Tomorrow is the non-tender deadline in MLB. That means the Angels have a lot of tough decisions to make. OK, a few tough decisions to make. Eh, alright, they have maybe like one decision to make that might be considered a little difficult. But let’s go ahead and pretend that all of these decisions are tough. I mean, it isn’t just a question of tendering or not, they could also talk extension with some of the players. Yeah, that could totally happen. Phew! Glad I thought of that, the premise for this post was starting to get pretty thin.
As such, here are the Angel players up for arbitration, ranked in ascending order of likelihood to be non-tendered along with the projected arbitration salary (via MLB Trade Rumors).
Garrett Richards ($4.0 million)
The only way he gets non-tendered is if he suffers some devastating setback in his rehab from his blown out patellar tendon. Even then, the Angels still probably wouldn’t non-tender him because he’s got so much talent. Also, it would be a total dick move. Jerry Dipoto doesn’t make dick moves, at least not on purpose.
Now, an extension, that is something the Angels probably should consider. Richards is coming off a breakout season and if he keeps pitching that way, he’s going to get very, very expensive very, very quick. However, his injury might make him a little uncertain about his future and willing to take a discounted extension, just in case his knee doesn’t allow him to return to his 2014 form. Of course, the Angels might be apprehensive about his knee as well since really no other pitcher in recent memory has suffered this injury. Everyone says they are confident Richards will come back fine, but nobody really knows for sure.
VERDICT: Settle, get a one-year done quickly and let Richards focus on his rehab
Kevin Jepsen ($2.6 million)
This time last year, the prospect of paying Jepsen $2.6 million would’ve been an easy non-tender decision, but then he had to go and pitch at a high level in 2014. What a jerk. This decision is still easy, it just goes in the other direction.
There might still be some reservations about Jepsen’s ability to repeat his 2014 performance, but not nearly enough to cut him loose. Instead, they’ll just set themselves up to be mildly annoyed at how much he makes should he regress.
VERDICT: Settle, Jepsen is far too old and volatile to extend, but his overall value could be up for debate making this my pick as the last case to get settled
Collin Cowgill ($900,000)
Cowgill wasn’t even guaranteed a roster spot going into last season, but he played so well that he has no concerns on that front in 2015. The Angels will gladly keep him around, especially with him still being fairly cheap in his first year of arbitration.
VERDICT: Settle, this one will be easy
Hector Santiago ($2.2 million)
He got shuttled between the majors and minors and the rotation and bullpen and was all but an afterthought by the ALDS. Under a lot of circumstances, that would equal a non-tender. However, because $2.2 million isn’t all that much money and because the Angels need the rotation depth, keeping him is a must. As for a potential extension? Yeah, that’s funny. You make me a laugh.
VERDICT: Settle, Santiago’s not really in a strong negotiating position
Fernando Salas ($1.4 million)
$1.4 million is kind of a lot to pay to one of the last guys in the bullpen. If the Halos have some bigger moves in mind and need that additional breathing room under the luxury tax, I could see Salas being cut loose without anyone losing too much sleep over. At the same time, he was good enough that he’d be out of work for all of two seconds, meaning keeping him and trading him once the aforementioned breathing room is needed. The same could be said for Jepsen.
The deciding factor though is simply that Dipoto made a point of acquiring Salas in that Bourjos-Freese trade. Cutting him loose now after a solid season would undermine Dipoto’s own decision-making.
VERDICT: Settle, guys on his part of the depth chart don’t get extensions or get into protracted arbitration battles
David Freese ($6.3 million)
There isn’t any real chance that Freese gets non-tendered though I’ve seen certain people around the internet suggest he should be. These people are what I like to call “morons.” Freese is a league average starting third baseman and paying $6.3 million for that is perfectly reasonable, especially when you don’t have a prospect knocking on the door, ready to take over. Even if the Halos did decide they’d rather go with Beckham and Green, there are enough other teams out there with holes at third that would pay for Freese in a trade.
You can forget about an extension for Freese though. He’s going to turn 32 just after Opening Day and has a bad back. Even without a real successor at the hot corner, that just isn’t the kind of guy you want to hitch your wagon to for several years. And because of his age, Freese isn’t going to consider a short-term extension when he’s one year away from what will be his only real shot at cashing in big on the open market.
Gordon Beckham ($5.0 million)
If $6.3 million is a reasonable price tag for a league average third baseman, $5 million should be an even better deal, right? Small problem, Beckham is not even close to a league average third baseman or second baseman. He’s actually been pretty awful the last few years. So, that’s a little bit of a problem.
Even if you think Beckham is a “change of scenery” guy, $5 million is a lot to pay for that new scenery. The Angels certainly aren’t going to pay him that to serve as their backup infielder. However, they might be willing to pay him something less than that and he might be willing to accept such an offer if he were promised a bigger role, a starting job for example. With Howie Kendrick and David Freese both on the block, that could happen, it just needs to happen VERY quickly.
If the Halos don’t want to get caught holding the bag with Beckham, they’ll need to trade Freese or Kendrick before the non-tender deadline, which is tomorrow. If they don’t, they run the risk of using up their precious space under the tax line on Beckham. That’s no fun for anyone.
VERDICT: Non-tender, the Angels are running out of time to make a trade and then get Beckham to agree to a reduced deal, they’ll just have to let him hit the open market
Wade LeBlanc ($800,000)
I know I said that Santiago’s price was cheap enough to keep around if only for depth. LeBlanc is even cheaper and also provides rotation depth, just like he did last season. Small problem, LeBlanc is not as good as Santiago, even if you don’t think Santiago is very good. The bigger problem is that LeBlanc can’t be be stashed in the minors like he was last season, not under this system. He’s out of options, meaning he’d have to stay on the 25-man roster, where there is no room of him. He’s going to get non-tendered and will try to find a team to give him a major league deal or a good shot at winning one in training camp. That won’t happen with the Angels.
VERDICT: Non-tender, Dipoto will have to look elsewhere for a veteran to stash in Salt Lake
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