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Bobby Abreu Links: Angels, Wells, Trout, Yankees

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Here's some of the fallout from last night's news that the Angels had released 17-year veteran Bobby Abreu….

  • There's already moderate interest in Abreu, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
  • Abreu doesn't have any hard feelings about his release, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.  “There’s not really any bitterness — it’s just a tough situation here,” Abreu said. “I’m going to wait and see what happens. I’m going to talk to my agent, make some calls, see who’s interested. I’m going to keep working and be ready.”
  • The Angels released the wrong player in dropping Abreu and keeping Vernon Wells, opines Fangraphs' Paul Swydan.  Abreu is set to earn $9MM in 2012 while Wells is owed $63MM through 2014 but Wells' contract is already "a sunk cost."  Swydan argues that Abreu is better suited for a pinch-hit role than Wells and, as a left-handed bat, Abreu brought balance to an otherwise right-handed Angels outfield.
  • The Angels' busy Friday (releasing Abreu, calling up Mike Trout and elevating Scott Downs to the closer's job over Jordan Walden) is a sign that the team is already feeling the pressure of high preseason expectations, writes ESPN Los Angeles' Mike Saxon.
  • Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog thinks the Yankees might have an interest in Abreu as at least a short-term fix while Brett Gardner is on the DL.  New York tried to acquire Abreu for A.J. Burnett in the offseason, before Burnett blocked the deal to avoid playing on the west coast.

Rosenthal On Dodgers, O’Malley, Cook, Angels

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Here's the latest pair of video news updates from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Even once their new ownership group takes over, the Dodgers "might not be as active at the trade deadline as a lot of people think."  While the team will now have the financial resources to absorb a big contract, the Dodgers' minor league system isn't very deep and they want to keep their few quality prospects. 
  • Peter O'Malley is "making a strong push" to buy the Padres and wants to have a deal arranged by the All-Star break.
  • The Nationals would've preferred to give Bryce Harper more minor league seasoning but their hand was forced due to their lack of production in left field, plus Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse going on the DL.
  • The Red Sox "aren't optimistic" they can convince Aaron Cook to stay put, as Cook is eager to pitch in the majors again.  The veteran right-hander can opt out of his contract on May 1 if he isn't called up to the Red Sox Major League roster before that date.  With Daniel Bard and Felix Doubront pitching well, Boston doesn't have a spot in the rotation for Cook unless, as Rosenthal notes, the club "does something" with Clay Buchholz.
  • Bobby Abreu is only the latest high-priced member of the Angels to have his contract eaten by the team under Arte Moreno's ownership.  The Halos have also let go of Kevin Appier, Scott Kazmir, Gary Matthews Jr. and Justin Speier in recent years, and those four plus Abreu amounted to around $60MM in dead money.  This doesn't mean that the Angels will release Vernon Wells, however, as Wells' contract alone would cost the team more than those five players combined; counting this year, Wells is set to earn $63MM through the 2014 season.

Angels Release Bobby Abreu

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The Angels announced that they have released veteran Bobby Abreu.  The outfielder was in the final season of his three-year contract extension with the Halos and is set to make $9MM.

The move will help pave the way for the promotion of Mike Trout, who is on his way from Triple-A, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).  Manager Mike Scioscia says that Trout "will play", DiGiovanna tweets, while MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez tweets that it seems that the 20-year-old will play everyday.

The slugger has been outspoken about his reduced role with the club since the offseason and there has been a great deal of speculation that his tenure with the Angels was coming to an end.  The 38-year-old was said to be warming up to his backup role at the start of the season but Jerry Dipoto & Co. were said to be "feverishly" shopping him.

The Halos appeared to have a taker for Abreu in late March when they had advanced discussions with the Indians.  The deal apparently fell apart over how much of Abreu's $9MM salary would be covered by the Angels.

Angels Continue Seeking Relief Help

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The Angels need relief help and they know it. Executives from other teams tell both Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that the Angels seek bullpen depth.

“The rhythm and roles in the bullpen, the flow of the lineup, consistency of the lineup… we haven’t gotten anything going,” GM Jerry Dipoto told Rosenthal when asked about his team’s slow start.

As the first month of the season nears completion, Angels relievers have a 4.96 ERA (28th in MLB) with 6.8 K/9 (27th in MLB) and 4.6 BB/9 (24th in MLB). Stark hears that the Angels are dangling second-tier prospects for relievers at the moment and notes that other teams are eyeing center fielder Peter Bourjos as a possible trade candidate. Bourjos is off to a slow start at the plate and could be deemed expendable given the presence of top prospect Mike Trout at Triple-A. Other clubs don’t expect the Angels to trade Mark Trumbo, Stark notes. 

MLBTR has looked at trade candidates such as Huston Street, Grant Balfour and Brett Myers in recent weeks. However, Rosenthal points out that the Angels would likely have to overpay to obtain such a pitcher now.

Stark On Blue Jays, Red Sox, Angels

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In his latest column at ESPN.com, Jayson Stark asks MLB scouts and executives for some help determining which teams are legitimate contenders and which ones will fade as the season progresses. Here are some highlights from the piece:

  • The Blue Jays are “hunting diligently for another masher and another top-of-the-rotation arm,” Stark writes. It’s no surprise the Blue Jays have an eye on rotation help given the uncertainty at the back of their rotation. Though Kyle Drabek, Drew Hutchison and Henderson Alvarez are meeting or exceeding expectations, the Blue Jays don’t have much depth or experience in the rotation relative to other teams. Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has acknowledged he’d like to add a hitter
  • Scouts say the Red Sox don’t resemble a playoff team because they are thin on quality relievers and outfield depth. The Red Sox are "canvassing every bullpen option out there," Stark hears from other teams.
  • Stark’s sources believe the Angels need bullpen help. "They've got major issues at the back end of the game," one person said.

Quick Hits: Trout, Avila, Cardinals

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On this date two years ago the Phillies signed Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125MM extension. Right away, critics of the deal wondered why the Phillies would commit nine figures for Howard's age 32-36 seasons when he doesn't play a premium position. Their questions persist two years later since Howard's on the disabled list and his power numbers are in decline. Here are today's links…

Minor Moves: Martin, George, Cintron, Hester

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We’ll keep track of the latest minor moves right here…

  • The Mets re-signed outfielder Dustin Martin, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The Mets drafted Martin in 2006 but traded him to Minnesota. He has a .276/.347/.417 line in seven minor league seasons, the last three of which he played at Triple-A Rochester.
  • The Orioles' Triple-A affiliate announced that the organization released left-hander Chris George (Twitter link). George, a first rounder back in 1998, has started for Norfolk for the past two-plus seasons.
  • Infielder Alex Cintron, who last played in the Major Leagues with the 2009 Nationals, signed with an independent league team, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Cintron, 33, has played in nine big league seasons.
  • The Angels signed minor league catcher John Hester and assigned him to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The Orioles released Hester last week to create roster space for Luis Exposito. Hester, 28, has big league experience with the Diamondbacks and a .285/.345/.471 batting line in seven minor league seasons.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Angels, Garcia

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A few odds and ends as a rather eventful Saturday in MLB winds down …

  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington offered embattled manager Bobby Valentine a vote of confidence following this afternoon's disheartening loss. Cherington told reporters, such as CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler, that he's "very satisfied" with Valentine's performance, noting that the skipper is doing the best he can with the current roster (Twitter link).
  • To that end, Cherington did allow that the team's sluggish 4-10 record "does increase the urgency" to find solutions for a battered pitching staff, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
  • The money saved in the acquisition of Marlon Byrd will not affect the Red Sox's luxury-tax calculation, according to Speier, a loophole MLB recently closed (Twitter links).
  • Touted Angels infield prospect Jean Segura's future with the club may be in question now that the Halos have locked up shortstop Erick Aybar and second baseman Howie Kendrick to long-term contracts, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
  • The Halos have not fared particularly well in signing relievers to multiyear contracts of late, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, a trend that GM Jerry Dipoto is trying to rectify by piecing together a cheap but effective bullpen of undervalued types. The Angels' list of relief flops includes the likes of Brian Fuentes, Justin Speier and Fernando Rodney.
  • Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he still has faith in Freddy Garcia when asked whether the right-hander was "running out of time," according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Garcia has gotten off to a poor start, including an ugly outing today, and is a candidate to be moved (either to the bullpen or perhaps elsewhere) when Andy Pettitte is called up from the minors.

AL West Notes: Hamilton, Moreland, Angels

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It was on this date in 1990 that Mariners right-hander Brian Holman just missed out on perfect game immortality.  Holman had set down the first 26 Athletics batters he faced, but allowed a pinch-hit homer to Ken Phelps to ruin the perfecto.  Adding to the history of the moment, that homer ended up being Phelps' last of his 11-year career in the Majors.  

Here's the latest from the AL West…

  • If the Rangers win the World Series, Ian Kinsler feels it would be "really hard" to let Josh Hamilton leave for free agency, he tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Kinsler's gut feeling is that his good friend Hamilton will return to play for Texas in 2013.
  • Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland talks to Fangraphs' David Laurila about his pitching experience in high school and college and how Moreland would be interested in coverting to relief pitching in the Majors "if I could no longer hit."
  • The Angels' recent signings and extensions have left the team with relatively little open payroll space over the next few seasons, writes MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.  L.A. is already committed to $74.2MM in 2016 to just four players (Albert Pujols, Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson and the newly-extended Erick Aybar). "The easiest way you're going to create flexibility, and both forms of flexibility [on the payroll and on the roster], is to build from within," said GM Jerry Dipoto. "You have to do it. It's how this organization got where it was 10 years ago, and it's how we're going to maintain that position."
  • The Angels' slow start could be caused by a lack of stability caused by the club's surplus of roster options, writes Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times.  Including tonight's game against Baltimore, the Halos have used 12 different lineups in 14 games.
  • In case you missed it earlier today, the Athletics claimed Australian right-hander Rich Thompson off waivers from the Angels.

Quick Hits: Callaspo, Cubs, Canseco

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As the Red Sox celebrate 100 years at Fenway Park today, here are some links and rumors from around the league…

  • The Athletics had interest in Angels third baseman Alberto Callaspo this spring, so Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders if Oakland might revisit the possibility of a trade in light of Josh Donaldson’s slow start (Twitter link).
  • The Cubs are struggling, but ESPN.com’s Buster Olney suggests the team’s slow start could enable Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer to make midseason moves that will pay off in the long term. 
  • Former Cy Young winner Orel Hershiser says he’s “not interested” in buying an MLB team at this time, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Hershiser, now an analyst for ESPN, had expressed interest in buying the Dodgers when they were for sale.
  • The independent league Worcester Tornadoes announced that they signed 47-year-old Jose Canseco to a one-year contract, ESPNBoston.com reports.
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