LA Angels fans hoping for a little less talk & a lot more action from GM Eppler.

LA Angels fans have been hearing a lot of names being linked to the Angels as possible targets that the team could pull in to the fold to help the team rebound in 2017.  However, so far all it has been is talk as the Angels did nothing during the Winter Meetings.

The LA Angels have been long known to be conservative during the off-season in recent years.  Since the 2013 signing of Josh Hamilton turned out to be a bust, the team has not gone after any big name free agents.  They have made a few good trades in the off-season acquiring Yunel Escobar and Andrelton Simmons for prospects last season and getting Andrew Heaney from the Dodgers in exchange for Howie Kendrick in the winter of 2014.

However, these moves pale in comparison to the signing of Hamilton in 2013, Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson in 2012 and a few years earlier when they signed Torii Hunter in 2008.  Are the Angels and in particular owner Arte Moreno leery of another free agent flop like Hamilton?  That remains to be seen.  All the talk is about the Angels being major players in the free-agent market next season after Josh Hamilton’s contract comes off the books.  But will that actually happen.

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Honestly, I’m not okay with the Angels phoning in the 2017 waiting for Hamilton’s contract to be gone.  I understand we don’t have two of our main pitchers for all of next season in Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano.  However, this should not stop the Angels from upgrading the bullpen or getting a top-tier second baseman.

So far the Angels have been known to have shown interest in former Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley, Washington Nationals second baseman Stephen Drew and Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez.  There were also reports of the Angels and Padres talking about a deal for the their second basemen.

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The Angels have also shown some interest in outfielder Coco Crisp and pitcher Bud Norris.  So there may be some hope on the horizon.

With Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson’s contracts coming off the books there is money to be spent.  The Angels should not just rush out there and throw money at anyone, but there are players out there that can help. As we saw with the Simmons move and the Escobar move last season were very kept under wraps until hours before it happened, we can expect this may be the case again.

The Angels came out of nowhere to get both Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols.  The Hamilton deal did not pan out, but Pujols for the most part has been pretty good for the Angels.  So Eppler may have something up his sleeve, but I guess we will have to wait and see.

Next: Angels make strange move

Eppler seems to be very patient in waiting for that right deal that will benefit the team for multiple years.  Hopefully a deal will come along very soon for Angels Fans everywhere, making it a happy Holidays.