40 Man Roster, what to do....

[Stradling]

Alright we got another off day, lets discuss the soon to be 40 man roster crunch we are going to have as players start to come off of the regular and 60 day IL.   We have 3 players coming back that will need a spot on the 40 man roster, Upton, Middleton and JC Ramirez.  My understanding is that when JC comes back he is out of options and will need to be on the 25 man roster.  So all that being said we have some really tough choices to make.  When I look at the roster the only obvious choice based on talent and money owed would be to release Bourjos.  After that we are talking about either guys like Cozart, Stratton, maybe Dillon Peters.  It obviously is possible to simply release Bourjos, Stratton and Peters and call it a day, but who really knows what the team will do.  What are your thoughts?  

[Angel Oracle]

Bourjos is a no brainer.  He hasn't hit MLB pitching at all since 2-3 years ago.

Stratton has not shown very much so far.   He's almost a no brainer, once Heaney returns in about 3 weeks.

 

[totdprods]

8 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Alright we got another off day, lets discuss the soon to be 40 man roster crunch we are going to have as players start to come off of the regular and 60 day IL.   We have 3 players coming back that will need a spot on the 40 man roster, Upton, Middleton and JC Ramirez.  My understanding is that when JC comes back he is out of options and will need to be on the 25 man roster.  So all that being said we have some really tough choices to make.  When I look at the roster the only obvious choice based on talent and money owed would be to release Bourjos.  After that we are talking about either guys like Cozart, Stratton, maybe Dillon Peters.  It obviously is possible to simply release Bourjos, Stratton and Peters and call it a day, but who really knows what the team will do.  What are your thoughts?  

A lot can happen between the return if Upton (no sooner than May 27th) and Ramirez and Middleton (best case scenario for either is probably mid-June)...so a bit early to worry too much about it. 

Bourjos is cooked as soon as Upton is back. That should be an easy one-for-one. 
Stratton might be done as soon as we see what Canning does in his next start. There's a good chance Stratton survives a bit longer, regardless of how Canning performs, as he's seen a little uptick in his K%, presumably as White has gotten more work with him, but I imagine his role will now be mop-up/long-relief and the occasional 'start' with an opener...but once Canning either re-forces the hand, the pen needs a fresh arm, or Heaney returns...Stratton's probably gone. 

Matt Ramsey really isn't worth keeping on the 40-man...he has options, which helps his case, but I don't think it's far-fetched they cut him loose. 

Luis Garcia might be an under-the-radar option to cut...the ERA is pretty, 2.92, but he has walked 11 in 12 innings, and only against 7 strikeouts, resulting in an ugly 6.21 FIP and 1.62 WHIP. 
That said, he's the type of arm that the Angels would likely claim on waivers after some other team DFA'ed him mid-season, like Robles, so who knows. 

After that, I don't think Tropeano is a sure thing to stick - more so because his health, but productivity a little as well, and Peters, Jewell, or Noe could become vulnerable if struggles hit or as players return too. 

Given that Heaney and especially Hermosillo haven't been progressing quickly, I could see either bumped to the 60-man as well, as I believe it'd be retroactive back to early in the year?

Bour, Cozart, Allen, Harvey, maybe even Lucroy, could find themselves as surprise DFA/trade candidates if anything goes particularly south, or if competing players start to eclipse them significantly - nothing imminent, but bu mid-June when others are getting close to returning, this isn't far-fetched.

Edited May 3, 2019 by totdprods

[floplag]

i dont think they called up Rengifo with the intent of keeping 3 middle infielders not named Simmons which to me puts Cozart on the bubble.  Sure they could send him back down is that the best move to force Cozart into playing time?

I also dont think Fletcher playing outfield is a positive omen for Borjous

I think the answer starts with those 2 and probably one of the pitchers, likely i think would be Stratton as i dont think they will give up on Peters quite yet.

Borjous might be a wild card though as even though he hasnt really hit, hes still probably the best backup outfielder we have on the roster so cutting him create an awful large gap should anyone go down unless Fletcher really becomes the super ultimate utility guy and backs up literally everything.

One name not mentioned is Bour.  With Ohtani also due back and Pujols not going anywhere with his numbers being much lower than hoped that also wouldnt shock me as if im not mistaken Rengifo played a lot of 1B in the minors.   

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

Given that Heaney and especially Hermosillo haven't been progressing quickly, I could see either bumped to the 60-man as well, as I believe it'd be retroactive back to early in the year?

Heaney is probably coming back before JC and Middleton. If he goes on the 60-day, he’d be eligible May 27. 

[totdprods]

15 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Heaney is probably coming back before JC and Middleton. If he goes on the 60-day, he’d be eligible May 27. 

Yeah I figured with he, or Herm, it’d be more for quick fix 40-man purposes.

Speaking of, anything new on Hermosillo? 

Edited May 3, 2019 by totdprods

[Angelsjunky]

I wouldn't be surprised if Bourjos is released before Upton comes back, to give Puello or Parker a shot at the job. 

[totdprods]

7 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Bourjos is released before Upton comes back, to give Puello or Parker a shot at the job. 

Doesn’t make sense...we’d likely turn right around and lose them to waivers since they’re out of options. 

Only way that would happen would be if they needed playing time opened up in AAA for another player, but Adell is likely going back to AA when he returns.

Edited May 3, 2019 by totdprods

[Angelsjunky]

7 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Doesn’t make sense...we’d likely turn right around and lose them to waivers since they’re out of options. 

Only way that would happen would be if they needed playing time opened up in AAA for another player, but Adell is likely going back to AA when he returns.

OK, fair enough. Sucks for them, though, because it means that the only way that get a shot in the majors is if one of the starters gets injured. 

[Second Base]

Everyone likes their own team, but if we're looking at the Angels 40 man roster objectively, there are quite a few moves they could make. 

- Once Ohtani is activated, Justin Bour will more than likely be released or DFA'd, which will open up one spot on the 40 man. 

- Once J.C. Ramirez is activated, Matt Ramsey can be jettisoned. 

- Once Upton is back, Bourjos is gone. 

- No one would miss Chris Stratton I don't think.  Noe Ramirez would get claimed but wouldn't be a huge loss either.  Same with Cam Bedrosian.  He's pitching well right now but give it a week. 

- You could always transfer Michael Hermosillo to the 60 day DL to buy more time. 

That's like seven open spots they could manuever with if they wanted to.  It isn't a particularly deep 40 man roster, rich with prospect talent.  At least not yet anyway.  You have to figure that at some point in the next 12 months they'll be adding Thaiss, Walsh, Rojas, Marsh, Jones and Adell.

[Angel Oracle]

59 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Heaney is probably coming back before JC and Middleton. If he goes on the 60-day, he’d be eligible May 27. 

That basically is 3.5 weeks out from now, and thus very doable to put him on the 60 day DL.  

[floplag]

28 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Bourjos is released before Upton comes back, to give Puello or Parker a shot at the job. 

I mentioned Parker a week or two ago, i think thats also possible quite probable.  When i last checked his numbers werent eye popping but he now has a 310/240/619 line with a 1.039 OPS and 3 HR.  Might be time to see what he can do back at this level.
 

[bruin5]

Bour seems like the easy one to me.  Eppler seems to value position flexibility and you can’t tie up 1B with two players who can’t play anywhere else.   One of LaStella or Fletcher could play !B in a pinch (or bring up Thaiss).  As I once heard one ML player tell his teammate who was a !B (and said it jokingly), “don’t worry, plenty of first basemen hit eighth”.  I would rather carry another pitcher than have Bour take a roster spot.  

[totdprods]

If Parker himself hadn’t gotten hurt, he would’ve been our guy and Goodwin wouldn’t have been claimed. 

Parker’s only real shot at getting on this team now is if one of Calhoun or Goodwin are no longer in the picture or out for an extended time. 

If Adell or Marsh are pushing for AAA playing time come June or July, then maybe one of Puello or Parker come up if there’s a need, so when they’re lost to waivers it doesn’t hurt AAA OF depth. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

32 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

That basically is 3.5 weeks out from now, and thus very doable to put him on the 60 day DL.  

Except he’ll be ready by the time any of the guys you want to add need to go on the 40-man, so unless you need a spot for someone else, there’s no point. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

12 minutes ago, bruin5 said:

Bour seems like the easy one to me.  Eppler seems to value position flexibility and you can’t tie up 1B with two players who can’t play anywhere else.   One of LaStella or Fletcher could play !B in a pinch (or bring up Thaiss).  As I once heard one ML player tell his teammate who was a !B (and said it jokingly), “don’t worry, plenty of first basemen hit eighth”.  I would rather carry another pitcher than have Bour take a roster spot.  

Bour has an option so I think there’s almost no chance he gets DFA’d

[Jeff Fletcher]

40 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Once Ohtani is activated, Justin Bour will more than likely be released or DFA'd, which will open up one spot on the 40 man. 

Ohtani is already on the 40-man. Just need a 25-man spot for him. 

[PattyD22]

Bour and Bourjos seem like no brainer roster moves, but what about Cozart?  He's injury prone and hasn't really done much.  What would be the financial hit for the Angels if they released him?

[eligrba]

Rengifo needs to stay. He has played well enough to stay. Cozart is no longer needed. I hope Eppler can trade him. Maybe a change of scenery will jump start his hitting. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

13 minutes ago, PattyD22 said:

Bour and Bourjos seem like no brainer roster moves, but what about Cozart?  He's injury prone and hasn't really done much.  What would be the financial hit for the Angels if they released him?

They still owe him about 24 million

[Angelsjunky]

Cozart will almost certainly be given another chance, even though Fletcher and Rengifo seem to be better players than he is. The Angels could have a log-jam at 3B/2B with Fletcher, Rengifo, La Stella and Cozart. If Bour is released, La Stella can get some starts at 1B/DH, even when Ohtani comes back, but I'm guessing that Rengifo gets the short straw and goes back to Salt Lake. 

[eligrba]

4 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Cozart will almost certainly be given another chance, even though Fletcher and Rengifo seem to be better players than he is. The Angels could have a log-jam at 3B/2B with Fletcher, Rengifo, La Stella and Cozart. If Bour is released, La Stella can get some starts at 1B/DH, even when Ohtani comes back, but I'm guessing that Rengifo gets the short straw and goes back to Salt Lake. 

I understand but do not like it. However.  It feels like the Angels may have finally arrived at a place where a logjam of good players is a problem. 

[Second Base]

5 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Ohtani is already on the 40-man. Just need a 25-man spot for him. 

Yes, fully aware of that. 

[Warfarin]

8 hours ago, PattyD22 said:

Bour and Bourjos seem like no brainer roster moves, but what about Cozart?  He's injury prone and hasn't really done much.  What would be the financial hit for the Angels if they released him?

Cozart is someone I feel they can definitely move on from.  I understand teams usually want to give struggling veterans time to re-discover their game, etc, but I feel Cozart isn't particularly necessary anymore because we have 3 middle infielders who we could be playing (Fletcher, Rengifo, La Stella), and we even have some intriguing 3B options in AAA (Ward, Rojas).  Cozart's signing made sense at the time, but since we signed him, Fletcher exploded in AAA in 2018 before getting promoted, Rengifo progressed a lot quicker than anyone could have imagined, and we acquired La Stella, who has also stunning showed significant improvement.

IMO, Cozart really isn't needed at all, because we have so many options that we can't even find adequate time to play them all.  He is a sunk cost, IMO, and probably just best to move on at this point.

[TroutAdell]

You have to pay Cozart either way so dump him. He would just take time away from Fletcher or Rengifo. Stratton is a no-brainer as is Ramsey.