Cobb to Angels

[MCO'sFan]

12 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

Well it was $10M. 
 

They could have saved just as much if they dealt him at the deadline, in theory. Obviously they didn’t want to chance that and are going out of their way to save any money they can.  

I like the timing of this... I don't trust Cobb and his health enough to wait until the deadline.

[Sports Guy]

10 minutes ago, MCO'sFan said:

I tend to see it as the later. I like the idea of getting a guy close to MLB ready and still with potential to get better. I never thought I'd type these words but I trust our PD department to get the most out of him. I wonder if this is a turning point in the type of prospects ME is looking at adding. Getting guys closer to MLB ready could be a sign that he thinks the O's are getting closer to changing gears in the rebuild. It could also be an aberration.  

 

Contrary to what people think about Elias, a lot of the moves he has made and the players he has acquired via the draft are guys that aren’t far from the majors.  College bats and arms, guys in A or AA.  That doesn’t put you that far from the majors if you perform well.  They are advanced ages.

Sure, he had taken back some lottery tickets in some of the deals but that happens everywhere.

[wildcard]

On 2/1/2021 at 11:51 AM, wildcard said:

My guess is the O's send 10m with Cobb and they get back a minor leaguer that fits 20--30 on the O's list and an international teenager.

I was pretty close.   I said a 20-30 level prospect and Jones is being ranked #19.   And the O's did not get a 2nd player.

[sportsfan8703]

When does this deal become official?  Is it pending a Cobb physical?

[Moose Milligan]

3 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

When does this deal become official?  Is it pending a Cobb physical?

 

Let's hope that the physical is already done.

[wildcard]

2 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

When does this deal become official?  Is it pending a Cobb physical?

Joe Trezza from Orioles.com says its done.

Quote

 the Orioles on Tuesday evening finalized a trade to send Alex Cobb to the Angels in a complicated deal that yielded one big league-ready prospect and significant payroll relief.

https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/alex-cobb-traded-by-orioles-for-jahmai-jones

[sportsfan8703]

On 2/1/2021 at 5:37 PM, sportsfan8703 said:

Better than I would’ve ever expected for Cobb. I’m actually glad that Jones could use some more milb seasoning. That’s better for us long term. 
 

Great trade. 

 

On 2/1/2021 at 5:05 PM, NCRaven said:

Baseball-Reference.com projections, they obviously think he'll start the season in the minors since they're only projecting 186 AB.  But, I'd take that line for a rookie second baseman.

 

Year	Tm	Age	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Rel
2021	Proj.	23	209	186	28	47	9	1	7	26	3	1	20	49	.253	.333	.425	.758	79	4	3	0	1	1	3

 

11 hours ago, Frobby said:

Here’s the part I care about:

“To get Cobb rather than a free agent, the Angels sent Jahmai Jones to the Orioles. Jones, who we pegged as the Angels’ No. 11 prospect last year, is a speedy second baseman whose prodigious athletic talents have landed him on several Top 100 lists. Jones came up purely as a second baseman, but the Angels experimented with using him as an outfielder in spring training, which he took poorly to. When he returned to the minors, his bat fell off a bit as well; after scorching Low- and Hi-A in 2017, he’s been an average or worse hitter in two years of action at Hi-A and Double-A.

“Why is Eric still optimistic on Jones? His natural bat-to-ball skills remain excellent. Even in a down 2019, he made solid contact and frequently hit the ball with authority. He’s also a plus athlete with frequently-praised on-field makeup, two traits that help offset the disappointing hitting numbers of late. One thing that doesn’t bode well: Jones has become a chronic swing tinkerer. He’s altered pretty much everything at this point: hand position, initial load, leg kick, and stride. In his most recent game action, a cup of coffee in 2020, he showed his most conservative swing yet. Eric projects him as a bat-first infielder, one whose offensive contributions offset his middling defense, with the total package looking like a role player or utility infielder.”

It sounds like once Jones is fully ready to go that he will be an above average bat at 2nd base with the possibility of average defense. 
 

I also like the praise for his “on field make up”. 

[Number5]

 

[Moose Milligan]

There's a lot of upside to Jones.  Elias must be confident in the analytics and all of the newfangled stuff he's installed to coax the best out of him.

[sportsfan8703]

Seems like there is some confusion amongst writers(and everyone) on what exactly the Angels are paying. Is it $5 million flat?  Is it $5 million total, with some of that paying his deferred salaries?  Is it $5 million in 2021, plus paying some of the deferred money?

[Just Regular]

I circled back to the BA Angels Top 10 podcast.   Not much there there - the newspaper beat guy/regular BA stringer only gave about three sentences, said he "didn't want to" put him on the Top 10 but the club made him by promoting him as a utilityman, and was certain he wasn't good enough to start at a position.   The newspaper beat guys didn't get to see much last year.

He did mention he'd gotten smoother bouncing around the diamond to help the promotion.   Jones, Vavra and Mullins could make a very nice bench someday.

[Just Regular]

A few sentences from one of BP's prospect guys this morning (maybe he splashes Hays/Mullins's pool too?):

Jahmai Jones made three Top 101 lists from 2017 to 2019 as a two-way center field prospect with a strong approach and potentially above-average pop. A rough transition to second base along with multiple swing changes that led to stagnation for the bat have dimmed his star some, but he’s only 23 and there were positive signs at the alternate site that led to a late-season call up for the Angels. Jones didn’t have a clear path to meaningful playing time in Los Angeles, but both second base and the outfield will have vacancies to fill in Baltimore. What the Orioles are getting in the short and medium term is unclear, but there was a usable swing and major league regular potential here not all that long ago. 

[Sports Guy]

50 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Seems like there is some confusion amongst writers(and everyone) on what exactly the Angels are paying. Is it $5 million flat?  Is it $5 million total, with some of that paying his deferred salaries?  Is it $5 million in 2021, plus paying some of the deferred money?

Angels are paying 5M and some of what they are paying is deferred.

[MCO'sFan]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

 

Contrary to what people think about Elias, a lot of the moves he has made and the players he has acquired via the draft are guys that aren’t far from the majors.  College bats and arms, guys in A or AA.  That doesn’t put you that far from the majors if you perform well.  They are advanced ages.

Sure, he had taken back some lottery tickets in some of the deals but that happens everywhere.

I don't disagree but I think this is one of the few times he has acquired a true prospect (via trade) who has already made his MLB debut. It may be his first such player but, I have not researched that. 

[Tony-OH]

On 2/2/2021 at 10:51 AM, Matt Bennett said:

What exactly is the point of a Maikel Franco signing? Elias definitely wants Martin to get the AAA at bats that he’s never had which explains the Galvis signing, but I can’t really see why we would pay a couple $million for maybe a slight upgrade at 3B over Ruiz. 

 

On 2/2/2021 at 11:38 AM, Matt Bennett said:

Uhhh, we aren’t trying to get more major league wins in 2021, which is as long as we would have Franco. Quite the opposite. And he sucks. Negative BWar combined over the last 4 years before a BABIP inflated 2 month spurt in 2020. Him and Ruiz have the same bWar over the last 2 years. Not really understanding why we would spend money on him. 

 

23 hours ago, NCRaven said:

I really don't care if Franco is better for a relatively non-competitive team for one year.  I'd rather put a warm body making the ML minimum at third than spend an extra million on Franco.  By mid-season, I'd hope to see some combination of Bannon and Jones in the infield.

In my mind, Franco brings a little bit of an upside because if he hits in a hitter friendly Camden Yards, he might have some value to flip at the trading deadline which so something Ruiz has a smaller chance of doing. 

Saying that, Ruiz brings better defense and it appears Elias is trying to put together a good defensive infield behind his young pitching staff, so that could very well negate his interest in Franco.