2014 Offseason

[scotsman1948]

You could bring back the same pitchers we ended the season with plus Darvish and the pitching would be significantly better in 2015. Having Derek all season long would make a very big difference in itself. Having Colby fully recovered all season would be pretty big also. The youngsters would be better naturally as well. They are not going to do that, but if they did it is easy to see that the starting pitching in 2015 would be significantly better than the starting pitching in 2014.

don't believe that at all Tepesch and the others sucked. we need to look for better options behind Yu, Derek & (never thought i'd say this) Colby

 

[RevSader]

Seems reasonable.

He is a 60 day DL waiting to happen. He's had 3 concussions in 6 months.

 

[Justinkm83]

I think they will add pitching. I just question how much salary they will be able to add with the current budget constraints. They will add pitching alright, but will it be better than what we already have with what we have to spend? I guess we will find out.

Even if they add someone via trade, if it is someone coming off a good season who is arbitration eligible then they could be very costly. The most popular name being talked about on here seems to be Latos and he will probably get around $10 million in arbitration. With the contractual raises and the arbitration raises we have coming it is hard to see them being able to add that much salary and still keep the budget the same as last year.

I am afraid JD is going to have to go bargain hunting. A couple of years ago he went bargain hunting and came back with Berkman.

Remember that Rios is coming off the books.

 

[saddles]

Probably true but we also have more than those 5 mentioned. I thought Bonilla looked good for the most part. Then in the minors we will have Mikolas, Jackson (who took a big step backwards), Thompson and Chi Chi and I know I am missing a few others and if Baker is back he did a good job in this crazy role. Then those on the outside looking in are Perez and remotely Harrison. But I am not going to kick Tepesch and Martinez in the butt because Martinez should have been pitching in AA last year and I liked what I started to see out of him at the end of the year. I wonder how many Angel fans thought if they had to go with Richards and Shewmake or whatever his name was if they would be up a creek. Many of these free agents just do not pan out as great as people think they will. Give me a low cost guy like McCarthy and I will be good with that.

I couldn't agree more. It is amazing how many fans think the grass is always greener on the other side. I guess it is a lot more exciting to think of big trades and free agent signings than it is to see our own prospects slowly making their way to being good pitchers and players. Everyone wants instant success.

 

[saddles]

Remember that Rios is coming off the books.

Rios is coming off the books and that saves us $11.5 million after buying him out for $1 million compared to last year when he made 12.5 million. Cotts is gone and that saves us $2 million. Soria is gone and he was on the books for $5.5 million. Frasor is gone and he was on the books for $1.75 million. That saves us a total of $20.75 million.

We also have some raises coming which will raise payroll in 2015. Elvis gets an 8.5 million raise next year. Holland gets a $2 million raise. Matt Harrison gets a $5 million raise. Beltre gets a $1 million raise. Leonys Martin gets a $1 million raise. I am not sure how much more we will spend for players going to arbitration, but lets say it will be an additional $2 million. That means we have raises totaling $19.5 million due in 2015.

If payroll is going to remain the same then we have about $1.25 million to spend unless we find ways to get rid of payroll.

 

[saddles]

don't believe that at all Tepesch and the others sucked. we need to look for better options behind Yu, Derek & (never thought i'd say this) Colby

There is no way you can logically say the pitching will be just as bad in 2015 if Derek and Colby give us a fully healthy year. Derek performed better than any pitcher we had in 2014 in September. Six months of Derek alone makes the 2015 rotation a good deal better. Colby was much better in the second half as he learned how to pitch with his new hip and will not have to struggle for half of a season in 2015. You may not like the two Nicks simply because you see them getting in the way of us playing "Let's Make A Deal" in the offseason, but it is just logical to assume that they will continue to improve even if only slightly. If they just pitch all season like they did in the last 2 months plus then they will have a much better year next year.

Even if there are better pitching options than Tepesch and Martinez it just doesn't make sense to say the that the pitching would be as bad in 2015 as last year when Scheppers, Ross, Saunders, and Williams made several starts.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I couldn't agree more. It is amazing how many fans think the grass is always greener on the other side. I guess it is a lot more exciting to think of big trades and free agent signings than it is to see our own prospects slowly making their way to being good pitchers and players. Everyone wants instant success.

Grass is always greener seems to be true. Agree on your thoughts here.

 

[romeo212000]

There is no way you can logically say the pitching will be just as bad in 2015 if Derek and Colby give us a fully healthy year. Derek performed better than any pitcher we had in 2014 in September. Six months of Derek alone makes the 2015 rotation a good deal better. Colby was much better in the second half as he learned how to pitch with his new hip and will not have to struggle for half of a season in 2015. You may not like the two Nicks simply because you see them getting in the way of us playing "Let's Make A Deal" in the offseason, but it is just logical to assume that they will continue to improve even if only slightly. If they just pitch all season like they did in the last 2 months plus then they will have a much better year next year.

Even if there are better pitching options than Tepesch and Martinez it just doesn't make sense to say the that the pitching would be as bad in 2015 as last year when Scheppers, Ross, Saunders, and Williams made several starts.

 

[saddles]

Arencibia, Kouzmanoff elect free agency.

J.P. Arencibia, Kevin Kouzmanoff elect free agency - ESPN Dallas

 

[ESPN Refugee]

He is a 60 day DL waiting to happen. He's had 3 concussions in 6 months.

Maybe so but I think it could be a really buy low and get a lot more value out of him. Plus he's been there done that with the Tigers so I think that could be a nice low risk high reward option.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

I second this.

 

[scotsman1948]

There is no way you can logically say the pitching will be just as bad in 2015 if Derek and Colby give us a fully healthy year. Derek performed better than any pitcher we had in 2014 in September. Six months of Derek alone makes the 2015 rotation a good deal better. Colby was much better in the second half as he learned how to pitch with his new hip and will not have to struggle for half of a season in 2015. You may not like the two Nicks simply because you see them getting in the way of us playing "Let's Make A Deal" in the offseason, but it is just logical to assume that they will continue to improve even if only slightly. If they just pitch all season like they did in the last 2 months plus then they will have a much better year next year.

Even if there are better pitching options than Tepesch and Martinez it just doesn't make sense to say the that the pitching would be as bad in 2015 as last year when Scheppers, Ross, Saunders, and Williams made several starts.

and you can't logically say that it will be better

 

[saddles]

and you can't logically say that it will be better

Are you saying that Derek will pitch no better than Saunders, Williams, Scheppers and Ross? Are you saying that you didn't see any improvement in Colby, Nick M. or Nick T. as the year went along? Are you saying that the youngsters have reached their ceiling already and that they will pitch no better from here on out than they pitched overall in 2014? Are you saying that you saw no improvement in Colby as he adjusted to his new stride?

 

[Nightcrawler]

Are you saying that Derek will pitch no better than Saunders, Williams, Scheppers and Ross? Are you saying that you didn't see any improvement in Colby, Nick M. or Nick T. as the year went along? Are you saying that the youngsters have reached their ceiling already and that they will pitch no better from here on out than they pitched overall in 2014? Are you saying that you saw no improvement in Colby as he adjusted to his new stride?

You can say what you want, but we definitely have to learn from last years mistake. Signing a 3 hole type pitcher needs to be top priority.

 

[romeo212000]

and you can't logically say that it will be better

Actually, he can.

 

[romeo212000]

You can say what you want, but we definitely have to learn from last years mistake. Signing a 3 hole type pitcher needs to be top priority.

Good luck. Which #3 caliber pitcher did you have in mind, and for what kind of deal?

 

[Nightcrawler]

Good luck. Which #3 caliber pitcher did you have in mind, and for what kind of deal?

I'd probably try to bring in Yovani Gallardo, Francisco Liriano, or Jake Peavy. All 3 of those guys would outperform Tepesch or Martinez and be a good #3. I've seen people mention Masterson or McCarthy, but I don't think they would be a good fit.

 

[RevSader]

I'd probably try to bring in Yovani Gallardo, Francisco Liriano, or Jake Peavy. All 3 of those guys would outperform Tepesch or Martinez and be a good #3. I've seen people mention Masterson or McCarthy, but I don't think they would be a good fit.

I would rather trade for a number 2 than spend money on any of those guys.

Having Darvish and two number 2 pitchers behind him would be huge.

 

[donaldson79]

Arencibia, Kouzmanoff elect free agency.

J.P. Arencibia, Kevin Kouzmanoff elect free agency - ESPN Dallas

If Kouz is healthy - big if - they will be getting a very good player on the cheap.

 

[Justinkm83]

Good luck. Which #3 caliber pitcher did you have in mind, and for what kind of deal?

I would still go after Cueto or Latos and then letting the rest of the guys fill out the last 2 spots. Hope fully they wouldn't want us to take Brandon Phillips back because that's a deal breaker. I might also talk to Preller and see what it would take to get Cashner. Maybe Gio Gonzalez would be another I'd look into.