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2013 Contract Issues: Los Angeles Angels

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [May 22, 2012 at 12:20pm CST]

The Angels are next in MLBTR’s 2013 Contract Issues series:

Eligible For Free Agency (6)

Torii Hunter - Hunter has said he would like to play for the Angels or another contending team once his contract expires. He'll be looking at a short-term deal and a major pay cut from his current $18MM salary. None of the Angels' free agents should expect qualifying offers after the season.
Hisanori Takahashi - The 37-year-old Takahashi has seen his stock drop since signing a two-year, $8MM contract with the Angels two offseasons ago.
Maicer Izturis - Mike Scioscia continues to find playing time for the versatile 31-year-old. It's not as though the team's offseason plans will hinge on Izturis, however.
LaTroy Hawkins - Hawkins has been on the disabled list for most of this month, but he was pitching reasonably well before getting hurt.
Jason Isringhausen - The 39-year-old seriously considered retirement this spring, so it won't be surprising if he retires this offseason.
Ryan Langerhans - Langerhans, now on the disabled list, could return, but it would presumably be on another minor league deal.

Contract Options (3)

Dan Haren: $15.5MM club option with a $3.5MM buyout. Despite his unsightly ERA and lopsided record, Haren's past successes are too compelling to ignore. I expect the Angels to exercise this option.
Ervin Santana: $13MM club option with a $1MM buyout. A net price of $12MM for the age-30 season of an established 200-inning pitcher seems reasonable, especially for a high-revenue team.
Chris Iannetta: $5MM club option with a $250K buyout. Player can void option. At his best, Iannetta's worth considerably more than $5MM per season, so he figures to void the option if he puts together a strong year. If he struggles to hit and/or stay healthy, the Angels might not value him at $5MM (he has been on the disabled list since May 9th because of a wrist injury). It would likely take a solid but unspectacular season for both sides to OK the option.

Arbitration Eligible (5)

First time: Bobby Wilson, Kevin Jepsen
Second time: Jerome Williams
Third time: Kendrys Morales, Alberto Callaspo

Callaspo and Morales are off to slow starts at the plate and given that they'll both be in line for raises from the $3MM range this offseason, trades or non-tenders aren't out of the question. The three other arb-eligible players will remain affordable in 2013.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The Angels have committed $92MM to next year's payroll, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. If Haren and Santana return, the team will already have $116MM in commitments for 2013. Yet owner Arte Moreno boosted payroll to $150MM for the 2012 season with a spending spree at last year's Winter Meetings, so generous payrolls are nothing new in Anaheim. GM Jerry Dipoto won't have too many positions to fill this coming winter, though the bullpen figures to be an area of concern.