Call to the pen
Fansided

Ranking baseball’s decision-makers for 2018: Part 2

By Bill Felber

OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 7: General Manager David Forst of the Oakland Athletics and General Manager Farhan Zaidi of the Los Angeles Dodgers talk in the clubhouse prior to the game at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on August 7, 2018 in Oakland, California. The Dodgers defeated the Athletics 4-2. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 7: General Manager David Forst of the Oakland Athletics and General Manager Farhan Zaidi of the Los Angeles Dodgers talk in the clubhouse prior to the game at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on August 7, 2018 in Oakland, California. The Dodgers defeated the Athletics 4-2. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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ANAHEIM, CA – DECEMBER 09: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim general manager Billy Eppler shakes the hand of pitcher from Japan Shohei Ohtani (17) during an outdoor press conference held on December 9, 2017 for the fans and the media in front of Angels Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA.(Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

16. Billy Eppler, Los Angeles Angels, -0.8 games

By his prominent role in the signing of Japanese free agent Shohei Ohtani, Billy Eppler became the most frequently seen face among general managers during the 2017-18 off-season. Ohtani unquestionably helped the Angels, batting .285 in 367 plate appearances with  22 home runs while also making 10 starts with a 3.31 ERA.

The tandem effort yielded a +2.3 WAA for the Angels, nearly balancing Eppler’s off-season books all by itself.

Eppler’s problem was that he didn’t make just one move on the Angels behalf; he made 47. Only three of the others – the free agent signing of Justin Upton, the trade for Ian Kinsler and the decision to trade pitcher Carlos Perez – improved the Angels to any significant degree.

His biggest weakness lay in his efforts to extract talent from other teams via trade or purchases. Eppler brought in 15 players via one of those methods, but Kinsler was the only one who yielded talent in excess of +0.1 WAA.

The net, -4.5 games, was so bad that it sank the Angels into the mediocre regions of the AL West, in time prompting the trade of Kinsler to the Red Sox, who could actually make use of his talent. In exchange Eppler received Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez, two guys you’ll probably never hear of unless your name is Mrs. Ty Buttrey or Mrs. Williams Jerez.

The farm system did produce reason for hope. The Angels used 10 first-year players during 2018, the best of which – pitcher Jaime Barria – went 10-9 in 26 starts and produced a +1.4 WAA. The net impact of the 10 was +1.2 WAA, the fourth most first-year talent produced by any farm system in 2018.

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