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Scot Shields Likely To Retire

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Scot Shields, who was a durable, sometimes dominant weapon in Mike Scioscia’s bullpen for the last decade, told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that he’s “probably” going to retire after the season. He realizes the Angels have younger options and would like to spend more time with his family.

"On the personal side, your family comes first, and I've missed too much of my life with them. It might be time to go home," Shields said.

Shields missed most of the season’s last month with a sore elbow and his season ERA is now 5.28. The 35-year-old right-hander can still strike opponents out (7.6 K/9), but he walks too many batters (6.7 BB/9). This was Shields’ second consecutive disappointing season; he struggled last year before undergoing knee surgery.

At his best, Shields defined the Angels bullpen (along with Francisco Rodriguez and, for a while, Troy Percival). He averaged 85 innings per season from 2004-08 with more than a strikeout per inning and a 3.11 ERA in that five-year stretch.

Angels Don’t Face Financial Limitations

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The Angels will be in the red this year, but that won’t stop them from spending. As they head toward their first losing season since 2003, it’s becoming apparent that the Angels will lose about $10MM this year, a baseball source told Mark Saxon of ESPNLos Angeles.com. 

But Angels fans can still dream about a 2011 outfield that includes Carl Crawford. Multiple sources tell Saxon that the organization plans to push aggressively to sign the left fielder when he hits free agency after the season. Speaking in general terms, GM Tony Reagins said the team will be able to spend this offseason.

"You always have to take account of how the finances work, but we're not limited financially in any way," Reagins said. "Whatever we need to do that makes sense and that's reasonable, we'll address."

Crawford, Adrian Beltre and Jayson Werth are among the top free agent position players who could draw interest from the Angels. The team’s rotation appears to be set, but the club will likely pursue relievers and consider trading Mike Napoli at some point this winter.

Odds & Ends: Papelbon, Yankees, Pujols, Webb

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Links for Monday, as Roy Halladay attempts to lead the Phillies to another division title…

Arbitration Eligibles: Los Angeles Angels

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The arbitration eligibles series is back with a vengeance.  Today we look at the Angels players who will be eligible for arbitration after the season…

Frandsen played well in his first 100 or so Angels plate appearances, but his work since then could get him non-tendered.  Callaspo could be cut loose if the Angels prefer not to bump him up to $1MM.  It might be a similar story for Willits.  Mathis could be non-tendered after another abysmal offensive showing, though the Angels would have a case for keeping his salary at $1.3MM or even cutting his pay.

Weaver, a Scott Boras client, is primed for big bucks – he leads all pitchers this year with 229 strikeouts.  You won't find too many cases like Weaver, as most young pitchers this good are locked up.  He could jump past $7MM.  Morales has bad timing – he had his huge year in '09 but broke his leg in May of this year.  He should still find a $3MM salary.

Aybar will get a raise on this year's $2.05MM, but his poor offensive 2010 should limit the increase.  Kendrick, already at $1.75MM, set career highs in runs, RBIs, and steals.  It's not a perfect comparable, but maybe he'll fall around Clint Barmes' $3.3MM.

Napoli could be in the position Mark Teahen, Jeremy Hermida, and Matt Lindstrom were last year – traded before the non-tender deadline.  He's got 92 home runs under his belt after five seasons and already earns $3.6MM.  Most backstops with Napoli's abilities are locked up; he could make over $5MM next year.  Granted Napoli has only 406 career games behind the dish, and more time at first base this year, but his agent Brian Grieper can probably position him as a catcher for an arbitration hearing.

Rosenthal’s Full Count: Beltre, Scioscia, Crawford, Lopez

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Ken Rosenthal has his Saturday Full Count Video up over at FOX Sports. Let's check out the highlights:

  • The Red Sox would love to keep Adrian Beltre around, but at the right price. The alternative is still attractive: shift Kevin Youkilis to third base, find a first baseman for a season, and then pursue one of the big-name free agents such as Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, or Prince Fielder. My own speculation here, but the Red Sox could of course look to trade for Fielder this offseason and then extend him.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia's ten-year contract extension with the Angels that he signed in 2009 is worth a whopping $50MM. Rosenthal had the dollar amount confirmed by two different sources. Scioscia can opt out after 2015, and each of the last three seasons is worth $6MM. That's one pricey manager.
  • If Carlos Lee's move to first base becomes permanent, the Astros will have an opening in left field for Houston native Carl Crawford. As Rosenthal points out though, it's pretty hard to envision the Astros outbidding other suitors like the Angels and Red Sox.
  • The Cardinals felt it was so important to get Felipe Lopez out of the clubhouse, that they forfeited the chance to acquire a supplemental round pick for him and simply released the infielder. The Red Sox reaped the benefits of that decision when they signed him for around $50K.

Mike Napoli’s Trade Value

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The problem with Mike Napoli, as Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com puts it, is that he "is a 'tweener,' too inconsistent strictly as a hitter, not reliable enough as a catcher."  The Angels might not want to give such a "tweener" an arbitration raise above the $3.6MM that Napoli earned this season, which is why there have been rumors that Los Angeles will try to move Napoli over the winter.  

Given the dearth of power-hitting catchers, many teams would be willing to overlook Napoli's defensive shortcomings for a catcher who has 92 homers in 1778 career plate appearances and a career .839 OPS.  As an everyday player, however, Napoli has his limitations, many of which were on display this season.  Napoli has received a career-high 484 plate appearances thanks to his taking over the lion's share of time at first base after Kendry Morales was lost for the season in May. 

His power notwithstanding, Napoli has an underwhelming .247/.332/.488 slash line entering Friday's action.  These numbers are largely due to the fact that the right-handed hitting Napoli struggles against right-handed pitching; he has a .704 OPS vs. righties this year, as opposed to a whopping 1.082 OPS against southpaws.  (Napoli's career OPS splits are .798 against righties and .962 versus lefties.)  If put back into his comfort zone of facing primarily left-handed pitching, Napoli can be a force.  If a team has a left-handed hitting, defensive-minded platoon partner at catcher, Napoli is an ideal complement.

The catching market is always tough to predict in advance, but here are a few potential trade partners for the Halos…

* Florida.  The Marlins are known to be looking for catchers, though Napoli may be too expensive for their liking.

* New York.  Left-handed hitting Josh Thole will be the Mets' starter next season, so Napoli could be brought in to complement both Thole and another lefty bat (Ike Davis) at first.

* Chicago.  As with the Mets, the White Sox will have a youngster (Tyler Flowers) taking over the starting job.  This is presuming the Sox won't bring back A.J. Pierzynski, though Chicago could also maybe have a hole at first depending on if Paul Konerko signs elsewhere or retires.

* Texas.  Napoli could finally give the Rangers some stability behind the plate, though it's hard to see L.A. making a deal with their division rivals.

* Boston.  The Red Sox made a waiver claim on Napoli in August before the Angels pulled him back, and will need a catcher if Victor Martinez leaves as a free agent.

* Baltimore.  Speaking of Martinez, Napoli could be the Orioles' catcher/first base/DH backup plan should the team's pursuit of Martinez fall short.

If Napoli was dealt, Los Angeles would be left with Jeff Mathis and rookie Hank Conger behind the plate.  Conger, LAA's first-round pick in the 2006 draft, has an .825 OPS in 1705 minor league plate appearances and was rated the 84th overall prospect in baseball by Baseball America's preseason rankings.  Mathis is entering his second arbitration year after earning $1.3MM in 2010, but has had an overall poor season (as outlined by Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times).  The Angels could go into 2011 with a totally overhauled catching corps should they trade Napoli, non-tender Mathis and acquire a new veteran backstop to play alongside Conger.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: LaRue, Martin, Ortiz, Minaya

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On this date four years ago, Trevor Hoffman set a new career saves mark when he retired Ryan Doumit, Jose Bautista, and Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates in order. His 479th save moved him past Lee Smith and into first place on the all-time list, a spot he still holds today with 600 career saves on the nose. Other than Mariano Rivera and the soon-to-retire Billy Wagner, no active closer is within 310 saves of Hoffman's mark.

Here's a collection of links from the last week of the baseball blog world…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Stark On Crawford, Werth, Beltre, Torre

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Commissioner Bud Selig told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark that he’ll consider expanded instant replay and adding a second Wild Card team. Stark also passes along news on the player-agent industry and rumors from around the league:

  • The MLBPA and MLB have agreed to move up the date by which teams have to tender contracts and offer arbitration to free agents in an attempt to hurry the offseason along. This development could mean that we see fewer unsigned players late in the offseason.
  • The players’ association is working to better regulate interactions between players and agents. For example, agents can’t promise anything of value to players who they don’t represent. No more free trips or cars from rival agents!
  • Players who can go to arbitration or file for free agency will now have to check in with the MLBPA before changing agents.
  • Five of the six executives Stark surveyed named Carl Crawford this year’s best free agent position player (Jayson Werth received one vote).
  • The Yankees are more likely to bid aggressively on Crawford than Werth, but Cliff Lee figures to be their top free agent target.
  • Stark says the Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, Tigers and Giants seem like the best bets to pursue Werth this offseason.
  • Adrian Beltre puzzles Stark’s sources, since he has so much upside, but tends to flash his ability most tantalizingly in contract years.
  • Three baseball people who are all acquainted with Joe Torre say the Dodgers manager would like to manage the Mets next year, but they don’t think it’ll happen.
  • Atlanta GM Frank Wren anticipates that the Braves will be in the market for a veteran reliever again this winter.

Angels Rumors: Rivera, Abreu, Crawford

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Angels manager Mike Scioscia and GM Tony Reagins told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that offense is not necessarily the team’s biggest issue heading into the offseason. Here are the details on the Angels’ winter plans:

  • Reagins and Scioscia gave DiGiovanna the impression that the Angels will look to sign a reliable veteran reliever.
  • It appears that the Angels will look to trade Juan Rivera and move Bobby Abreu to DH, according to DiGiovanna.
  • That would leave Peter Bourjos in center, Torii Hunter in right and a Carl Crawford-sized opening in left. The Angels are expected to pursue the Rays outfielder, who hits free agency after the season. Crawford fits on the Angels if Hideki Matsui leaves via free agency and the Angels bench or trade Rivera.

Stark On Manny, Rockies, Napoli, Phillies

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An official of a team that once had interest in Manny Ramirez tells Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that he doesn’t think the slugger has much left. Ramirez, who hits free agency this offseason, hasn’t picked up an extra base hit since joining the White Sox and the official says that’s “a major indication he might not have a whole lot left in the tank." Here are the rest of Stark’s rumors.

  • There are indications that the Rockies wouldn’t offer Jeff Francis more than a modest one-year deal with incentives. The Rockies seem likely to decline the $7MM option they have for the lefty.
  • One GM says any team with interest in Jorge de la Rosa needs to do its homework. "He could be [the next] Oliver Perez," the GM said.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes drew that comparison in an April article, but noted De Le Rosa's higher groundball rate. 
  • There are “vibes” that the Angels will make Mike Napoli available this winter.
  • The Phillies could combine Domonic Brown with a right-handed hitting veteran, but GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says that’s just one possible solution. Brown doesn't have a guaranteed everyday job on next year’s team, even if Jayson Werth signs elsewhere, as expected.
  • One scout who covered Royals prospect and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Pat White in high school, says we shouldn’t be surprised if Dayton Moore’s gamble pays off and White’s athleticism translates well to pro baseball.
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