The December 1st, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Beckham facing non-tender decision, Angels trade suggestions and much more…
The Story: Gordon Beckham is a candidate to be non-tendered.
The Monkey Says: Which he likely will be. $5 million is a lot to commit to a bench player when you are already pressed up against the luxury tax ceiling. However, the looming decision to non-tender Beckham also impacts the Angels’ ability to shop Howie Kendrick and David Freese as they would no longer have their safety net on the roster. It doesn’t mean if Beckham gets cut loose, they won’t trade any of their infielders, it just means it gets a little more perilous and complicated to do so.
The Story: Jim Bowden believes the Angels top trade target is Yasmani Grandal.
The Monkey Says: Which is weird because nobody else has suggested that they are even looking for another catcher, though it does make sense. It doesn’t seem like another catcher would be their “top” target though as they still seem to be much more actively engaged in pursuing rotation help.
The Story: David Freese is among the trade candidates who could be available at a discount.
The Monkey Says: He’s certainly available, but I don’t see why he’d be available at a discount. The Angels aren’t just going to give him away. Once Chase Headley signs, teams in need of hot corner help will be more interested in Freese, but Luis Valbuena is on the market as well, not to mention Jed Lowrie, who probably could be moved to third base.
The Story: The teams with the most committed payroll, by year.
The Monkey Says: 2021 is so far, far, far away.
The Story: A look at the one-and-done Hall of Fame candidate hitters.
The Monkey Says: Sorry, Ersty. I still love you anyway.
The Story: Buster Olney ranks the top centerfielders.
The Monkey Says: Yeah, you know who it is. Don’t even bother clicking.
The Story: The rest of the AL West needs to catch up the A’s in Hot Stove season.
The Monkey Says: Um, no they don’t. The trade the A’s made over the weekend set their team back in 2015. Catching up to them is a bad thing because Oakland just traded an MVP-caliber player and is headed in the wrong direction.
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