instance) in other areas that make up for the addition of Holland's salary.

One final thing is I have been wondering about post-TJS guys and the track record of how they fare in the seasons following their surgeries. I am sure that there are indicators that teams look for in terms of velocity, control, etc. that make them favor certain TJS patients more so than others.

[Hubs]

Ryan Merritt is not going to get DFA'd. IF he doesn't make the Indians rotation, he'd be in their pen, and if he doesn't make their pen, he'll be traded.

He'd be our #4 or #5 starter. He'd likely bring back what the Marlins got for Heaney or a little less.

[Gil]

Holland seems like the total anti-Eppler move. Holland has already reportedly turned down a 3 year $52 million offer and declined the qualifying offer, meaning not only would he push the Angels up against the luxury tax but he would also cost their 2nd highest pick in the draft and $500,000 in international spending. 

All of this for a pitcher who had a 6.38 ERA and 1.333 WHIP in the second half? The Halos already have a roster crunch problem with pitchers who are either out of options/Rule 5, so giving Holland a roster spot also pushes one guy off the roster. So it hurts the farm system, depth, and prevents further in-season moves staying under the luxury tax. I don't think that is worth $50 million+ to Holland. 

Eppler passed on Addison Reed at 2 years and $16.75 million with no qualifying offer implications, so I have a hard time seeing him going after Holland now. 

[VariousCrap]

11 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

For a reliever I'd say so. Blake Parker is costing the Angels 1.8 million this year. In 2017 he put up a 166 ERA+, 11.5 K/9, and a 2.71 FIP. Compare that to Greg Holland: 139 ERA+, 11.0 K/9, 3.72 FIP.

I'd love to have him but not at 15 million a year over 3 years.

 

Let's just hope Parker didn't have a career year last year.

[VariousCrap]

2 hours ago, Gil said:

Holland seems like the total anti-Eppler move. Holland has already reportedly turned down a 3 year $52 million offer and declined the qualifying offer, meaning not only would he push the Angels up against the luxury tax but he would also cost their 2nd highest pick in the draft and $500,000 in international spending. 

All of this for a pitcher who had a 6.38 ERA and 1.333 WHIP in the second half? The Halos already have a roster crunch problem with pitchers who are either out of options/Rule 5, so giving Holland a roster spot also pushes one guy off the roster. So it hurts the farm system, depth, and prevents further in-season moves staying under the luxury tax. I don't think that is worth $50 million+ to Holland. 

Eppler passed on Addison Reed at 2 years and $16.75 million with no qualifying offer implications, so I have a hard time seeing him going after Holland now. 

 

 

I didn't know his second half was so bad. yikes.  I also didn't know he had turned down a 3/52 deal.  Yes, it doesn't seem Holland fits with what the Angels are doing.  That said, that bullpen still doesn't seem complete to me.

[Gil]

5 minutes ago, VariousCrap said:

 

 

I didn't know his second half was so bad. yikes.  I also didn't know he had turned down a 3/52 deal.  Yes, it doesn't seem Holland fits with what the Angels are doing.  That said, that bullpen still doesn't seem complete to me.

His second half was mostly the result of a disastrous August where he gave up 14 earned runs in 9 and 1/3 innings across 11 games. To his credit he rebounded with a nice September. But most scouting reports I've seen have said that he now relies on sliders in the dirt to get K's rather than generating swings and misses in the zone. 

Bob Nightengale reported that Holland turned down the same 3 year $52 million deal that Wade Davis got from the Rockies, so I guess we should take it with a grain of salt given the source. But on the other hand, with Boras it wouldn't surprise me.

And I agree that the Angels bullpen could use some more help but I would expect to Eppler to target guys that he can shuttle between AAA and the MLB given the needs of a 6 man rotation. I could see him targeting more guys in the mold of Parker/Petit/Norris rather than a free agent that would cost a draft pick. 

[ettin]

2 hours ago, Gil said:

Holland seems like the total anti-Eppler move. Holland has already reportedly turned down a 3 year $52 million offer and declined the qualifying offer, meaning not only would he push the Angels up against the luxury tax but he would also cost their 2nd highest pick in the draft and $500,000 in international spending. 

All of this for a pitcher who had a 6.38 ERA and 1.333 WHIP in the second half? The Halos already have a roster crunch problem with pitchers who are either out of options/Rule 5, so giving Holland a roster spot also pushes one guy off the roster. So it hurts the farm system, depth, and prevents further in-season moves staying under the luxury tax. I don't think that is worth $50 million+ to Holland. 

Eppler passed on Addison Reed at 2 years and $16.75 million with no qualifying offer implications, so I have a hard time seeing him going after Holland now. 

By all accounts Reed specifically chose to go play in Minnesota (he supposedly wanted to play in the Central Division/Mid-West) so I am not sure the Angels ever had an opportunity to sign him in the first place.

However I do agree that signing Holland seems like something Eppler wouldn't do particularly when you take into account the loss of the 2nd round draft pick which would impact our farm system rebuild a bit.

Something to consider is how good is the 2nd round of the draft shaping up from the Angels point of view? I'm sure there are guys they would want to take and it is still a long way off but perhaps the upcoming draft is looking weaker than normal, particularly after the 1st round and the Angels might consider the loss of the pick worthwhile (or vice-versa).

There are always factors outside of our view as fans that contribute to the decision-making process.

[VariousCrap]

47 minutes ago, Gil said:

And I agree that the Angels bullpen could use some more help but I would expect to Eppler to target guys that he can shuttle between AAA and the MLB given the needs of a 6 man rotation. I could see him targeting more guys in the mold of Parker/Petit/Norris rather than a free agent that would cost a draft pick. 

 

And who are some of these guys that are available?

[Gil]

30 minutes ago, VariousCrap said:

 

And who are some of these guys that are available?

I think Eppler already has stockpiled some of them (Bard, Pena, Diaz, Noe Ramirez, Kroll, Blake Wood) and I'd assume he will be looking closely at who gets squeezed out of other team's roster crunches. Relievers are so volatile that targeting stuff over past performance has worked out well so far for Eppler and crew. Ettin started a good thread that talked about some options:

 

[WeaverFever]

seung hwan oh now with the Jays, he was supposed to break records last year but he didn’t work out. He would have been worth the shot. 

[Ohtaniland]

For those taking notes about Richards, Ohtani and Skaggs giving up those launched jacks in February you must know that Giancarlo Stanton was 0-3 in his Yankees debut with 3 K’s on 9 pitches. 

[WeaverFever]

How much is Lucroy going to get? I wouldn’t mind us getting him to go along with Maldy. It would be just like Mathis and Napoli all over again. 

[krAbs]

19 hours ago, OHTANILAND said:

For those taking notes about Richards, Ohtani and Skaggs giving up those launched jacks in February you must know that Giancarlo Stanton was 0-3 in his Yankees debut with 3 K’s on 9 pitches. 

It's like a backwards immaculate inning...

[VariousCrap]

Jeff Fletcher just posted this:

 

Jeff Fletcher‏Verified account @JeffFletcherOCR 14m14 minutes ago

More

Wondering if the #Angels are involved with any remaining free agents? GM Billy Eppler, this morning: "We feel very good about the group we have here. We are not looking to pursue anything. We are open minded to things that come around."

 

 

Direct message

[Chuck]

25 minutes ago, VariousCrap said:

Jeff Fletcher just posted this:

 

Jeff Fletcher‏Verified account @JeffFletcherOCR 14m14 minutes ago

More

Wondering if the #Angels are involved with any remaining free agents? GM Billy Eppler, this morning: "We feel very good about the group we have here. We are not looking to pursue anything. We are open minded to things that come around."

 

 

Direct message

The more I look at our roster the more I'm comfortable with who we have going into the season. 

Just keep everyone healthy and no moves need to be made. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

1 hour ago, VariousCrap said:

Jeff Fletcher just posted this:

 

Jeff Fletcher‏Verified account @JeffFletcherOCR 14m14 minutes ago

More

Wondering if the #Angels are involved with any remaining free agents? GM Billy Eppler, this morning: "We feel very good about the group we have here. We are not looking to pursue anything. We are open minded to things that come around."

 

 

Direct message

Thats the kind of stance and answer youd give to a chick that got way too clingy, and you want to go away, but not totally, because you want to see her naked again, just not for another 3 weeks or so.