The Angels have hired Omar Vizquel as a roving infield instructor in their organization, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports (Twitter link). Vizquel, an 11-time Gold Glove winner, said last summer that he was hoping to get into coaching or managing once he retired from playing. Vizquel hung up the cleats after a 24-year career that saw him amass 2877 career hits, good for 40th on the all-time list.
Here's the latest from around the AL West…
- Athletics GM Billy Beane tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that the A's have no interest in trading Brandon Moss. Cafardo opines that Moss' left-handed bat and his ability to play both first and the outfield makes him an "ideal" fit for the Red Sox.
- The Mariners didn't find much interest in John Jaso at the trade deadline last summer and shopped the catcher for much of the offseason, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The M's attempted to deal Jaso to the Pirates in exchange for Garrett Jones and explored sending the catcher to Arizona as part of a possible Justin Upton trade before finally sending Jaso to the Athletics as part of a three-way deal with the Nationals.
- Also from Baker, he opines that the Mariners have the money and the minor league depth to afford signing Michael Bourn and withstand losing the #12 overall draft pick as compensation.
- The Angels' minor league system projects as one of the worst in the game and MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez looks at how it happened, including such factors as the team's lack of international scouting and lackluster 2010 draft. One bright side for L.A. is that their farm system is currently shallow because so many homegrown prospects have made their way to the Angels' big league roster.
- The Astros are approaching their rebuild in the right way, writes Jeff Moore of The Hardball Times, by off-loading all veteran talent from their Major League roster and adding much-needed depth to their farm system.
- In division news from earlier today, the Mariners reached an agreement with Kelly Shoppach, the Angels avoided arbitration with Kevin Jepsen and we posted a collection of Rangers notes.
