Angels, RP Blake Wood Avoid Arbitration

[totdprods]

Jon Heyman

@JonHeyman

·

blake wood angels agree at $1.45M (plus 50K in incentives), avoiding arbitration.

 

good deal! My feeling is anytime you can decent an MLB-tested relief arm who has had decent seasons for ~$1m, you're making a good move.

[arch stanton]

As long as it’s an inning at a time he’s solid. Good signing 

[Second Base]

I'm actually very surprised they settled at this price. Wood just hasn't been a very effective reliever across longer stretches. The potential to dominate is certainly there given his arsenal. 

But if he's going to put it all together in any uniform, I think it would be in an Angels uniform.

[wopphil]

Bullpen starting to run out of space. Wood, Parker, Bedrosian, Parades, Johnson, Middleton, Noe Ramirez, Alvarez...not much space left.

[totdprods]

8 minutes ago, wopphil said:

Bullpen starting to run out of space. Wood, Parker, Bedrosian, Parades, Johnson, Middleton, Noe Ramirez, Alvarez...not much space left.

And only Middleton and Paredes have options. Which could mean they start in SLC regardless just for the sake of depth, and let the optionless guys fight for their spot after Opening Day.

A couple other routes they can take for the pen..

1) stick mostly with what we have and go heavy on adding more unheralded young relievers with options to round out depth rather than established arms

2) dangle option-less Bedrosian in a trade to fill a bat as he has some legit trade value, and then sign Addison Reed to replace Cam's spot in pen

3) outright Alvarez, maybe Noe, in a risky move to see if they make it through waivers, and replace with more vet FA RPs 

[ettin]

13 minutes ago, wopphil said:

Bullpen starting to run out of space. Wood, Parker, Bedrosian, Parades, Johnson, Middleton, Noe Ramirez, Alvarez...not much space left.

Don't forget Tropeano and J.C. potentially in that mix. In fact we may be done with relief acquisitions unless we trade one of our better guys like Bedrosian away.

[wopphil]

Ill go on record as saying i dont love our pen. Lots of depth, for sure, but lots of mediocrity. I'd gladly trade any three of these guys (except Parker) for one Addison Reed or Mike Minor.

[krAbs]

29 minutes ago, wopphil said:

Bullpen starting to run out of space. Wood, Parker, Bedrosian, Parades, Johnson, Middleton, Noe Ramirez, Alvarez...not much space left.

Its a really interesting group. There are a ton of huge upside high risk guys in there. Seems like wood, parker, bedrosian, johnson, and middleton all have closer upside, but parker is the only one putting up closer numbers. Its a lot like our rotation, actually. Kinda seems like that's how Eppler thinks: high risk-high reward guys who you can get on the cheap side, and stock up a ton of them.

[totdprods]

It worked last year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I am open to the idea of flipping Cam for a young infielder and allocating some of the money for a bat for an arm with a little more track record like Reed. 

Someone like Abad, McGee, Liriano, Siegrist, Watson, Ross, or even Perkins would be more intriguing in Alvarez's role for varying reasons. 

 

[Tank]

45 minutes ago, wopphil said:

Bullpen starting to run out of space. Wood, Parker, Bedrosian, Parades, Johnson, Middleton, Noe Ramirez, Alvarez...not much space left.

any announcement on who the closer will be? 

and is bailey signed for next year?

[krAbs]

13 minutes ago, Tank said:

any announcement on who the closer will be? 

and is bailey signed for next year?

It HAS to be Parker with an opportunity for the others to take it from him...right??

[Angel Oracle]

Can't forget Norris, who for 25 weeks was really solid.   Just ditch the 2 weeks after the ASB.

[Angelsjunky]

"Franchise over."

~Astroswin.com

[Second Base]

Our closer will be whoever pitches the best.  Johnson's been there and done that, and if last year was just an aberration, I think he'd be first in line.  He could be elite.  Parker definitely seems to be able to handle it.  Bedrosian, Middleton, Wood and JC Ramirez definitely have the stuff to be dominant closers themselves. 

I really like the look of this bullpen.  A lot can go right, and given the volatility of many elite relievers (Ken Giles, Cam Bedrosian), that's about all you can ask for.  Proven relievers are in short supply and the general consensus is those that are proven, it's only a matter of time before they lose it. 

[eligrba4ever]

Woo Hoo!!! Hot Stiove progress!!! We got Blake Wood!!! And Wood got $1.45 million with no muss and no fuss!!! On to the next guy!!!

[eligrba]

I must confess, I do not understand this.  Every time I saw Blake Wood pitch, he looked like a bp pitcher throwing straight pitches over the heart of the plate.

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, eligrba said:

I must confess, I do not understand this.  Every time I saw Blake Wood pitch, he looked like a bp pitcher throwing straight pitches over the heart of the plate.

This is all you need to understand: 22K, 4BB, 17IP.

I also recall a couple games he was great for one inning and then got torched in the second. I think he probably gave up 2/3 of his runs in a couple second innings. He may be a guy who needs to stick to one inning.

[totdprods]

Anytime you can get a vet pitcher who has had flashes of success from time, and a semblance of good peripherals and stuff for ~$1m, it's worth the risk. 

[eligrba]

35 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

This is all you need to understand: 22K, 4BB, 17IP.

I also recall a couple games he was great for one inning and then got torched in the second. I think he probably gave up 2/3 of his runs in a couple second innings. He may be a guy who needs to stick to one inning.

Thanks.

[Glen]

19 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

This is all you need to understand: 22K, 4BB, 17IP.

I also recall a couple games he was great for one inning and then got torched in the second. I think he probably gave up 2/3 of his runs in a couple second innings. He may be a guy who needs to stick to one inning.

Please CC this to Scioscia. Thanks in advance.

[AngelStew43]

I like our collection of guys who can throw hard.  Parker, Bedrosian, Wood, Paredes and JC can all bring the heat.

I have a hunch Johnson may be dealt again before the winter is over.