Certainly… but if he wanted to make big money sooner, he could certainly entice a negotiation. The only other west coast team that would be competitive and could pay him what he’s truly worth would be the Dodgers.
Sure, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t extend him like the original post implies. While I’m not sure we’re talking this in-depth about the Angels, its obvious that they need more than Ohtani-Trout-Rendon even if somehow all 3 stay healthy an entire year (virtually impossible). It’s not easy to plug their holes now without Ohtani making big money. Why I said earlier that they’ve already likely wasted any opportunity to have a sustained run of success with them as anchors. That being said, Ohtani-Trout are draws. They play in a good market that goes beyond bandwagon fans. They’re finalizing new stadium development deals to make it more fan friendly/event friendly. They have enough of a TV deal that they won’t be struggling financially even if on the field success isn’t where it should be.
They weren’t all that competitive with Felix though. Not to say a big Ohtani contract would yield similar results… he’d be quite the addition to that core.
Just off the top of my head with my poor memory, is the CF pecking order: 1. Siri 2. Meyers 3, McCormick 4. Tucker Like I say, this is from my memory of who has started in CF when the others were also available. Is this also representative of Defensive prowess and Arm Strength? Or is part of Seri's starts there unfamiliarity with the LF and RF quirks?
I'm sure they'll get better, though I don't see them as a perennial 95 win team starting next year. The only team luckier than them in recent history was the 2016 Rangers, they'll be fighting luck regression next year. That and their top prospects better start batting more than .177 to strike fear in the hearts of the division. None of their top 12 in WAR is below the age of 26, and all but one are 27 and older. Their farm system can pay massive dividends, but I doubt their player development after seeing Kelenic go from the #2 prospect in baseball to a -2 WAR player. In comparison: we have three players in our top 8 WAR that are under 25, Tucker, Alvarez, and Garcia.
Some could say It’s all cyclical. But to sustain excellence, a team has to have a very big wallet (big in comparison to the rest of the other billionaires owners), or they have to have a super system pipeline, find talent in the draft, find undervalued free agents, stay healthy, and be extremely fortunate. Since 2015 when the Astros took the Royals to the limit before falling to the eventual champions, the Astros have been in the thick of the West division. Failing to make the playoffs once, in 2016 when the Rangers obliterated the Astros during the season - it seemed the Rangers won 90% of the games between the two. If not for the Rangers dominance of the Astros in 2016, the Astros would have made the playoffs too. The Astros are very close to having a complete turnover from the 2015 team, with only Altuve, Correa, and McCullers the last holdovers from then. So that is very telling. Even from the 2017 World Series team, there are a handful of players left. Luhnow did an amazing job, and Click has continued the excellence.
Luhnow DID an amazing job. I agree. He wasn't perfect, but no-one is. I'm not ready to evaluate Click just yet. But he seems to have retained his developmental team in the minors so that's a plus. His trade are very eh at the moment. The Manager decision was not his, so I give him no grade on that. The upcoming off season and rehab of Click trades will make evaluation much easier after next season. So my grade on Click is INCOMPLETE.
I’ll say this…the next 5 years won’t be as easy as the past 5 years. AL West has had some formidable clubs in that span but nothing truly terrifying. I think HOU is well positioned to win a majority of the next 5 division titles given the strength and flexibility of our club. We do forecast pretty well, we’re not an old team by any means on the the backend of substantial contracts. Mariners and A’s will continue to be pesky…and Angels may not be slouches forever. I don’t see Arlington really challenging until maybe 2023 depending on their FA talent influx and internal development. While HOU will have its work cut out, I think we’re positioned as well for the future as anyone could hope.
