The Angels are likely to trade either second baseman Howie Kendrick or third baseman David Freese, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Kendrick will make $9.5MM in the last season of a four-year deal after hitting .293/.347/.397 in 2014. Freese, who made $5.05MM last season after arriving from the Cardinals in a trade, will likely receive a raise in his last season of arbitration eligibility before free agency. He hit .261/.321/.383 in his first season in Anaheim.
The Angels would like to add starting pitching or left-handed relief help, and dealing a relatively expensive player in Kendrick or Freese would help with their luxury tax issues. Gordon Beckham, who the Angels acquired from the White Sox in a minor deal in August, could replace either player as a starter, or the Angels could use Grant Green at second. Beckham and Green would likely be downgrades, however, particularly if the Angels were to trade Kendrick.
Blue Jays
Was exactly what I was thinking, too. It’s a perfect match, especially for Kendrick.
What do they have to offer. The Angels are not going to let Kendrick go cheap
Hutchison?
I mean, that would more than get it done. Are they really willing to give up Hutchison for one year of Kendrick though?
Unlikely. More likely to be a minor league pitching prospect. Kendrick isn’t going to bring a mid rotation guy
I don’t know much about Hutchison but, his 4.51 career ERA does not in my mind make him a mid rotation guy. Does he have good stuff?
He broke out this year and is expected to build off of it. He is seen as a number 3, though he may slot in as a number 4 in most rotations
More likely someone like Buehrle with the jays eating a chunk of his salary. 200 innings of under 4 era (and this year under 3.5 era) in a bigger ballpark would be exactly what the Angels need. Or someone like Norris may be possible… But I wouldn’t think it would make sense for the jays to trade any of their young pitchers for one year of anyone.
If Kendrick had more than one year left on his contract it would make sense. But, Hutchison is young and is controllable for quite awhile, so it doesn’t make sense in the long-term. Plus, the Jays don’t have the financial flexibility to handle the difference in salaries between Hutch and Kendrick. That’s why Happ makes more sense.
J.A. Happ and Rob Rasmussen make sense. Solid rotation piece and decent lefty out of the pen. Saves the Angels about 2 or 3 million and fills some of their pitching needs.
they will let Kendrick go for not at all much if the goal is to free up salary to sign Scherzer or some other top starter…..and it probably SHOULD be the objective.
It will likely be a salary dump for a back end starter for the purpose of freeing up more money to sign a higher end starter.
dickey+itzuris ?
Freese for Dickey? It’d make sense if Dickey wasn’t making $12 million in 2015.
Dealing Kendrick would be a terrible mistake.
Depends what they get for him. Beckham’s not a complete disaster at 2B (he was quite good as an Angel) and if they can get the pitcher they need, it might just work.
Years of information on Gordon Beckham support the idea he’s a below average MLB player. 61 PA as an Angel don’t erase 2900 PA with a .680 OPS. I wouldn’t trust him on a team with ideas of contending.
Years of information with a stagnant organization. Coaching in Anaheim alone can help Beckham. That’s been their MO under Scioscia and it began to show in his time with the Angels.
Beck is a solid defender, but a horrible bat and not much in the way of savings. Becks expected to make 5.5-6mil only 3-4mil in savings.
Unless we got somebody like Stroman or Loup I’d have to agree with you.
There’s no way you’d get either of those.
No it wouldn’t. I don’t want to see him go, but the Angels have been top heavy on offense for 3 years straight and need to balance things out. Their offense is so deep that they have produced just as well without Pujols and/or Hamilton in the lineup. I’d keep Freese. He has the plate discipline that some if the Angels second-tier players (HK, Aybar, etc.) have lacked for years. The Angels need more David Freese’s plugin holes in their lineup.
What about defense? Kendrick is a plus defender, and Freese was pretty bad.
Freese was not that bad and Beckham can replace Kendrick’s glove. Green can hold the fort. The Angels overall have a very good defense. As with their offense, they can afford to make a sacrifice here or there to balance out their pitching staff. Whatever is lost with the bat and glove can be regained with the arms they receive in return.
Just how crazy would it be to deal away the Angels most consistent player?
It would be insane. But then again we wouldn’t actually be talking about Kendrick.
Oh snap
Nats need a second baseman, and have decent pitching depth – seems like a good match.
Giolito
As much as I don’t like Giolito, he’s one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. I highly doubt 1 year of a good (though not amazing) player gets them Giolito.
Ha, definitely not…but Ross Detwiler and someone like AJ Cole or Taylor Jordan might be a match.
Untouchable
Randall Grichuk was traded for Freese, right?
If so wow that’s a terrible deal by Dipoto
Bourjos too, but he’s kind of in the same boat as Freese (didn’t do much, gonna get traded most likely). I think there was a reliever who went to LAA too, and did pretty well.
Fernando Salas did decent… when he was brought in a non pressure situations. If he was brought in with a runner on base they always scored… if he was brought in when the game was tied… well they scored….
That’s why Dipoto made his moves, and why Scioscia changed Salas’ role to better serve Salas’ strengths. Most relievers aren’t going to do all the things expected of relievers. But a reliever like Salas will have success when put into the right spots, as was the case in the second half. Besides, Smith allowed the highest pct of inherited runners to score. But he also had their bullpen’s highest WAR.
edit, misread, thought you were talking about Grichuk, not Bourjos.
No, I would call this a great deal. Freese wasn’t horrible, Bourjos was the big trade chip (and we saw how that worked out), and at the time Grichuk was just thought of as AA depth behind a solid outfield on both the AAA and Major League levels.
Actually is was another miss read by our “GM of the year”. StL always wanted Grich. Infact they said that including Grich was the only way the trade was going through.
The Angels won that trade by a landslide. It seems to me that fans lately have refused to admit that the Cardinals actually made a number of questionable moves in 2014, which is why they couldn’t find consistency until September, and barely won 90 games. I think many out there would be amazed out how much STL spent on players that brought no overall value and could’ve actually afforded to keep Albert Pujols in place of that dead weight, and would’ve gotten more value. The Angels got at least above average to good years from Freese and Salas — which is all one can ask for — while the Cards got very little from Bourjos and Grichuk. Advantage: Angels.
And yet, Grichuk appears to have tremendous upside, is young and cost controlled for a number of years. Bourjos will also remain cheap, and still has upside, and 3 more years of club control. Freese, on the other hand, will cost more than Bourjos and Grichuk combined in 2015, and we only have one more year of control over him before he hits free agency. By no means did Freese have an above average season. He wasn’t bad, but he was average at best.
So, this talk of the Angels winning the trade by a landslide is nonsense. It may have been ok for 2014, but the winner of the trade still remains to be seen. We’ll have to wait and see the numbers Grichuk and Bourjos put up in their remaining years with the Cardinals.
Dipoto is known for over paying.
All high market teams are known for overpaying. That’s part of being a high market franchise.
On what planet?
I could see the Yankees trading Phelps and Romine or Cervelli for Kendrick
What would the Angels do with another catcher?
Trade Conger. Most inaccurate throwing arm I’ve seen in an Angels uniform.
The angels supposedly felt out interest in Conger last year and nothing came of it. Has anything changed since then?
Probably not.
Cervelli would be an upgrade over Conger and Phelps could be their long man or 5th starter.
Kendrick has only put up less than 3 WAR once in the last four years (and that was only just below at 2.9).
Dealing him would be odd unless they get something rather tasty back in return.
We have a decent amount depth at second base. Grant Green is a very solid player who given a chance could produce similar numbers to Howie. We are also tight on payroll space and trading Howie would give us 9.5 million more to spend… Maybe for a lefty or a starter depending likely on the return we would get for Kendrick.
“Could” produce Kendrick like numbers, could not as well, at least with Kendrick you know what you are getting, very much a proven commodity.
It’d certainly be a big risk shipping him out.
And it’s a big risk not getting any more pitching depth as Skaggs is out until next season along with a decent chance that Richards will miss the start of the season. Down the stretch this last year we did not have a 5th starter…. And especially with Wilson and Santiago being incredibly inconsistent some moves are badly needed. We have NO depth and I would rather have less offense than having a bullpen day every fifth day.
Freese to Boston for 1-2 of their dozen young arms?
Freese for Eduardo Rodriguez, Edwin Escobar?
No way we get that much for 1 year of Freese.
Freese is a light hitting 2 WAR player for a 3B, E-ROD looked ridiculous after coming to Boston in the trade from Baltimore.. Maybe 2 of Ranaudo/Escobar/Barnes/Workman.. all have potential in the rotation and years of team control but none have a high ceiling over a number 4 really
So what if Freese is only a 2 WAR player? That’s not a core spot in their lineup. He’s a hole filler that allows a team like the Angels to be balanced up and down their lineup, as they were above average or better across the board. That’s the value that Freese brings to the Angels. They don’t need any big moves. They need to maintain that balance and depth.
As discussed in the title “Angels likely to Trade Kendrick or Freese” In essence, you’re right, except their pitching depth is non-existent and that needs to be addressed, which it can in the deal I proposed?
I agree. I was just responding to the criticisms of Freese, which I think are overboard. In fact, I believe the Halos can trade both Kendrick and Freese for pitching, and still be fine both offensively and defensively. There was a time when the Angels were making the playoffs year in and year out with an IF full of light hitting, fast running role players. Their current IF is much more talented. But it also contributes to an excess of position player talent when that pitching depth you pointed out needs to be addressed. And it will be. They’re going to do the same thing they did last offseason: trades for balance, and lots of minor league deals for organizational depth
How are the criticisms harsh? He is light hitting for a 3B. This is two consecutive seasons he has had underwhelming power numbers for a 3B, he does not have much speed to speak of, but is passable. I know he fits into the Angels well, but how is anything about what I said false?
I meant other criticisms I’ve heard, not necessarily your’s. But as for what you’ve said, Freese is not a light hitter. He has plenty of power, much of it to right-center, and is a HR threat every time he comes up. Even though he hit only 10, he’s more likely to hit a HR than almost any other Major Leaguer who put up similar numbers at his position. That’s another trait he has in common with other Angels supporting players like Kendrick, Iannetta, Calhoun, etc. The ball doesn’t fly out of the park left and right with that group, but they’re all a HR threat any time they’re up there. That’s one of the main things that makes the Angels’ offense so dangerous. No matter the case though, this entire era is filled with underwhelming power numbers overall. I guarantee you if this was the steroid era, Freese would be hitting 20+ HR’s a year. The power 3B is a myth, and you’re not going to find many hitters in general in this era that actually have good power numbers. I bet you anything if Scott Brosious came up in this era as opposed to the 1990’s, he’d probably hit no more than 10 a year himself. Gotta evaluate the era when speaking of power.
Okay, evaluating Freese within the era, he was in the bottom half of the league in OPS, SLG, and extra base hits for third basemen….Tell me how that is great power for a 3B, or in this era?
Really any arm that could throw would be fine with me in regards to a trade with Freese.
Grant is NOT a solid player.
He’s better than Mike Trout
I don’t think Green is an everyday 2B, but better served as a utility player. One of the key points during the time when Scioscia and Dipoto were hammering out their compromise was Green’s defense. Dipoto is an OBP guy, but Scioscia wasn’t high on Green replacing HK because of the downgrade with the glove. I would say Beckham is the top option to replace HK with Green as the backup at 2B, 3B, SS.
One big reason they missed the playoffs in 2012 and 2013 was they were way too top heavy on offense. They still are. Trading Kendrick barely puts a dent in their production. They can off set his loss with a decent arm in return.
Fair point, but as with any trade it’ll be what they get back in return that makes or breaks it.
Kendrick is on a very nice deal. To justify that paycheck he needs to be something like a 1.5 – 1.7 WAR player. Since 2011 he has posted seasons of 5.7, 3.1, 2.7, and is coming off a 4.6 year. He’s worth on average about $20M/season (based off past performance).
I would assume that a team that acquires him will get a surplus value of $5-10M in 2015 AND be in a great position to offer QO. Surplus value + anticipated draft pick should net the Angels a nice return.
I would rather them move Freese. While clearly inferior, his reputation as a decent power bat exaggerates his value. I bet teams would pay nearly the same even though Kendrick is the far superior talent.
What about Kendrick, Yarbrough, Sappington, Towey, Jepsen for Norris, Loup
Doesn’t work for Jays, they would be taking on too much money.
What about we throw in 7m
Kendrick and Jepsen are obvious needs but the Jays will not be moving Norris unless they get someone with more controllability at a reasonable salary. Yarbrough/Sappington/Towey are just org fillers.
Ian Kennedy for Kendrick straight up.
Or Benoit.
I love this idea. Now what do the Padres do with Kendrick? Flip him around in another trade sometime between then and the 2015 trade deadline for prospects.
Move Gyorko back to 3B. Kendrick at 2B.
It would make sense for the Nationals to try and trade with them. They’ve got good pitching (although, I’m not sure who would be a good swap for one of them) and the need at 2nd or 3rd. It also seems like the kind of deal the Nats would make (especially going after Kendrick). Maybe Taylor Jordan and Ross Detwiler for Kendrick? The downside (for the Nats) would be the fact that it’s another guy they’d be in danger of losing after 2015. Downside for the Angels is that Jordan doesn’t recover from his injury (had bone chips removed in his elbow this year).
Really see the Jays as a fit for Kendrick. AA better get on that, he wouldn’t have to give up much since Howie is approaching his final year of his contract
Do you have a trade you’d offer the angels?
Buerhle for Kendrick. Jays throw in 4 million. Both teams get exactly what they want/ need. Both players on one year deals.
Not sure I feel they need a prospect or two since they have no farm system. Kendall Graveman?
Happ for Kendrick?
Not enough
Trade Freese, sign Sandoval. Done.
Man, wish it was that easy. Sign Headley instead
I don’t see why not. The Giants will probably extend a QO, but Moreno has the $$.
That would not help the Angels, they need cost controlled pitching not another high priced FA.
Would you trade Kendrick, Jepsen for Hutchison, Loup?
No. Jepsen and Loup cancel out so you are left with Kendrick for Hutchinson
Hutchison’s control makes him much much more valuable than Kendrick. It’s all about control.
Not really. The Angels could approach Kendrick around an extension. Or they could just suck it up and offer him a QO (assumes he plays well in 2015). Worst case scenario, the keep a very good player in 2015 AND get a draft pick out of it. There is plenty of value there.
Control is only desirable for a player that is cheap and good. We control Pujols for another 52 years but that doesn’t make it good.
I don;t know if the 2B market warrants a QO.
No waaaaay we do that. We sure as heck don’t have enough luxury tax space for that and the pitching we need.
Kendrick to the Nats for some pitching.
That’s what I’d guess. Maybe Taylor Jordan and Ross Detwiler? If Roark wasn’t coming off such a hot year (where his value is, arguably, at its peak), I’d put him in there instead of Jordan.
Kendrick for Doug Fister and a prospect or two? I can see it though Fister would be about the same price tag as Kendrick so that doesn’t exactly help.
Lower your expectations….
If the Red Sox lose out on Panda and Headley I think they could possibly turn their attention to someone like Freese as a one year stopgap. I could also see the Nationals trying to acquire Freese. But I do believe that trading Kendrick would be a mistake unless of course some team manages to overwhelm the Angels with an offer which is unlikely.
What’d you give for Freese?
At most I believe we would be able to get a warm body to throw onto the mound in return for Freese….
Probably Bryce Brentz and call it a day
If I were the Red Sox I’d let the Angels pick any combination of the Triple-A starters we had in the rotation last year minus Rubby De La Rosa. He’s a bit more special.
Marlins seem like the perfect fit. They need help at both 2B and 3B and have tons of pitching depth.
What’d you give for both of them?
I’m not an expert in AL players so I don’t know that much about them so I’d try my best to keep Heaney, Nicolino and Eovaldi. So for SP I’d offer someone from Anthony ‘Disco’ DeSclafani, Tom Koehler, Brad Hand, Adam Conley, Trevor Williams, and from RP maybe Chris Hatcher, Dan Jennings or Mike Dunn.
I’d trade Kendrick, Freese, Yarbrough for Heaney
Jaja. If you are that desperate to trade them all for Heaney I’m starting to wonder what is really wrong with them and be reluctate to trade our #1 prospect.
They cant get a solid young controlled pitcher (what Dipoto wants) for Howie alone. The Angels dont have the prospects to add to a trade, so there is only one scenario that makes any sense:
Address pen needs in Howie trade.
Release or trade Beckham.
Go with mediocre 2B Grant Green.
Savings: $9mil minus new payroll for relievers.
That gives Angels roughly $19mil to find bench pieces & a quality SP.
Howie for Loup, Nolin (they pay for contract)
Then… sign Bonifacio, McCarthy
Why would the Angels not be able to get any decent SP for Kendrick? He’s a pretty consistent performer, and just last year the Trumbo trade returned Santiago and Skaggs.
Trumbo did have a lot more years of team control reaming and that was a terrible trade for Arizona
1 year left on contract. Trumbo was a rare & highly desired commodity (right handed power bat). 2Bs not so much.
One year left yes, but he’s also a consistent hitter who pretty much turned into the cleanup hitter for a 98 win team. You can’t tell me that out of 29 other teams, none of them would be willing to offer SP
It sounds crazy but no one will give up good SP. The World Series will tell you why. Every year Kendrick is a trade rumor.
You could get a JA Happ or Vargas or for Kendrick but not much better than a number four. No team can afford to trade a number three.
Any team that thinks like that is narrow minded.
Kendrick produced nearly 5 WAR last season. That was good for the 6th best mark among all 2B in baseball. Since 2011 he has accumulated the 5th highest WAR total. He trails only Cano, Zobrist, Pedroia, and Kinsler.
To put that into perspective, Trumbo was coming off a season where he was less than half as valuable as Kendrick. Trumbo netted the Angels a nice, cost controlled swingman in Santiago, and a top LH pitching prospect in Skaggs. Trumbo had one extra year of control but clearly was not as valuable as Kendrick.
That Trumho deal helped get Kevin Towers canned. Don’t count on that deal setting the bar.
Kendrick is probably the one to go, seeing as how the Angels would probably not get a significant return on Freese.
Freese would be traded for salary relief and a nominal return. Kendrick would only be traded for a significant return.
I’m not really sure I’m seeing the case for dumping Freese. Without him, Angels have a black hole at 3B. His salary also isn’t so large that the Angels would be so much more flexible. Most likely it’d just go to a back end starter.
I think the Nats make some sense. Definitely will be in the market for a second baseman.
I wonder what Freese’s value is, in terms of controllable starting pitching? He’s not exactly all that great, but he’s solid offensively and defensively. In the event that Aramis Ramirez doesn’t exercise his half of the option with the Brewers, I just wonder if trading for Freese would be an option. Again, I don’t know what his value would be at right now, but we have some pitching. I mean, a guy like a Mike Fiers could be a reasonable return for Freese, I’d think. But, who knows if Ramirez will even decline his half of the option. Just a thought that crossed my mind that could make some sense.
Jonathan Schoop’s 2nd half:
.191/.221/.399 10 HR 58 K 6 Walks
2B is probably one of the Orioles biggest holes (definitely offensively) and has been for a few years now since Roberts clocked himself in the helmet.
Kendrick would provide a huge burst with the stick. (that’s what she…)
Kendrick, Jepsen for Hunter Harvey?
Harvey I think is a little much to ask for. I’m relatively sure that the Orioles are looking forward to having Bundy, Harvey, and Gausman fronting their rotation in a few years, and would be expecting a lot more than Kendrick and a MR to justify dealing one of those guys.
I’d go for a back end starter and look for the left reliever via free agency. Or bring back Joe Thatcher on a minor league deal? Kendrick is definitely the key chip here. The Halos need to unload a little bit of their deep offense and continue working to balance things out with their rotation. They’ve been so top heavy on offense the last 3 seasons that they could probably trade both Kendrick and Freese for pitching and still be fine offensively. The arms they get back can off set the losses of those two. I think we’ll see exactly what we saw last offseason.
Yankees could have interest in either with Martin Prado slated to take over the position (second or third) that the new guy doesn’t play.
BJ and Minor for Kendrick. Controllable pitching…. Haha