Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Angels Rumors

Garret Anderson Enters Contract Year

By | at

One 2009 MLB free agent who’s not getting a ton of attention yet is lifetime Angel Garret Anderson.  The Angels are faced with a tough decision – $14MM for ’09 or a $3MM buyout.  So Tony Reagins will need to ask himself if he’d sign Anderson to a one-year, $11MM deal.  PECOTA says he’ll be worth less than $2MM in ’09.

Finally free of injuries, Anderson had a big second half in ’07.  This year, the Angels will wisely give him a break by rotating him through the DH spot on occasion.  As Mike DiGiovanna writes in the above-linked article, the Angels’ decision on Anderson will be especially tough if he has a good but not great season (something similar to his last three).

K-Rod Loses Case

By | at

According to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times, Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez lost his arbitration case.  He’ll make $10MM rather than the $12.5MM he wanted. 

K-Rod might be looking for something like $50MM over four years when he reaches free agency after the season, which would be a record amount for a reliever.  Angels owner Arte Moreno won’t close the door on him, and notes that the Angels have tried a couple of times to sign their closer.

Odds and Ends: Roberts, Garcia, Crede

By | at

Today’s assortment of links.

Where Will The Starters Go? AL West Edition

By | at

Sorry for the delay from the last edition of Where Will The Starters Go. Since then, we’ve seen two guys come off the market in Kris Benson and Odalis Perez, and another strongly speculated to sign: Shawn Chacon with the Astros. So here’s what we’ve got left:

Bartolo Colon, Josh Fogg, Freddy Garcia, Byung-Hyun Kim, Kyle Lohse, Rodrigo Lopez, Eric Milton, Tomo Ohka, Russ Ortiz, John Thomson, Jeff Weaver, David Wells

Once again, I’m open to corrections on my pitching depth charts. I tried to cull as much information from blogs and sites like Baseball America as possible.

Anaheim Angels: John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Jon Garland, Dustin Mosely, Kelvim Escobar, Nick Adenhart, Nick Green

Seattle Mariners: Erik Bedard, Felix Hernandez, Carlos Silva, Miguel Batista, Jarrod Washburn, Horacio Ramirez, Cha Seung Baek, Ryan Feierabend

Oakland A’s: Rich Harden, Joe Blanton, Justin Duchscherer, Lenny DiNardo, Dana Eveland, Dan Meyer, Chad Gaudin, Dallas Braden, Jerry Blevins, Gio Gonzalez

Texas Rangers: Brandon McCarthy, Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Jason Jennings, Kason Gabbard, Luis Mendoza, Eric Hurley, Matt Harrison, Elizardo Ramirez

The Angels look to open the season with Lackey, Weaver, Santana, Saunders, and Garland in the rotation, thanks to a Kelvim Escobar injury. So they’ve got five solid starters, with a sixth coming in time for May. Mosely will likely start the year in the bullpen, but can start in a pinch. Nick Green had a decently impressive year at AA in 2007, and is on the 40-man roster, so you have to figure he’s in the succession plans should the team befall an injury. Adenhart would require some manuevering, since he’s not on the 40-man. Yet, this all might be moot, as Mike Scioscia has said that the team won’t be signing any free agent starters.

I’m kind of disappointed not to put Brandon Morrow on this list, but it’s been made pretty clear that he’ll be in the bullpen this year. I personally don’t see the sense in drafting a guy at No. 5 then going and signing Carlos Silva to start over him. But, again, I don’t follow the M’s specifically, so I might be missing something here. There’s some depth there for certain, with six guys projected. They also have Eric O’Flaherty on the 40-man. So it appears Seattle has some decent depth, though I’m not so sure they’re keen on giving starts to Baek, Ramirez, and Feieraband. Would the M’s consider bringing back Weaver? Probably not, unless they were in a real bind. Josh Fogg? Once again, it’s tough to see them signing anyone unless there is an injury.

The list might be able to go on longer for Oakland, but I’ll stop it there. They have a ton of options, and since Billy Beane has basically indicated that this is a rebuilding year, it doesn’t seem to make much sense to sign a free agent starter. Then again, he did go out and get Keith Foulke, and he made that surprise move to get Esteban Loaiza a couple of years ago. So he could definitely surprise and bring in someone. Maybe Colon on a one-year with an option? Beane has done stranger things.

The Rangers are another team with a ton of depth beyond their set starters. Yes, we’ll see Millwood, McCarthy, Padilla, Jennings, and probably Gabbard start in the rotation. I’d add Kameron Loe and Robinson Tejeda to the list, but it appears they’ll start in the bullpen. They do have starters in case of an injury, once again, including Tejeda and Loe, but none have the experience or track record you’d really look for. I can see them jumping in on Colon or Fogg in case of injury. But barring that, they could look to add some depth, maybe with Kim. I don’t see them making a commitment to a guy like Kyle Lohse, though.

A note before continuing on to the NL: It doesn’t look like this crop fits in well anywhere yet. Teams are for the most part filled out five-deep with starters, so these guys are really looking for an injury or some ineffectiveness come game time in March. I’ve been opening up the "in case of injury" portion, because it appears that’s what it will take for one of these guys to land somewhere, especially if it’s a Major League deal.

– Joe

K-Rod Looking For Rivera Money?

By | at

On Saturday, we discussed the Francisco Rodriguez situation.  He’s been historically good for a closer his age, and his next contract could be record-breaking.  That contract doesn’t seem likely to come from the Angels.

K-Rod has arrived in camp, and he admits that ’08 is probably his last season with L.A.  Mike DiGiovanna speaks of repeated rejected extension attempts by the Angels.  After the ’07 season, the Angels offered something near three years and $34MM.  Rodriguez unsurprisingly turned this down, as it’s $11MM short of the Mariano Rivera money he craves.  GM Tony Reagins is thinking about a future that may include Kelvim Escobar or Ervin Santana in the pen.

2008 will be huge for Rodriguez, whose post-break 3.45 ERA and 5.6 BB/9 raise red flags for a team considering committing $40MM+ to him.

K-Rod May Leave Angels After ’08

By | at

It’s looking more and more like 2008 will be Francisco Rodriguez’s last season with the Angels.  His ’08 contract situation is not said to be the reason he’s late to camp.  But the two sides are a solid $2.5MM apart and Rodriguez will try to become the first player to win a hearing this year on Thursday.  Mike DiGiovanna thinks the hearing "could lead to animosity." 

Rodriguez recently turned 26.  He has a career ERA of 2.37 in 383 innings, with 146 saves under his belt.  That’s the most saves in baseball history for a pitcher before his 26th birthday.  Gregg Olson is next with 131, then Chad Cordero with 128.

Currently scheduled to join K-Rod in the free agent closer class of 2008-09: Joe Nathan, Brad Lidge, Jason Isringhausen, Trevor Hoffman, and Eric Gagne.  My very unofficial research says B.J. Ryan received the largest-ever total for a reliever in November of 2005 with $47MM.

White Sox, Angels Express Interest In Carl Everett

By | at

Found via South Side Sox: MLB.com’s Jim Street reports that the White Sox and Angels have expressed interest in Carl Everett.  Presumably that would be minor league deal type interest.

What’s Carl been up to?  The 36 year-old DH posted a .657 OPS for the ’06 Mariners, his last appearance in the bigs.  Last year he put up an MVP-caliber season…with the Long Island Ducks.  Jeff Pearlman informed us last June that "In eight seasons of Ducks baseball, a mere four players — Carlos Baerga, Pedro Borbon Jr., Bill Pulsipher and Ken Ray — have gone from Long Island to the majors."

Rumor Royalty: Mike DiGiovanna (Angels)

By | at

Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times has been named Rumor Royalty for the Angels; he is the best source of Halos hot stove buzz.  He was kind enough to answer three questions for MLBTR.

MLBTR: What do you make of the Paul Konerko rumors?  Do you think the Angels and Sox have had post-Meetings discussions about him, despite Kenny Williams’ claim otherwise?

DiGiovanna: I had heard the White Sox and Angels might be up to something four or five days before that report came out. I made several calls looking into the matter, as did my counterpart from the Chicago Tribune, White Sox beat writer Mark Gonzales, and after two or three days, we determined that there had been exploratory conversations between the teams during the winter meetings but nothing substantive since. Neither of us decided to write anything on it. Then a report was published claiming the Angels and White Sox were discussing a deal that would send Howie Kendrick and Ervin Santana to Chicago for Konerko. I was very skeptical about it because the Angels would not trade Kendrick straight up for Konerko, let alone Kendrick AND Ervin Santana. Then that afternoon, Kenny Williams shot down the rumor forcefully, saying on the record that there had been no talks with the Angels since the winter meetings and that he hasn’t discussed Konerko. I know GMs don’t always tell the whole truth, but when a GM knocks down a rumor so forcefully, I tend to believe him.

I know Angels Manager Mike Scioscia likes Konerko a lot, but Konerko will be 32 this season, he’s got three years and some $30 million left on his contract, and I don’t think his power projects as well outside of U.S. Cellular Field, a known hitter’s haven. The Angels might get almost as much production, though without as many homers, from first baseman Casey Kotchman for a lot less money over the next three years.

MLBTR: Will the Angels will make a push to sign Francisco Rodriguez to an extension during the season?  What kind of dollars and years would you expect?

DiGiovanna: New GM Tony Reagins does not seem at all motivated to secure Rodriguez to a long-term deal, and since the two sides were unable to come to terms on a 2008 contract before exchanging arbitration figures last week—Rodriguez wants $12.5 million; the Angels offered $10 million—that’s an indication that they are still far apart on a multiyear deal. Rodriguez believes he is one of the top closers in the game and thinks he should be paid like one, so I would not be surprised if he is seeking a deal similar to the three-year, $45-million contract Mariano Rivera signed this winter. The Angels like Rodriguez and would love to lock him up for a few years, but I don’t think they want to pay him $15 million a year. I think Rodriguez will become a free agent after the season, the Angels will move Scot Shields into the closer role and, if there is still no spot for him in the rotation, convert Ervin Santana to a set-up man.

MLBTR: Is Ervin Santana the odd man out as far as the Angels’ six starters?  Do you expect him to be with the organization on Opening Day?

DiGiovanna: Barring injury to any of the other starters, yes, I think Santana will be the odd man out unless he has a phenomenal spring training and Joe Saunders struggles. John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Jon Garland and Jered Weaver are rotation locks, so Saunders and Santana will battle for the fifth spot. But in talking to Angels scouts and front-office executives, I get the sense they think Saunders—now that Bartolo Colon is out of the picture—has earned a big league spot, that he has done all he can in the minor leagues, and that another demotion to triple-A Salt Lake would be detrimental to the left-hander. They also like having at least one left-hander in their rotation.

However, I think Santana will not only be with the organization on opening day but on the big league roster. He has shown during his brief stints as a reliever that he can be very effective coming out of the bullpen, and he would be valuable as a swing man, a guy who could pitch long relief or spot start in case of injury. The Angels also may use this season to start grooming Santana into a short reliever.

Angels Discussing Konerko?

By | at

UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 9:45am: This one isn’t dead quite yet.  According to Buster Olney this morning:

Heard that while the Paul Konerko-Angels talks are not blistering hot now, there is a chance they will get hot sometime in the future.

UPDATE, 1-5-08 at 10:17pm: Kenny Williams said tonight that he hasn’t spoken to anyone with the Angels since the Winter Meetings, and that he hasn’t had trade talks about Konerko this winter.  Nor has he been asked about his first baseman.

UPDATE, 1-5-08 at 10:33am: Doug Padilla of the Daily Breeze has a source confirming the talks described below.

FROM 1-4-08 at 7:41pm:

Just got a solid tip that the Angels and White Sox are discussing a possible Paul Konerko deal.  No idea how serious these talks may be.

The Angels made an offer to Konerko in the winter of 2005-06, when he was a free agent.  Konerko does have a limited no-trade clause to consider.

Some names being bandied about include Ervin Santana, Howie Kendrick, and Chone Figgins. Of course, all three would not be in the deal. The Sox also seek relief help.  Moving Konerko would mean putting Nick Swisher at first base, while Figgins could be the leadoff hitter the Sox are after.

Odds and Ends: Santana, Cabrera, Kapler

By | at

A few good reads that I didn’t know how to fit elsewhere.

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