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Spanish Links: Abreu, Pedro, Tejada

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Don't expect Pedro to pull a Pettitte. Links are in Spanish…

  • Bobby Abreu doesn't put a whole lot of stock in manager Mike Scioscia's prediction that the 38-year-old will get 400 plate appearances this season. "I've learned not to have much confidence in these people, but I hope they live up to what they told me," Abreu told Billy Russo at Lider en Deportes. "How long am I going to have to continue proving to people what I am, and what I'm able to do? At times it's like the work one does doesn't get appreciated, but here I am, and we'll continue the fight." Likewise, he said not knowing how much his time will be split between right field and DH has altered his preparation for the season. "It's clearly affected me, because I'm not used to that, and I don't know why they did it, but whatever; I'll keep on keeping on." Abreu said a month ago that he'd prefer being traded to playing off the bench. 
  • Pedro Martinez said in December that he would soon make his retirement official, but almost four months later, an announcement hasn't come. Martinez recently appeared on the television program El Despertador in his native Dominican Republic and said an official statement is nevertheless on the way. "We're working, and we're going to send out a press release," he said (as transcribed by Panorama Diario). "We're going to pick a date where we'll make an official announcement, and at the same time, give the Dominican public the opportunity to see it." 
  • Miguel Tejada still hasn't received any offers this offseason, but he has no plans to explore options in other leagues, the veteran infielder told the Dominican radio show Grandes en los Deportes (Twitter links.) "I play baseball because I like it. I don't have economic problems," Tejada said. "I believe there's still a lot of playing for me to do in the US."

Angels Looking For Starting Pitching Depth

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Despite having a strong front four of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, C.J. Wilson, and Ervin Santana, the Angels are looking for starting pitching depth according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They are focusing on out of options or non-roster players in camp with other clubs, not bigger names like John Lannan.

Garrett Richards, Brad Mills, and Jerome Williams are currently competing for the fifth starter's job, though Williams is battling a hamstring problem. As our out of options list shows, there aren't many teams out there with extra starters who could match up for a trade.

Los Angeles Links: Kershaw, Fielder, Cantu, Phillies

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At least one of the five groups bidding to buy the Dodgers has asked about the possibility of selling the naming rights to Dodger Stadium, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.  Naming rights are commonplace in sports, but as Shaikin notes in his piece, it would be a poor PR move for a new owner to immediately change the name of one of baseball's most historic parks.

Here are a few more items from both the Dodgers and the Angels…

  • Clayton Kershaw was "less than thrilled" about making just $500K last season, which may be part of the reason the Dodgers signed their ace to a two-year, $19MM deal, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  The Dodgers wanted to sign Kershaw to a four-year extension that would have covered the southpaw's first free agent season.
  • Heyman also calls Matt Kemp's eight-year contract extension with the team "possibly the best financial move anyone made this winter."
  • The Dodgers made an offer to Prince Fielder at the Winter Meetings for a four-year contract worth an average annual value of less than that of Alex Rodriguez, Ned Colletti tells Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link).  Rodriguez earns an AAV of $27.5MM on his current Yankees contract but one would think that L.A.'s offer couldn't have been much lower than that, given that they were just offering four years.
  • Also from Bowden (via Twitter), Fielder's agent Scott Boras said Colletti's recruiting meeting with Fielder was the best he's seen in 30 years.
  • Jorge Cantu hopes to be traded to a team with corner infield needs if he can't make the Angels' roster, reports Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles.  Cantu has the option of opting out of his contract with L.A. if he's in the minors on May 1.  He has also considered taking "a couple of months off this summer" as his girlfriend is due to give birth to their first child in June. 
  • If the Angels were to offer one of their backup infielders (Alberto Callaspo or Maicer Izturis) to the Phillies, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez speculates that the Halos could look for Kyle Kendrick or Joe Blanton back in such a trade.  In Blanton's case, the Phils would have to cover a big chunk of his $8.5MM salary for this season.
  • Earlier today we covered the hot-stove highlights of Arte Moreno's recent interview with GQ.

Arte Moreno On Pujols, Crawford, Reagins, Darvish

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Angels owner Arte Moreno spoke to GQ's Nathaniel Penn about a number of the team's recent moves (and non-moves) in this Q&A piece…

  • Moreno isn't worried that he'll be paying Albert Pujols $30MM per season after he turns 40.  “If he's healthy enough and he's playing for us, then I'm gonna just say, ‘Merry Christmas to all baseball fans,' because we get to see one of the best players of our generation coming to bat," Moreno said.  The owner also noted that his wife played a role in the Pujols negotiations, as both she and Pujols' wife have ties to the Kansas City area.
  • The Angels didn't investigate rumors that Pujols is older than his listed age.  "Somebody starts checking on your age you start wondering, 'Do we really want to have a relationship like this?'", Moreno said.
  • The Angels never bid on Carl Crawford during the 2010-11 offseason.  Moreno stood by his criticism of Crawford's seven-year/$142MM contract with Boston since "I don't think anybody…was in the vicinity of that offer."  In Pujols' case, however, the team felt comfortable signing him to a massive contract since the Halos had lots of new funds coming in via their new TV deal.
  • "Still, I don't think in a perfect world we really thought Albert was going to be available," Moreno said. "They just won a championship in St. Louis, he had been there eleven years, and you think they're gonna make a deal."
  • Moreno wasn't keen to discuss the firing of former GM Tony Reagins, saying "I just think what happens is over a period of time you don't think you're going in the direction you want to go."  Moreno did hint that Reagins was fired due to the combination of the Halos missing the playoffs for the last two seasons and the thus-far disasterous results of team's deal for Vernon Wells.
  • Speaking of that deal, Moreno said his team's baseball staff felt Mike Napoli's throwing arm wouldn't hold up for an entire season of catching and he was about to get too expensive for the team's liking through arbitration.  Moreno praised Rangers manager Ron Washington's handling of Napoli and also noted "the book's not closed on Vernon, you know."  
  • The Angels didn't bid on Yu Darvish and Moreno said was never approached by his baseball staff about the Japanese right-hander, guessing it was due to the size of the required posting bid.  

NL East Notes: Vizcaino, Phillies, Mets, Lannan

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Earlier today MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reviewed the Marlins' busy offseason. Here are some more links from the NL East…

  • Braves GM Frank Wren told reporters that reliever Arodys Vizcaino will miss the 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. The 21-year-old right-hander appeared in 17 games with the Braves last year and entered the season as the 40th-best prospect in MLB, according to Baseball America.
  • The Phillies could start the season with prospect Freddy Galvis at second base, or explore the trade market for alternatives. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney hears from rival executives that there’s a short list of veteran middle infielders available in trades. Maicer Izturis, Alberto Callaspo, Chris Getz and Blake DeWitt appear to be options for teams seeking infield depth. 
  • Even though they're short on left-handed relief, the Mets are unlikely to sign C.J. Nitkowski, Hong-Chih Kuo or Dontrelle Willis, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports.
  • Jayson Stark of ESPN.com hears the Nationals "still have a lot of motivation" to trade John Lannan and his $5MM salary (Twitter link).

Los Angeles Notes: Aybar, Abreu, Ownership

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Happy birthday to Clayton Kershaw, who turns 24 years old today.  Kershaw has plenty to celebrate this year, between being the NL Cy Young Award winner and his new two-year, $19MM contract extension with the Dodgers.

Here's the latest out of L.A. from both the Dodgers and the Angels…

  • Erick Aybar said that his agents have left the Angels Spring Training camp, reports Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles.  It was reported earlier today that Aybar and the Halos had made only slight progress on a contract extension for the shortstop.
  • Angels designated hitter Bobby Abreu tells MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez that he wants to play for three more years, though his age-40 season.  Abreu just turned 38 on March 11.  "That's what I want. I feel that I can keep playing," Abreu said. "I believe that you have to know when your body tells you when to stop. But I'm fine. I feel fine."
  • Patrick Soon-Shiong has joined Steve Cohen's ownership group in a bid for the Dodgers, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.  Soon-Shiong, known as the richest man in Los Angeles, had been rumored to be joining the ownership group led by basketball legend Magic Johnson.
  • Also from Shaikin, a mediator has reinstated the joint bid from Stanley Gold and the Roy Disney family into the Dodgers ownership process.  The Gold/Disney group joins four other ownership groups in having their bids judged by MLB's owners, who are expected to vote on the matter by the end of the week.
  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says it's too early to consider any possible roster needs before Opening Day, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  The Dodgers are also waiting until the club is sold in late April before making any possible additions to payroll.

Extension Updates: Aybar, Hamilton, Napoli, Axford

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The latest on extension talks around MLB…

  • The Angels and Erick Aybar have made a bit of progress toward an extension, but agent Fern Cuza says they are “not close,” Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
  • Josh Hamilton told Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio that the Rangers can sign him now for considerably less than he’ll cost as a free agent after the season (Twitter links). Hamilton says his loyalty lies with the Rangers and that they will get the first chance to sign him should he reach free agency.
  • Mike Napoli told Bowden he’s letting his agent handle contract talks, but that he would like to sign a long-term deal with the Rangers (Twitter link).
  • The Brewers met with John Axford's agent yesterday, but the closer’s in no rush to sign an extension, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. “If conversations keep going [after Opening Day], then they keep going,” Axford said. “I’m not going to be bothered by it.”

Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Angels

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The Angels stole Winter Meetings headlines by signing the offseason's best free agent hitter and pitcher in the course of a few hours.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

In August, MLBTR surveyed dozens of baseball people for their GM candidates.  Former big league reliever Jerry Dipoto was mentioned more than anyone else.  After a thorough search, the Angels named Dipoto as Tony Reagins' replacement in late October.  Dipoto came with a great drafting track record, and also had made several excellent trades as Arizona's interim GM in the summer of 2010.

Shortly after his hiring, Dipoto told ESPN's Jim Bowden catcher was one of multiple positions for which he wanted to improve the Angels' on-base percentage.  Several weeks later, Dipoto backed up his words by acquiring Iannetta for Chatwood.  Iannetta has a .357 career OBP, and The Fielding Bible considers him a "terrific defensive catcher."  Though the Rockies may not have appreciated Iannetta, they extracted a solid bounty in Chatwood, who Baseball America ranked the 76th best prospect in baseball prior to the 2011 season.  Given Iannetta's ability to void a $5MM club option for 2013 because of the trade, the Halos may have acquired only one year of control in exchange for six of Chatwood.  This was the first sign the Angels were embarking on a win-now offseason.  The Iannetta acquisition made non-tender candidate Jeff Mathis expendable, so Dipoto picked up Mills to essentially replace Chatwood down the rotation depth chart. 

Even in November, Dipoto warned Bowden not to assume the Angels had no interest in Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols.  However, many assumed Angels owner Arte Moreno would continue to drop out of the bidding on top free agents, and that Moreno's expected $130-140MM payroll precluded signing multiple impact players.

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The Marlins had shocked baseball by committing $191MM to free agents Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell during the 2011 Winter Meetings, and they were in play for Pujols as well.  The Rule 5 draft typically signals the conclusion of the Meetings, but just as it began Yahoo's Tim Brown posted a tweet that required a double-take: the Angels had signed Pujols to a ten-year deal.  The contract was worth $240MM, a figure that rose to $246.8MM once the present-day value of ten-year, $10MM personal services contract was considered.  In baseball history, only Alex Rodriguez has signed for more.

With a .421 career OBP, Pujols was the best fit for Dipoto's OBP mandate.  One concern, however, is that Pujols' unintentional walk rate dropped to 7.1% in 2011, after staying above 9% in almost every other season.  The Angels are betting that at age 32, Pujols has many more elite, durable seasons ahead of him.  Pujols is about four years older than Fielder, but is probably the game's best defensive first baseman while Fielder might be the worst, according to The Fielding Bible.  The Angels signed the better player for 2012, but will Pujols still be a superstar in 2015?  His backloaded contract averages a $27MM salary over the last seven years.  Pujols will likely be a $30MM designated hitter by 2021, but the Angels are planning on celebrating milestones in his final playing years.  Even if Pujols' contract becomes burdensome, an unceremonious breakup seems unlikely given the personal services commitment.

The Pujols signing had a ripple effect on the Angels' depth chart.  First basemen Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo will move to designated hitter, reducing Bobby Abreu's playing time.  Trumbo is also an option at third base.  Vernon Wells, a below-average defensive left fielder, cannot be pushed to the DH spot to clear a starting outfield position for top prospect Mike Trout.  Dipoto told Bowden in November Wells "deserves a chance to bounce back," but since that trade was Reagins' mistake, I expect a short leash.  Torii Hunter is 36, Wells is 33, Abreu is 38, and Morales is coming off a broken ankle, so it's possible an injury will help sort out this logjam.  If not, I think Dipoto will have the authority to release or bench Wells and/or Abreu to ensure the best possible lineup is on the field.  If $2-4MM of Abreu's $9MM commitment can be cleared via trade, that route should be pursued aggressively.

Shortly after the Pujols signing, the Angels continued their spending spree by signing top free agent starter C.J. Wilson to a five-year deal.  At $15.5MM per year, Wilson gave the Angels an irresistible hometown discount.  With a front four of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Wilson, and Ervin Santana, they continue to boast one of the best rotations in baseball.

Dipoto allocated the least resources toward the bullpen, grabbing serviceable free agent Hawkins and taking a flyer on Isringhausen on a minor league deal.  With minimal losses and quality arms in Jordan Walden, Scott Downs, Hisanori Takahashi, and Rich Thompson, the need never seemed dire.

Dipoto a finishing touch on his offseason by signing second baseman Kendrick to a four-year extension, months before the player entered his contract year.  With arbitration savings and three free agent years at $9.2MM each, Kendrick's extension provides good value to the Angels.  The Angels have been unable to find common ground with another impending free agent, shortstop Erick Aybar.  The Fielding Bible suggests Aybar has never been Gold Glove-worthy despite his 2011 win, and maybe the best course of action is to try prospect Jean Segura in 2013 if he has all-around success in the minors this year.

The Angels' heavy spending makes them a 2012 contender, in what might be a two-horse AL West race.  They have a fantastic rotation backed by strong defense, and the league's tenth-best 2011 offense will be on the rise.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Quick Hits: Wuertz, Cespedes, Helton, Dodgers

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On this day in 1991, the Royals released leftfielder Bo Jackson after he suffered a serious hip injury in the NFL playoffs against the Cincinnati Bengals.  That was Jackson's final NFL game but the iconic athlete eventually returned to baseball in 1993 with the White Sox and played 75 games for the Angels in '94 before the players strike brought the season to an end.  Here's a look at what's happening today..

  • Angels outfielder Torii Hunter would "love to stay" with the Halos but understands that at age 37, and with Los Angeles having plenty of money on the books, this season may be his last, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. The five-year, $90MM deal that Hunter signed prior to the 2008 season expires after this year.
  • Free agent starter Javy Vazquez is not considering coming out of retirement, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
  • Free agent reliever Michael Wuertz will throw for teams on Thursday in Tempe, Arizona, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  The Twins are expected to be among the clubs in attendance.
  • Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was willing to sign with the Cubs and had reason to believe that he might wind up in Chicago, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Ultimately, the Cubs offered six years for $36MM while the Athletics offered that same number for four years.  The Cuban star also said that he was seeking either a four-year deal or one that was for eight years or more.  Through a translator, Cespedes said that he probably would have wound up in Chicago had the Cubs offered him the same deal before the A's did.
  • Rockies first baseman Todd Helton insists that he hasn't thought about retirement, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post.  The 38-year-old has two years remaining on his contract.
  • More from Renck as he writes that Esmil Rogers is a trade candidate for the club.  Rogers, Edgmer Escalona, and Josh Outman are battling for the final spot in the bullpen.  Rogers is out of options and could be moved.
  • Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully addressed the club's ownership situation prior to yesterday's broadcast and said that he doesn't believe it is having any effect on the players at all, writes J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News.

Rosenthal On Dodgers, La Russa, Cahill, Angels

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..

  • If Steve Cohen winds up buying the Dodgers, Tony La Russa would reportedly become a key decision-maker for the club.  According to rival executives, La Russa's strong personality might diminish the Dodgers’ chances of hiring one of the top current general managers.  It's far from certain that Cohen will get the team or that he would in fact hire LaRussa in a top role, but GMs like the Rays’ Andrew Friedman or the Diamondbacks’ Kevin Towers likely would not leave their current situations for limited autonomy in L.A.
  • Rival executives still find it curious that the Athletics traded Trevor Cahill and one told Rosenthal that GM Billy Beane "must have known something."  Beane was likely troubled by what he saw out of the right-hander's advanced metrics.  Cahill, who is under a club-friendly long-term contract, had an abnormally low BABIP of .237 in 2010, his breakout year.  When Cahill’s BABIP increased to .306 in 2011, his performance suffered accordingly.  
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia said at the start of spring training that Bobby Abreu could get 400 plate appearances, but that doesn't seem likely with Kendrys Morales on track to be the team’s designated hitter.  The Halos have been looking to move the 38-year-old for quite some time and he hasn't helped his case by coming into camp overweight.  The veteran would likely have been cut by now if he wasn't guaranteed $9MM for 2012.
  • Meanwhile, fellow Halos trade candidate Mark Trumbo told Rosenthal that he is becoming increasingly comfortable at third base, though he still has much to learn. 
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