Angels’ GM Tony Reagins has already spoken to Scott Boras about Alex Rodriguez. Of course, they can’t talk dollars and cents until November 13th.
Mike DiGiovanna notes in the above-linked article that the Angels are not phased at all by Rodriguez’s purported ego. In contrast, the Red Sox are said to be concerned with clubhouse chemistry and Rodriguez’s recent postseason performance.
It’s all about the money for the Angels – owner Arte Moreno would have to be willing to take a short-term loss to bring A-Rod aboard. But even if Moreno bleeds $15-20MM a year because of Rodriguez, he still comes out ahead in the long run. Right now he’s up roughly a quarter billion bucks given the value of the Angels. Another fact to consider, per Buster Olney, is that each team will get roughly $30MM+ from the successful MLB.com.
DioGiovanna also suggests that Moreno’s talk about not paying any player $20MM is just posturing, part of the negotiation process. I agree – if Moreno was really that opposed to it, why not just declare the Angels out of the Rodriguez sweepstakes right now? Instead they’re meeting with Boras. They’re interested.
