Official 2022-23 Offseason Hot Stove Thread

[Stradling]

Again you remember incorrectly. 

[Inside Pitch]

12 hours ago, Second Base said:

I thought he was entertaining. 

I do too. 

I get why he annoys people (repeats himself), but he seems to poke fun at himself when others pop him and his running/random efforts to get TG to unblock him are humorous to me.  Mostly I have a hard time disliking anyone that can be called out and doesn't act like a little feline or pretend they're being attacked unfairly.

All that said, self bans crack me up.  @Angel Oracle was the gold standard self banner.

 

[Warfarin]

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

I do too. 

I get why he annoys people (repeats himself), but he seems to poke fun at himself when others pop him and his running/random efforts to get TG to unblock him are humorous to me.  Mostly I have a hard time disliking anyone that can be called out and doesn't act like a little feline or pretend their being attack unfairly.

All that said, self bans crack me up.  @Angel Oracle was the gold standard self banner.

 

Yeah, I felt similarly.  He seemed to not take himself too seriously and joked around.  

I thought it would have been hilarious if, on the first day on his self-ban, we traded for Vidal Brujan, lol.

[Angel Oracle]

On 12/30/2022 at 11:40 PM, Tank said:

 

Thanks. That was informative. Lots of stuff there I hadn’t heard of. 
 

Is it possible to watch a game where statcast info is displayed in something close to real time? 

I just liked this because of the classic movie the scene is from.

[Revad]

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

I do too. 

I get why he annoys people (repeats himself), but he seems to poke fun at himself when others pop him and his running/random efforts to get TG to unblock him are humorous to me.  Mostly I have a hard time disliking anyone that can be called out and doesn't act like a little feline or pretend their being attack unfairly.

All that said, self bans crack me up.  @Angel Oracle was the gold standard self banner.

 

Some good baseball insight as well, if you look past the troll-like tone.  I recall he called for Ohtani to play outfield and we gave him a hard time, then Ohtani ends up playing outfield.

[Stradling]

36 minutes ago, Revad said:

Some good baseball insight as well, if you look past the troll-like tone.  I recall he called for Ohtani to play outfield and we gave him a hard time, then Ohtani ends up playing outfield.

I don’t remember him at all prior to this season. He’s harmless, just repetitive.  He’s the love child of @Troll Daddy and @Angel Oracle  

[Chuck]

Who are we talking about here and what did I miss? 

[T.G.]

3 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

his running/random efforts to get TG to unblock him are humorous to me.

I'm here for your entertainment, IP. I will never unblock him now for sure.

[Stradling]

16 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Who are we talking about here and what did I miss? 

Angels1961, he self banned after making a prediction that by a certain date the Angels would acquire a starter and a reliever. He will be back in less than 30 days. 

[tdawg87]

1 hour ago, Stradling said:

I don’t remember him at all prior to this season. He’s harmless, just repetitive.  He’s the love child of @Troll Daddy and @Angel Oracle  

I was thinking Diet Claude.

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

I was thinking Diet Claude.

Claude Lite

[tdawg87]

7 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Claude Lite

Claude Zero

[Stradling]

2 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Claude Zero

Perfect. 

[Inside Pitch]

33 minutes ago, T.G. said:

I'm here for your entertainment, IP. I will never unblock him now for sure.

LOL -- thats terrible.   Think of the fun you could have unblocking, then blocking again.

[T.G.]

2 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

LOL -- thats terrible.   Think of the fun you could have unblocking, then blocking again.

Blocking 1961 is one if the simple pleasures I award myself on AW. 

Edited January 1, 2023 by T.G.

[beatlesrule]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/01/how-al-teams-have-addressed-their-weakest-positions-of-2022.html

Angels (First Base, -1.0 bWAR The top-heavy Angels are known for superstars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, but the club also had sub-replacement production at a whopping five positions.  First base was the lowest of the bunch, as Jared Walsh struggled through a rough season that was cut short by thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.  While Walsh is expected to be ready for Spring Training, the Halos picked up some depth and insurance by acquiring Gio Urshela from the Twins and signing Brandon Drury, either of whom could see action at first base when not playing elsewhere around the diamond.

[Revad]

1 hour ago, beatlesrule said:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/01/how-al-teams-have-addressed-their-weakest-positions-of-2022.html

Angels (First Base, -1.0 bWAR The top-heavy Angels are known for superstars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, but the club also had sub-replacement production at a whopping five positions.  First base was the lowest of the bunch, as Jared Walsh struggled through a rough season that was cut short by thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.  While Walsh is expected to be ready for Spring Training, the Halos picked up some depth and insurance by acquiring Gio Urshela from the Twins and signing Brandon Drury, either of whom could see action at first base when not playing elsewhere around the diamond.

No way Ushela, even if he’s well suited for 1b, matches Walsh’s defense.  Drury will play 2nd and some outfield but not much 1b.

[Pancake Bear]

43 minutes ago, Revad said:

No way Ushela, even if he’s well suited for 1b, matches Walsh’s defense.  Drury will play 2nd and some outfield but not much 1b.

Walsh, if healthy and producing, will play most days against righties. He'll probably sit against lefties. Who they replace him with depends on how Fletcher, Rengifo, Urshela, and Drury are all playing. In theory, Rengifo and Drury will both play somewhere against lefties, but if Fletcher is hitting well, it may be Fletcher at short, Rengifo at second, and Drury at first. 

Really, with six guys and four spots, if everyone is healthy (lol), it'll come down to who is earning their plate appearances. 

[Second Base]

Sawamura to the bullpen? 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/01/hirokazu-sawamura-looking-for-mlb-opportunities-over-return-to-japan.html

[BTH]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

Sawamura to the bullpen? 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/01/hirokazu-sawamura-looking-for-mlb-opportunities-over-return-to-japan.html

On a minor league deal, it’d be worth a shot.

[Tank]

On 12/31/2022 at 3:22 PM, tdawg87 said:

-3 OPS+ 

That's impressive.

that's 3 less than me, and i didn't even play last year.

[Hubs]

On 12/31/2022 at 7:57 AM, wopphil said:

IMO, the most encouraging indicator for Ward is that after a blazing start and then horrific slump, he finished with a near 1.000 OPS over his last 36 games. I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect him to slash .280/.340/.460/.800, which will make him a very valuable player. 

This is why I’m so positive on him. Here’s the thing though, the numbers you posted would be a decline from his full season numbers last season when he couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag in June and July, because of a shoulder injury he couldn’t rest. Not when they were playing Gosselin, Mayfield, Lagares, and Sierra.

He hit .281 / .360 / .473 last year combined. While he will slump, he will not slump as badly. It is consistency and health for Ward at this point. Cuz guys don’t hit to 1.000+ OPS months several times in a year without being a really good hitter.

[Warfarin]

13 minutes ago, Hubs said:

This is why I’m so positive on him. Here’s the thing though, the numbers you posted would be a decline from his full season numbers last season when he couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag in June and July, because of a shoulder injury he couldn’t rest. Not when they were playing Gosselin, Mayfield, Lagares, and Sierra.

He hit .281 / .360 / .473 last year combined. While he will slump, he will not slump as badly. It is consistency and health for Ward at this point. Cuz guys don’t hit to 1.000+ OPS months several times in a year without being a really good hitter.

What was rather remarkable too is he posted numbers like that in a year in which offense was down overall.  It is a league of adjustments, so I anticipate pitchers will make adjustments to him, but I think he should be counted on to be a solid contributor moving forward.  

[Vlad27Trout27]

On 1/1/2023 at 7:56 AM, Stradling said:

Angels1961, he self banned after making a prediction that by a certain date the Angels would acquire a starter and a reliever. He will be back in less than 30 days. 

What a way to start 2023! fucken lets go! No more hearing about signing Danish, for the next 30 days

[Angel Oracle]

5 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

What a way to start 2023! fucken lets go! No more hearing about signing Danish, for the next 30 days

Or trading for Brujan