To Sell Or Not To Sell, That Is The Decision The Angels Need To Make

No Comments July 1, 2016 Angels By John Stellman

The August 1 (July 31 falls on Sunday) major league trade deadline is still several telephone calls away.

But with each passing day, that debatable topic of conversation has Billy Eppler and the other 29 general managers squirming in their front office hot seats.

Am I contender or am I a pretender? Do I buy or do I sell?

Spending Sprees

For the majority of this century, the Angels have pretty much opened up their wallet.

Their biggest splash occurred on July 27, 2012.

Trailing Texas by four games in the American League West, the Angels (55-45) rocked the baseball world by prying one of baseball’s premier pitchers, Zack Greinke, away from the Milwaukee Brewers.

The price was steep.

The Brewers prize acquisition was Jean Segura. The following year, his first full season in the major leagues, Segura quickly blossomed.

All Star

The 23-year old shortstop was named to the National League All Star team. And when it was all said and done, Segura had distinguished the 146 games in which he played by hitting .294 and stealing 44 bases.

Neither Ariel Pena nor Johnny Hellweg have been heard from.

And Grienke? All the hoopla surrounding his arrival hardly created the stir the Angels were hoping for. In 13 starts, Grienke had a very businessmen like 6-2 record and 3.53 ERA. Yet his presence didn’t exactly get the Angels to the promised land.

Quite the opposite in fact. When the sun set on the AL West, the Angels had dropped to third place five games behind Oakland, despite a blue collar record of 89-73.

And Greinke was gone like a flash in the pan. The traveling salesman that he is, Greinke quickly moved up the freeway and signed a lucrative five year contract with the Dodgers. Of course he opted out of that deal after three seasons and found greener pastures in Phoenix.

Another Rental

Four years earlier, the Angels grabbed the headlines when, on July 29, they were able to acquire Mark Teixeira from Atlanta for Casey Kotchman and a minor leaguer.

Teixeira did not disappoint. In 54 games he cracked 13 home runs, drove in 43 runs and hit .358 for an Angel team (100-62) that won the AL West by a whopping 21 games over Texas.

But all the jubilation quickly soured when Boston won the divisional series, 3-1. Even more disappointment came on January 6, 2009 when Teixiera inked a free agent contract with the New York Yankees.

However, whatever anger boiled within the fan base was quickly extinguished when in July the Angels utilized that compensation draft pick from New York to select Mike Trout.

Ho Hum!!!

There was with much less fanfare back in 2001 when Chone Figgins quietly sneaked into town under the radar.

On July 13 of that year the Angels sent nondescript Kimera Bartee to Colorado for the feisty spark plug who would become a valuable member of 2002 World Series champions.

In eight seasons in Anaheim, Figgins hit .291, swiped 280 bases and scored 596 runs.

In 2013 they traded Scott Downs to Atlanta for Cory Rasmus, who is still on the 40-man roster.

And it was on July 19 two summers ago that the Angels shipped R.J Alvarez along with minor leaguers Taylor Lindsay, Elliott Morris and Jose Rondon to San Diego for Houston Street and Trevor Gott.

Gott, who was sent to Washington for Yunel Escobar, is now pitching at Triple A.

In the course of two days last year, the Angels acquired three outfielders.

Wheeling And Dealing

On July 27 they obtained Shane Victorino from the Red Sox. The following day they acquired David DeJesus from Tampa Bay and David Murphy from Cleveland.

So it has become apparent that the front office is not hesitant to mix it up at the deadline.

But unlike their recent history, when the Angels were strengthening themselves for a playoff push, this year’s scenario is a whole new ball game.

The club is floundering and with what many call the worst farm system in all of baseball, the Angels may be looking to the future.

But Eppler threw the writers a curve recently when he said quite the opposite.

Rebuild???

“With the position of this organization and the financial strengths of this organization, it’s not in the DNA here to rebuild,” the general manager told writers, including Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register, while holding court recently.

“We’ll continue to invest. We’ll continue to invest throughout this season, with a mind for this season, with a mind for the future and this winter with a mind towards competing and contending year in and year out.”

That’s all well and good and may be the party line. But does it make sense?

Investing throughout the season in which direction?

The Angels have some attractive players who might interest those clubs that hope to be in the post season party.

Everybody is looking for bullpen help. Joe Smith can be had and would fit in nicely as a setup guy or even a closer. If Eppler were tempted by a package of promising prospects he would certainly have to give it a long, hard look,

Yunel Escobar has proven to be efficient at the plate. He is also an adequate third baseman. He would certainly add punch to any club’s offense, an extra stick that could make the difference.

Can’t Buy Rings

The Angels don’t need difference makers this season. There should be no investing in that regard. They’ve proved in the past that you can’t buy success.

Although the general manager says rebuilding is not in the team’s DNA, success builds from the ground up.

The Angels must invest in their minor league system. Their scouts need to look under every rock. That includes high school, junior college and college games. Semi-pro summer leagues. Anywhere and everywhere baseball is played.

And they need to acquire as many picks as they can to use on draft day. In order to do that, they’ll need to move players. The Angel roster does however, have seven players that I would classify as “untouchable”.

Trout Staying Put!!!

Mike Trout, OBVIOUSLY!

An American League Most Valuable Player, plus the recipient of two All Star Game MVP awards, I wouldn’t take the No. 1 prospect from each of the other 29 organizations for Trout. Not that that could ever or would ever even be a possibility. But you get how much I value Trout.

When he signs his next Angel contract in the winter of 2020 at the age of 28, he very likely could become baseball’s first $1/2B man. Ten years at $50M per is not out of the question.

Mike Trout isn’t going anywhere.

His outfield mate in right, Kole Calhoun similarly should not be moved. A Gold Glover himself, the 28-year old out of Buckeye, Arizona has put together a solid season through the Angels first 78 games of 2016. Calhoun has slugged 10 home runs, driven in 42 runs and batted .288 with an OPS of .809.

Likewise, the tandem of Garrett Richards and Andrew Heaney need not pack their bags.

Despite injuries that have knocked them both out of ’16, Richards is a top of the rotation starter. Over the past two seasons he has compiled a 28-16 record and a strikeout to walk ratio of 340-127.

Heaney, himself a potential top of the rotation starter whose 2015 season was limited to 18 starts, still had a 6-4 record and a 3.49 ERA. He recorded 78 strikeouts while issuing just 28 walks.

No Moving Vans

Other keepers are Andrelton Simmons, who led the league in dWAR the last three seasons and has a club friendly contract and Houston Street, whose 322 career saves ranks 17th all-time. The 32-year old right hander could pass Roberto Hernandez (326). Francisco Cordero (329) and John Wetteland (330) this summer.

And last but certainly not least is Albert Pujols. Eleventh on the career home run list (574), Pujols has his sights on Mark McGwire (583) and Frank Robinson (586) before they pull the curtain down on the 2016 season. But the future Hall Of Famer also carries a $24M/yr salary which isn’t going to create an industry frenzy.

On The Move?

Still the Angels have attractive pieces that could be moved. At the top of the list is the reincarnated Matt Shoemaker.

Shoemaker was so bad in April (9.15 ERA) and early May that he earned a ticket to Sale Lake City.

His revival is unparalleled. By the end of May is ERA had dropped to 5.96 and it was no fluke.

During six starts in June, Shoemaker looked like the pitcher of 2014 (16-4, 3.04 ERA) when he was runner up in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting.

He gave up just ll runs in six starts, had a strikeout to walk ratio of 45-5 and surrendered just four home runs. His earned run average for the month was 2.14 but his record was 0-3. The Angels supported him with just four runs.

Valuable Asset

Shoemaker has value.

So do starters Nick Tropeano, who is 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA and perhaps inconsistent lefty Hector Santiago (4-4, 5.27). Reliever Cam Bedrosian has appeared in 32 games with a 1-0 record and 1.29 ERA and might also be in the conversation.

Johnny Giavotella (.269) and C.J. Cron (.265) are other possibilities.

So for now the general manager, sequestered in his office, can sit comfortably at his desk and stare at the telephone, wondering and waiting for it to ring!

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John Stellman

I was born with sports in my blood. I began coaching little league baseball at 15. I was the sports editor of my high school newspaper. I did football play by play for the college radio station. I broadcast high school basketball for a local commercial station. But baseball was always my passion. During the 1970's I covered the Angels for the Orange County Register. And now I am back where I belong...