Welcome to the first installment of the If I were Perry Minasian series, where CtPG writers detail the transactions they would make for their desired Angels offseason.
In order to rosterbate responsibly, guidelines for this exercise are as follows.
- Angels end-of-year payroll for luxury tax purposes shall not exceed $195 million, giving the GM $26 million to spend during the offseason (the club’s current projected CBT payroll is $169mm). See here for more on the Angels’ payroll situation.
- Factored into that projected payroll are arbitration projections from Cot’s. This shouldn’t deviate too much from MLBTR’s estimates, but we’ll use Cot’s figures simply for ease of use.
- When possible, use contract projections based on FanGraphs or MLB Trade Rumor estimates, as experts from these outlets have a better pulse on the free agent landscape than most.
- Trades must be as realistic as possible. One popular tactic among baseball fans on the internet is offering a bunch of players you don’t like in exchange for some you do. In reality, that’s not how trades actually work, so that’s off limits. The Baseball Trade Values site can be a good resource for a sanity check often times, but each team values players differently and their wants/needs/tendencies should be taken into account, too.
My offseason priorities:
- Pitching, pitching, pitching
- Add a legitimate middle infielder
- Find a strong MLB veteran catcher
- Find a left-handed veteran outfield option
- Don’t splurge for one prize piece; allocate the resources to address all of the holes
Perry Minasian has the lofty task of turning the Angels organization around. The club has finished below .500 in five straight seasons, hasn’t made the playoffs since 2014, and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2009, the same year that Mike Trout was drafted. Fortunately for Minasian, he will inherit a pretty damn good core to build around. Trout, Anthony Rendon, Shohei Ohtani, David Fletcher, and Dylan Bundy are a nice group of players to start with. Add in the potential stardom of youngsters like Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh and the impending expiring contracts for Albert Pujols (after 2021) and Justin Upton (after 2022) and there’s a scenario where the Angels can reach the playoffs very soon.
As Angels fans have become accustomed to, however, the tantalizing potential of previous rosters hasn’t surfaced, often getting wrecked by poor pitching and downright bad luck. I share the skepticism that fans have based on what we’ve seen over the last half-decade. That said, if you approach this situation objectively, the core is so strong that simply finding competent players around them can propel this team to the playoffs. Based on Minasian’s history of success with both the Blue Jays and Braves, perhaps this is the right guy to be leading the charge now.
With that being said, here is what my offseason would look like if I was Perry Minasian.
Sign Masahiro Tanaka
3 years, $39 million [+$13 million]
The Angels need pitching and lots of it. Unfortunately, splurging for someone like Trevor Bauer would eat up practically all of the spending for this offseason. That would leave little room to add more pitching, a middle infielder, and a catcher. Fortunately, there is a near-perfect candidate who is a tier below Bauer in Masahiro Tanaka.
Tanaka more than earned his mega-contract with the New York Yankees, racking up 18.9 fWAR and a 3.74 ERA in seven seasons in the Bronx. A torn UCL early on in his career led many to believe he’d eventually undergo Tommy John surgery at some point. Instead, Tanaka has thrown 1054 ⅓ innings with strong run prevention and peripherals in his MLB career.
A Tanaka reunion with the Yankees seems like the most likely option but the Angels are an obvious fit if that falls through. A 32-year-old with recent home run issues is somewhat worrisome but he offsets that with elite command and the ability to soak up a ton of innings. Tanaka won’t quite bring the frontline, ace-level production that fans may be seeking but he’s about the most reliable #2 starter you can find in baseball right now.
Trade Andrew Heaney and Brandon Marsh to the Pirates for Joe Musgrove (SP), Jacob Stallings (C), and cash ($2.55 million)
[Save $3 million]
I’m fairly convinced that we’ll see Jo Adell or Brandon Marsh moved this offseason. I’m guessing it’ll be Marsh, who will be a hot commodity in the trade market, especially for a rebuilding team like the Pirates. Heaney, who enters his final year before free agency, isn’t a great fit for Pittsburgh but he’d still bring value to them, whether it’s as a strong rotation option for 2021 or as a trade chip.
Heading to Anaheim are Joe Musgrove and Jacob Stallings. Musgrove was the key piece in the trade that sent Gerrit Cole to the Astros and he’s really turned himself into a quality pitcher. After settling in as a strong #4 starter from 2018-2019, Musgrove took a significant step forward in 2020 with a jump in whiffs (33.1 percent) and run prevention (3.86 ERA). It was in a smaller sample but Musgrove more than doubled his curveball rate, cut back on his fastball usage, and showed the results that the Pirates were hoping for. As a soon-to-be 28-year-old with two years of club control left, he’s an immediately valuable rotation piece for an Angels team in need of that.
Stallings may appear to be a boring addition but he’s a competent MLB catcher who will give the Angels a safety valve. Stallings is already 30 years old but he won’t hit free agency until 2025, giving the Angels a useful long-term option. With the uncertainty around Max Stassi’s injuries, Stallings gives the club a useful catcher. If Stassi ends up recovering just fine, then the club has two quality catchers under club control.
Sign Kolten Wong
2 years, $16 million [+$8 million]
The Cardinals’ decision to decline Wong’s $12 million club option for 2021 surprised some in the industry. Then again, it’s not as if the market pays a premium price for second basemen with strong defense and average offense. That scenario benefits a club like the Angels, who have a shot to grab a consistent 2+ win player for a totally fair price. Wong is the game’s premier defender at the position, is roughly an average bat (career 96 wRC+), and just turned 30 years old.
A middle infield combination of David Fletcher and Wong will be a nightly highlight reel. The nice part about this situation is it gives the 2021 roster a strong middle-infield duo but it doesn’t necessarily restrict them from splurging for an elite shortstop next offseason. With names such as Francisco Lindor, Trevor Story, and Corey Seager available next offseason, it’s possible the club can still acquire an elite shortstop next offseason and shift Fletcher/Wong to a utility role.
Sign Kirby Yates (RP)
2 years, $10 million [+$5 million]
Yates was a prototypical Billy Eppler bargain bullpen acquisition back in the 2017 season. Unfortunately for the Angels, Yates was let go just before he turned himself into one of the best relievers in baseball with the Padres from 2017-2019. Yates added a lethal splitter and immediately became a downright dominant reliever. From 2018-2019, Yates paced all relievers in fWAR (5.2), ERA (1.67), and FIP (1.93).
Yates pitched in just six games for the Padres in 2020, undergoing season-ending surgery to clean up bone chips in his elbow. Add in the fact that Yates will turn 34 before Opening Day next season and there are some red flags. The surgery, however, was not a major reconstruction surgery, and given Yates’ very recent dominance, there is a ton of upside here. If the Angels hit on Yates and he reverted back to his 2018-2019 form, or even something remotely close to it, he’d immediately be the club’s best reliever and a superb late-innings arm.
Sign Mark Melancon (RP)
1 year, $4 million [+$4 million]
Melancon has been one of baseball’s steadiest relievers over the last decade. After establishing himself as a dominant closer from 2013-2016, Melancon experienced injuries during parts of 2017-2018. Since making it back from those injuries in 2018, Melancon has kept chugging along albeit at a lower level than his peak days. Still, Melancon has been an incredibly reliable reliever who can fill the role as a veteran arm who’s a strong bet for 60+ innings and an above-average ERA in a full 2021 season.
Sign Robbie Grossman (OF)
1 year, $4 million [+$4 million]
The Angels’ corner outfielders finished with exactly zero Wins Above Replacement in the 2020 season. The up-and-down performance from Justin Upton and rough debut season from Jo Adell has led to plenty of questions heading into 2021. It’s probably unwise to expect Upton to be a legitimate everyday option moving forward and Adell likely needs more seasoning in the minors, assuming Triple-A will be playing games in 2021. That’s where Robbie Grossman enters the equation.
Grossman is a totally boring yet competent option to fill a short-term role for the Angels. He’s roughly a league-average hitter (career 103 wRC+), can handle left/right field defensively, and flashed a higher ceiling in the condensed 2020 season. The switch-hitting Grossman slugged a career-high .482 en route to a career-best 1.3 fWAR in 51 games. There’s reason to believe this breakout since Grossman boosted his average exit velocity and hard-hit rate while raising his launch angle a bit. Even if he reverts back to his career norms, he’s a perfect left-handed option to complement the other right-handed-heavy options to handle left and right field (Upton, Adell, Taylor Ward).
Side note: Apparently Mark Simon of MLB.com and I had similar ideas to some extent. In a recent article about the Angels, Simon proposed the Angels signing both Wong and Grossman, citing that the club simply needed to “fill out the lineup”.
Sign Anthony DeSclafani (SP)
2 years, $6 million [+$3 million]
This is a case of buying low on a potential innings-eating #4 starter who has maintained his firm fastball at age 30 (94.9 mph in 2020). DeSclafani was dreadful in nine games this season (7.22 ERA) but he’s mixed in plenty of quality seasons in his career (2015, 2016, 2019). He missed all of the 2017 season due to elbow tendinitis but he was able to avoid surgery and has pitched over 300 innings since that time. You can argue that there isn’t much difference between DeSclafani and an arm like Jaime Barria but DeSclafani brings more upside and has shown an ability to throw 150-ish innings in a season. He’ll round out what looks like a promising Angels rotation.
Non-tender Hansel Robles, Noé Ramirez, and Matt Andriese
[Sheds $7.7 million]
The Angels add a few quality relievers in my hypothetical, meaning they don’t have space or can’t afford three relievers in Robles, Andriese, and Ramirez. The club sheds roughly $7 million in this scenario, creating room to make the other additions to the club. The Angels won’t lose sleep over losing Ramirez and Andriese but there’s the off-chance that Robles regains his 2019 form and dominates next season.
Start Jo Adell in the minors in 2021 (if applicable)
It’s hard to find a top prospect who was put in a worse position than Jo Adell was in 2020. Everybody knew that he needed more seasoning in Triple-A to sharpen his skills at the plate (plate discipline) and continue to learn a new position (right field). The pandemic season eliminated that option and instead forced Adell to learn at the highest level of professional baseball. Adell was an unmitigated disaster but I am still fully buying in on his potential as an everyday impact player in the majors. I do, however, think I underestimated how ready he was for the majors and believe his learning curve may be a bit harsher for him. Hopefully, the MiLB season will start in a timely manner and allow for Adell to get important reps.
Total money spent: $26 million in 2021
Offseason in Review
The justifiable desire is for the Angels to acquire an ace this offseason and finally fix their pitching issues. A quick fix signing of Trevor Bauer would certainly help but there are too many issues across the roster to allocate a bulk of the money to one player. In the scenario I provided, the Angels have the potential for a top-10 position player group and a pitching staff that can finally approach league average.
By adding Tanaka, Musgrove, DeSclafani, Yates, and Melancon, the Angels are getting both the quality and quantity they need in their additions for the 2021 staff. No, you’re not adding an ace in that scenario but getting 400+ above-average innings from those three starters would do wonders for this club. A rotation of Tanaka-Bundy-Musgrove-Canning-DeSclafani has a chance to do some serious damage and it allows the club to have useful depth (Barria, Sandoval, Suarez, Ohtani).
On the offensive side of things, the club simply needs to avoid a disaster at several key positions, mainly shortstop/second base (wherever Fletcher doesn’t play), catcher, and in the corner outfield positions. Wong is an obvious fit who won’t cost a ton and won’t necessarily prevent the club from pursuing an elite shortstop next offseason. Stallings is a competent MLB catcher who can more than hold the fort down in the event that Max Stassi struggles to return to form. Grossman is a perfect left-handed-hitting veteran outfielder who can provide a safety net in the event that Upton or Adell struggles again in 2021. You can even argue, as I am, that Grossman should be penciled in as the starter while Adell gets more experience in Triple-A to start next season.
As a result of all of these moves, the club has a legitimate shot to turn things around in 2021. There is a much higher floor for this roster and the club is in a much better position to employ a league-average pitching staff for the first time in a half-decade. I desperately tried to add a legitimate ace or frontline starter to this roster but I couldn’t make it work based on financial cost or prospect capital. This is part of the reason I was willing to move top prospect Brandon Marsh, since it helped net a strong mid-rotation starter with two years of club control.
I feel good about this roster. If there was the next move I’d make with more money, I’d do everything I could to extend Dylan Bundy. His age, production, and trends point to a legitimate frontline pitcher who can produce for the next half-decade. I’m also a tad worried about the bullpen I constructed since they’d be a Kirby Yates injury away from a shaky bullpen. That said, I tried my best to allocate resources across the roster and I came away satisfied with the roster I put together. And with the albatross Pujols deal expiring next offseason, there are endless scenarios in upcoming offseasons for the organization to get creative.
Below, you will find the projected 26-man roster and depth chart.
Lineup
- David Fletcher, SS
- Mike Trout, CF
- Anthony Rendon, 3B
- Shohei Ohtani, DH
- Jared Walsh, 1B
- Robbie Grossman, RF
- Justin Upton, LF
- Kolten Wong, 2B
- Jacob Stallings, C
Bench
- Max Stassi, C
- Albert Pujols, 1B/DH
- Taylor Ward, IF/OF
- Luis Rengifo, IF
Rotation
- Dylan Bundy, RHP
- Masahiro Tanaka, RHP
- Joe Musgrove, RHP
- Griffin Canning, RHP
- Anthony DeSclafani, RHP
Bullpen
- Kirby Yates, RHP
- Mark Melancon, RHP
- Mike Mayers, RHP
- Félix Peña, RHP
- Ty Buttrey, RHP
- Keynan Middleton, RHP
- Patrick Sandoval, LHP
- Jaime Barria, RHP
No Tanaka. His partially torn UCL will become fully torn before spring training. This is the Angels. It’s inevitable.
Clear Eppler’s farm before they all turn into Jo Adell.
I’m not really trashing Eppler even though many of you think so. Keep in mind many thought our farm was awesome and loaded in the mid 2000’s ( Brandon W**d, Casey Kotchman, J*ff Mathis, Kevin Jepsen were all can’t miss…..until they all did. ). Many prospects are in fact overrated and will break your heart, sincerely the late 2000’s and early 2010’s Seattle Mariners.
I do share this sentiment to some extent and especially in the current environment. Cost-controlled young talent is always valuable but there is so much uncertainty around the minors right now, which obviously impacts development for prospects. That’s not to say that guys like Adell/Marsh/Adams are doomed or anything but without the development infrastructure in place, I do think prospect evaluation is even more tricky now. I also think the team really needs to maximize these final elite years from Trout/Rendon. Those guys won’t be at this level forever.
On the flip side, this line of thinking also sabotaged the club from 2010-2013 when they decided to go all in on the short-term. When you view any prospect with the potential to flame out, it makes it that much easier to justify moving them. It also leads to the utter lack of a consistent year-to-year plan, sabotages payrolls, and just leads to a lot of high-risk outcomes as a whole.
I don’t have the perfect answer for this and I don’t envy being Minasian in this environment. Because of the dwindling window for Trout/Rendon and uncertainty around the minors, I do think I’d strongly emphasize the short-term right now, however.
The main reason I don’t want to blow up the farm is that, while prospects are victims of fortune, teams still value prospects. On top of that, good pitchers never become free agents. So while some may whine that they don’t think any of our prospects will be any good, trading them now, after a year of no games, is just a waste. It’s better to have something than nothing, it’s better to have some pitching prospects who were low draft picks and will likely wash out than none at all. It’s gonna be “surprise success” or no success at all for our mound prospects for a couple years. Our “toolsy” guys are the same deal. If we scrap the whole system for back of the rotation pitchers in a trade we will only dig our hole deeper. We need to see if any of those kids develop even if they won’t be used here.
We also need to build farm reputation. Look at the Padres. Their farms rep allows them to trade lower rung prospects in fairly high impact trades. While we can’t reach that level because fire sales don’t work any more and we haven’t sucked for 15 years strait, if we have five or six guys develop into good looking players at AA/AAA then our whole system is more attractive and it makes it easier to make trades. Gutting all of Eppler’s picks hits a restart on all of that. I don’t think Minasian will do that anyway. He only has 4 years, he’s not going to want to ditch the whole farm, maybe some of it, and probably a chunk of the AAA depth, but I bet most of our top 20 stays here unless it’s in a trade for solid pitching, a trade we would have made anyway.
The Angels ought to imitate the Dodgers/Yankees model in terms of constructing their pipeline but I don’t see that coming to fruition. They certainly have the funds to at least attempt something like that. I think it’s fairly obvious that Moreno is more concerned with adding that splashy free-agent signing over investing in the infrastructure for a flourishing farm systems
So for these exercises – is it being assumed that you can add 26mil of AAV, or 26mil of payroll?
I think historically, we have seen Arte say that he doesn’t care about luxury tax, and that his focus is moreso on payroll.
In the rules the site writers will be following it says “Angels end-of-year payroll for luxury tax purposes shall not exceed $195 million” which would suggest AAV. Approaching it that way also eliminates the need to worry about whether you have to account for scouts, clubhouse staff, etc. It’s your article, though. Explain what you did and why and try to keep it plausible. That’s how you will probably get the most community engagement short of making a clearly ridiculous spoof article. I think most of the readers are genuinely interested in seeing plausible solutions to the Angels problems.
This is all a pretty good idea, and what’s more, it’s actually realistic instead of a bunch of poo.
Pirates trade – I like this trade fine. The Pirates and Reds are the two other teams I follow some and I think Musgrove would serve us fine. I also think that a good OF prospect really is what a serviceable pitcher probably costs now. I also think we shouldn’t sleep on Stallings, he alone is better than what we’ve had for most of a decade at catcher. If Stassi is even partially what he was last season he and Stallings make a good group behind the plate. That’s a good positional upgrade.
I just think we could get moar pitching in a trade with the Tigers involving Marsh and a middle infield prospect. But this trade would be just fine.
Tanaka – I am scared of his arm falling off. I’d rather just sign Mike Minor or Jose Quintana for less and add another pen arm or M Inf.
Wong – I’d rather sign a cheaper Cesar Hernandez. If we are gonna go for a SS next year and Fletch moves back to 2B.
Yates – I want either Yates or Melancon but not both. Then sign a cheaper guy like Darren O’Day, Shane Greene, Brandon Kintzler or Steve Cishek.
Melancon – I want either Yates or Melancon but not both. Then sign a cheaper guy like Darren O’Day, Shane Greene, Brandon Kintzler or Steve Cishek.
Grossman – Yes. He will be just about like Goody out there… better bat, less good glove, less hats falling off because of his afro.
Anthony DeSclafani – Yes. As a guy who pays some attention to the Reds every year I can tell you that he’s exactly what we need as a small pick up. He had a bad season last year, but he generally has a WHIP under 1.35 and is a solid rotation piece. If Bundy stays fairly good, and even more so Ohtani can pitch, a couple guys like him will really do us good. Thing is, I think he may cost a little more.
I’d take the money saved on Tanaka, Wong and an ex-closer and spend it on a guy like Kiki Hernadez or Jurikson Profar so Maddon can do his Maddon thing.
Lots of good stuff here! I was very close to plugging Cesar Hernandez in at 2B instead. I would be totally fine with him if they went that route.
In regards to Tanaka, I had my reservations at first but I was just blown away by his consistency. Every year, he’s a strong innings-eater with above-average ERAs. I do share some concerns like you do but I also think there’s potentially great value at the price I listed.
Shhh. Keep the O’day talk to a minimum. I’m snagging him to feed ground balls to the killer infield defense I’m establishing when I’m the GM.
Ohhh curious to see who is involved in this infield defense
Where can I post my post my If I Were Perry Platypus in which I simply declare that Arte MUST spend all the way up to the tax threshhold, award myself 37M to work with, declare even louder that Arte MUST force Pujols to retire, add 25M to my plans, trade Upton and Taylor Ward for Blake Snell, sign Trevor Bauer and Charlie Morton plus 3 pen arms and Maracus Semein for under market value, and hire 30 scouts (while having no clue where/how 30 scouts will work)?
Let’s say you just did?
But I have another 2000 words of depth and desperation to add to this synopsis.
Don’t ruin a perfectly good write-up by being too verbose. You clearly hit all the points:
Oh, wait. You forgot to demand that one of the pen arms be an elite closer. You also missed an extra catcher.
Mad props for bagging Maracas Semien, though.
Looks legit
Wikipedia is to friend. Have at it bruh
Can we play this too? I did a what would I do, but I’m not sure where the best place to post it would be. Looking for some advice.
I’d like to do the same! I enjoy roster building and would have fun discussing it with others
Click “Creat Fanpost” under the Fanpost option at the top. Once you submit it, the editorial team can take a look at it!
Create Fanposts. The editorial staff can keep an eye out for them and try to help with things like putting a lead image on them and getting exposure on the site. At the very least, if the Home page is too crowded, I can include you guys in links that clearly identify your posts by your screen name and subject matter so people can find you through the daily links. Post by 4:30 P.M. to maximize your chance of getting linked the very next morning.
Caveat: There are no links during the weekend. On the other hand there tends to be more room for things on the Home page during the weekend because of that.
Here is guidance from the Community Guidelines about what to put inside your posts:
FANPOSTS:
Awesome. I submitted one for review. I hope it works out.
We should be able to get that one ready to go.
This is a solid team you’ve constructed. Would score more runs if Grossman batted 9th and his OBP and base running skills were setting the table for Fletch and Trout.
I can get behind that idea. I also toyed with Grossman hitting in front of Trout but I really wanted Trout hitting second.
I like:
Tanaka @$13m AAV
Musgrove as a rotation member
I dislike:
The Pittsburgh trade. I think they’d target prospects who fit their competitive window better. And they certainly wouldn’t give up Musgrove to get Heaney
Robbie Grossman’s glove in RF. I’d rather look elsewhere for an OF, especially with our bench versatility (Walsh/Ward/Jones) and a few close to ready guys in the minors.
Significantly paying for multiple BP arms. Too volitile
I’ll touch a little bit on each of these.
-Marsh fits in their window IMO but I do understand the Musgrove/Heaney sentiment. In that scenario, I’d see the Pirates immediately flipping Heaney for prospects. Maybe a 3-team trade?
-Grossman was my preference since it’s a low-risk move and he’s performed with a high floor to give the club some certainty.
-That’s about the going rate for relievers. They’re short deals and I think there’s plenty of safety in a guy like Melancon (maybe less so with Yates).
I’d like either or with the pen arms. There are cheaper effective options out there and I’d add one of them, then sign a guy like Melancon. I think the extra money one established closer would cost is made up for by the fact we have a guy like that out in our bullpen who can hopefully have a positive effect on guys like Buttrey, Markel, Middleton etc and up the game of the whole pen.
I appreciate the work you put into this, but this doesn’t make me too excited. Not a big fan of the Pirates trade. No chance I would trade a rotation member (and our only lefty) and our top prospect for Musgrove, he just doesn’t move the needle for me giving up that much.
That is totally fair. For what it’s worth, I tried to keep Heaney on this roster but shedding his $6 mil projected salary helped squeeze in other players.
Understandable. Heaney is weird, he looks great for a while but you look up and his stat line for the year says otherwise. Not saying I wouldn’t trade him, just not in this particular deal.
I might do my own write up on this but, I really think the Angels are going after Lindor. One line that really stuck out to me in the presser yesterday was when Perry said he wanted “exciting players that people want to see.” If that’s not Lindor, idk who is. I know the money complicates things, but we have to remember that Pujols is done after this year, and Upton the year after.
I certainly think Lindor makes sense but he feels like an acquisition they make next offseason. With the Pujols contract off the books and perhaps a more stable economic environment, the incentive to sign a star like Lindor would be appealing.
That’s my feeling as well. Next year’s SS class is insane. For this year, I’d like to hand Fletcher the primary role and sign a 2B for chem. This will enable us to see how Fletcher responds playing SS full-time, and also buys us some developmental time with Rengifo to see if he’ll pan out.
If Fletcher doesn’t look good at SS, we can consider any one of a number of stud SSs next offseason, IMO.
This is my exact line of thinking. That’s why a short-term 2B like Wong/Hernandez kind of work in this scenario. Let the Pujols deal expire and use those funds to add a star SS next year.
That’s fair, and I think Fletch is capable of handling short, but his arm strength really is just not suited for short. He’s a GG caliber 2b, and with him playing SS I don’t really trust Rengifo at 2b.
As far as Lindor now vs next year, by letting him reach FA, that puts every team into play. If Arte or the GM is worried about the tax threshold, that’s where the expiring contract of Pujols and then Upton really helps balance it out.
Really, it was just what and how Perry said it in the presser that really made me think Lindor could be an option. TBH, I think an Adell + for Lindor and Plesac would be awesome.
Honestly, I’d leave Lindor out and consider trading Adell for Pleasac straight-up.
OF is our organizational position of depth, and I’d use our best trade asset to acquire a young-cost controlled SP who fits in at the top of the rotation, such as Pleasac
I’d sign HK47 for a year and move Fletch to SS
HK47 is long removed from being able to play 2B
I wouldn’t do Adell for Plesac straight up, I think Adell has more value, that’s why I suggested a package. Value along with Plesac’s discipline issue last year might have fallen out of favor. We would have to add a piece with Adell for both, but I think it’s worth it
I don’t think we have enough capital to secure both without decimating our farm system.
But specifics aside, I do feel we match up really well with Cleveland. Cleveland has struggled to develop its own OF and has been looking for young OFers for awhile, and we of course have been looking for good young pitching for awhile.
Perhaps we could do Adell for Pleasac + reliever, so that we can address two areas with one trade.
Plesac/Civale would make a ton of sense. That organization seems to churn up quality starters with ease so they may be inclined to move a starter for Adell/Marsh.
I do think Cleveland is a fit on many levels. Lindor obviously makes sense. Plesac/Civale would fit the mold of a starter the Angels are seeking and CLE needs outfielders. Heck, even Carlos Carrasco is a good fit for the Angels on a nice deal.
If deefense is a problem we can even acquire a glove first SS in season if need be.
Bu bu but…. if Arte makes one more splashy move on a hitter the level of self shitting on this site will reach Cholera levels and people might die. You don’t want people to die do you? Well yes, you do if you want an exciting player people want to see like Lindor. Why? Why do you want people to shit themselves to death on CtPG?!? Why CokeMaster?
I love reading this series! So fun to see what people creatively do.
I like the plan, but I will say the Pirates’ trade is unrealistic in that they likely won’t want to take on any salary, and especially someone like Heaney who will be a free agent after next year.
I also wouldn’t non-tender Andriese, because I felt he turned a corner with his new pitch and is still rather cheap to keep.
I’d expect the Pirates to just flip Heaney in a trade in that scenario. They’re in full-blown rebuild mode and getting a prospect like Marsh is probably worth the short-term salary loss.
Throwing in Heaney is a bit but realize the Pirates already have a microscopic payroll and somebody has to pitch. MLBPA has already filed previous grievances against them for having such low payrolls. $6 million isn’t all that much, especially if they trade him mid season, to acquire a talent like Marsh.
Solid start out of the gate – nice job Brent!
Much-appreciated!
I like it. This seems to target our floor rather than our ceiling, which is something that we should do, especially after the past few seasons. The baseline is better and we should be in contention, even if we are not favored/do end up falling short. Not too sure I like Stallings over Stassi, but save 2020, we’ve always had issues with backup catchers. Also, knowing our luck, the pitchers end up with TJ/career-worst years.
It’s much more fun to swing for the fences =)
Penciling in Stallings as the starter was just a byproduct of Stassi’s uncertainty. Obviously, if Stassi is ready to go on Opening Day, he’s your starter.
And a strong start that will be tough to beat. While I’m sad to see Marsh go, it was for a good cause.
With limited $$$ this offseason and a closing window for Trout/Rendon, I felt like Adell/Marsh had to be moved to get an instant impact performer. I did struggle with toying with this idea, however.
“Everybody knew that he needed more seasoning in Triple-A to sharpen his skills at the plate (plate discipline) and continue to learn a new position (right field).”
Oh, really? I’m pretty sure there were plenty of comments last off season suggesting Adell would be ready for the opening day roster in 2020.
Which opening day roster? The 60 game season one?
No. There were comments during the off season (some probably on that other site) before the COVID closures happened. There seemed to be plenty of people thinking Adell was ready for the April opening day roster and would prove it during spring training.
Maybe this was too broad of a statement. From my perspective, I felt like Adell needed a good month or two in AAA to work on his plate discipline and continue to learn a new position.
You did a good job, and I mostly agree with your prospective (I personally thought Adell would be AAA until at least the all-star break), but I thought I would cherry-pick a single statement I could call into question, because what good is a forum without contrarian opinion?
It’s a valid point! And to be fair, I certainly thought Adell would produce at some point once he was called up. The initial struggles were expected but that was MUCH worse than I envisioned.
You crushed it. Not surprised. Filling all of the holes is a challenge, especially with limited capital.
Perfect corner outfield placeholder.
Too kind of you, Jeff! I’ll admit that trying to fill every hole took a lot of attempts and outside-the-box thinking.
Yah. I think Grossman would pretty much play out to be Kole Clahoun. He’ll be a little better offensively and worse defensively but he won’t be a total hole out there either way. Would not be a bad pick up at all.