Angels could be in on Kevin Maitan

[Second Base]

Without going too far into backstory, the Angels scouts were aware of Kevin Maitan several years ago at age 13 and began developing a rapport with his trainer from an early age. It's actually what got them into Baldoquin, their trust andbelief in him as a trainer.

Now that Maitan is available again, and now that he won't cost nearly as much, and given the Angels serious lack of depth on the infield, and their past affinity....the stars could align. 

Maitan would rank #2 on my list behind Adell, regardless of MLB.com's list.

[tdawg87]

Who

[KDWells]

Makes sense, even with some of the luster off of him after seeing his swing in limited pro ball action how much of their 2018 pool would they have to dip into to sign him?

[wopphil]

Won't some team with a lot more pool money have a much better chance?

[Vegas Halo Fan]

17 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Who

Just roll with it, Dawg. If somebody posted about it, he has to be good.

[Tank]

What position does he play and how old is he now?

[Second Base]

7 minutes ago, wopphil said:

Won't some team with a lot more pool money have a much better chance?

Not necessarily. I think Manfred allotted each team an additional 300k in money to sign these prospects without being penalized. Maitan gets to keep the millions he had in a signing bonus, and no team will be able to make him reach at this point in the year. 

For Maitan, whichever team gives him the best pitch will likely win. For the Angels, show him the depth chart, no one in front of him to block him at 3B. Sell him on getting to play next to Andrelton Simmons and Mike Trout. Sell him on the prospects he'd be coming up alongside (Adell, Jones, Marsh, Thaiss, etc...). 

Maitan could very much be in play.

[Dave Saltzer]

Teams can either use their remaining money from this year or money from next year, as I understand it, but not both. I have been wondering if we would go back and consider side him. It all comes down to what next year's international talent looks like and whom we might get in it. I'd seriously consider tapping into next year's talent to sign him if we don't have enough in this year:s pool. O don't think it would take over $1 million to sign him. 

 

I'm not as bullish on him right now as Scotty is, but I'd still rank him high on our list. On our list, I'd rank him 6th,right behind Canning and just ahead of Thaiss. 

[ukyah]

"obviously baldoquin's trainer got him well prepared for pro ball, so why not maitan?",  he said snarkily.

i'm narrating my inner monologue.

[tdawg87]

Won't Dipoto have a boner for this guy? 

[Jobu]

Dipoto has a boner for everyone not already on his roster. He needs to see a doctor because his erection has lasted longer than 4 years. 

[Jobu]

Alternate punchline: Not if he's any good. 

[Second Base]

22 minutes ago, Dave Saltzer said:

Teams can either use their remaining money from this year or money from next year, as I understand it, but not both. I have been wondering if we would go back and consider side him. It all comes down to what next year's international talent looks like and whom we might get in it. I'd seriously consider tapping into next year's talent to sign him if we don't have enough in this year:s pool. O don't think it would take over $1 million to sign him. 

 

I'm not as bullish on him right now as Scotty is, but I'd still rank him high on our list. On our list, I'd rank him 6th,right behind Canning and just ahead of Thaiss. 

I don't think it's coincidence that our two biggest international free agents this year both came from the Bahamas.

The fact is we still don't have the international presence in the Dominican Republic after we cleaned house down there almost 10 years ago. 

So Eppler and the front office opted to take the lead on the ever-growing Bahamian market. Ever since Lucius Fox signed a record deal with SF, teams have just started paying more attention.

Since we simply don't have the Dominican presence, the Angels should capitalize on this unique situation. Maitan will only get better, and prospects of his caliber don't come along every year.

Similar argument with Stanton. Trading for a player of this age and magnitude might happen once in a decade. Not since Miguel Cabrera and you gotta think Arte was licking himself for balking at the Wood, Mathis, Santana, Saunders asking price.

[ettin]

Although I am certainly not opposed to going after the Braves leftovers, particularly Maitan, it was my understanding that teams could allocate up to an additional $200K and not be penalized OR they can use the money they already have right now, i.e. if you have saved up for an Otani purchase and have say $3M in your pocket you can choose to spend some of that on Maitan but not the additional $200K and vice-versa.

Basically teams like the Yankees and Mariners who are making a run on Otani have a lot of extra space to pick up Maitan. If Kevin is smart he'll wait to Otani signs and then play the rest of the bonus pool guys off of each other.

[Dave Saltzer]

12 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

I don't think it's coincidence that our two biggest international free agents this year both came from the Bahamas.

The fact is we still don't have the international presence in the Dominican Republic after we cleaned house down there almost 10 years ago. 

So Eppler and the front office opted to take the lead on the ever-growing Bahamian market. Ever since Lucius Fox signed a record deal with SF, teams have just started paying more attention.

Since we simply don't have the Dominican presence, the Angels should capitalize on this unique situation. Maitan will only get better, and prospects of his caliber don't come along every year.

Similar argument with Stanton. Trading for a player of this age and magnitude might happen once in a decade. Not since Miguel Cabrera and you gotta think Arte was licking himself for balking at the Wood, Mathis, Santana, Saunders asking price.

My biggest complaint against the organization, and particularly the FO, over the past decade has been our true lack of a presence in Latin America. We've been neglecting too much talent for too long. And, when we went in on Baldwin, we didn't go in on so many others at the time to justify the 2-year ban. I agree with trying to get ahead of the curve in the Bahamas, but not if it comes at the expense of Latin America. For what 1 WAR costs these days, we could have and should have the best scouting AND development staff period. 

 

I agree, when opportunities arise, we have to be ready to capitalize on them. This is one such situation. If Miami is realistic about what they would want in a Stanton trade, again, I'd be ready to capitalize. 

[Stradling]

Signing this guy would lessen the sting of trading someone from our minors for our everyday future second baseman. 

[Ohtaniland]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

Who

You know......that guy. 

[Dave Saltzer]

1 hour ago, Scotty@AW said:

Without going too far into backstory, the Angels scouts were aware of Kevin Maitan several years ago at age 13 and began developing a rapport with his trainer from an early age. It's actually what got them into Baldoquin, their trust andbelief in him as a trainer.

Now that Maitan is available again, and now that he won't cost nearly as much, and given the Angels serious lack of depth on the infield, and their past affinity....the stars could align. 

Maitan would rank #2 on my list behind Adell, regardless of MLB.com's list.

I forgot to say this earlier. You are right Scotty--our sales pitch is enhanced by the serious lack of depth at 3B. I see his future more at that position. Given that lack of depth, he would rise in our system as fast as his bat will carry him, which has to equate as a plus for us. 

[Second Base]

38 minutes ago, Dave Saltzer said:

I forgot to say this earlier. You are right Scotty--our sales pitch is enhanced by the serious lack of depth at 3B. I see his future more at that position. Given that lack of depth, he would rise in our system as fast as his bat will carry him, which has to equate as a plus for us. 

Absolutely.  This team has generated two high quality drafts and is built to have a breakout of incredible upside talent right around 2021, which just so happens to be the expiration of Trout's contract.  If it's enough to get Trout to re-sign (Simmons too), the Angels are going to be a powerhouse in 2018-2025.  I anticipate Maitan arriving in 2021, right there in the middle of it. 

If I'm Maitan, I'm looking at a team that can win, a team that can spend money, one that can develop superstars and one that won't block me at 3B.  Also, nice weather would be a plus.  

We have all that. 

[Troll Daddy]

Baldoquin’s game seems to be improving 

[Dtwncbad]

15 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

Absolutely.  This team has generated two high quality drafts and is built to have a breakout of incredible upside talent right around 2021, which just so happens to be the expiration of Trout's contract.  If it's enough to get Trout to re-sign (Simmons too), the Angels are going to be a powerhouse in 2018-2025.  I anticipate Maitan arriving in 2021, right there in the middle of it. 

If I'm Maitan, I'm looking at a team that can win, a team that can spend money, one that can develop superstars and one that won't block me at 3B.  Also, nice weather would be a plus.  

We have all that. 

The system IS in better shape.  But saying the farm in its current state projects the Angels to be a powerhouse 2018-2025 is a monster exaggeration.

More like "better days ahead". . .

[stormngt]

17 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

I don't think it's coincidence that our two biggest international free agents this year both came from the Bahamas.

The fact is we still don't have the international presence in the Dominican Republic after we cleaned house down there almost 10 years ago. 

So Eppler and the front office opted to take the lead on the ever-growing Bahamian market. Ever since Lucius Fox signed a record deal with SF, teams have just started paying more attention.

Since we simply don't have the Dominican presence, the Angels should capitalize on this unique situation. Maitan will only get better, and prospects of his caliber don't come along every year.

Similar argument with Stanton. Trading for a player of this age and magnitude might happen once in a decade. Not since Miguel Cabrera and you gotta think Arte was licking himself for balking at the Wood, Mathis, Santana, Saunders asking price.

Am I mistaken but isn't this revisionist history.  It is my understanding it was Maimi that blew the deal and reneged on an agreement with Arte.

[Second Base]

1 minute ago, stormngt said:

Am I mistaken but isn't this revisionist history.  It is my understanding it was Maimi that blew the deal and reneged on an agreement with Arte.

As I recall, it was our unwillingness to include both Saunders and Santana in the deal. Wood and Mathis were the parameters.

[Dtwncbad]

I am of the opinion that you can't trust names listed in deals that never happened.  The media needs content to put out, content that stirs interest and attention, and they have no problem reporting parts of different true stories to create one more interesting storyline.

So I have no idea what actual names were rejected or suggested or which name was the obstacle. . .

[Second Base]

Well I think regardless, that's one deal the Angels were a finalist for that they probably should've pulled the trigger on.  Getting MCab for Maybin and Andrew Miller was a steal for Detroit, and so was that first contract extension he signed.  This last one he signed looks like it might be worse than Pujols' contract.