Angels Rumors

Angels Preparing Offer For Chapman?

By Mike Axisa | January 1, 2010 at 8:06am CDT

Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles says that the Angels "appear to be lining up an offer" for Cuban southpaw Aroldis Chapman. The Halos might have an advantage over other clubs in the Chapman sweepstakes because of first baseman Kendry Morales, who has become a good friend of the lefthander.

"Selfishly, we're a nice fit. It's hard to come over here, and Kendry gives him some idea of the pitfalls of the adjustment," Angels scouting director Eddie Bane said. "It's a fit, but who knows? It depends on the price."

So far only two teams have made an offer to Chapman (the Red Sox and Marlins), and Bane said that he doesn't "see a team like Oakland or Kansas City or someone like that getting him." We just learned about the A's interest in Chapman two days ago.

Olney on Bay, Beltre, Holliday

By Zachary Links | December 26, 2009 at 10:18am CDT

ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes the Yankees and Red Sox when they say that they have budget lines that they are not currently willing to cross. When the trade deadline rolls around, however, it will likely be a different story. Olney brings us his take on the teams who are still willing to spend this winter…

Since Jason Bay continues to sit on their offer, the Mets may soon give up on him and move on to less expensive free agents. Olney suggests that they ignore fans who are focused on big names and instead spend their money on players who can be had for short-term deals, such as Randy Winn and Orlando Hudson. The Mets "seem to have" something in the range of $15MM to $22MM in payroll flexibility.
The Mets are shopping for a catcher, left fielder, and starting pitcher. Joel Pineiro tops their list of desired starters.
Olney characterized the A's consideration of Adrian Beltre as "serious."
As the Cardinals continue to wait on Matt Holliday's answer, Olney wonders out loud if the club might look into signing Bay as a backup plan.
Rival executives sense that the M's have some money left to spend, but not a great deal. Seattle needs either a first baseman or second baseman plus help for the back end of their rotation.
Because of the mass of arbitration-eligible players on their roster, the Angels have limited payroll flexibility. This means that they could pursue Pineiro if they chose to, but are unlikely to factor into the bidding for Bay or Holliday.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Matsui, Mariners, Callapso

By Mike Axisa | December 24, 2009 at 10:31pm CDT

On Christmas Day way back in 2001, Hideki Matsui became the highest paid player in Japanese baseball history, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $4.7MM with the Yomiuri Giants. In his seven-year (and counting) Major League Baseball career, Matsui has never earned less than $6MM annually.

Let's see what's being written around the blogosphere…

River Ave. Blues takes a look at the economic impact of Matsui leaving the World Champs for the Angels.
U.S.S. Mariner runs down some potential first base options for the Mariners, covering players available through trades, free agency, and those already in-house.
It's About The Money, Stupid! compares Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson to the two guys they're replacing, Johnny Damon and Matsui.
South Side Sox provides some thoughts on Kenny Williams' busy offseason.
Royals Authority says Kansas City needs an outfielder, and proposes a few deals centered around Alberto Callaspo.
Viva El Birdos has some concerns about signing Matt Holliday to a long-term contract.

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

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Valverde, Phillies, Hanrahan

By Luke Adams 2 | December 24, 2009 at 2:05pm CDT

Just because it's Christmas Eve doesn't mean the hot stove is taking a holiday. Let's check out some links….

Washington's signing of Matt Capps takes one more option off the table for the Chicago Cubs, writes Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune.
Within today's blog entry, ESPN.com's Buster Olney notes that none of the remaining teams in need of a closer (Florida, Pittsburgh, and Detroit) have the payroll flexibility to spend $8-10MM on Jose Valverde. Valverde will probably have to settle for significantly less money than he is asking for, and could potentially even be forced into a setup role somewhere.
David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News breaks down the options for the Phillies' bullpen.
The longer Matt Holliday and Jason Bay remain unsigned, the more the rest of the league is asking the Red Sox and Yankees to swoop in, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan. Sam Borden at LoHud.com understands that logic, but is skeptical about the conclusion.
Amidst talk that the Pirates are engaged in discussions with Kevin Gregg and Octavio Dotel, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders if Joel Hanrahan could be the answer as the team's closer.
If you want a full summary of the road to the Roy Halladay trade, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun has you covered. Elliott offers an extended look at the rumors that led to the deal, and the trade's aftermath. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times breaks down the most interesting piece of info from Elliott's account, involving Mariners prospect Michael Saunders.
Rob Neyer of ESPN.com isn't a big fan of the Angels' offseason so far, and questions whether the team even has room to make additional moves.

Angels Reach Agreement With Fernando Rodney

By Tim Dierkes | December 23, 2009 at 2:57pm CDT

2:57pm: The Angels have agreed to terms with Fernando Rodney, according to ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas (Jayson Stark of ESPN.com provides an english version of the story). Rodney will sign a two-year deal worth $11MM, pending a physical.

WEDNESDAY, 11:58am: ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears that Rodney won't end up in Philadelphia. Instead, the Phillies will look for bargains in the new year. Stark mentions Danys Baez as a possibility for the Phils.

7:00pm: ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Phillies are interested in Rodney as well, at two years and $12MM. Nice little offer.

TUESDAY, 1:07pm:The Angels are in serious discussions with free agent reliever Fernando Rodney, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Angels are a nice match for Rodney, as the number of teams with closing opportunities is dwindling. The Angels are already on the hook for $9MM for Brian Fuentes next year, but if they bump him to a setup role they can prevent his 2011 option from vesting.

Rodney, 33 in March, posted a 4.40 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 4.9 BB/9 in 75.6 innings. Not very impressive numbers, but he can at least boast of saving 37 games in 38 tries. Rodney operates with a mid-90s fastball and a mid-80s changeup. Since he's a Type B free agent who turned down arbitration, the Tigers will gain a supplemental draft pick if he signs elsewhere.

Rangers Sign Darren Oliver

By Zachary Links | December 22, 2009 at 4:47pm CDT

Free agent lefty Darren Oliver signed a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Rangers today, with a vesting option for 2011. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick first reported progress Sunday on the deal, providing financial terms. This marks Oliver's third stint with the Rangers.

Last year with the Angels, Oliver posted a 2.71 ERA, 8.0 K/9, and 2/7 BB/9 in 73 innings. Since the Angels did not offer arbitration to the Type A free agent, there will be no draft pick compensation.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Giants, Nationals

By Howard Megdal | December 21, 2009 at 9:24pm CDT

Lots to get to as we round out another Hot Stove Monday…

Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has the backstory on Mike Lowell, his thumb injury and the trade that wasn't. Lowell expects to be ready for baseball activities by the first week of spring training, but has no idea if that will be with Boston or another team.
MLB.com's Chris Haft answers mail from Giants' fans. He says, among other things, that the Giants are reluctant to trade Jonathan Sanchez straight-up for Dan Uggla-as well they should be.
Washington Post Nationals beat reporter Chico Harlan weighs in on the Jason Marquis signing, noting that Marquis has more career victories than the other starters on the Washington 40-man roster combined.
AOL Fanhouse's Ed Price says that "All we hear out of the Mets camp is that they don't want to be bidding against themselves. Well, the fact of the matter is, the Mets might just have to bid against themselves." This is hard to understand, considering that Jason Bay and Bengie Molina certainly aren't likely to sit out the season rather than accept offers from the Mets.
Lyle Spencer of MLB.com speculates about what it would take for the Angels to acquire Derek Lowe.

Four Team Salary Dump Trade Fell Through

By Mike Axisa | December 21, 2009 at 4:07pm CDT

Well here's an interesting deal that never came to be. According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, a four-team trade involving Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Luis Castillo, and Gary Matthews Jr. fell apart at the winter meetings for an undisclosed reason.

According to a source, the deal would have sent Bradley to the Rays, Burrell and Castillo to the Cubs, and Matthews Jr. to the Mets. Burrell would have then been spun off elsewhere. No word on what the Halos would have received, though getting rid of Sarge Jr. and presumably at least part of his contract would have been a win.

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Vazquez, Matthews

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 18, 2009 at 12:23pm CDT

Some links for Friday…

Jayson Stark and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com expect the Cubs to go after free agent center fielders now that they've dealt Milton Bradley.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer doesn't expect the Reds to deal Aaron Harang in the near future.
The Chiba Lotte Marines signed Bryan Corey, according to NPB Tracker.
A source close to Javier Vazquez tells MLB.com's Mark Bowman that it's highly unlikely the pitcher would approve a trade to a west coast team like the Angels. The Braves are still interested in trading Derek Lowe.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale says it would be an upset to see anyone but the Cardinals sign Matt Holliday.
Now that the Dodgers have traded Juan Pierre, the Angels are optimistic about unloading Gary Matthews Jr. and his contract, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. The Angels will have to eat some of the $23MM owed to Matthews if they hope to deal him.
O's reliever Jim Johnson tells Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he's glad to have new acquisition Mike Gonzalez around.
Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News says the Yankees still need another arm. Brian Cashman says the Yankees aren't done.
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times expects the Yanks to spend big on next year's free agent class.
New Blue Jay Kyle Drabek tells the Toronto Sun that he doesn't plan on changing his approach, though he does feel some pressure as a major piece of the Roy Halladay trade.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates evaluate players and then stand by the figures they decide on almost all the time. This approach prevents the Pirates from over-spending and sometimes prevents them from signing their targets (like Miguel Angel Sano).
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers expect Claudio Vargas to take his physical today and finalize his deal.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan examines Scott Boras' relationship with mystery teams.

Heyman On Bay, Molina, M’s, Dodgers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 18, 2009 at 9:06am CDT

The Mariners are "not a serious player" for Jason Bay, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Braves and Giants don't appear to be engaged with Bay and the Angels aren't focused on him now, so the Mets are the lone known suitor for the left fielder. They're keeping in touch with Scott Boras, who represents Matt Holliday, but they may be willing to offer Bay a deal in the five-year $75MM range. They're hoping to hear back from him today.

Ideally, the Mets would like to sign Bay and Bengie Molina, who still wants a three-year deal worth about $20MM, or roughly twice as much as the team is presently willing to commit. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:

The Angels have more interest in Javier Vazquez than Derek Lowe, according to one source.
The Mariners are interested in locking up Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez.
The Red Sox would like to acquire Adrian Gonzalez. If they can't pull a trade for Gonzalez off, they would like to sign Adrian Beltre. However, that could put them over the luxury tax.
The Dodgers are interested in Ronnie Belliard and Felipe Lopez.

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