Looking Ahead - The 2020 Offseason Thread

Angels signed Steve Cishek to a one-year, $1 million deal after the Astros cut him. He was terrible for the White Sox last year, but I've always really liked him and he's been an effective reliever for a decade or so. Thought he might make sense for us as a late Spring Training option. Someone to keep an eye on if the Angels fall out of contention, maybe.
 
Would like to see us sign Odor to a minor league contract. I know we had interest in him in the past. I like him more than Kipnis at this point. Still young enough that he could be of some value. Wouldd also give Acuna a fellow countryman.
 
Would like to see us sign Odor to a minor league contract. I know we had interest in him in the past. I like him more than Kipnis at this point. Still young enough that he could be of some value. Wouldd also give Acuna a fellow countryman.

He's younger, but Kipnis has clearly been the better overall player in the past 5 years.

Odor:
2016: 2.5 fWAR
2017: -1.4 fWAR
2018: 2.4 fWAR
2019: 0.3 fWAR
2020: -0.3 fWAR
Total: 3.5 fWAR

Kipnis:
2016: 4.7 fWAR
2017: 0.5 fWAR
2018: 2.2 fWAR
2019: 1.1 fWAR
2020: 0.6 fWAR
Total: 9.1 fWAR
 
Sandoval may be just a bench bat at this point, but he is a decent option for that role.

2019/2020 xwOBA vs RHP: .320
2019/2020 xwOBA vs LHP: .343

That's an average hitter vs RHP and an above average hitter vs LHP. As long as he gets a high leverage PH PA per game, he can be a nice bench piece. Ender will be terrible as a PHer, Jackson won't be used since he's the other catcher, and Arianza is just a worse hitter all around, so Panda should be getting the PH PA that matters in almost every game.

It's a pretty limited bench, but the good news is it should be easy for Snit to manage...is the pitcher coming to bat with a runner on base after the 5th? Yes = use Panda. No = use someone else. What they really lack is that LHH masher that can make an impact vs RHP. That's who Kipnis and/or Lamb was supposed to be when they were picked off the scrap heap.
 
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The good news is that finding bench help closer to the deadline shouldn’t be too hard. For now it’s clearly our weakness.
 
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