The non-tenders have been announced! It is that wonderful time of year in which all of baseball suddenly turns into an American Picker, sorting through the unwanted droppings of the rest of the league in search of some turd that they can polish into something shiny and pretty. Every fan base thinks their team can do this. Few teams actually can, but that doesn’t deter us all from wishcasting on the new inhabitants of the Island of Misfit Free Agents. Heck, I can’t even resist and I know better. So, let’s feed this bad habit and look at some of the non-tendered free agents that the Angels either should consider or that fans think they should consider and then realize why we are all wrong and/or filled with false hope.
John Baker
He’s a left-handed hitting catcher. Please note that actual hitting is not included. He is a solid defender though, so maybe that plus “veteran leadership or something” will have the Halos give him a look as competition for the back-up catcher gig.
Everth Cabrera
Ah! A potential solution to the back-up infielder problem. Cabrera is a decent defender up the middle and has excellent speed, making him an ideal bench guy. He doesn’t have much of a bat, but isn’t entirely useless. Just imagine what it must be like to have a back-up infielder that is useful as more than just a late inning defensive upgrade.
There are two small problems though. The first is that Cabrera was actually a starting-caliber shortstop up until last season. There are a lot of teams that need help at short, so it highly likely that Cabrera will be offered a starting role elsewhere. The second problem is that Cabrera is a dirtbag. He’s been arrested (but not charged) for domestic violence, was suspended in the Biogenesis scandal and busted for marijuana possession. He may not be the best dude to have in the clubhouse. Just a hunch.
Juan Francisco
The Angels need a lefty power bat to potentially use in a DH platoon, so Fat Juan would certainly seem to fit the bill. He’s got all kinds of power. He also has all kinds of plate discipline problems, which could be a dealbreaker for Dipoto. The guy whiffs at a 34.4% clip on his career, and that’s for a guy who has largely been sheltered from left-handed pitching. Like, zoiks, Scoob.
His other supposed selling point is that he can play first and third. That is true in that he does have a first baseman’s glove and an infielder’s glove. He is generally a poor defender though, as guys nicknamed Fat Juan are want to be. I guess that might be tolerable for part-time player, but the Halos seem to be interested in players that bring more than one tool to the table.
Justin Smoak
Hmmm, an intriguing “change of scenery” candidate. That is what probably 29 teams in the league think of Smoak right now even though his bat has never played anywhere close to its potential. He doesn’t even have a platoon profile where you could talk yourself into thinking he might be a useful part-time player. No, all the hope is tied up in thinking that you’re hitting coach is going to work miracles with him. Maybe Don Baylor can be that hitting coach, but it would mean adding another guy to the roster who can only play first base. That seems unlikely.
Andy Dirks
The Angels are going to sign Andy Dirks aren’t they? There is nothing particularly special about Andy Dirks. He hit pretty well in 2012, but didn’t hit very well in 2013. Then he barely played at all in 2014 due to a back injury. He walks a fair amount, has a little bit of pop and doesn’t whiff too much. He’s really only usable against right-handed pitching. He’s a decently athletic guy who play a decent corner outfield. That’s completely unexciting, but it will work, assuming he’s actually healthy, which means the Angels will sign him in completely unexciting fashion.
Eric Young
If the Angels are willing to forego the idea of finding a part-time player, Young could make for a reasonable bench specialist. Young is fast. Young is very fast. He can’t hit. He has no power. He is only an adequate corner outfielder who can fake it at second base in a pinch. Mostly he’s fast. If the Angels want fast, he’s their guy. I don’t think they want fast though, so he probably isn’t their guy.
Gordon Beckham
Wait, what? Didn’t they just non-tender him? Why, yes, they did. I’m glad you’re so current on the news. The Halos let Beckham go because he wasn’t worth $5 million. He might be worth a lesser amount though. In fact, the Angels seem to think he is as they’ve repeatedly stated that they’d like to bring him back if they could. Maybe they are just saying that to be nice and not hurt his feelings as he heads out the door, but given that Dipoto traded for him on purpose just a few months ago, there must be something there he sees.
If he is going to bring Beckham back, he better hope that other teams don’t see the same thing because there are a few clubs that have starting jobs available to offer to Beckham (hi, Toronto). Granted, that list might include the Angels if they end up trading Freese or Kendrick, so maybe it is more realistic than it seems at this given moment.
Kris Medlen
Every fan base in America thinks their team should sign Kris Medlen. Every fan base in America is completely discounting how devastating it is to a pitcher to undergo two Tommy John surgeries. There’s nothing wrong with taking a chance on Medlen, but not if it costs guaranteed money, which it probably will. The Angels just don’t have that kind of financial or roster flexibility.
Brandon Beachy
See everything I just said about Medlen, but lower your expectations slightly.
Alexi Ogando
Ogando has been a tantalizing talent in Texas. He’s been an All-Star and generally put up excellent numbers when healthy. The problem is he’s never healthy. In fact, I think he hurt himself while I was typing this. He’s also someone who deserves a bigger role than what the Angels can offer, though I do kind of like the idea of letting him and Hector Santiago battle it out for the fifth starter role. I imagine though that he’ll either get a more prominent rotation or relief role promise elsewhere.
Wesley Wright
Hey, look, a lefty. He’s totally a left-handed pitcher. He’s good but not great against left-handed hitters and basically can’t get righties out. But, hey, he throws with his left hand and that counts for something.
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