Bigger Fish?

pwetty pwease?
Is it going to take a terrible start to get this rebuilding thing underway? Getting some value for Molina should be a top priority, and getting a young 1B with serious upside goes without saying... if they really want Molina, would Mike Napoli be available? Or am I asking for too many good, young players?

Kotchman's a pipe dream, but I'd be perfectly happy with Morales and Mathis in exchange for Bengie.

My guess( and like everyone else, probably including Baggarly, we are all guessing) is the Angels want Sanchez, while we are offering Correia or Misch. Molina + Sanchez is a LOT, so I don't fault Sabean for holding off. Correia or Misch we can afford as we have the equivalent part in Palmer. It is also a dicey trade because we have no MLB catchers in our system at the present time, so would either have to get someone back or know we could trade for one. I am not sure Inge can be regarded as an everyday (120 fames) starting C.

Sure, losing our only major league ready catcher wouldn't be great but then again, who else on this team is major league ready? If we can get two pieces that might help us out going forward for one, I say do it. And this coming from a guy who loves Molina. We are in a bad way from an organizational standpoint. Having said that, Sabes is an idiot and will never do this deal.

As valuable as Molina is for our young pitchers, he will not be around when this team is competitive again, so they might as well get some value in return for him now. The problem in getting Kotchman is that the Giants were already prepping Villalona for 1B, albeit for 3 years from now, so you would be trading a SP and your starting catcher for possibly a stop-gap 1B.

Having said that, Kotchman would be a solid, young 1B playing good defense with a good bat. If we could get him and Mathis for Molina and Sanchez, I would do it. I hate to lose Sanchez, but Correia would still be here, Palmer may be a keeper, and Misch would still be around as well.

As others have said, the Angels probably don't do this deal without Sanchez, so it all comes down to whether or not you want to fill your 1B hole by losing Sanchez and a costly but solid starting catcher who doesn't figure in their future anyway.

The reason they need a starting pitcher NOW, is due to injuries to Lackey and Escobar. They do not need a young prospect who might become a good starting pitcher in a year or 2 years time. Not to the point where they would trade a good young MLB 1b.

I would trade Molina and Sanchez for Kotchman and Mathis for sure. I really like Kotchman, and I think that if he can stay healthy, he is just waiting to break out. I think that he is seriously undervalued, and could realistically be one of the top 10-12 1B in baseball with just a little luck and health.

Also, Mathis has definitely flamed out as a prospect, but he was once a top prospect, and guys like him are exactly who I want Sabean to be taking chances on, which is something that he has seemed reluctant to do to this point. You never know, maybe Mathis reaches his potential, and becomes a league average starting catcher.

If Sabean's true goal is to "get younger and win games" this is probably the best he can do to try to accomplish both of those goals at the same time. I say go for it. Molina sucks and isn't worth much to us, and Sanchez still hasn't put it together, and plays a position in which we have somewhat of a surplus.

D