Trade proposal
Moncada/Giffy (expiring FAs) for Arenado ($32 million in 2025; $27 million in 2026)
That would be ~$65M to cover 3b in 25/26.
Oh well.
I’m sure Perry has some sort of plan for 3B, just get another Nolan and be done with it. I’d rather see Arte do this than buy shopping centers in Gilbert.
Didn’t he already nix a possible trade to the Angels?
Anaheim is home and one of 8 teams he said he’d go to.
I’m probably wrong, as I’m not into the reeds as much as some of the contributors here; however, I do have a question. Why the urgency to trade Adell? Just as he seems to have blossomed into the player he was expected to be? Especially if the return is for minor leaguers with no guarantee of future success.
There’s no urgency to trade Adell but if we want impact players back, we need to trade impact players away.
In this case I’m simply replacing a 26 year old who will be a free agent after 2027 with a 23 year old who hasn’t started his MLB clock yet and I feel is a more polished all around player than Jo has been until this season.
That trade is a significant risk for both teams. But Caissie’s timeline and skillset line up nicely with Neto and the other youths.
I love the ideas – great job Jeff!
Nathan Lukes would be one heck of a reverse Angels strategy – getting 5 years out of a 30+ years old while not dropping moneybags on him.
I like this way of thinking and I would rather watch that team than the one we have. I believe it would be better than our current team and I like the idea of freeing up money. We get rid of a ton of payroll over the next 2 years and we’d still have all these players meaning we might have enough to get the pieces we need for the time being while continuing to draft future pieces. I would love to see this happen.
Trade Anderson, Rengifo, Kikuchi, Soler, Jansen for SP prospects.
BTW going for chemistry and intangibles beats analytics every time, economists and bean counters are a dime a dozen.
You won’t like the prospects you get for that bunch.
Now that’s just absolutely hilarious right there. Pirates drafted Skenes because “chemistry” not because he is good. Teams like Doyers and Astros are good every year because “intangibles” and not analytics. Scouts suggest players based on how good their handshakes are with their teammates.
Really funny stuff. Give me a team where nine guys bat .400 and pitchers all have 2.00 ERA and they will win it all every year.
Where are you gonna find this unicorn mythical team of players?
Even the 2018 Bosox who won 108 games and steamrolled everybody had two lousy catchers. Where does a small market or a BIG MARKET TEAM WITH A CHEAPSKATE OWNER get to be competitive like the 2023 TB Rays or the D Backs who upset the Dodgers in the NLCS with their $119M payroll
HOW’S THAT FOR FUNNY…….THE JOKES ON YOU…
YES! It’s the tear down our crap fanbase juju needs! Let the cleansing fire engulf our roster and alienate our deserving fans with fertile frustration! Team gets younger but with guys that are ready to go NOW before Neto is 31 years old. Worth a try to me.
Can you hire a GM or POBO through Indeed?
I think this would be a fun team to watch next year and for a few years.
If they brought back Moncada:
Neto – SS
Schanuel – 1B
Trout – DH/RF
Soler – RF/DH
Lukes – LF
Moncada – 3B
Caissie – CF
O’Hoppe – C
Moore 2B
Would free up payroll to go after pitching. Cease, Kikuchi, Soler, Abel, Silent C perhaps.
Or they go full Arte and try to outslug everyone:
Neto – SS
Schanuel – 1B
Suarez – 3B
Trout RF/DH
Soler RF/DH
Lukes – LF
Caissie – CF
O’Hoppe – C
Moore 2B
Kemp, Straw, and d’Arnaud are at least useful bench pieces. Would need a SS capable utility guy (IKF would be ideal here) and a starting pitcher.
I’d go for the Suarez lineup. Makes the team older but I think he has two years left. Moncada has not played 100 games in a season since 2022.
Same here. I fully expect Suarez to decline but even if he’s “only” a 25-30 home run guy, that’s a really nice middle of the order.
Lukes and Caissie strike out less often than Ward and Adell so the lineup should flip over more often.
Assuming he takes pretty much all of the savings here, the team would likely target a back of the rotation guy. But a stacked offense, mediocre rotation, and solid bullpen can win plenty in this era.
The need for a capable utility guy is why I’d like them to make a move with the Mets for Jett Williams. While Adell had a good June and his power numbers are there – he’s coming up on contract time and Williams has no service time. I’d add in some sweetener too.
2025 Trade Deadline Strategy: A Real Youth Movement
The Angels as currently constructed are not a playoff team. There are some good young pieces at the MLB level and potentially some pitching help not too far off. But there are way too many holes in the lineup and a complete lack of depth, which cuts off any chances of sustained success.
So while I’m excited about the futures of Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, and a host of others, I need to get them some much needed reinforcements. And those reinforcements need to be controlled long enough to really form a complete team.
I’ll put on my Perry Minasian hat and go for a full youth movement that will give me a long term outfield, youthful rotation, and enough cash to help supplement the roster where needed.
First, I trade two impending free agents for a long term outfielder.
Lukes is a 31 year old left handed hitting left fielder so he’s not exactly young. But he is cost controlled for 5 more years.
He’ll sport a higher OBP than Ward but provide less pop. He’s OK with the glove and will make minimum wage next year. Myles Straw costs $8 million next year but is brilliant with the glove in center field, capable of playing on the dirt in a pinch, and his career OPS+ of 75 would actually be a substantial improvement over most of our current bench pieces. Bonilla is 19 years old, athletic enough to cover all three outfield spots, but hasn’t hit in pro ball yet. The franchise needs lottery tickets.
So I acquired a left fielder and 4th outfielder but created a hole in the rotation and jettisoned a lefty in the bullpen. Plus, I need some more depth. So let’s fix that.
Getting Philly to include Kemp might be a stretch but he’d fit like a glove here. Although his glove is pretty bad at third base, he’s at least capable of playing it and left field and brings a good bat.
Mick Abel is 23 years old, entering his prime, and has the stuff to become a solid replacement for Tyler Anderson. He’s also fully cost controlled for another 5 seasons beyond this one. Tanner Banks is no Detmers but he’s no slouch, either, and controlled for another 3 years after 2025.
This next one hurts a little bit, but bear with me.
I like Jo Adell a lot and I hope he’s turning into a superstar but I can’t bet on it. And even if he his, that means his extension will be massively expensive right about the time Neto and the rest of the core hits arbitration. His value is high and his control is relatively short if we’re really embracing a youth movement.
Caissie is capable of playing all three outfield spots and is blocked on the stacked Cubs roster. The addition of Adell just pushes him further down the chart. It also give Chicago a fallback in right field in case Kyle Tucker departs free agency.
The 23 year old Caissie is a capable centerfielder and cost controlled for 6 seasons. He’s slashing a really nice .278/.377/.563 in AAA Iowa. That’s not the hitters paradise of the PCL, so those numbers are much more projectible to MLB. Hodge is an intriguing arm with a huge fastball. He’s a bullpen piece for sure with the potential to be a high leverage reliever. Moncada fills a need for the win now Cubs.
How does this leave the team for 2026 and beyond?
Across the grass we’d have Lukes in left, Caissie in center, and a platoon of Trout and Soler in right. Defensive specialist Myles Straw would be the 4th outfielder and could take over in center late in games.
The infield still needs work with Kemp being a backup at the corners. Neto and Schanuel hold down short and first base but the keystone and hot corner still need help. Perhaps a free agent reunion with Moncada or they go big and try to land Suarez in his decline years.
A rotation of Soriano, Kikuchi, Abel, Silent C is not a bad place to start. Nor is a bullpen of Burke, Brogdon, Banks, Bachman, Hodge and hopefully a healthy Joyce.
The real kicker here is that several holes in the future roster are filled while the team saves a ton of money. Between Anderson, Jansen, Ward, and Moncada the Angels were spending nearly $40 million. With only Straw’s $8 million coming back, that frees up about $32 million to add talent to the team next year. Next year is also the final year of the Anthony Rendon contract, so funds to extend some kids and/or add to the team in 2027 and beyond should be aplenty.
If we really want to play the kids and shoot for the future, this is the type of youth movement that would make 2026 fun to watch and really lend itself to a brighter 2027 and beyond.