Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Angels Rumors

Angels “Working Hard” To Trade Gary Matthews Jr.

By | at

The Angels are "working hard to trade Gary Matthews Jr. to clear money for other pursuits," according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  With Matthews owed $23.5MM over the next two years if traded, it will be difficult for GM Tony Reagins to unload a significant portion of the contract.

Matthews, 35, hit .250/.336/.361 in 360 plate appearances for the Angels this year, playing all three outfield positions. Between the contract, Matthews' loss of power, and his questionable defense, he has strong negative value.  Without the contract, what would Matthews fetch on the free agent market?  Maybe one year, $1-2MM?

If the Angels hope to trade Matthews to free up money, it would make sense to pair him with a more desirable player.  Kind of like what the Cubs did with Aaron Miles and Jake Fox yesterday, but on a grander scale.

Angels Still In On John Lackey

By | at

The Angels "remain heavily in the mix" for John Lackey, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal says the Angels' renewed their efforts to re-sign Lackey at the behest of owner Arte Moreno, though GM Tony Reagins denied any change in the team's course.

Rosenthal lays out three other factors that might be motivating the Angels to consider re-upping Lackey: an unappealing asking price for Roy Halladay, uncertainty with Scott Kazmir, and the Mariners' interest in Lackey. 

If the Angels do allow Lackey to leave, they'll gain two draft picks as compensation.  A couple of big-market clubs might be out of the Lackey bidding – Gordon Edes recently wrote that Lackey is not a Red Sox target, and Bill Shaikin said the Dodgers won't be in pursuit.  The New York teams haven't been ruled out, while the Nationals and Brewers could be dark horses.

Mariners Are Frontrunners For Figgins

By | at

7:50pm: The M's are the "clear frontrunners" to sign Figgins, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Morosi writes that it is likely that the switch-hitting third baseman will receive a four-year deal in excess of $30MM.

6:06pm: The Mariners are the latest team to join the chase for free agent Chone Figgins, reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter).  Heyman also notes that the Angels are "still trying."

Figgins, in all probability, would fill the club's void at third base where he turned in a UZR/150 of 18.8 in 2009.  Do you think the Mariners should pursue Figgins or find a different, and perhaps cheaper, solution at third?

Eight Teams Interested In Carroll

By | at

There's no shortage of interest in Jamey Carroll this year. Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reports that the Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, A's, Rangers, Pirates, Reds and Indians all have interest in the 35-year-old utility man. We know the Marlins are interested, too.

Carroll hit .276/.355/.340 with the Indians last year, spending most of his time at second and third, and playing some outfield as well. UZR/150 suggests Carroll has been an above-average defender at second base over the course of the last five years. 

Angels Offer Arb To Only Figgins, Lackey

By | at

Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports that the Angels offered arbitration to just two of their ranked free agents — Type As Chone Figgins and John Lackey.  Los Angeles' other Type A free agent, veteran reliever Darren Oliver, as well as Type B Vladimir Guerrero and unranked free agents Kelvim Escobar and Robb Quinlan did not receive offers from the club.

Though L.A. could have received two draft picks as compensation for Oliver had he turned down arbitration and signed with another club, there's also a chance that teams would be scared off by the prospect of losing a draft pick in order to sign a 39-year-old setup man.  The Angels didn't want to run the risk of Oliver accepting the offer and possibly earning a healthy raise given his career-best 2.71 ERA and 8 K/9 in 2009.

Los Angeles Rumors: Halladay, Matthews, Pierre

By | at

Mike DiGiovanna and Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times pass on a few interesting notes related to the Dodgers and Angels. Here are the highlights:

  • If the Angels were to make a run at Roy Halladay, it would cost them at least one big-league arm from the Joe Saunders/Jered Weaver/Ervin Santana group, which could help offset Halladay's 2010 salary.
  • Angels' owner Arte Moreno has said in the past that he's willing to bump the club's payroll a little for a potential franchise player. This could give the team some financial maneuverability if they tried to trade for Halladay or sign a free agent like Jason Bay.
  • The Dodgers don't want to give up any major league pitching to acquire Halladay, making them an unlikely trading partner for the Jays.
  • Both the Dodgers and Angels have a handful of salaries coming off their books, but will owe plenty of players raises through arbitration, restricting their ability to make much impact in free agency.
  • The Angels will look into dealing Gary Matthews Jr., but would probably have to eat too much of his salary to make a trade worthwhile.
  • The Dodgers have their own outfielder with an oversized contract: Juan Pierre. The team might try to trade Pierre for an equally overpriced back-of-the-rotation pitcher.
  • If the Angels were to retain one of their big free agents (John Lackey, Chone Figgins), they could attempt to backload the contract, helping themselves out financially in the short term.

Halladay Would Approve Deal To Yankees

By | at

SATURDAY 8:31am: ESPN's Buster Olney hears that Halladay's preferred destinations are the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, or Phillies.

FRIDAY 7:32pm: Roy Halladay would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to pitch for the Yankees, writes Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, in an article for Slam Sports.

A major league executive told Elliott that he doesn't know where Halladay might end up, but knows that he has told the Blue Jays that he would agree to be dealt to the Yanks.  Doc has used his no-trade clause before to prevent being shipped to the Twins and Rangers.

Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has said that he would not be against trading a player in the American League East if it were the best deal on the table.  Should he make an exception in the case of Halladay?  

Olney On Cabrera, Yankees, Cust, Rays

By | at

In today's blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney writes about the potential market for Miguel Cabrera, who is now apparently available in a trade. He notes the enormous financial commitment attached to Cabrera's All-World bat, and discusses the Red Sox, Angels, Mets, White Sox, Giants, Mariners, and Braves as potential landing spots.

Here's the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • Olney tweets that the Astros' payroll will be cut from $107MM to the low $90MMs.
  • Olney says the Yankees will look to add two relievers in all likelihood, though it's unclear if they're willing to give up a first round pick for one of the Type-A bullpen arms. For what it's worth, GM Brian Cashman said the bullpen wasn't an area of "obvious need" yesterday.
  • Jack Cust could be in line for a $4.5MM payday through arbitration, which just might get him non-tendered. Given all the DH-types on the market, that might not be a good thing for Cust.  We learned yesterday that the Mets might be among the suitors for him.
  • Regarding a potential Milton Bradley to Tampa trade, Olney says the Rays "absolutely will not do it unless it's on their terms, which is that the Cubs might absorb enough money in the swap of Bradley and (Pat) Burrell to make it worthwhile for the Rays."
  • Olney also reiterates that it's extremely unlikely the Padres will move Adrian Gonzalez given his favorable contract.

Angels Resume Pursuit Of Roy Halladay

By | at

The Angels have gotten back into the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, according to Mike DiGiovanna of The LA Times. We know the Halos were hard after the former Cy Young Award winner at the trade deadline, but Giovanna says the talks broke down when the Halos refused to include Erick Aybar in the deal. They eventually moved on and acquired Scott Kazmir.

With J.P. Ricciardi out of the picture, DiGiovanna notes that new GM Alex Anthopoulos may be willing to do a deal without Aybar. We've already heard that Anthopoulos may consider granting a team a window to negotiate a contract extension with Halladay before a trade, as long as it improves the return. The Angels might lose incumbent ace John Lackey to free agency, and a deal for Doc is expected to cost them one of their better young pitchers – Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, or Ervin Santana.

DiGiovanna also reiterates what we heard last night, that it's a "long shot" that the Dodgers will trade for Halladay.

Angels More Interested In Granderson Than Jackson

By | at

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim would prefer Curtis Granderson to Edwin Jackson, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.

The reason is simple: control of the player. Granderson is signed through 2012, with a $13MM club option for 2013. Jackson, meanwhile, can become a free agent after 2011, and with agent Scott Boras' track record, Jackson is likely to hit the open market.

Rosenthal and Morosi write that someone with close knowledge of the Tigers said that the "Angels have depth in three areas of need for Detroit: catcher, shortstop, and minimum-salary pitching."

And Tigers' owner Mike Illitch hardly offered a strong denial that either player could be moved. "I don't know if I want to get into that," he said. "It's something I don't want to talk about. There's so many rumors out there now."

And surely more to come.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top