The March 31st, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Mike Trout extension reactions, Angels set roster and much more…
The Story: The Angels set their Opening Day roster.
The Monkey Says: Let’s get this out of the way first since there is a lot of Trout stuff to talk about. The big move of note was that the Angels kept Collin Cowgill over J.B. Shuck, presumably because Cowgill gave them a right-handed option off the bench. Shuck heads to Triple-A (huzzah!), but we probably haven’t seen the last of him. Ian Stewart got the final bench spot after coming on strong at the end of camp. Nick Maronde survived the battle of attrition to become the only lefty in the bullpen. Matt Shoemaker made the roster as a long man in what may have been the most shocking development of all. Things will surely change soon though as Dane De La Rosa should come off the DL in a matter of days.
The Story: Details of Mike Trout’s contract extension.
The Monkey Says: The real thing to focus on is the $33.25 million he gets in each of his three free agency years. That is, believe it or not, actually a discount.
The Monkey Says: This is going to be a recurring theme in the reaction. I really wonder how big the contract needed to get for Trout before the consensus reaction stopped being that the Angels got a “steal.”
The Story: Mike Trout’s contract is the deal of the century.
The Monkey Says: This post summarizes the positive reaction in the most concise manner. Basically, Trout should’ve gotten at least $230 million on a six-year deal. Instead, he took an $86 million discount. That’s hard to beat.
The Story: Mike Trout is the new King of Trade Value, now and forever.
The Monkey Says: Good thing he has that no-trade clause, right?
The Story: Mike Trout reacts to his new contract extension.
The Monkey Says: As is his style, Trout reacts with humility and respect.
The Story: Mike Trout celebrated his new extension by having a gigantic steak.
The Monkey Says: Oh, and he reacted by eating a massive amount of food, which is also pretty standard for him. In fact, I’m not even sure that this meal is all that unusual for him.
The Story: Craig Landis, the agent for Trout, actually floated the idea of a lifetime contract for Mike Trout.
The Monkey Says: That’s fascinating. It didn’t get any traction, but it boggles the mind to think about. In fact, I wonder if that is why it went nowhere. I can’t even get my head around what that deal would have to be structured like for Trout to get anything resembling fair value and for the Angels to not be wildly exposed to the risk what would have to be a deal of at least 15 years.
The Story: Arte Moreno had hoped to sign Mike Trout for seven or eight years.
The Monkey Says: This is where you can see the agent really coming into play. Trout reacted as is if he was flattered by whatever offer the Angels made and would’ve just accepted it right then and there. However, it seems, based on all the reports we’ve heard in the last month, that his agent was reluctant to beyond six years. I guess that second big payday at age 29 was too good for Landis to pass up.
The Story: What if Mike Trout had held out?
The Monkey Says: This was actually written before news of his extension, so kudos to the author for his serendipitous timing. Kudos for a great topic idea too. Such a move would turn the baseball world on its head. In fact, I can almost envision Scott Boras presenting the idea to Bryce Harper now.
The Story: The Angels got lucky with Mike Trout, again.
The Monkey Says: Who let Whicker out from under his rock? They didn’t get lucky. They sniffed out an undervalued prospect through hard work and intelligence. They then signed him to this deal because that is just how baseball works. This isn’t even that lucky of a deal, in my opinion, because they really should’ve locked him up for a few more years. When 2020 begins to draw nigh, real panic is going to set in around how much the Angels are going to need to spend to keep him from testing the open market. Then we will see who is lucky and who isn’t.
The Story: When will Mike Trout’s reign as the best player end?
The Monkey Says: Technically, it hasn’t begun because the BBWAA is a pack of cavemen incapable of understanding basic numbers.
The Story: Sean Burnett threw an encouraging bullpen session on Thursday.
The Monkey Says: Oh, yeah, we’re done with all the Trout stuff now. This is a good sign, but Burnett is still weeks away from rejoining the active roster. I doubt we see him at all in April.
The Story: Rick Eckstein explains his role as the new quality control coach.
The Monkey Says: It isn’t said explicitly, but it really sounds to me like he was hired to be a guy Dipoto can filter information through to pass on to Scioscia that might otherwise be seen as too statistical. Perhaps the plan is to have Eckstein pass on scouting info blended with data-driven analysis to the coaching staff in a way they find understandable and non-confrontational. Of course, they don’t need that what with everyone being on the same page, right?
The Story: Jered Weaver is out to prove he is still an ace.
The Monkey Says: He can whine about people worrying over his velocity all he wants, but it is a legitimate concern. Weaver is a unique pitcher, but even he can’t live on deception forever. It may not be this year, but at some point, the league is going to catch up to him.
The Story: Vin Scully calmly calls the Angels-Dodgers game during an earthquake.
The Monkey Says: Still the best.
The Story: Tyler Skaggs has made major improvements in rectifying his mechanical issues.
The Monkey Says: That might be the second-best bit of news in this batch of headlines. My Skaggs optimism had been starting fall off, but it has now been buoyed.
The Story: Some interesting questions for the Angels in this preview of the AL West.
The Monkey Says: There apparently isn’t a lot of faith in Kole Calhoun at BP. I don’t get that at all. I also think I would take the best of Skaggs and Santiago combining to out WARP Mark Trumbo.
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