LA Angels Thursday News Crash

5 minutes ago

Reply to TapatioMan

The problem is that winning the current AL West isn’t really contention is it? It’s Temu Contention and your team may look legit but it’s made of melted hair and children tears.

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Legend

3 minutes ago

Reply to TapatioMan

The sign and flip thing is interesting. Thing is, when Peralta is Peralta again everyone will start crying about trading him and want to over pay him too early.

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Editor

Legend

Turk's Teeth

3 hours ago

With the ownership change, I now see little reason to trade Detmers. In the Moreno era, with his aversion to pitching investment, the only avenue toward systemic improvement was trading MLB assets, but I don’t see anything on the coming free agent market that is as good or cost-effective as Reid. Better to work toward a 3-4 year extension and keep stability in the rotation.

Still down with a Neto trade though, if the return is right.

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Legend

FungoAle

2 hours ago

Reply to Turk's Teeth

100% in alignment on that. Good pitching is a premium.

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Editor

Legend

Turk's Teeth

4 hours ago

Just reposting Eric Longenhagen’s scouting session of Jared Grindlinger here in case folks missed Charles’ oblique pointer above. Suffice to say, Eric is a Grindlinger superfan at this point:

My main target for this game was Angels 2026 first rounder Jared Grindlinger. I have now amassed five games worth of looks at Grindlinger since he signed, and he’s been impressive every time. He rotates really well, takes high-quality at-bats without much chase, and makes a ton of flush contact. Even more amazing, he doesn’t turn 18 until April. It was instructive to see the 2027 draft high school showcase stuff earlier this month and then, in the weeks after, to see a ton of Grindlinger, who was originally going to be part of that graduating class. I like him more than any of the prep players I saw in August. Grindlinger may have actually cost himself money by reclassifying as a 2026 draftee, because he sure looks like he would go higher than 12th overall (where he was just picked) in next year’s draft. Hopefully he recoups that by hitting free agency a year sooner than he would have had he stood pat in the 2027 class.

Because Brendan Gawlowski spearheads the Angels’ system here at the site, I’m excitedly waiting for him to get back from vacation so I can make a case to elevate Grindlinger into the Top 100. Grindlinger is currently a 45+ FV prospect on The Board, just outside the hundo, and he’ll either move onto it this month or be a 2028 Pick to Click for me this offseason. It might be too bold to make the move already because this guy has generated zero relevant data. He only participated in underclass showcase activity before he reclassified, and didn’t get into Complex-level games after the draft. There isn’t data tracking for Bridge League or Instructs. Until May/June of next year, nobody but the Angels will have learned anything meaningful about Grindlinger’s chase and contact rates. But he looks awesome, certainly like a good first pick for the post-Minasian Era in Anaheim. As soon as I feel confident that I’ve seen my last Grindlinger at-bat for the year, I’ll cut together video of him and upload it to our YouTube channel.

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Trusted Member

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/08/2026-27-mlb-free-agents.html

3 hours ago

Reply to Turk's Teeth

Fun read. I wonder if they have him throw from time to time to keep the two-way dream alive.

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Legend

FungoAle

2 hours ago

Reply to Turk's Teeth

I like Eric and feels good when Eric is on board with the selection. He was big on Hayden before the year started.

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Editor

Legend

Turk's Teeth

2 hours ago

Reply to FungoAle

Among the prep kids, I was higher on Condon (who has been showing well in his low-A debut), but that was entirely because Grindlinger was a two way player, and that’s a challenging project for a weak and underresourced developmental org like the Angels. But Grindlinger under a Kroenke regime is a different story.

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Trusted Member

milehigh

1 hour ago

Reply to Turk's Teeth

I had not thought that way before. We have focused on the big league club since Stan’s purchasing was announced. I wonder what the MiLB kids think now.

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Super Member

Roy Hobbs

6 hours ago

We have 6-7 players who ripped it up at Salt Lake City with high 900s to 1000 OPSs and none of them have been able to hit major league pitching. The only ones left in AAA are recently promoted Raudi and Nelson Rada. All of our hope is down in AA or below. Some guys are young. Rada is 20, and Raudi and Guzman are only 22, Moore is 23, Paris is 24, Meckler is 26, and Lowe is 28. As noted above, Meckler is living off of a .400 BABIP. And, the FA market does not look promising the next few years. Money or not, and starting pitching or not, It’s going to be a very challenging uphill climb.

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Texan44

5 hours ago

Reply to Roy Hobbs

Surely someone on this list wants to live in SoCal.

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/free-agents/available/_/year/2027

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Super Member

5 hours ago

Reply to Texan44

Looks to me Rengifo getting $1.5 million in the off season.

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Super Member

Roy Hobbs

5 hours ago

Reply to Texan44

The question is, do we want anyone on this list.

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Trusted Member

Texan44

5 hours ago

Reply to Roy Hobbs

Due to age, we can eliminate 70-80%. Then you can eliminate others due to their position. But if you narrow it down, my opinion, you are only looking for someone better than what you had in 2025. Not looking for all stars and certainly each would be a one year contract. And then cut off those that are making $10 million or some other number.

I would have my scouts looking at maybe 10-15. You would be lucky to sign 2 or 3 but where else can you look. The only other place that I know would be at the end of ST when other teams have a roster crunch.

Again, this is if you want a “competitive team” next year. Another 100 loss season gets a better draft and waiver wire. And one doesn’t help for 2-3 more years and in my opinion, the other only gets you discards, similar to what you already have.

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Super Member

Roy Hobbs

5 hours ago

Reply to Texan44

I want to be optimistic and would be all for spending money if there were things to buy but I just don’t see a realistic path forward for competitiveness before 2029 or 2030 and even that requires significant optimism and trading any current assets of value.

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Trusted Member

Biggiswrth

3 hours ago

Reply to Roy Hobbs

That list is pretty weak. Position wise the only one I’m kinda interested in is JP Crawford as he can move Neto off SS and also play 3B if needed.
Pitching: Honestly I don’t think we need any SP
RP: Maybe Fairbanks or Treinen? It’s such a week class.

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Legend

1 hour ago

Reply to Biggiswrth

I’d sign Crawford for a couple years AND trade Neto to the Mariners for a package like:

Johnny Farmelo
Felnin Celesten
Yorger Bautista
Luke Stevenson
Chia Shi-Chen

Mariners farm is stacked. That’s leaving their top prospects alone. Neto can take some pressure off Emerson and then move Neto off SS but continue to have a less pathetic offense.

For us, that’s Crawford, not on a long contract, and four 50+ grade position prospects (OF, SS, OF, C) and a solid back of the rotation prospect. For Neto and Crawford’s salary.

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Legend

FungoAle

2 hours ago

Reply to Roy Hobbs

Same ol’ list of regurgitated players. Free Agency is dead with the top talent opting for extensions and or have signed long term deals.

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Super Member

Roy Hobbs

5 hours ago

Reply to Texan44

I would tank again one more year. You still get the high pick after the 1st round and might have pick 11 in 1st round. I would only acquire a player that I wanted for 3-5 years. Otherwise, I would go with what we have for now and give the youth another year to develop. I wanted to extend Detmers but I’m wondering if it would be better to trade Detmers, Neto and Schanuel and start over completely. We just need so much right now there aren’t much in the way of near term solutions.

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Super Member

YOUknowulovetheIE

5 hours ago

Reply to Roy Hobbs

Hayden Alvarez is the future

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Super Member

Roy Hobbs

4 hours ago

Reply to YOUknowulovetheIE

I believe you and he’s 19. The question is what the club does for the next 3-4 years.

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Legend

4 hours ago

Reply to Roy Hobbs

I love the PCL…. but I also kind of hate the PCL. There is a reason the Doyers kept their teams in places like Jacksonville and Oklahoma City

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Super Member

ErSTAN

4 hours ago

Reply to Roy Hobbs

The dreaded AAAA players.

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Legend

6 hours ago

An over all great week. In total the Angels bare bones squad gave the Yankees a pretty squirrely fight. I gained a new personal enemy that doesn’t give a shit about me in Cam Schlittler who I feel looks like an asshole, acts like an asshole, and has an ass face. The Rays new owner is saying he’ll eventually raise the payroll now that the Rays will get a new stadium. I know that may take years, but I have dreamed of the majestic sea flappy flaps having even a middling payroll for a long time and now it’s gonna happen… maybe. Fk you AL East.

And the Angels are finally going to be unencumbered by Arte. The only man who could do anything about this problem finally did something about it. We “beat” him and he took his 4 billion dollars and is going away. He was not a very good owner. Not the worst, but bad. He was still a successful enough business guy to earn the money to buy the team, he made the team a bigger deal than they ever were before and profitable to boot. He tried with his big splash free agent signings. He was the first Latino owner of a team. He gave a lot to charity and was the first owner we’ve had willing to lock up a Hall of Famer for his career in Trout. He really fell apart over time.

Good for you Arte. Would have been nice if you’d have sold in say 2020, but better late than never. What’s really incredible is we ACTUALLY GOT UNICORN OWNER. Not a large “group” but a very rich guy and his equally engaged son. That is a REAL stroke of good luck…. or at least it could be. I’m just gonna decide that it is. Stan, by the way, has twice as much money as the Dodgers owners. Noys.

Can we please change the uniforms now?

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Legend

FungoAle

6 hours ago

Reply to gitchogritchoffmypettis

I’ve been snapping up Nolan Ryan baseball cards lately and came across the 1972 card yesterday, His first card as an Angel. I like that uniform. If we adopt the California name, 1995 is pretty cool.

Ditch the all red look.

Last edited 6 hours ago by FungoAle

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Legend

4 hours ago

Reply to FungoAle

Even if they did that 1995 uniform but for Anaheim or Los Angeles I’d be really happy. Harkens back to old LA Angels

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Trusted Member

Marcotor

3 hours ago

Reply to FungoAle

The small a was cool, but only lasted 2 seasons. Let’s see if the SK imaging team comes along with something we can stomach. I do love the Rams white 60’s vintage they brought back.

It’s really unlikely MLB would allow “California”, no matter the “It was the name before!!” argument, given there are so many teams in the state. But, ditching the red would be great for some combination of navy/gold/red/white of the olden days.

I don’t give a twat what they call themselves, as I have no need to feel like I am “big-league” because of the city my team plays in, but the colors for a new era of hopeful exuberance would be a winner.

Last edited 3 hours ago by Marcotor

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Super Member

TrojanBoiler

4 hours ago

Reply to gitchogritchoffmypettis

I have added “majestic sea flappy flaps” to my vocabulary going forward

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Legend

6 hours ago

We are winning the tank. Sure, we can’t win any better draft spot odds than we already have, but we will may be first in line for the dumpster buffet when good teams cut guys from the 40 man to protect new kids from the rule 5 draft. Who do I hope ends up in the dumpster that may end up there? Some possible delights include:

Colton Ledbetter. Outfielder from the St Louis system. They also have reliever Hancel Rincon on the bubble. The Padres have Quad A reliever Alek Jacob who may be of use. The Red Sox will almost certainly cut Brett Harris, who is another Peraza type. Less likely, but the Pirates have a lot of Utes to protect and maybe they will let Hunter Barco drop off the tree since he has not pitched well in AAA. They may also give up on Termarr Johnson, who is talented but may need someone to fix him like in a Cold Play song.

These are just some of the delights that may be cast aside by other teams. Of course we also need to look closely for anyone cast off by the Dodgers, Rays and Brewers but it’s hard to tell who they may cut. We could REALLY stand to luck out on some more delicious trash like Wade Meckler.

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Legend

FungoAle

6 hours ago

Thank you Stan Kronke!

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Super Member

YOUknowulovetheIE

6 hours ago

Good ol jose suarez dfa again, not surprised.

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Trusted Member

7 hours ago

Hear me out:

The Orange County Angels.

Bad-ass, no?

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Super Member

YOUknowulovetheIE

6 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

IE Angels is more fitting

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Super Member

6 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

So IIWSK – I would be the {insert brand} Angels – take that money and insert it into player development. The SpaceX Angels might be a well funded buyer.

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Super Member

6 hours ago

Reply to HalosFanForLife

From Gemini:

If a Major League Baseball franchise like the Angels were to take the unprecedented step of selling their primary geographic identity to become a corporate-branded team (e.g., the Amazon Angels or Red Bull Angels), the naming rights would likely sell for an estimated $35 million to $55 million annually.

Because no Major League Baseball, NBA, NFL, or NHL team has ever permanently sold its core franchise name to a corporation, this would create an entirely new tier of sports marketing.
To determine this valuation, we can look at the sports industry’s current highest-earning asset classes:

The Valuation Breakdown

Sponsorship TypeAverage Annual Value (AAV)High-End Precedents

MLB Jersey Patches$10M – $17MNew York Yankees ($25M/year with Starr Insurance)

Stadium Naming Rights$5M – $10M

New York Mets ($20M/year for Citi Field)
LA Crypto.com Arena ($35M/year)

Hypothetical Team Naming Rights$35M – $55M
Based on combining global broadcast audio cues, merch, and digital impressions.

Why the Price Tag Would Skyrocket

Permanent Vocal Repetition: Unlike a stadium name—which broadcasters often avoid mentioning in favor of saying “at home” or “here in Anaheim”—a corporate team name must be spoken by every media outlet, play-by-play announcer, and fan baseline thousands of times per game.The Southern California Premium: The Angels are a major-market franchise located in the Los Angeles designated market area (DMA). Stan Kroenke recently purchased the Angels in a massive $4 billion deal, demonstrating the immense fundamental value of the team’s media footprint.Merchandising Real Estate: The brand name would be permanently emblazoned across the chests of authentic jerseys, hats, and fan apparel sold worldwide, functioning as a walking global billboard.

Last edited 6 hours ago by HalosFanForLife

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Super Member

6 hours ago

Reply to HalosFanForLife

20 years for a cool $1 billion?

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Super Member

5 hours ago

Reply to HalosFanForLife

Of course I would give the City of Anaheim right of first refusal. It’s the neighborly thing to do.

Last edited 5 hours ago by HalosFanForLife

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Legend

6 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

nope

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Trusted Member

4 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

The reasons I like it:

> It’s musical, fun to say. “Orange County Angels.” It has that two-two-two trimeter thing. “OC Angels” also rolls off the tongue.
> Though its teams play in cities and metros, baseball will always be a pastoral sport rooted in riverside parks and corn clearings. “Parks” if you will. Provincial places. And “county” squares nicely with that. I also love the novelty of it. It would be cool to the first county-based major sports franchise.
> Orange County is a thing. From the snug harbors of Newport to the tinder-like chaparral of Yorba Linda to the addictive phos of Westminster, OC is the shit. It has national profile. Kroenke said as much the other day.
> It’s a lot f-ing cooler than “Anaheim.” And I say this as someone born in Anaheim.

But I’d also be happy if they went back to “California.” Never should have moved off that.

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Biggiswrth

3 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

Sounds like a vibe to me. It’s very LB Coast like. Indi ball name. LOL

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Super Member

TrojanBoiler

2 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

Regional location name-place, similar to Tampa Bay, home of the majestic sea flappy flaps

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Legend

56 minutes ago

Reply to TrojanBoiler

Well done sir. Well done.

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Trusted Member

milehigh

51 minutes ago

Reply to TrojanBoiler

Los Angeles Oranges
Covers both counties.

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Super Member

AnAngelsFan

1 hour ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

Orange County Angels sounds elitist and exclusionary, like you can only be an Angels fan if you live in Orange County. Even Los Angeles Angels is better, since the goal of that name is to expand the market rather than restrict it.

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Legend

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/baltimore-orioles/overview

57 minutes ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

I will take anything over Anaheim.

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Super Member

2pints

17 minutes ago

Reply to gitchogritchoffmypettis

I agree. On one hand, it makes sense in that its the city the team plays in and it starts with an “A”, but on the other, it has zero appeal to anyone not from the ‘heim. My grandma lived in Anaheim for 50 years, so it made sense how angry she was with Arte for changing it to Los Angeles. But it also was Anaheim for only 7 seasons, so its not like its engrained in the team fabric.

Personally, I’d like to see it go back to CA Angels, if only so my ’95 hat with CA on it is back to being the norm.

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Legend

DowningDude

1 hour ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

I floated The Orange Seraphim’s the other night. My post got ZERO thumbs up.

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Legend

DowningDude

1 hour ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

Samir said it best:
https://youtu.be/uSudkID3zJM?is=Q_1v-_GRt4WOmlEH

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Trusted Member

Texan44

7 hours ago

Just for reference, I realize the Rendon deal was terrible, but I am not sure it qualifies for the worst ever. The Mets seem to make one or two every year. They think nothing of paying another team several millions if they will take a player off their hands. (See Scherzer, Verlander, McCann and a cast of hundreds). But I think Baltimore may win with this group. Please note at the bottom Davis (out since 2020), Cobb (out since 2024) and
Bonilla (out since 2021, but last played for Orioles in 1995)

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Trusted Member

Texan44

7 hours ago

Reply to Texan44

And the Mets are still paying guys in their 60’s.

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/new-york-mets/overview

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Legend

Senator_John_Blutarsky

7 hours ago

Reply to Texan44

There’s so many bad contracts to choose from…..

Chris Davis Baltimore Orioles. $161 million Suffered a historic offensive slump, dropping to a record-low .168 batting average.

Anthony Rendon. Los Angeles Angels $245 million. Plagued by continuous injuries, producing minimal WAR over the bulk of the mega-deal.

Josh Hamilton. Los Angeles Angels $125 million. Battled severe off-field relapses and injuries, rendering him completely ineffective.

Jacoby Ellsbury. New York Yankees $153 million. Missed the final two full seasons entirely and was released with massive money still owed.

Steven Strasburg. Washington Nationals. $245 million. Pitched only 26.1 innings post-extension before retiring due to chronic nerve damage with a negative WAR.

Kris Bryant. Colorado Rockies. $182 million. Burdened by constant trips to the injured list and minimal production relative to high expectations.

Carl Crawford. Boston Red Sox. $142 million. Lost his elite speed and hitting touch immediately upon arrival, leading to an early exit.

Barry Zito. San Francisco Giants $126 million. Suffered a massive velocity drop and bloated ERAs throughout most of the eight-year deal.

Mike Hampton. Colorado Rockies . $121 million. Pitching in the thin altitude of Denver, delivering a terrible 5.75 ERA before being traded.

Bobby Bonilla New York Mets $5.9 million (payout ballooned). A modest original buyout that turned into a legendary deferred $1.19 million annual payout through 2035.

Dishonorable mention: Patrick Corbin, Albert Pujols, Jordan Zimmerman, Jason Heyward, Giancarlo Stanton.

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Trusted Member

7 hours ago

Reply to Senator_John_Blutarsky

Gotta cast my vote for Strasberg. $10 million per inning is a piece of work.

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Trusted Member

Texan44

6 hours ago

Reply to grichmanpoorman

This is like discussing the worst MLB contracts in history. But in July 2023, the Mets sent Scherzer to the Rangers and $64 million to take him. Then the next day the Mets sent Verlander to the Astros and $54 million to take him. That has to get Honorable Mention someplace.

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Trusted Member

Biggiswrth

6 hours ago

Reply to Senator_John_Blutarsky

Vernon Wells

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Super Member

6 hours ago

Reply to Senator_John_Blutarsky

Definitely could make a nice list of only Angels.

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Legend

FungoAle

6 hours ago

Reply to Senator_John_Blutarsky

Hindsight, Strasburg had arm history and Rendon was known to have not liked baseball. Entering a contract with either of those two was a mistake. Easy to look back now.

Don’t forget the recent Kyle Tucker $240M guaranteed.

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Legend

4 hours ago

Reply to FungoAle

I love the “Rendon was known to not like baseball” bullshit. It’s a classic.

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Super Member

Roy Hobbs

4 hours ago

Reply to gitchogritchoffmypettis

He’s the one outlier of all the bad Angel contracts. There was no reason to believe at the time that it wasn’t a great move even if one thought it was a bit of an overpay or that the contract was a year or two too long. We needed a bat and a 3B and he was elite and was coming off a 4 year run of elite production. The injuries just destroyed him. All of the rest of the bad contracts I thought were bad when they happened.

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Legend

55 minutes ago

Reply to Roy Hobbs

Yeah. Rendon was prime “What god did you piss off?” stuff

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Super Member

2pints

6 hours ago

Reply to Senator_John_Blutarsky

Josh Hamilton will forever be the worst contract I’ve witnessed.

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Super Member

8 hours ago

Ease up Astros. You’re over .500. We need a sub .500 team to win the West. That would be epic..

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Legend

Pineapple12

8 hours ago

Reply to HalosFanForLife

😤

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Super Member

8 hours ago

We’re in first!!!! Let’s go Rockies. Go A’s.

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Legend

Pineapple12

8 hours ago

Reply to HalosFanForLife

We can do it !!!

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Legend

DowningDude

7 hours ago

Reply to HalosFanForLife

1-9 in our last 10. We’re really peaking at the right time!

(Although 1,2,or 3, we still have the same % chance at the top pick – 19.25% … so rooting for #1 is the same as 2 or 3 as all three slots have same chance … if i read the chart right, even the #18 slot has a 0.23% chance of getting the top pick – that’d be just our luck! (LINK))

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Super Member

6 hours ago

Reply to DowningDude

Oh yeah…..

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Super Member