The LA Times is reporting that Angels stud starter Ervin Santana has a troublesome elbow injury that will cause him to begin the season on the DL. The Angels do not have much pitching depth with Santana and Kelvim Escobar hurt, and now have the last two slots in their rotation up for grabs. They are likely to be in the market for a starting pitcher at this point. Incidentally, their top hitting prospect is SS/3B Brandon Wood, a player whose star has dimmed but needs to see some regular playing time if the Angels are ever going to be able to see whether he has a future with the club. Essentially, this means that if the Angels were to trade for starting pitching, Chone Figgins may be the one player that they can deal from position of strength.
Of course, the Yankees are in the market for a 3B/UI such as Mr. Figgins. Recapping, the Yankees need a 3B who could be comfortably placed on the bench when A-Rod returns. Conversely, the Angels need someone to give them solid back of the rotation innings until Santana returns, at which point he would need to be shifted to the pen. How about Figgins for Alfredo Aceves and a mid level prospect? It seems like a match made in heaven. What do you think?
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
15 Responses to Ervin Santana Hurt = Chone Figgins Available?
Leave a Reply
TIQ IQ
While I would love Santana for Alfredo Aceves and a mid level prospect, I think you meant Figgins. It feels like a bit much to me – I guess it depends on how you define mid-level prospect. Figgins was barely a type-B player last year, and wouldn’t net a pick without a full-time role. Can he play SS? He’s done it in a few games over the past couple of years.
I’d do it for Aceves straight up. Rather try to trade a Juan Miranda, who has no future with the team and a 40-man spot.
Totally disagree with you Eric. I LOVE Figgins and think he is an excellent role player on a championship team. I dont think the Angels will give him to us for only Aceves but its a descent start. He is pretty unproven. I cant think of a match with us and the Angels. They lost K Rod and need a reliever. They dont want Edwar. Robertson? Probably not enough. Any ideas?
Aceves and Coke would get it done, but I am not giving him up.
No way. Young,potential,left handed. What about Kontos? Is he ready?
Nope- but he may do the trick if they dont need a finished product.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Angels acted like assholes and refused to give up Figgins for anything less than Aceves and Phil Coke (obviously, Phil Coke is the guy I want to keep). It’d be payback for taking Teixeira.
Think we’re undervaluing Figgins here. The proposed package Aceves/(somebody) might work for a below avg starter (which Figgins is) but probably isn’t enough for a valuable role player (which Figgins also is). Might make more sense to start with Kennedy and a mid-level prospect. Although I would imagine an Aceves/Veres combination might be interesting. Both have a wealth of ready-replacements for their respective roles (theoretically).
If he’s a below average starter, then why would the fact that he plays many roles make a difference? He isnt particularly great at any of them, especially considering that the Angels view him as a starting 3Bman.
I agree it probably will take Veras or Coke. Not simple.
I’d flip Veras, no questions asked.
Well it makes a difference when you have to value an opposing player. Would the package be so compelling if the trade target was Hank Blalock or Andy Marte who are just below avg starting 3B?
Obviously the ideal situation is to get a guy better than Cody Ransom that can provide value for the entire year. So if you can trade for Figgins you’re not only getting a stop-gap 3B for a month, you’re getting a valuable utility INF with some very useful tools. The Angels know this and it will defintely affect what they ask for in return.
As for acquiring role players in general, I guess the trick is to bring in guys that have specific strengths that match your needs. So an okay bat with plus plus speed and passable defense combined with INF/OF flexibility would be incredibly useful for a team that is generally pretty slow, has older (somewhat) injury prone players everywhere and is missing its starting 3B for a while.
It makes sense on several levels.
Good point, well stated. The thing is, Figgins may be more valuable at this point to the Yankees, who have a larger hole to fill at third and on the bench, than to the Angels, whereas Aceves would have the opposite case. So even though he may have more valuable than a typical 3B to the Yankees, the Yankees know of his apparently diminishing value to the Angels considering their pitching needs.
Agreed there. I’m just citing the anti-Yankee bias in which it is believed that people want to screw the Yankees just because they can.
Are there any legs to this trade talk, or is it speculation at this point?
Speculation. I spoke to a few Angels fans that thought Figgins would be a chip if the Angels decided to increase pitching depth.