Angels GM Jerry Dipoto says he is not expecting to make additional trades before tomorrow’s deadline for new additions to be postseason eligible, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets that Dipoto says he will rely on the Angels’ bullpen and September roster expansion to help the team get through the rest of the season.
After losing Garrett Richards to a season-ending injury, the Angels had been connected to pitchers like A.J. Burnett and Bartolo Colon, but they’ve reportedly been hemmed in by their desire to stay below the luxury tax threshold next season. (Pitchers like Burnett, Colon and Scott Feldman who might otherwise be good August additions for a team in need all are owed significant money in 2015.) Instead, it appears the Angels will allow pitchers like Cory Rasmus, who will make his first big-league start tonight, to continue to take turns in their rotation. Randy Wolf and Michael Roth could also be candidates to take starts alongside Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker.
I love Randy Wolf but he should never start a game for a team trying to win the division.
Maybe its a good thing…. The Angels would be handcuffed next year because of only a few spot starts that they might win anyway. The fear is, of course, if another pitcher gets hurt.
I still don’t see the big issue here for the Angels. They can trade for him now, if they actually have anything left in their farm to trade, and then flip him over the winter to recoup most of the cost anyway. He won’t affect their 2015 salary cap because they won’t be paying any of it. Sounds like a cheap excuse from an uncreative GM to me.
Flip whom, and for what? Sounds easy when you’re playing with other people’s money.
Maybe not flip, but perhaps they could give him away.
Flip Colon, and for what? Does it matter? A bag of resin is better than anything the Angels have to trade right now. He’s making 11M in 2015 and the Mets are willing to eat 2M of that. He’s in the top 10 in the NL in innings and innings/gm. He had a few rough starts at the beginning of the year while adjusting to the NL, and hitting, but since mid-May, his ERA has been in the 3.3’s.
If you don’t think you can trade a SP on a 1 yr deal with those numbers, who is making 9M, then you don’t deserve to be a GM. It sounds easy, because in this case, it IS pretty easy.
“Sounds like a cheap excuse from an uncreative GM to me.”
Perhaps you forgot many of the moves their GM has made since the offseason. There is no reason to trade for pitchers like Colon and Feldman with their financial commitments for 2015, other than a safety net. But that safety net would only be in mind. too much money for both pitchers. There really is no reason for them to shoot that high for 5 games. Plus, the Angels aren’t so dependent on guys like Garrett Richards because they have a good all around team that can beat you in many different ways. They really haven’t stopped winning since early May, while the A’s have played .500 ball since early July. Making a move is not imperative, and it’s wise for them to stay below the tax if they can and still have a playoff team on the field. In other words, the Angels are not desperate.
Nothing is getting to the Angels anyway. They’re last in priority for NL guys, and they’re getting blocked left and right. They can always go get someone in September, btw, just can’t use him in the playoffs.
You know that all of those guys mentioned cleared waivers already, right?
It’s 5 games. Few teams will even have a solid 5 they can rely on all the way through. They’ll be going with a 4 man rotation in the playoffs any way. They have enough guys who can go multiple innings in the bullpen (Rasmus, Morin, Salas). I think the media is blowing this way out of proportion. Because it’s at the point where they have to reach for any excuse they can come up with to keep selling the A’s; and knowing many of them just handed Oakland the AL West division title coming into the season. Just accept it. The Angels are probably a better all around team. And the A’s probably made a big mistake trading Cespedes for Lester. Still have 4 weeks to go. But I don’t think it’s the end of the world if the Angels don’t make a move.
The move wouldn’t be made for the regular season, it would be made for the playoffs. If they have ANY hope of advancing in the playoffs, they have to improve that rotation. They would trade him over the offseason anyway, so he wouldn’t affect their salary next year.
It’s not the end of the world if they don’t do anything, just the end of their chances for a ring this year. That rotation cannot win a ring, as currently constituted, and while Colon might throw a bad game in the playoffs, it’s more likely that he goes deep with a very low ERA. In short, you go from no chance at a ring, to at least some chance.
I already pointed out the regular season and playoffs. And no, they do not HAVE to improve that rotation to advance in the playoffs. Many teams have won the World Series with weaker rotations, Angels included. They have an all around very good team that can outmatch any other team almost entirely across the board, 1 through 25. Great starting pitching is not the only way to win, playoffs included. It’s one of many ways to win. The playoffs are decided by which team gets the hottest at the right time any way. It’s a crap shoot. If starting pitching was as crucial as you claim, the Angels would not be on their way to winning a third game in a row against what people still think is the best team in MLB.
Angels pen 3 hits the athletics for the W. Lead is 4 games. Pen did alright by me. Jerry standing pat could work out.
What a shame! Would understand if the Angels were fighting for the 2nd Wild Card spot, but the Angels are assuming that Weaver, Wilson, Shoemaker and Santiago will remain healthy the rest of the season (see Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs). Since they have no prospects, taking on salary is the only option. If the Angels aren’t doing that, then what was the point of all those big contracts to Weaver, Pujols, Wilson, Hamilton and Trout?
To get where they are right now. That’s the point. We’re talking about 5 games. They’ll go to a 4 man rotation in the playoffs any way. And relying on Weaver, Wilson, Shoemaker, and Santiago to stay healthy the rest of the season is no different than any other contender counting on their top 4 to stay healthy. The most they really need is a 5 or 6 inning man with the bullpen they have. All this fear mongering over their starting rotation; they are still likely the best all around team in the Majors, 1 through 25.