Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie recognizes that there are plenty of new faces on the roster since a foot injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season back on Aug. 5, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Oakland infielder is no stranger to trades and understands that could be a possibility again, though he’s open to changing positions with the A’s if need be. “There’s always a lot of turnover there,” said Lowrie. “Whatever happens, happens.” Slusser also reports that Lowrie underwent surgery to repair a deviated septum that he wasn’t aware he had until seeing a specialist recently. While it’s not a major procedure, any ailment that significantly impacts an athlete’s sleep — and Lowrie said his sleep has been disrupted for quite some time — can obviously have a significant impact on his on-field performance.
More from the AL West…
- Any improvements made to the Angels’ farm system in the past year have been slight, at best, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. GM Billy Eppler vowed to turn around what was the game’s worst-rated farm system when he inherited it last year, but as Fletcher notes, things are still bleak on the minor league front. However, the process of reestablishing a farm system is a lengthy one, and Eppler has made multiple changes, as Fletcher explains, focusing on higher-ceiling (but perhaps riskier) high school prospects in the draft and going over the team’s allotted draft pool by the maximum amount allowed without forfeiting a future pick. Eppler tells Fletcher he plans to spend opportunistically on next year’s international market once the Halos are out of the penalty bracket that prevents them from signing players for more than $300K. Fletcher also breaks down several changes throughout the Angels’ minor league system, including the adoption of Trackman software and an increased focus on diet and nutrition for the team’s minor leaguers.
- Mike Zunino has seen his production dip once again after a brilliant 26-game stretch upon his recall from Triple-A, but the Mariners still view him as its long-term catcher, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Zunino did slug a go-ahead homer in last night’s win to help keep Seattle’s postseason hopes alive, but he’s struggled tremendously dating back to Aug. 23, hitting just .159/.266/.293 in that time. Manager Scott Servais raved about Zunino’s defense, though, and the form that the former No. 3 overall pick showed upon his return to the Majors (.280/.393/.707) created some optimism about his ability to hit in the Majors. The question for the organization this offseason, Dutton writes, won’t be one of whether they need to upgrade over Zunino but whether his backup is already in the organization or not.
Jed Lowrie is a worthless ball player. Disliked him with the A’s the first time around, and I severely disliked the fact they brought him back. Get rid of him for a pack of gum or something.
I’m not giving up my gum for him!
I don’t blame you.
Why all the hate? The guy is a solid defender, plays multiple positions, and can be clutch in the moment. Would love for him to be on the D’Backs. Seems like a team player.
That article by Jeff Fletcher seems a little misleading. The Angels didn’t have the worst farm system when Billy Eppler took over. It became the worst after he traded away our top 2 prospects.
Idk man… I know what you’re saying but it I thin it was still the worst. Dipoto depleted that system more and more each year.
Sure it was bad. But it was made worse by Eppler which goes directly against what Fletcher’s article says.
So, with Newcomb and Ellis, the Angels farm system would have been…what…29th?
Laughable that people are actually demanding Eppler turn around a farm system within less than a year. You might as well also demand Eppler convince Moreno to budget $1 billion for payroll next year.
Yah that’s not at all what I am saying. I was just pointing out that the conclusion Jeff Fletcher tried to make in his article, that Eppler has subtly improved the farm system since he took over, is false because it is based on a factually inaccurate premise.
Since Eppler took office, the Angels have traded their top 2 prospects. That’s not to say that the farm system was anything to write home about before he took office, just that there has not been any type of improvement in the system unless you somehow believe in the logic of addition by subtraction.
don’t bag on that trade. newcombe struggling with the same stuff and he got a controllable shortstop who’s hitting decent and amazing defense.
Then there was a draft where they added a few promising pieces, and several of their prospects improved their numbers and development. That trade was a year ago. Basing their system on that trade is ridiculous for that reason alone.
Not accurate Ketih Law stated that we we went from the worst to historically bad with that trade. It’s worth pointing out that both prospects we sent have struggled mightly and Simmons has been spectactular.
Angels were ranked by Jonathan Mayo and BA as the #27 ranked farm system at the end of the 2015. After the Simmons trade, they were dropped to #30. The system was bad before the trade, but they weren’t the worst as the article suggests
27 v 30. Both pretty bad. Splitting hairs and missing the point.
Potato / potato.
Damn, that doesn’t work so well when its typed.
What exactly is the point? Everyone knows that the Angels farm system is terrible. But the narrative that Billy Eppler inherited the worst farm system in baseball and has improved it subtly since he took over is just not accurate. If anything it has been the complete opposite.
Really? So you’re calling the 2016 draft a bust already?
No. But a team is always going to have an influx of talent after the draft. And there’s just simply no debating that the Angels farm system would be better if they still had Newcomb and Ellis in addition to the new draftees. That’s not a dig at the Simmons trade, which I happened to like incidentally, but it undermines Fletcher’s argument
Tomato, tomato. 🙂
I don’t think you fully understand what is being talked about here.
Hypothetical question that I was thinking about since Zunino’s defense was brought up. If a player was restricted to playing behind the plate (so no DH or 1B as an option), would you rather have the best defensive catching of all time with a slash of .159/.266/.293 or would you rather have a Mike Piazza (or insert a top offensive catcher you can think of) type offensive catcher with the league’s worst defense?
There are more to catching than offense or defense. Personally i believe how they handle a pitching staff and in game calling. Should be the top priority. Any of the Molina brothers, Eddie Perez, Pudge, McCann, etc.
So out of the two options I gave. Which would you choose? It is hypothetical so just leave the semantics out is what I am getting at.
I guess it depends on how your team is built. If you have enough offence everywhere else, it doesn’t really matter what you’re getting out of your catcher. Personally, I lean towards defence.
I like that answer. That is a good point on looking at how the rest of your team is built.
Two words on how the Angels turn around their farm; trade trout
Trout is a weird situation. He is so good that it is almost a curse to the Angels. This is my reasoning: A team that wants him would have to give up so much that they would either gut their farm system to the point to where they would just be swapping positions with the Angels, or give up most of their starting 25 man roster. Also, that can be bad for the Angels because obviously they don’t want to undersell him, so it would be insanely hard to find a buyer.
I agree, they still have some offense with Pujols, Cron, Escobar and Calhoun and there is no pitching help in this FA market. They could fill so many holes trading Trout, imagine a deal with the White Sox centered around Trout and Sale. That would be fun.
I’d wait another year before entertaining it. Two years ago they won 98 and last year they won 85 so IF (big IF, that usually doesn’t pan out) you’re the Angels and you think your rotation could get healthy and you tweak it a little, then maybe you can see why the Angels may think they have a decent shot. Otherwise, you’re either a bad team with Trout, or a bad team and traded the best player of a generation so, the choice is yours on that front. Keep in mind, Trout is only under contract for three more years. If the Angels are still in this putrid state in a year or two, you don’t risk losing Trout for nothing.
I’m rooting for Zunino to be the answer. Maybe spending some additional time with Edgar this off season and/or Seager to learn better plate discipline would carry him further in his development.
If he wants to learn plate dicipline he should spend the offseason with Seth smith, he has one of the best eyes I have ever seen.