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.
The way things are going, I’m guessing all are gone except for Haren, Santana, Morales and maybe Iannetta. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Morales and/or Santana get dealt if the Angels become sellers closer to the deadline. Woe is us 🙁
I wouldn’t mind moving santana and k-mo if it replenishes our minor league system and brings in a couple of young promising arms. We also will probably trade hunter before the other 2.
except he has a no trade clause.
Hunter would probably accept a trade to a contender if the Angels keep struggling. Question is, would a contender need Hunter?
and would they pay his salary. i would think not
Who takes Santana’s spot next year if he’s traded?
Zack Greinke?
A fan can dream, right?
Pujols and Wells certainly qualify as “contract issues”, though there’s not much that can be done about them.
Torii Hunter will only be back if he accepts a 2 year $10 million dollar deal, otherwise he will be packing his bags, he is old and his defense and offense are on the decline he is not worth more then 5 mill per season. I have a feeling Dan Haren and Ervin Santana will both be gone there club options are expensive and angels have too much money invested in other players to keep them without them both producing all-star numbers, plus they need to make sure they have flexibility in the future to resign Trout and Trumbo to long term deals. This will take a hit to the rotation, but Haren is getting older and has not been effective this year and Santana is the most inconsistent starter in all of baseball, and if we resign Greinke our rotation should still be very good with Weaver, Greinke, Wilson, Richards and either Mills or Jerome. Kendrys Morales is not going anywhere his injury was bad, and he is just now starting to fully recover. Next season Kendrys should be back to 30 homers and 100 rbi again as full time DH and part time 1B and at around 5 mill a season you can’t complain about that. Callaspo should get traded for a good relief pitcher and Iannetta will be resigned as his contract isn’t expensive and when healthy is probably worth about 8 mill a season so 5 mill is a discount.
Hunter will get 2 years/$16 million, it’s reasonable if he finishes over .300 AVG. He’s awesome in the 2 hole of the lineup.