Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Angels and Cardinals have
discussed a potential trade involving third baseman David Freese.
If the Angels are interested in Freese, the Mets should be talking to them about Murphy and/or Flores. I'd still like to see them at least ask about Hamilton. The Angel's are in a similar position as the Tigers. They need to free up money to sign Trout long-term, just as the Tigers needed to free up money to potentially re-sign Scherzer and Cabrera over the next couple of years.
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NOOOO thanks on Hamilton.
ReplyDeleteThat contract is absolutely Atrocious.
Freese is an actual 3B while Murphy hasn't played there since the minors. Meanwhile Flores hasn't even proven he could hit at the major league level.
You wouldn't do the deal unless the Angels ate a large part of that atrocious contract. They could play Flores at 3B and Murph becomes their super-utility guy.
ReplyDeleteChristopher, Hamilton's contract is not THAT atrocious. Yes, the final 2 years at $30 million are excessive, but if Hamilton is anywhere close to the player he was in 4 of his 5 years in Texas, he'd be worth nearly that amount. If Texas sent $17 million in cash along with Hamilton, bringing the AAV of the last 3 years of his dealk to $22 million, it would probably be worth the risk. The fact that he had a down year in 2009 in Texas and then came back big time would lead me to believe he is still capable of putting up great numbers. The thing that concerns me most is what I think may be emotional fragility and the addictive personality that is extremely difficult to overcome. Perhaps he has overcome it, but the danger of a fallback is ever present. (I note that people said the same thing about Greinke, and so far he has disproved the concerns.)
ReplyDeleteAll that said, I think it is almost a zero probability that the Halos trade Hamilton this year. (BTW, I probably would have said exactly the same thing about Prince Fielder yesterday.) A much more realistic trade target would be Kole Calhoun. I think Calhoun will be a star in the not too distant future. Murphy is a natural 3B and Flores acquitted himself admirably at 3B prior to injuring his ankle last season. Either one could be attractive to the Angels, although perhaps not a one for one. I'd pull the trigger on a Murphy/Flores for Calhoun trade in a minute if the Angels didn't hold out for much more.