The November 5th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Vargas doesn't receive qualifying offer, David Price trade possibilities and much more…
The Monkey Says: As I have said before, I don't think the Angels are all that into keeping Vargas unless their primary plans fall through. They were never going to give him a qualifying offer, but they had ample opportunity to give him an extension during the 2013 season and failed to do so. If they don't get Tanaka and only land one quality starter via their trades of Kendrick, Iannetta/Conger and Trumbo/Bourjos, only then will they give Vargas a call. Let me put it like this. The Angels are like the freshman guy going off to college hoping to hook up with a bunch of girls, only he has a girlfriend at home but he doesn't tell the girlfriend that they are breaking up, just in case he strikes out with all the college girls.
The Story: Examining possible trade destinations for David Price.
The Monkey Says: Just to drive home the point I made on Monday, read this post and then take careful notice of which team is not even on this list. Even if you want to chalk that up to the writer overlooking them, look at the prospects mentioned for the other candidate teams. The Angels don't come remotely close to measuring up.
The Story: The Hall of Fame released their list of expansion era candidates for induction.
The Monkey Says: I had hoped Bobby Grich would make this list, but he once again gets unjustly omitted.
The Story: The Angels are ranked as only 23rd on the most tortured fanbases in MLB.
The Monkey Says: Check back with us in seven years when they are still digging themselves out from all these bad contracts and watching Mike Trout winning a World Series for the Phillies.
The Story: What will the Angels do this off-season to turn around their fortunes?
The Monkey Says: The best thing in this to focus on is the "pot committed" comment. That might be the best way to sum up their situation. They really have no choice but to try and keep fixing things to be a contender. They have too much money invested and too little flexibility to change course. It is only going to lead to more desperation as they years go on, but they have painted themselves into a corner, so they need to just try and make the best of it.
The Story: Mark Trumbo rates as one of the worst fastball hitters in baseball.
The Monkey Says: This is a bit misleading because it really means he misses a lot of fastballs, but he still crushes them just fine when he makes contact. I've actually been meaning to write on this topic for awhile, but the gist of the topic is that Trumbo has a really big problem hitting high heat. He swings and misses a TON on those pitches. He is more or less OK down in the zone, but he would probably be advised to lay off the high heat.
The Story: Mark Trumbo is one of the ten players most likely to get traded this off-season.
The Monkey Says: I really thought the Angels would keep him and trade Bourjos instead, but I am starting to lose faith in that prediction as the heat around Trumbo continues to build and build while Bourjos's market has been fairly quiet outside of a few fan-generated musings.
The Story: A look at the Angels' option to trade Chris Iannetta or Hank Conger.
The Monkey Says: I'm not sure if they'd both bring back commensurate returns, but moving Iannetta instead of Conger seems like an easy decision. Hank is a lot cheaper, better defensively (which isn't saying much) and still has upside to realize. There is also the underconsidered factor that Iannetta is under contract for just two more years and the Halos system has nobody who projects to be an everyday catcher right now. At least Conger has four more years of team control for them to figure the succession plan out. This decision really should be whether or not they should break up the catching tandem, which I think they should as they could bring in a defensive caddy for Conger when he goes into his little defensive slumps.
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