The Official (2024) Los Angeles Angels Trade Deadline Thread

[Tank]

5 hours ago, Turd Ferguson said:

I'll settle for Anderson for Putney

i'm in. this team really needs a better punt returner. 

[Angelsjunky]

1 hour ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

I understand your concerns about Rendon and Trout. To clarify, Rendon isn’t part of my future plans for the Angels—he’s more of a question mark at this point. However, Trout is still a key player we need to find a way to get healthy and effective again. My solution for this is making him a full time DH. 

Regarding Burnes, you’re right that the Angels' track record with mega-contracts is questionable. However, Free agency can be unpredictable, and players sometimes choose teams for unexpected reasons. Even if, it’s a long shot and there are definitely other teams that might seem like better fits, you still have to take a shot. 

On top of that, the Angels have had trouble developing their own talent, which makes the situation even more challenging. They've fallen in the development department in the past decade or so, either by rushing them or it just didn't work out. 

You also have to ask why haven't the big contracts worked out? May there's a lack in certain area or department that is causing this. like player development that just straight up sucks. 

Ultimately its a directionless team that needs to pick a direct; either go hard the free agency or cut bait with Trout and start full tear down. its that simple. Two options, take a risk with free agency  or rebuild and take a a risk (Cuz it's still arte in charge). pick your poison.   

. 

I appreciate you taking my shit and offering a reasoned response. To respond in kind:

Trout: As I wrote in another thread, if he misses the rest of this year, that's 34% of team games played over the last two years, 41% over the last four, and 59% over the last eight. Not just a terrible trajectory, but points out that the Problem of Trout really goes back eight years and is getting worse and worse. I'm not sure DH will solve that, but it is worth a shot, I suppose. Unfortunately, I think it is getting harder and harder to deny the likelihood that his career is winding down. Or to put it another way, if he, at age 33, ends up reversing what has turned out to be a historical collapse, after 5+ years of decline, it will possibly be unprecedented in baseball history. I suppose it is possible that he puts together another 2022 or two, but my main point is that any plans the Angels have going forward should be written without reliance upon him contributing anything. If he does, it is like finding a $100 bill in those old jeans you haven't worn in a year.

Mega-contracts: The Angels track record isn't "questionable," it is horrible. In fact, there's no question about it - every single one has sucked, from Mo Vaughn through Vernon Wells to Albert Pujols to Josh Hamilton to Justin Upton to Mike Trout to Anthony Rendon. I suppose we should recognize some success in Vlad and Hunter, but then we should also consider big-if-not-mega flops like Gary Matthews Jr, CJ Wilson and Jered Weaver. So maybe not "every single one," but certainly the vast majority have been terrible.

The irony is that some of the big contracts they passed or missed out on have turned out pretty well: Adrian Beltre, Zack Greinke, Gerrit Cole, and so-far, Shohei Ohtani. Must be something in the Anaheim water? 

I stand firm with the idea that any chance of a positive future for this franchise requires extreme diligence in avoiding such contracts. They need to start over, as if they're a new franchise, and build entirely from within. Sure, a minor to medium free agent or two, but no long contracts and no one that either cannot be flipped at the trade deadline and/or potentially saddles them with a yearly deficit like they've been saddled with for the last 15 years, going back to Wells. Or to put it another way, the next big contract they sign should either be one of their homegrown guys extended before reaching free agency, or getting a big free agent after a few good years, to make a good team better. 

That has been their main tactical flaw: they try to make big splashes to make a bad team good; when they haven't worked out, there's no fixing it - the money is tapped out and the team is just bad. Big splashes should only ever be risked when the team is already good, in the hopes of making it better. Then if it doesn't work out, they can still be good.

You seem to be saying that the Angels should go back to the very same approach they've taken the last decade plus, but just do it better. I just cannot agree with that. Again, start afresh. It likely means the team will be crap for another two or three years, but if they're diligent and patient, and invest more in the farm--both scouting and development--it will pay off eventually, and in a sustainable way. And who knows, maybe the young core is better than expected next year, and things looking up for 2026...then you start looking at bigger free agents. But until you have that good core, better to avoid.

But given their track record, they're more likely to take your approach than mine. Last offseason looked like they were veering in my direction, but this deadline makes me think they're having second thoughts already and are going to try to tool up for the near future. Woe is us.

Edited July 31 by Angelsjunky

[samwum]

13 minutes ago, totdprods said:

And in free agency, I don’t recall many (any?) of those guys signing with teams with that had failed to crack .500 for several seasons in a row. Seth Lugo to KC maybe? And I wanted the Angels to sign him last year. Guys like he and Wacha are who they should be targeting. 

Yeah well, how often does a sub-.500 team add payroll? The Halos mindset and decision making is not conventional.

13 minutes ago, totdprods said:

As for the big arms this winter…I don’t think Burnes is realistic unless the man truly wants to be an Angel. I like Flaherty and kinda hope they go hard after him, but he may be the ‘top’ FA arm at this rate and wind up way costlier than comfortable. Bieber is down with TJS and might not be ready. Buehler as well I think. Totally open to the Halos kicking tires on them, but hard to say if they’ll deliver the results we’d need for that price. Fried has also been hurt. The bright side is all of those guys have SoCal ties - that’s part of why I wanted them to sit out the FA SPs last year and mentioned that over and over…I felt we had better odds at signing a top arm this coming winter. But those factors above have diminished my optimism. 

Agreed on Burnes, and on Flaherty. To me Flaherty is the top dog realistically. As you mention, Bieber and Buehler have the injury concerns. Fried is an ace, but he doesn't strike out guys like an ace -- probably dumb, but he gives me the Patrick Corbin scaries. SoCal ties are also awesome.

What's interesting is Kikuchi and Pivetta have had ace-like peripherals dating back to last All-Star Break. They have consistency problems -- but so did Kevin Gausman, Sonny Gray, and Zack Wheeler when they hit free agency. Kikuchi and Pivetta are also around 30 y/o -- same age range as Gausman/Gray/Wheeler at the time. Very similar pre-brekaout profiles. Pivetta/Kikuchi are your ace lottery tickets. This is why Houston paid out the ass for Kikuchi.

 

[Angel Oracle]

If Trout doesn’t only DH going forward, career pretty much done.

Swallow your pride and salvage something out of the rest of your career!

Edited July 31 by Angel Oracle

[totdprods]

12 minutes ago, samwum said:

Yeah well, how often does a sub-.500 team add payroll? The Halos mindset and decision making is not conventional.

Agreed on Burnes, and on Flaherty. To me Flaherty is the top dog realistically. As you mention, Bieber and Buehler have the injury concerns. Fried is an ace, but he doesn't strike out guys like an ace -- probably dumb, but he gives me the Patrick Corbin scaries. SoCal ties are also awesome.

What's interesting is Kikuchi and Pivetta have had ace-like peripherals dating back to last All-Star Break. They have consistency problems -- but so did Kevin Gausman, Sonny Gray, and Zack Wheeler when they hit free agency. Kikuchi and Pivetta are also around 30 y/o -- same age range as Gausman/Gray/Wheeler at the time. Very similar pre-brekaout profiles. Pivetta/Kikuchi are your ace lottery tickets. This is why Houston paid out the ass for Kikuchi.

 

I’d love to basically sign Flaherty for the initial Wheeler deal or failing that, Pivetta for the 3/$40m-ish (or heck, both) guys like Lugo and Anderson and the aforementioned TX/SF guys get. I think that alone is reasonable and doesn’t necessarily heighten expectations or push the club faster than it needs to be, but also stabilizes it if the team plays to their floor.

[samwum]

9 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I’d love to basically sign Flaherty for the initial Wheeler deal or failing that, Pivetta for the 3/$40m-ish (or heck, both) guys like Lugo and Anderson and the aforementioned TX/SF guys get. I think that alone is reasonable and doesn’t necessarily heighten expectations or push the club faster than it needs to be, but also stabilizes it if the team plays to their floor.

I would love to sign both.

I think you should be careful about $$ expectations though.

Lugo and Anderson are both guys with bad peripherals who pitch to contact and get out of jams in order to outperform their peripherals. I'm not saying "lucky", but some people would.

Flaherty's peripherals this year are among the elite of the elite, and Pivetta's peripherals are near elite too.

I think at this point in the state of the game, at least half the league or so are more comfortable paying for the peripherals than the results -- general attitude might be that the peripherals seem to legitimately be more predictive of sustainable success.

Flaherty might be 5/$125mm with an opt out, Pivetta 3/$60mm. It's gonna be steep for the guys with legit long-term sustainable potential, as it should be.

This is where things get tricky, since the Halos have so much $$ tied up in dead weight in the lineup.

To me, I just think you have to pony up. No sense in adding another inconsistent guy to the existing group.

[Angelsjunky]

25 minutes ago, samwum said:

Yeah well, how often does a sub-.500 team add payroll? The Halos mindset and decision making is not conventional.

 

As I wrote in my long post a bit above, that's central to their problem: A bad team should never make big splashes. Big splashes should only be risked when you're trying to make an already good team better. If the splash flops, at least you're still good. But that's not how Arte and his cadre of GMs have rolled: they've tried to solve deeper problems with flashy signings. That is, they've tried to make mediocre or even bad teams contenders with a few big signings and the results have been disastrous and far-reaching.

Which is why I come back, again and again, to this: The Angels need to build a good club from within before they make any more big signings. They need to be really disciplined about this. Just put it out of their minds and focus on building a young core from within, even if it takes a few years. At the very earliest, maybe after 2025 - but only if Neto, O'Hoppe, Dana, etc are really starting to look good, like the team can win 85 games without any big signings. Then, if you must, go big and go after a TOR starter and/or big bat, but not before that.

[ScottM]

A lot of my frustration is that I really like our returns for Estevez and Garcia. I think Ward, Rengifo, and Anderson would’ve brought some serious talent back. I just don’t get it. 

[samwum]

35 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

As I wrote in my long post a bit above, that's central to their problem: A bad team should never make big splashes. Big splashes should only be risked when you're trying to make an already good team better. If the splash flops, at least you're still good. But that's not how Arte and his cadre of GMs have rolled: they've tried to solve deeper problems with flashy signings. That is, they've tried to make mediocre or even bad teams contenders with a few big signings and the results have been disastrous and far-reaching.

Which is why I come back, again and again, to this: The Angels need to build a good club from within before they make any more big signings. They need to be really disciplined about this. Just put it out of their minds and focus on building a young core from within, even if it takes a few years. At the very earliest, maybe after 2025 - but only if Neto, O'Hoppe, Dana, etc are really starting to look good, like the team can win 85 games without any big signings. Then, if you must, go big and go after a TOR starter and/or big bat, but not before that.

Yeah I totally agree with ya. You gotta time the "peak" of your big contracts while you have a group of "unpaid" players who are bigtime.

Look at the Phillies:

They got big money spent on Harper, Turner, Nola, Wheeler, Schwarber, Realmuto, Castellanos. All $20mm+ AAV.

But they also got fuckin' studs getting paid nothing. 

Position Players

• Bohm - All Star
• Marsh - 3.5 WAR pace
• Stott - 2.5 WAR pace
• Hays - 2.5 WAR last year

Pitchers

• Suarez- All Star
• Sanchez - All Star
• Hoffman - All Star
• Strahm - All Star
• Kerkering - 2.27 ERA
• Turnbull - 2.65 ERA

 

The Phillies legitimately have 5 stars, 5 All-Stars making no money, and 5 other everyday really solid players making no money. 

That's not even counting Castellanos, Estevez, etc.

That's like 17 guys who every night you know they're probably going to play well.

What do we have -- like 5?

We need 10 reliable guys who are making no money to support free agent signings.

 

 

[Vlad27Trout27]

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

Any slim hope I had of Burnes signing here evaporated when Baltimore traded for him. They’re gonna throw bank at him and he’s in perhaps what’s going to be the next closest thing to a dynasty club the next 5 years.

The division sucks and really not sure anyone else around is going to get better. Seattle has amazing pitching depth but their offense is a problem annually - and eventually pitching will break down or get expensive. Houston has no farm and are nearing a crossroads. Texas has a good farm and a ton of MLB talent, but a lot of it old and their rotation is all getting up there or hitting FA. Oakland is a constant enigma. I don’t think the Angels are poised any better than these, but I don’t think it’s going to take much to compete in this division - hell, we’ve been borderline competitive in this division this year at times. 

I could see them going after someone like Flaherty or even Fried due to SoCal/ATL ties, but more realistically next tier down, like Pivetta or Turnbull or seeing if Toronto wants to shed salary with Bassitt or Gausman. I actually don’t want them to really go nuts in FA, just add a vet arm with some track record, like Anderson was this year and should have been last year, and a bench/platoon bat or two to offer a bit of insurance. What Drury was last year and should have been this year. Keep developing the kids. 

I don’t think it’s far-fetched at all that Neto, Schanuel, and O’Hoppe all post .800+ OPS next year. Ward and Rengifo could too. 

 

1 hour ago, samwum said:

 

This is going to be a strong year for pitching in free agency.

There are 4 ace level guys Burnes, Fried, Bieber, and Flaherty.

And then there are some young-ish guys with either ace level past performance or peripherals in Buehler, Kikuchi, and Pivetta.

There is also a third tier of guys who have performed like really solid SPs before, but have issues with consistency, injuries, etc. The upside bucket -- DeScalifani, Cobb, Turnbull.

Personally I think you could add $40-60mm of payroll and sign two aces, or an ace and an "upside guy".

• Flaherty
• Pivetta/Kikuchi/Buehler
• Anderson
• Soriano
• Detmers
• Sandoval 
• Canning
• Silseth

That's a legitimately good, deep, mature, and contending staff. 

You kind of run into some issues with needing to allocate free agency budget to the lineup given Trout/Rendon almost certainly will miss most of the season, but pitching wins games.

It's a fairly strong SP class.

 

Both have made interesting points, and while I think the chance of signing Burnes is slim, it's not zero. This free agency period is deep with starting pitchers, so even if we don't land someone like Burnes, there are still solid pitchers to build around, despite the risks. Ideally, we should aim to add two starters for next season. It would be great to grab one of Burnes, Fried, or Flaherty, and then have a plan B starter.

Here’s a key scenario I would love to see even if we miss out on Burnes:

1. Sign Fried: It will be interesting to see what he gets, as he's currently expected to receive around $26 to $30 million over six years. This would be a solid return for a strong #2 starter.

2. Take a risk and sign Bieber to a contract similar to Woodruff’s, at $30 million over two years, with the expectation that he’ll be ready by mid-season.

3. Spend the rest of the budget on team needs, such as another outfielder and a Rosario-type player.

4. If Arte really wants to take it to another level and if Buehler is available, offer him a one-year, $40 million deal. I doubt it happens

But something like this is probably one of the few directs that Arte can take in hopes of something working out. 

I really do like the back-end of the BP with Joyce, Quejada returning, Stephson ready for next season and a few guys in AA. 

Offensively, Still need to add an outfielder, and I would love to sign Rosario and have him take Rengifo's spot as the super Ult, and Rengifo would be the starting 2nd baseman. 

I don't think people fully grasp how good of a year Schanuel is having. He has essentially gone from a -0.6 WAR player to a 1.2 WAR player, a 2.0 WAR improvement, and it's still rising. I think he'll surprise quite a few people next year.

O'Hoppe is reaching his ceiling and is having a year similar to Rutschman's.

For me, Neto is the wildcard. He could easily break out and have an All-Star-like year, becoming an extra-base hit machine.

Lastly, we really need Ward to rebound. 

Basically all i am saying is that we need pitching, and we need to take a risk and hope that we land one of the big fishes. 

 

[Taylor]

The Angels should not go after Burnes. He’s gonna get paid a shitton. They need to focus on dumping money and rebuilding, not getting roped into another mega contract.

[samwum]

16 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Here’s a key scenario I would love to see even if we miss out on Burnes:

 

 

Sign Fried: It will be interesting to see what he gets, as he's currently expected to receive around $26 to $30 million over six years. This would be a solid return for a strong #2 starter.

 

Scary. Strikeouts are low. Fried's really fuckin' good, but he's not dominant. We want a flawless candidate here -- no more Gary Mathews Jr.

16 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Take a risk and sign Bieber to a contract similar to Woodruff’s, at $30 million over two years, with the expectation that he’ll be ready by mid-season.

 

That deal structure would be amazing. Who gives a fuck about next year? You suck and you have money. What do you do? Sign an injured guy who might be really good when you have your shit together.

I'd take a step further and get Bieber as your #2. 

Fully de-risk. If he doesn't come back himself who cares?

We got another guy.

Flaherty, or if you have to, Burnes. We don't give a fuck about spending money silly baby because this is Arte Moreno writin' the checks.

16 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Spend the rest of the budget on team needs, such as another outfielder and a Rosario-type player.

I mean I'm with ya. Roster is short. Gotta help out in lineup.

But... fuck team needs.

Long term focus. Yankees just went and traded for Jazz Chisholm, put him at an entirely new position because the league hadn't decided yet that he's a star. Sign future stars, not players who play positions.

Tyler O'Neill and Yoan Moncada.

Also -- not sure who Rosario is. Amed? Middle infielder who can only hit left handed pitching. We have that, Rengifo.

16 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

If Arte really wants to take it to another level and if Buehler is available, offer him a one-year, $40 million deal. I doubt it happens

 

Buehler is "bad" now. Since injuries - his peripherals in 8 starts this year are bad. His peripherals last year and in 2020 and 2022 are solid, but not ace level. Injured all of 2023. You have to play monkey ball with the Dodgers but you can snake him.

 

For the other stuff, yeah, I pray to God the bullpen gets better. There's like .25 guys back there I'd trust. Big 3 of Joyce/Quijada/Stephenson? Any dumbass can sniff out a red flag between all 3.

16 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

 

Basically all i am saying is that we need pitching, and we need to take a risk and hope that we land one of the big fishes. 

 

I'm with ya, brother. Pitch till your balls fall off. Pray Rengifo keeps hitting .800 or whatever. Let's go get some aces!

[Stradling]

9 minutes ago, Taylor said:

The Angels should not go after Burnes. He’s gonna get paid a shitton. They need to focus on dumping money and rebuilding, not getting roped into another mega contract.

I don’t disagree but there’s no dumping money. 

[Taylor]

5 minutes ago, Stradling said:

I don’t disagree but there’s no dumping money. 

Which makes it even more critical that they don’t commit hundreds of millions of dollars onto another mega contract.

[m0nkey]

19 minutes ago, Taylor said:

They need to focus on dumping money and rebuilding, not getting roped into another mega contract.

This is the first I'm hearing they should go into a rebuild over the past 15 years

[Taylor]

Just now, m0nkey said:

This is the first I'm hearing they should go into a rebuild over the past 15 years

I’m just a voice in the wilderness telling the regular folks what they need to hear.

[Vlad27Trout27]

1 hour ago, samwum said:

Scary. Strikeouts are low. Fried's really fuckin' good, but he's not dominant. We want a flawless candidate here -- no more Gary Mathews Jr.

That deal structure would be amazing. Who gives a fuck about next year? You suck and you have money. What do you do? Sign an injured guy who might be really good when you have your shit together.

I'd take a step further and get Bieber as your #2. 

Fully de-risk. If he doesn't come back himself who cares?

We got another guy.

Flaherty, or if you have to, Burnes. We don't give a fuck about spending money silly baby because this is Arte Moreno writin' the checks.

I mean I'm with ya. Roster is short. Gotta help out in lineup.

But... fuck team needs.

Long term focus. Yankees just went and traded for Jazz Chisholm, put him at an entirely new position because the league hadn't decided yet that he's a star. Sign future stars, not players who play positions.

Tyler O'Neill and Yoan Moncada.

Also -- not sure who Rosario is. Amed? Middle infielder who can only hit left handed pitching. We have that, Rengifo.

Buehler is "bad" now. Since injuries - his peripherals in 8 starts this year are bad. His peripherals last year and in 2020 and 2022 are solid, but not ace level. Injured all of 2023. You have to play monkey ball with the Dodgers but you can snake him.

 

For the other stuff, yeah, I pray to God the bullpen gets better. There's like .25 guys back there I'd trust. Big 3 of Joyce/Quijada/Stephenson? Any dumbass can sniff out a red flag between all 3.

I'm with ya, brother. Pitch till your balls fall off. Pray Rengifo keeps hitting .800 or whatever. Let's go get some aces!

Yeah, i'm actually thinking about 2026  by signing Bieber is just common sense. Plus, it frees up money to address other needs in 2025.

Clearly, you didn’t read properly—it’s all there. Rengifo takes over second base, and Ahmed Rosario (yes Ahmed, and I think he might be the only Rosario that's a free agent that would fit the Super ult mold)  handles the super utility role, backing up the infield and corner outfield.

Good for the Yankees! They got a solid regular starter—not a star, but reliable starter that they very much need. Taking a shot with Moncada makes sense too, given the White Sox's terrible culture.

Using just 8 starts to judge Walker's numbers after Tommy John surgery? Smart move. Look at Ohtani's stats right after coming back from TJ. Don’t bring up the following season’s numbers. Players need time to fully recover from TJ, and I bet Buehler will be much better next year. plus it a smart one year deal, no need to worry after that. 

Any fool can see there's risk with any bullpen. Remember Estevez’s second half last year? or the fact the Dodger's BP just blew and lost a game to the Astros and Padres.  No one knows until next year.

Pitching wins games. The Royals won a whole World Series on their pitching (maybe you forgot). So, yes, get some damn pitching instead of acting like a fool and spending on big time position players. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

You guys saw my tweet I’m sure. The narrative from the Angels seemed to be that the offers just weren’t good enough on the guys like Anderson, Rengifo, Ward, so I checked with two guys from other teams and they believed that to be plausible. It seems Rengifo was the only one who really had any value.

Remember, they don’t have to trade any of them.  They can still trade these guys over the winter or next year. That’s the exact situation when you’re supposed to wait for an offer you like, not just take something to do something. Ward, for example, has basically 24 months and 4 trade cycles to make himself more valuable than he is now. I think it’s pretty low now. 
 

As for the questions about Strickland and Pillar, you’re talking about two old guys who got released. Strickland was pitching the 6th inning for the Angels. What’s a contender going to do with him?  Pillar was a fourth outfielder. Sure, maybe a team would have taken them for a warm body, but that’s not gonna move the needle on the farm system. You need to get over that one if you’re mad about it. 
 

Also, Pillar and Strickland are great clubhouse guys. Strickland is the one who taught Joyce his splinker. I think Pillar has been good for Adell and Moniak.
 

Anyway, I’m not trying to tell you how to feel. I know you’re pissed. I was also surprised that they didn’t trade at least one of Rengifo/Anderson, but after talking to some people inside and outside of the Angels, it made more sense to me. 

[aznhockeyguy]

9 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

You guys saw my tweet I’m sure. The narrative from the Angels seemed to be that the offers just weren’t good enough on the guys like Anderson, Rengifo, Ward, so I checked with two guys from other teams and they believed that to be plausible. It seems Rengifo was the only one who really had any value.

Remember, they don’t have to trade any of them.  They can still trade these guys over the winter or next year. That’s the exact situation when you’re supposed to wait for an offer you like, not just take something to do something. Ward, for example, has basically 24 months and 4 trade cycles to make himself more valuable than he is now. I think it’s pretty low now. 
 

As for the questions about Strickland and Pillar, you’re talking about two old guys who got released. Strickland was pitching the 6th inning for the Angels. What’s a contender going to do with him?  Pillar was a fourth outfielder. Sure, maybe a team would have taken them for a warm body, but that’s not gonna move the needle on the farm system. You need to get over that one if you’re mad about it. 
 

Also, Pillar and Strickland are great clubhouse guys. Strickland is the one who taught Joyce his splinker. I think Pillar has been good for Adell and Moniak.
 

Anyway, I’m not trying to tell you how to feel. I know you’re pissed. I was also surprised that they didn’t trade at least one of Rengifo/Anderson, but after talking to some people inside and outside of the Angels, it made more sense to me. 

Well said Jeff, it takes two to tango.  I would think Pillar would have some value, but like you said he was released.  Still though, would rather have the team trade the players you mentioned and get a prospect, even a low one.  You never know with prospects and how they can develop. 

[arch stanton]

4 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Halos could have eaten half of that contract.     Morono is weird.   Eats Wells’ and Hackilton’s contracts, but not Iglesias’ and Anderson’s?

Wells had 2 years left and $42 mil. Hmilton had 3 years left and $78 mil. Nobabdy was taking even half of those contracts. When they're making a dealine deal for a short term or expiring contract they're trying to win a WS and I don't think they're sweating the money enough to make eating some sweeten the deal

[ThisismineScios]

41 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

You guys saw my tweet I’m sure. The narrative from the Angels seemed to be that the offers just weren’t good enough on the guys like Anderson, Rengifo, Ward, so I checked with two guys from other teams and they believed that to be plausible. It seems Rengifo was the only one who really had any value.

Remember, they don’t have to trade any of them.  They can still trade these guys over the winter or next year. That’s the exact situation when you’re supposed to wait for an offer you like, not just take something to do something. Ward, for example, has basically 24 months and 4 trade cycles to make himself more valuable than he is now. I think it’s pretty low now. 
 

As for the questions about Strickland and Pillar, you’re talking about two old guys who got released. Strickland was pitching the 6th inning for the Angels. What’s a contender going to do with him?  Pillar was a fourth outfielder. Sure, maybe a team would have taken them for a warm body, but that’s not gonna move the needle on the farm system. You need to get over that one if you’re mad about it. 
 

Also, Pillar and Strickland are great clubhouse guys. Strickland is the one who taught Joyce his splinker. I think Pillar has been good for Adell and Moniak.
 

Anyway, I’m not trying to tell you how to feel. I know you’re pissed. I was also surprised that they didn’t trade at least one of Rengifo/Anderson, but after talking to some people inside and outside of the Angels, it made more sense to me. 

I also really liked your explanation on the difference between Kikuchi and Anderson. That made me feel differently about why he wouldn’t necessarily bring in a haul. 

I think the main concern is that they operate like a team looking to be back in contention in ‘25. There are no signs to show this. In addition, Trout and Rendon are showing that they may not be able to handle more than 80-100 games if they are lucky. The time for a rebuild has never been more apparent. 

[rafibomb]

50 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

You guys saw my tweet I’m sure. The narrative from the Angels seemed to be that the offers just weren’t good enough on the guys like Anderson, Rengifo, Ward, so I checked with two guys from other teams and they believed that to be plausible. It seems Rengifo was the only one who really had any value.

Remember, they don’t have to trade any of them.  They can still trade these guys over the winter or next year. That’s the exact situation when you’re supposed to wait for an offer you like, not just take something to do something. Ward, for example, has basically 24 months and 4 trade cycles to make himself more valuable than he is now. I think it’s pretty low now. 
 

As for the questions about Strickland and Pillar, you’re talking about two old guys who got released. Strickland was pitching the 6th inning for the Angels. What’s a contender going to do with him?  Pillar was a fourth outfielder. Sure, maybe a team would have taken them for a warm body, but that’s not gonna move the needle on the farm system. You need to get over that one if you’re mad about it. 
 

Also, Pillar and Strickland are great clubhouse guys. Strickland is the one who taught Joyce his splinker. I think Pillar has been good for Adell and Moniak.
 

Anyway, I’m not trying to tell you how to feel. I know you’re pissed. I was also surprised that they didn’t trade at least one of Rengifo/Anderson, but after talking to some people inside and outside of the Angels, it made more sense to me. 

[oater]

After seeing what the Tigers got for Flaherty, I think people are dreaming if they think Anderson would have netted a big return.  And even if Anderson is only a back of the rotation starter next year, the Angels will need him.

 

 

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

3 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

You guys saw my tweet I’m sure. The narrative from the Angels seemed to be that the offers just weren’t good enough on the guys like Anderson, Rengifo, Ward, so I checked with two guys from other teams and they believed that to be plausible. It seems Rengifo was the only one who really had any value.

Remember, they don’t have to trade any of them.  They can still trade these guys over the winter or next year. That’s the exact situation when you’re supposed to wait for an offer you like, not just take something to do something. Ward, for example, has basically 24 months and 4 trade cycles to make himself more valuable than he is now. I think it’s pretty low now. 
 

As for the questions about Strickland and Pillar, you’re talking about two old guys who got released. Strickland was pitching the 6th inning for the Angels. What’s a contender going to do with him?  Pillar was a fourth outfielder. Sure, maybe a team would have taken them for a warm body, but that’s not gonna move the needle on the farm system. You need to get over that one if you’re mad about it. 
 

Also, Pillar and Strickland are great clubhouse guys. Strickland is the one who taught Joyce his splinker. I think Pillar has been good for Adell and Moniak.
 

Anyway, I’m not trying to tell you how to feel. I know you’re pissed. I was also surprised that they didn’t trade at least one of Rengifo/Anderson, but after talking to some people inside and outside of the Angels, it made more sense to me. 

Makes complete sense these players had little value.  They are Angels players. 

[Ron Mexico]

5 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

You guys saw my tweet I’m sure. The narrative from the Angels seemed to be that the offers just weren’t good enough on the guys like Anderson, Rengifo, Ward, so I checked with two guys from other teams and they believed that to be plausible. It seems Rengifo was the only one who really had any value.

Remember, they don’t have to trade any of them.  They can still trade these guys over the winter or next year. That’s the exact situation when you’re supposed to wait for an offer you like, not just take something to do something. Ward, for example, has basically 24 months and 4 trade cycles to make himself more valuable than he is now. I think it’s pretty low now. 
 

As for the questions about Strickland and Pillar, you’re talking about two old guys who got released. Strickland was pitching the 6th inning for the Angels. What’s a contender going to do with him?  Pillar was a fourth outfielder. Sure, maybe a team would have taken them for a warm body, but that’s not gonna move the needle on the farm system. You need to get over that one if you’re mad about it. 
 

Also, Pillar and Strickland are great clubhouse guys. Strickland is the one who taught Joyce his splinker. I think Pillar has been good for Adell and Moniak.
 

Anyway, I’m not trying to tell you how to feel. I know you’re pissed. I was also surprised that they didn’t trade at least one of Rengifo/Anderson, but after talking to some people inside and outside of the Angels, it made more sense to me. 

I definitely Value Pillar on the Angels more than what we could have gotten for him. Dude is like a coach in the clubhouse and the players love him. I would even resign for next year if he was willing to hold off retirement