Holy crap are the zeroes flying around the baseball world right now. A perfect confluence of a new CBA, mega star free agents, and the first normal off season in two years has opened the floodgates of spending.
After all, Andrew Heaney just landed 2 years and $25 million guaranteed. Taijuan Walker is younger but also has an injury history and landed 4 years and $72 million.
None of those deals come close to the $360 million Aaron Judge landed, but show the cost of starting pitching is more than most expected.
Judge is the latest player to sign a $300 million deal and the first to do so while his age started with a 3. What these mega-mega deals tell us about the modern game and the cost of winning.
No team spent more money this week than the Phillies. This was truly their Winter Meetings, signing Trea Turner to a massive 11 year along with Walker and reliever Matt Strahm.
That’s not for a lack of trying by the San Diego Padres who offered both Judge and Turner larger contracts than they eventually signed. Ultimately the Padres brought in Xander Bogaerts on an 11 year $280 million deal.
The Xander contract has brought about one of my favorite things in life. An early Christmas present that puts a smile on my face: tears and angst in bahstun. And just because it makes me happy, they’ve apparently hit a new low.
Sorry, that franchise has been beyond low for decades.
They shouldn’t cry too much because the team did bring in Kanley Jansen and Japanese star Masataka Yoshida. I’m interested to see how Yoshida works out. His bat is said to be far ahead of his glove, but left field in Fenway is the size of a normal bathroom.
All in all I think the Giants will consider missing out on Arson Judge.
The G men did land Angels tormentor Mitch Haniger on a three year deal at 1/9the the money.
All in all I think the craziest deal this week went to Cody Bellinger. Look, I love defense more than most but the Cubs are basically paying him what the Dodgers didn’t want to pay him. That’s insane.
Meanwhile the Dodgers are pulling an Angels and bringing in Jason Heyward, who the Cubs are paying $18 million to not hit for them.
I’ll see Heyward out in Spring Training. I’ll also catch some of the World Baseball Classic. David Fletcher will play for Team Italy in the WBC. Is mom is Italian, he lived there for a while, and speaks fluent Italian.
Fletcher is also hosting a poker tournament in Seal Beach on Friday, January 20th to raise funds for Summer Harvest. Come out for a good time for a good cause.
I might also see the Cubs newest addition, Wilson Contreras. He steps into the giant shoes of Yadier Molina. Contreras might be the opposite of Yadi’s style, but he makes them much better.
Interestingly enough, we were one of the high bidders for Contreras.
Life is slowly improving for minor league players. Now it will get a little safer for fans. MLB now requires protective netting down each foul line by 2025. Minor league ball is all about families and kids. I don’t see why the owners can’t get this done by opening day 2023.
And it has been discussed here already, but if you missed the piece on MLB using multiple baseballs, give it a full read here.
Now the eyes of the baseball world focus to the future. What will the Giants do now that they whiffed on Judge? Their search continues. Where will Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson land?
As for the hometown team, I think Jeff Fletcher asks the same question we all do.
From the team site, here’s where the Angels stand after the Winter Meetings.
As far as the further future for the Angels, take a look at TBW’s rankings of our prospects. Nice to see some guys I think will contribute at the big league level soon.
And I’ll leave you with a little off season optimism as we head into the holiday season.
Enjoy the weekend, be safe. As always, link what I missed.
Is Arte running the beloved San Francisco Giant Seals? They signed Arson Judge. Then they were interested in Chris Bassitt…. oh, wait, nope. Do they care about being transparent so their fans feel secure and championish? Why are they so dark and evil? Why don’t they just tell the world their plans?
And an extra $62 million in 2023 Payroll ( Plus the Competitive Tax of course )
https://twitter.com/Jared_Tims/status/1601806967026069509
Verlander is an upgrade. He’ll actually pitch.
The rest is questionable.
https://www.si.com/mlb/angels/news/angels-rumors-la-showing-interest-in-veteran-starter-and-reliever
The quest for versatility but not good/great starters goes on. We’re not the TB Rays who seem to thrive on versatile, but not great position players all over the place, but ONCE AGAIN just like with taking flyers on everybody like the A’s and the Brewers we’re not them!!! GOOD GAWD!!! PERRY GET OUTTA HERE PLZ!!!
💩 💩 😡 😡
I thought this guy was Joey Buttafuco.
Are you talking about Lugo or Tooty?
https://www.redreporter.com/
You belong there already. LYTE THATT BAYBIE UPP!!!
BYE!!!!!! 💪 💪 💪
Copernicus the Joker has spoken people. Open your ears and minds to the shackle breaking freedom that his irreverent wisdom and sacred cow slaughtering wit spills forth.
Dur Joker…
My guess is that with the kind of money the top free agents are demanding, and getting, the Angels are not going to participate, at least while Arte still owns the team.
Perry was able to make some good moves before the prices went through the roof which was smart (he took advantage of an unclear market). But now that the market has become what it has, I’m thinking the type of players that might be signed are not going to move the needle much.
I’ll disagree somewhat and propose that this opens the way for more short term high aav deals. I don’t think there will be many more really long term deals, if any–certainly not a SS, I suspect. There aren’t that many crazy owners and enough baseball people must be thinking the deals already inked are unreasonable. Correa, who is especially known to have aggressively sought bigger payday, probably won’t get a long term deal, I think–I think he’ll wind up waiting until late January or February and sign a deal similar to what he got last time and he probably won’t be the only one
I think that’s wishful thinking. If it happens, great. But I wouldn’t count on it.
Another possibility is all the teams with big money will spend it and there might be a few bargains at the end.
I think that’s the most likely. But it’s unlikely those will be the top talent.
That’s true, like any frenzy…the beginning and the end can result in good buys. It’s like live auctions in a rotisserie league. I’ll take Cishek for a $1.
That’s my experience in playing roto. In MLB, somebody like Bassitt who is 34 is holding out for four years, so maybe everybody passes on that and we get him for two or three.
And give up yet another draft pick 😠
Wondering why Correra would not get a long term deal? Besides the Boras factor. I think he is in the top 3 of this years FA class. Last year was hampered by the CBA and teams went a different route for a SS.
I don’t see the money there. SD and Phil are spending “stupid money” to win now at the exp of the long term (as is NYM). Other teams with money are, what, SF, LAD, etc, but they are less likely to give up long term flexibility for short term splash. I can see them splurging on a 3 year deal with two opt outs, say, but not for long term.
Besides these teams, either there’s no obv need or the money doesn’t seem to be there. (And, no, I don’t think we are in on the top SS…unless things get really weird.)
SF was willing to go at least 8 years for Judge, their fans want them to make a big splash, so the local press feels they are in play for Correra and I don’t think that means with 3 year deal with a couple opt. outs.
Yes and no. We’re out of the top tier for sure.
That said, upgrading Davidson moves the needle a bit. That’s 15 starts or so.
Getting an MLB quality backup outfielder moves the needle a little bit.
we’re not picking up 5 WAR in one deal but there’s still 5 WAR to be had if they play it right.
I’m still uncertain what the rotation plans are for the Angels other than Ohtani is scheduled to pitch every 6 days. In order to minimize the 6th starters use to only 15 starts, a number of the other pitchers will have to pitch on 4 days rest 1 to 2 times a month. Would the Angels do this considering the abbreviated spring for the WBC pitchers and that none of these pitchers have followed this routine in years now?
I’m sure all the other good starters in the MLB will love having their rest period vary so that they can be on a team with Unicron. This will definitely be a big draw in future off seasons if we extend Bade Root.
I think Seth Lugo makes sense for that role. Has experience as a swing guy and reliever.
But maybe the Angels are on to something. Maybe they should rotate all of the top starters on the same 6 day interval like Ohtani. This would establish some stability so they can plan their routine each week.
We would still use a swing man for the 6th spot but I don’t think this process would be as annoying to the rest of the staff.
That could be cool… or at least an interesting idea. Everybody pitches every six days, and AAA call ups or pen guys who are true “swing men” fill in gaps as needed. This would be great on a team with a couple solid pitching prospects they want to get a taste, or prospects stashed in the pen who they want to give longer outing to. Don’t know if that’s the Angels, but it could be a solid thing to try, slides around the match ups with other teams rotations….
Correct. But that’s a big ‘if’ #1 and #2 the angry mob will be angrier.
Yep, I’ll admit that with how things had gone so far, I was really thinking that Perry might sign Senga. Seemed like a good fit. Oh well.
No long term deals until the Grinch is finally dispatched . Think 1 to 2 year max
Oh no! We didn’t sign Cofi Sanka! Arte doesn’t care about winning in this must win season! Perry is a stupid French Bulldog! I can’t tell if I’m a real man anymore. Someone make a splash and revive me!
Screw it sign Michael Lorenzen, Joey Gallo, Christian Vazquez, and one of Boxberger/Britton/Ottavino/Chapman and trade for a real shortstop and call it an off season.
Screw Senga, Angels need to hold tight for Roki Sasaki
What in the year 2032?
2027 or earlier…he can push thru…* see Ohtani
Push though? He’s going to play for 3 years at league minimum just so he can get an ARB 1 salary in 2030? Ohtani was a unicorn . Other than a $3.5 million signing bonus it took him 6 seasons before he’s made any real money . I doubt others would take that risk when they could just become a UDA a few years later
We’ll see him over here in advance of the 2032 timeline. The current system doesn’t offer the Marines much of an incentive to post Sasaki before he turns 25. Why I was selecting 2027. Sure he might troll on league minimums but playing in the worlds best stage is the challenge which drives certain players like Ohtani. This guy has the goods. Darvish is already stumping for him to get here as soon as possible. In Japan, they are not worried about talent drain but have now switched over to wanting to watch their national players kick ass. We’ll see what happens and there are other ways to bring in money beyond baseball salary.
Senga was never going to sign here with Ohtani on the team.
I suspect the new Owners will want to spend some serious coin in their initial years of ownership. let’s hope that’s still the case when Sasaki is available.
I always wonder whether having Ohtani on the roster is a detriment to other Japanese League ball players signing with this team . At one time though there was talk about a Japanese Billionaire buying the Angels so if that were the case would that encourage more Japanese ball players to sign here?
If we got Japanese ownership I’d be excited. We will probably be well run and draw some good Japanese players. Let their racial and cultural preferences work for us. All for it.
Yeah. He owns Beni Hanna. Went to school with his kid…. kind of a twat. I’m not sure why we need him. Speed boats? Cocaine? Human traffic?
That’s a different TV show
I still like the Braves and Phillies more than the Mets in the East
Damn Mets!
Y’all got any more of those Steve Cohens?
Only worth $18 billion
Says while scratching neck
Did they just sign all remaining free agents?
Big buzzword in Japan
Shotaimu
https://featured.japan-forward.com/sportslook/npb-notebook-murakami-sama-honored-for-creating-buzz-in-japanese-baseball/?fbclid=IwAR2zF-eh8Yvvm7pao_jvHgpRp2le-h1igktgGVoE9tYtOM2b6WHeqQgQuxk&
Just got a memory notification on Facebook that 11 years ago today this happened; I just threw up a little bit.
I just shook hands with Arte Moreno, Jerry DiPoto, CJ wilson, and Albert Pujols. Not a bad day at work so far. And yes, they already have Wilson and Pujols shirts and jerseys.
SF Giants’ Austin Slater says MLB threatened jobs over collecting baseballs for analysis
https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/giants-austin-slater-ball-research-17643348.php
This is not surprising in the least. Furthermore it is no surprise that MLB encouraged Slater to send balls for testing to the two Universities they have worked with in the past. Wink, wink.
Quite the coinkydink
Nothing to see here. Remember Babe Ruth? Mickey Mantle? Reggie Jackson? Derek Jeter? You know Thurman Munson? he died. Why do you want to make Thurman’s family sad? There is nothing to see here. Billy Crystal. Phil Risotto. World War two. Joe DiMaggio. Mel Allen. Lou Gehrig. Do you hate America? There’s nothing to dig into with this story. Glad that’s settled.
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray…
Billy Joel makes me barf in my mouth.
This thread isn’t starting a fire between you?
Sigh. Now I have the sads.
Time heals all wounds 😂
yeah the scientist he was using was quite reputable. The article by Insider brought a lot of suspicion to MLB and does raise questions towards homers at Yankee stadium.
Bummer to read point #3 in that team site article that they are planning to still use a 6 man rotation next year. I know I keep saying it, but I’m so over the 6 man experiment.
I wonder If some pitchers are now steering clear of here because of these weird pitching arrangements that we have going on. https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1600319161208430593
I get the concept of catering to Ohtani but established Pitchers are creatures of habit and to have the rest times of your starts vary constantly from 5 to 7 days through out a whole season would be annoying.
Rainy day brain use….
If, this next season, Sandoval and Detmers take a step forwards and are near ace starters in the fashion of say Brandon Woodruff (which they can do) and Taylor Ward has a 4-4.5 WAR year (which he can) which would you rather do if you’re NewOwnerz….
Extend each of them for 4-6 years at an AAV of around 20M a year or extend Ohtani for 11 years at an AAV of 47M a year? And no, “If I care about winning I’d do both because I’m a billionaire who doesn’t even feel it if I piss away 100M.” isn’t an answer. I’m asking which of the two choices seems better to you.
I can see good reasons for either, but both options have serious risks and drawbacks too.
On a happy note, I’m digging the pre-arb bonus pool. I look at the list of names, I see what they did last year, I think “hell yeah, give those guys a couple million bucks extra”. Sure, a bunch of those dudes also got extended, but it all adds up to a situation I want. I think that if more young players get paid well when they are very good they will feel less pressure to make stupid MLBPA stands to protect their the slight possibility they will be overpaid when they are washed up and useless.
So this seems good do far.
Happy Nolan Ryan Day everybody. https://twitter.com/Eich_AJ/status/1601620020991524864
Nothing new and shiny in Anaheim today??
WTH Perry!?
😃
I good not spending $300 million on Correa or $200 million for Rodon. I’m happy bargaining hunting at SS, etc. and saving our pennies for Shohei.
Wouldn’t mind Rodon, but not on his demanded terms of 6 or 7 yrs.
I’d try a Twins like Correa deal, 3 yrs with a decent AAV and opt outs (prove last yr was not a fluke and give him options). Probably a no go, but worth a shot.
Brandon Crawford in a trade after the Gigantes sign Correa since he has only one year left?
So we should get him then.
He had 90 rbi’s in 2021 and has more power while in a coma than Fletcher does in a entire decade. Plus a former UCLA Bruin which should make Mia happy. A bonafide Dodger killer too.
Sorry but a Fletcher, Squid and Urshela platoon is a guaranteed 100 loss season……but then again 80%er Nayshin relishes losing already!!! Do something right for once Perry, pull your head out!!!
💪 💪 💪
This post is to address the Elephant in the room, how many more years do you want Trouty in Cf and getting injured. He can’t really patrol out there like he used to, and he isn’t leaving his feet or clearing high obstacles like Superman anymore. By not signing Nimmo or chasing Reynolds in Pitts. puts Trouty in the #8 position one more season.
Maybe he is the answer to 1B against LHP, being made of fine China and breakage prone I was looking at our outfield options and just am not really impressed with the depth. The giants keep Mays out in the grass maybe to long as they had another Willie at 1B. I would like to see Mike stay healthy for a few more years while he can still put-up big numbers.
We really need a decent CF as a backup because Mickey ain’t a Mantle.
I don’t think Trout to 1B makes much sense. Eventually, it might be Trout to RF, LF, or DH but I don’t think it’s 1B. Mays and Mantle didn’t have the DH option.
It does if our CASUAL FAN BASE gets their crybaby way.
Meaning that a popular great player is more important than a championship (see the 2010 Giants, 2012 Giants, and 2014 Giants, plus the 2021 Giants who were oldest team in MLB while winning 107 games. Nobody other than Buster Posey was all that great or well known outside the 7 Bay Area Counties). I don’t give a damm if we never have a player in the HOF at the cost of championship banners flying at The Big A.
Even in the short run, even if Trout is to be the primary CF next year, we really need a good insurance policy. I really liked the suggestion about possibly going after Margot (was it FS71?), for example. But Nimmo is a no go, given what the Mets shelled out, and getting an insurance via FA seems difficult if at all possible. (I would like a Kiermaier if he can be signed reasonably cheaply, but he will not sign cheaply wherever he signs, for example.)
I think it was Biggs that had the idea or Margot. He would be slot in very well and can play all OF positions.
Of all the FA signs this past week, I thought Nimmo was the worst.
And yet Bellinger was a bad idea being that we need more power in the lineup even given that the Cubs got him on a 1yr at 27 yrs old.
I stated in last year’s off season piece I wanted Trout in a corner spot.
Marsh had better wheels and was much younger. Let that kid roam around.
Problem is Marsh is gone and the free agent market for center was garbage the last couple years.
Too bad they traded Marsh over Adell. Would have rather had it the other way around and kept Marsh to play CF.
Unfortunately, I’m sure Philadelphia didn’t want Adell.
And we wanted O’Hoppe.
Because we always want catchers who can’t catch!!
😡 💩 💪 💪
Philly desperately needed. CF because their OF defense stunk. Made no sense to use Adell. They went all in, hence the trade piece being OHoppe
Only the A’s might be able to rescue Adell and if they can’t help him, then him and Moniak might as well learn Japanese.
I’m fine with Mike in CF and a CF to replace Moniak or Adell on the roster.
Joey Gallo and his shitty wine would be awesome. Although their Dark Horse cabernet is underrated.
True. The Dark Horse cabernet is not bad.
Current Depth Chart:
OF: Trout, Renfroe, Ward, Adell/Moniak
IF: Rendon, Urshela, Fletcher, Rengifo, Walsh, Squid
C: Stassi, O’Hoppe
DH: Ohtani
We don’t know what Walsh will be like. I’d love to add Wil Meyers to rotate through the corners and play 1B against lefties. He immediately creates depth around the diamond.
Any infield addition needs to be good enough to push Fletcher or Rengifo to the bench. Adding another Matt Duffy type does nothing.
Catcher is thin but OK. Perhaps add Vasquez or Alfaro and start O’hoppe in AAA to manipulate his time clock, err get him reps, and then have him come up for the inevitable injury.
I think Thaiss might be the backup at the beginning of the year. I would be OK with another catcher for depth, but I’m not confident that whoever we sign will even be better than Stassi. I think O’Hoppe is the future at catcher and he may start the year with the team. AAA is a possibility, but I’m hopeful that by the All-Star Break that he’s the starting catcher or at least in a job share. He had a really good year in AA.
I honestly don’t think it’s wise to sign another middle tier middle infielder. Between Rengifo, Squid, Fletcher, and Urshela, I think there’s enough depth. I don’t believe that Soto’s cup of coffee was real, but he had a ton of improvement last year in AA and is only 22, so he’s a minors depth piece that might be worth playing. Maybe Neto can force his way onto the big league club during the year. My point is that I don’t think they need another depth piece for MI.
OF and 1B depth is my biggest concern. I’m not confident in Walsh right now after the injury and he’s never hit lefties. I wonder if Urshela ends up being the right handed hitting 1B, but I would prefer a better option. I think Jeff is right that Will Myers is the right target for this team. I don’t want to see another Matt Duffy or Mike Ford level hitter at 1B next year. If Walsh doesn’t come back, Myers is talented enough to be a capable everyday 1B. If Walsh is back, then Myers is a platoon 1B and backup OF.
With the next years rules changes, I believe there will be a couple areas of impact that should impact roster construction:
With the banning of the shift, players that are pull centric should be viewed in higher regard than in previous years.
also, Players with maximum defensive range should become even more valuable since teams cant stack the pull side with multiple defenders. Your strongest defender should float between short and second depending hitters tendencies. Soggy Joe proved this concept last year with Squid & Fletch
With the restrictions on pick offs and larger bases, stolen bases will increase this will make pitchers like Thor that are slow to the plate a huge liability for each team.
Also Catchers pop times will become even more important next season. Unfortunately none of the catchers on our 40 man roster are considered above average in throwing out runners. I would expect that condition to worsen even more with more active runners in the base paths. Maybe this is why Perry was pursuing Contreras since his overall game is pretty elite. There are a couple of FA catchers with good throwing track records. Christian Vasquez has above arm and can hit enough to help us especially against Lefties where he could spell Walsh at first if need be.
We need a swinging Joey to Jump right in.
Jeff: I enjoy your thoughts. As to Myers, why would he want to come to Anaheim? He likely views himself as an every day player. He wants consistent at bats. Here, Perry had brought in Urshela to spell Walsh at first. Renfroe can likely play there also as needed.
So Myers is coming to a situation where he will be a part time player at best with other players already added as part of the pecking order. I don’t see how it works. That’s one of the general problems.
He’s only a starter on a team like the Royals or A’s at this point. And they won’t pay him any more than we could. Plus at his age he might want to slow down a bit.
He’d be at worst a platoon partner at 1st and DH when Ohtani needs a day off.
He’d get a day or two a week on the grass. Once to spell Ward and once so Ward could spell Trout. (The only downside to this plan is either Ward or Adell to spell in center).
Pretty close to where’s he’s played for years, team trying to win, probably 250-300 ABs across the season.
You might be right — but I would bet Myers thinks otherwise. Same with Kiermeier who someone else suggested above. He will want a starting gig somewhere too. Hence you need to get really lucky to get these guys. You also can add those players may not look at the Angels as a winning team. So they might do things for teams like the Dodgers, Braves, etc. they won’t do for the Angels because the Halos don’t have the same track record of winning and expectation of being in the playoffs. It’s a shame but I think these issues all exist.
Definitely. Perry will need to do a sales pitch like a college recruiter.
“We’re building something good and you’ll want to be a part of it.”
I hope being in on Contreras means we’re in on Vasquez.
Happy Birthday to Wil Myers who turns 32 today. Last year he played 36 games in RF, 10 games in LF , 6 games in CF, 10 games at 1B, 1 game at 3B and even 4 games at Pitcher. His defensive ratings in the outfield are not good over the last 4 seasons. Hes 8 months older than Mike Trout but made a cool $22.5 million last year.
There is no question we need a competent backup outfielder who can play centerfield. Relying on Moniak or Adell to fill this spot would be making the same mistakes that have plagued this franchise over the last 8 seasons. I really doubt we can afford Myers (at 32 you ain’t taking a $13 million a year pay cut) and I’m not so sure I would want him as our CF for 25+ games next year when Trout rests his ailments. I would love to sign Kiermaier ( about the same age as Myers and he made $12 million last year but the Blue jays just signed him.
I still think Joey Gallo is still the best option if he would take a one year deal in the high 7 figure range (he made $10.7 million last year) His defensive metrics are off the chart everywhere he plays even in the limited time hes spent in centerfield the last few years. And the shift ban will be his friend.
Get it done Perry.
I imagine Rengifo will get some action in the OF
De Grom said he’s going to Texas because he wants to win and they’re building a winner. Translation: money talks
“Want to win” = “Desperate enough to ignore my incredibly long history of injuries, my age, the incredibly long history of how pitchers my age perform, and promise to pay me a ton of money no matter what happens.”
Man I wish we had ownership that truly wants to win like the Rangers.
Not to mention shit Angels fan JuJu. If I’m trying to rebuild my career value why would I want to come here so all of CtPG guys bullshit demandachamp vibes can shrivel my soul like a salted snail if I slump for three weeks?
Sure, if I have nowhere else wanting to sign me I guess I’d come here, but there isn’t any sense of “we may be down now but we’re building ourselves up” underdog mentality here. Just a bunch of fans who range from demanding to disinterested and a couple unicorns I don’t give a shit about when all I’m trying to do is resuscitate my own value.
Plus hobo piss and taxes.
BUT.. Trout!!! Ohtani!!!! The beach!!! It’s those selfish-ass agents that get paid to get maximum value for their client that keep players from coming here. We all know EVERY PLAYER WANTS TO PLAY WITH TROUT AND OHTANI!!!