Welcome to 2024! The calendar has officially turned here on the West Coast and suddenly Spring Training is on the periphery. Now it is time to accomplish some goals for this year.
Unlike sweeping resolutions that can’t be quantified and are destined to fail, goals are real. They have quantifiable results and a plan of action. You either hit or goal or you don’t.
For the Angels, the goal is simple: improve the team’s win total and reach October.
I’m not exactly sure how signing Zac Plesac accomplishes that goal but that is what Perry did. Perhaps he’s the new Barria, who ironically went to Cleveland, or perhaps this sets up a trade. Maybe they just think he can bounce back and at age 29 is young enough to do so.
Yes, there definitely seems to be more on the horizon. The Angels continue to be linked to slugger Teoscar Hernandez, as well as reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.
It is crickets, however, when it comes to a 27 year old centerfielder with a great glove, career OPS+ of 120 and coming off a 4.4 WAR, 133 OPS+ season.
The fact all three of those players plus Matt Chapman are represented by Scott Boras and the fact this off season is moving at a glacial pace are related.
The Braves are trying to single handedly take on a complete off season’s worth of moves. Look at this rotation they’re assembling:
Until the action picks up, I’ll throw some stuff out there. I came up with a version of this last week while fever sweating with the flu. In this exchange the Angels take on a lot of salary in exchange for a pitcher in decline and an infielder who was really good as recently as last year. We also pick up two high quality pitching prospects.

Be happy, be safe, and stick around to see what happens in the 44 days until pitchers and catchers report.
I think we have to start coming to a realization nothing will likely happen to truly move the needle for this team this offseason.
If you are Arte, what are your projections for ticket sales? The Ohtani party is over. I would think the projections are pretty bleak.
If Arte was only willing to spend up to approximately the luxury tax threshold with Ohtani- what can we really expect him to spend without Ohtani?
I don’t think Arte has any desire to lose money. Accordingly it’s quite possible that we may see some more small moves like Plesac but no big splashes. His target payroll may be much lower than we expect based on very low attendance projections. We will see.
Yep, small moves and pressure the sales department to get butts in the seats. I have already been inundated with emails.
Yes – for sure. We want you back. We can give you some free games. Etc etc. My guess is the ticket sales are not great.
Blah Blah Blah.
Nobody here knows Jack Shit.
Is your New Years resolution to start the incessant whining Early and often?
I know Jack Frost…
I know Jack Daniels…
Everything I wrote was qualified by saying it’s a possibility or maybe. I never said I knew anything- in fact I have been clear I know nothing.
I wonder if your resolution Cowboy is to be an even bigger pompous ass than in ‘23? If so, you’re off to a good start. It seems to me you are intolerant of any posts that don’t share your point of view. You want to be the alpha male around here Cowboy? You making up for some other shortcoming?
I’m going back to suggesting we don’t respond to each other’s posts. You stay in your lane and I’ll stay in mine.
You’re a one-man welcoming committee!
Happy New Jeer right back atcha!
🥳
It’s never been a problem Arte can spend his way out of. Well, at least not with what he prefers to spend his cash on.
Seeing them pass on a bunch of aging overpriced stars would almost tell me he’s learning in his old age.
If they really wanted to get that needle moving on a solid foundation they’d move Trout and commit to losing for a few years. But I don’t see Arte wasting whatever time he has left rebuilding.
So who knows what the fck they are doing. I’m just waiting for him to die and the team to finally change hands.
What a dilemma for Arte. The only way he knows of putting butts in the seats is to spend on flashy free agents. And yet now without Ohtani and with an aging Trout, what moves would really put butts in the seat to justify the added payroll? Maybe Yamamoto would have fit the bill but I doubt he was interested in playing for the hapless Angels.
I agree with you that the right move would be to go the ‘opposite’ of what Arte has done in the past (ie trade Trout and rebuild). But I just don’t see Arte being willing to do that. It would be so un-Arte.
So its poor Arte now?
I thought……… that’s what we were already doing? 😀
Yeah, but they’re trying to win.
There’s a difference.
So, what difference does it make?
Oh, what difference does it make?
Oh, it makes none
Oh, I’m too tired
I’m so sick and tired
-The Smiths
Who’s we?
Well, many here have decided that no move will ‘move the needle’.
That said, there are plenty of top FA left on the market, and many teams have made few (if any) moves yet this offseason (certainly fewer in quantity than Perry).
I am still hoping for a top FA SP for Christmas (this is only the 8th day of Christmas after all).
Pssst…hey guys.
Pitchers and catchers report next month.
Perry must do something tonight!
Perry sure it will be sleeping
I assume he’s nursing a hangover and eating left over Chinese food and pizza like the rest of us.
My perspective is that the trade simulator is full of crap, and the majority of the trades the trade simulator determines to be “balanced” are in fact garbage. If Preller accepted the trade proposed above, he’d be fired immediately.
So…let’s put the trade simulator to the test and input the actual trades being made by “real” GMs.
I agree it’s not really reliable but it’s kind of all us idiots have. It’s a fun tool but it’s only real use is to make people like all of us who
Know something feel like we have a resource.
They do all the time. After every trade. And they’ve adjusted their valuation models as a result.
Most of the time the actual trades and their values are pretty close.
Obviously mine is more food for thought. We’d need to send more back.
Rengifo plus more?
Arte would veto that trade!
*Only to the Doyers.
I did on the Chris Sale trade , and you know what? After the exact cash was inputted it came out perfectly balanced.
But I also plugged in the Stassi/Fletcher for White/Thomas Trade and it wouldn’t approve the trade as it was too unbalanced in our favor.
Run the Soto trade if you want to see “too unbalanced”. 🤣
Which is why we could unbalanced the shit out of a Unicorn trade at the deadline.
Wander Franco arrested. He finally showed up for questioning and was not allowed to go home.
Nice news to kick off 2024. Hope he has the year he deserves.
That’s a great trade approach and the type the Angels should be aiming for vs signing the Tier 1/2FAs. Renfigo is excess and hoping the Angels could pull something like this off.
Better hope Preller has the same fever Jeff did to get that trade accepted……
That must of a hell of a fever Jeff! 😂
Happy New Year!
Love that trade. We desperately need more prospects, and we either have to trade away the few players we have with value, or take on bad contracts. I vastly prefer the latter. It’s only Arte’s money anyway. 😊
For all the handwringing about Luis Rengifo, he’s apparently one of our few tradable assets.
That’s a fascinating trade. I’d do it. Not sure San Diego would. I could totally see Darvish bouncing back. (Full confession: been totally enamored by him as, at one stage, he had the best stuff I’ve ever seen.) And Cronenworth could easily bounce back and has had some very good years. Love his engine. The chance to get a guy like Snelling doesn’t happen often. Lesko has big ceiling, although he’s probably a long way away if he makes it.
Agree Do It!! But the Friars will want more than Fee Foe.
$160 million in new salary? I guess
I’d love to get Tatis too but hes still owed $325 million ( $24 million AAV CBT ) and for some reason the Trade Simulator thinks I’d would take a major haul to get him
I show this trade would result in a net $26 million per year added to our CBT so we would still have money to another pitcher in 2024
Only 44 days till Pitchers & Catchers report to Spring Training!!!
Perry hasn’t signed anyone since last year!
As to the Braves rotation, Strider and Fried are terrific when healthy. Morton is beyond old now and every year is a question as to when he turns into a pumpkin. Sale is a pumpkin they will try to turn back into a quality pitcher.
Boras controlling most of the top remaining free agents is unsettling. He only makes deals for stupid money and holds out his players until he gets it. It’s unclear why teams keep chasing. Angels should just cross those four off their wishlist.
Happy New Year everyone! Time to talk Halo baseball!
Not a bad trade. Kind of taking a poor mans Braves approach by taking on cash to improve the ball club, and try to restock the farm.
Who would you take off the 40 man if this happend?
Probably would make a few other trades around it.
Rendon ha ha.
In all seriousness probably Herget.
Or Cabbage now that we have a surplus of left handed first baseman
True.