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.
Reliable veteran reliever?? Sounds like Scotty Downs to me!
sounds nice to me! I like hideki but im pretty sure he will be going on this off season. the fact that he has had a really impressive last month should boost his what he is going to be getting paid next year…and I dont think Anaheim will pay next to anything to have a part time DH…but who knows…its reagins!!
“Reliable vetaran reliever”…
Didn’t we say that about Fernando Rodney? I know it’s not his fault, explicitly, why we struggled this year, but (at least since the Fuentes trade) he really hasn’t been the guy we’ve needed him to be.
But what Scioscia said is exactly right. The reason the Angels struggled this year was… well, first it was the injury to Morales. Can’t really blame anybody on that one. 1A was Brandon Wood. He’ll come around, hopefully, but just didn’t really contribute much to this team.
Of course, the bullpen. Walden, Kohn, and Thompson have pitched amazing in the last month or so, so that is very encouraging. But a veteran reliever is probably our most important position to upgrade this offseason (after a push for Crawford, of course).
The Angels rotation next year will have Weaver, Haren, Pineiro, Santana, and Kazmir. That really isn’t that bad. And getting Morales back and healthy next year would basically be like a huge free agent signing.
Texas and Oakland (ESPECIALLY Texas) are gonna be better next year, also. In 2011, the AL West should be competitive. Texas probably still would be favorites (their rotation, bullpen, defense, and offense are all great, and very underrated nationally), but I think LA and Oakland will make it harder on them.
yea but i doubt texas will sign C.Lee. yanks are gonna go put the money down to get him..
Darren Oliver never thought in his life he’d be missed so much. The funniest part is that Fuentes would be a perfect fit for that extra bullpen arm, even though Sosh doesn’t believe in situational pitchers, the dude is lights out against lefties. If Rodney fixed his hat he would be a better pitcher….it’s science.
How can anyone say that Offense isn’t our biggest issue going into the offseason???
They’re going to have a good 1B, but the Angels’ infield has been very weak this year. They need to put some work into that if they want to keep up with the Rangers.
Who is actually going to take Rivera in the other end of a trade? He’s somewhat expensive and does absolutely nothing except occasionally hit for power. It is going to be hard moving him.
I wouldnt mind if the Reds looked into him as long as most of his salary is payed. They need a power right handed bat for left field and i love gomes but if gomes is lost or they lose out on someone of a higher profile i say go for him he was once a pretty good power bat and he would be played in a hitters park
Having a sub .200 hitter in center (Peter Bourjos) does not make sense for a team that needs offense.
It’s not a horrible idea to let him get his rookie struggles out now since the Angels won’t be making the postseason. If nothing else, he’s a good defender in CF and next year his bat may come around.
You obviously have no knowledge of the team if you think he should be benched.
No team should have a sub .200 starter.
He won’t hit less than .200 in a full year… He makes pretty good contact, he’ll hit around .270 or .260 next year. Plus he is the best defender in CF in all of baseball.
Geez dude, give the kid a break. He’s been in the league less than two months. I’d take a full season of .250 of him with that defense. I’m calling it….Bourjos is going to be a monster in the league.
Geez dude, give the kid a break. He’s been in the league less than two months. I’d take a full season of .250 of him with that defense. I’m calling it….Bourjos is going to be a monster in the league.
The Angels need to balance their resources better. Here’s my blueprint for 2010:
Trade: Rivera, Abreu, Kendrick, Napoli
Cut: Mathis
Don’t Bring Back: Matsui
Rivera and Abreu are salary dumps at this stage. Won’t get anything in return. Kendrick should net something – though it won’t be big. Napoli is the star of this group. Should easily bring back a great BP arm + minor league talent or you focus on just minor league guys. I hate to trade Napoli but if the team won’t play him …
These moves save almost $30m in payroll.
Your catcher position is filled with Conger + Wilson. Expect subpar offense and defense for ’11. Of course, we’ve gotten that already in ’10. This version will be much cheaper though.
At 1st base you have Morales back. 2B you have Collapso. SS is Aybar. CF you have Bourjos. RF you have Hunter.
That leaves holes at 3B, LF, and DH.
DH – you have to give Trumbo a shot. I would look to bring in someone who can split time with Trumbo or step in if he falters. The guy led the minors in HR’s this year – he has to be given a shot at the bigs.
3B – I’m actually OK going to with Izturis/Wood for one more year. I would NOT spend big money on Beltre. He’s been amazing this year – no doubt. I put the odds of him repeating his ’10 season in ’11 at about 0.0001%. If another option presents itself via a trade then you certainly look at that.
LF – That leaves all sorts of money for Crawford. The Angels can go all in. They will get a great LF’er for 4-5 years and regret their decision in years 6 and 7.
I’m not sold that this is a dominant team but it should be very competitive. More importantly it allows us to evaluate Wood, Trumbo, and Bourjos over the course of a full year in preparation for 2012 (same goes for Kohn, Walden, and Thompson). After 2011 the team will be dropping:
$11.5m from GMJ
$12m from Kazmir
$8m from Pineiro
$5.5m from Rodney
That’s a lot of money for guys that aren’t contribution (exception being Pineiro).
I hear what you’re saying, but if those changes happened I don’t think Crawford would sign. He would think the team is too unstable.
Also this would be a sell low on Kendrick, he still can certainly be the player we thought he would.
Speaking of Offense: I think we should give Hank Conger, aka King Cong, a shot a starting.
Between Napoli and Mathis, they will earn, combined, in the upwards of $5 million. You could non-tender Mathis and trade Napoli(even just trade him for a couple AA or AAA prospects).
Their offensive numbers, defense, and game calling(except Mathis), is nothing Angel fans are happy or proud of. Not even close to the Molina brothers(or the two we had).
Especially with Jeff Mathis batting below .194 with 6 Doubles and Napoli hitting .186 with RISP, giving Conger the starting job wouldn’t hurt us any more offensively than our catchers now.
Plus, in is 4 games as a catcher in the Majors, his catcher’s ERA is 1.50.
But I know with his injuries early in his career, he’s only caught roughly 200 professional games, which Scioscia might look down upon. And if we start him, he’d probably qualify for Super 2 Status that Reagins would look down upon.
Napoli needs to be the Angels’ starting catcher. Period.
Hideki Matsui signs with the Rangers in ’11 and blows up….
Nah. It couldn’t happen twice.
Seriously though, Rivera needs to be gone.. send him anywhere for anything. Trade him for a bucket of balls to the first team that will take him. His contract is horrible (IMO) and he has to be one of the laziest ballplayers I’ve ever seen. I’m on the fence with Abreu, he’s a good, disciplined hitter but his production is going to dip worse and worse – wouldn’t be a bad time to cut ties with him as well. All-in-all I don’t think the offense is that far from being good; think about it – you plug Crawford into the lineup with Morales and Hunter, start Nappy behind the plate there’s a good part of the lineup with a lot of pop. Mix it with the speed that’s already around and you’ve got a pretty dangerous offensive team.
As for the pen and catchers, I’m with Jake – Nappy needs to be starting behind the plate. The only reason the pen is slightly less important to me now is because that worthless **** Fuentes is gone, still think it needs a lot of work but it will get back to form I’m sure.
Can’t wait for ’11 so we can all put this **** season behind us.
Go Halos
Carl Crawford is a must get. Speed and defense is a good combination to get back to. After the extra at bats that Wood will get playing winter league and spring training next year, they need to make a “go”-“nogo” decision on him before the start of the new season.
They should start considering Conger for one of the catching spots, I think this guy is Mike S’s kind of catcher. Napoli should only be traded for a solid hitter with some power in return. Throw in some others in the trade if you need to make it happen. Maybe Rivera, if they get Crawford.
Matsui should not be kept for another year, even though he’ll probably end up playing for the Mariners next year and have a great year… LOL The guy never really fit in to the Angel way because he just can’t run as well anymore. The DH spot should be primarily given to Abreu.
Finally a solid closer is a must, part of his duties could be to help groom Jordan Walden as a future closer. It wouldn’t be bad to tinker with the short stop position as well, maybe get a someone fresh with some power from another organization. If they get a free agent short stop, maybe a package Aybar in a deal with Rivera, Napoli for a good fielding speedy shortsop with some pop.
Aybar Napoli and Rivera! You could and Pujols for that much young controllable talent.
I don’t understand why everyone seems so gung ho on trading Napoli! 25+ home run bats are not easy to come by in this post-steroid age…And for all the talk about how Jeff Mathis is so much better than him defensively (I really don’t see it), is that, or giving the talented but still immature Hank Conger a full-time gig, really worth removing Napoli’s bat?
Am I saying Napoli’s perfect? No. Am I saying he’s “the guy” offensively? No…Kendry Morales is, so Napoli doesn’t need to be “the guy”. But history has shown you need more than one power hitter in the middle of your lineup to be truly successful, and who else is there, unless the Angels wind up signing Adam Dunn? I suppose they could trade for another power hitter who plays another position besides 1B, but honestly, I can’t think of one, at least that isn’t already playing for a contender.
Bottom line: Angels don’t need to “blow up” the team to rebound next season. Texas has looked awfully vulnerable in the second half of the season, as they always do; and next year, Vlad will be another year older, Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton will still have histories of being injury prone, and I don’t foresee any major upgrades in their starting rotation, which isn’t very dominant, even with Cliff Lee. The Angels should make a run at Carl Crawford, move Abreu to DH, and keep Napoli as their everyday catcher. With Crawford batting leadoff and what he brings defensively, plus Kendry coming back, the Angels will be the favorites to win the AL West again, IMHO.
I don’t think a lot of people want Napoli to be traded, just that they realize he probably will be.
yea and well im over the mathis nap thing.. play nap full time or trade him.. as of mathis id rather have conger behind the plate rather than mathis
Bjsguess –
Usually, you’re comments, especially concerning the Angels, are usually very intelligent and I agree with them. That’s why I’m so shocked that you seriously wrote that the Angels should give Brandon Wood another crack at 3B. He needs to be traded, even if it’s just a tack-on to a bigger trade. Is Callaspo the greatest 3B on the planet? No, but can you imagine if the Angels had his .275 BA/10-15 HR/30 doubles in the lineup from day 1 of the season? At least it wouldn’t have been the black hole that Wood was.
Unless a team offers something really juicy for Napoli, I say keep him and trade Mathis and Wilson away. Conger and Napoli can share catcher duties and Nap can also fill in at 1st to give Morales a break. Nap, Morales, Abreu and Hunter can roate in the DH spot as well.
My dream 2010/2011 offseason for the Angels would be they:
Sign Adam Dunn
Sign Carl Crawford
Sign Rafael Soriano
Trade Rivera (just for prospects or whatever).
I think the time is now for the Angels to drop some serious cash on good hitters. That is the only way we could stay competitve with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers and Twins.
Imagine a line-up that went something like:
SS Aybar
DH Abreu
RF Crawford
1st Morales
LF Dunn
CF Hunter
2nd Kendrick
C Napoli
3rd Callaspo
Then add a rotation of:
Haren
Weaver
Santana
Piniero
Kazmir (Who’s ERA is 3.83 since the all-star break)
That team would sell out Angel Stadium every night. And win multiple Championships. Obviously the team would be in the negative in terms of profits, but I think it would pay dividends in the long run.
Tony Reagins? Is that you?
I like that, just not in the budget though. Crawford’s looking overvalued with how thin the best OF free agency is. I wouldn’t hedge Kazmir dependent for a solid rotation cap either. The Stankees (Steinbrenner + Yankees) put Gardner in LF for this season whether he’d respond, prepared for Crawford (as the only team in MLB capable to spend off a flaw). As much as I’d like to see the Halos target Cliff Lee their #1 priority with less tax on the bullpen, Gardner’s respectably responded as Burnett and Vasquez have flopped, so the Stankees shove their way (as Selig sniffs their…protecting MLB entertainment value) into all likelihood of taking Lee, instead, to the fans groping like a bunch of hogs.
i think the stankees as u call them, will target Lee over Crawford.. all they have is CC right now.. LEE and CC its like the Cleveland Indians in yankee unis.
Aside, from my crying out for a better system of leveling the playing field, Crawford likely signs with the Halos (because of Torii Hunter), unless that other entertainment value half Selig sniffs over, the Red Sox, push their way in. Boras and Tex with 2008 Hot Stove was the prelude that may well be the same with Crawford and his agent this year. The ugliness continues as Mr. millionaire Commissioner Bud Selig lives in a cave!
Aside, from my crying out for a better system of leveling the playing field, Crawford likely signs with the Halos (because of Torii Hunter), unless that other entertainment value half Selig sniffs over, the Red Sox, push their way in. Boras and Tex with 2008 Hot Stove was the prelude that may well be the same with Crawford and his agent this year. The ugliness continues as Mr. millionaire Commissioner Bud Selig lives in a cave!
The 2011 lineup may very well look like this: 1-Bourjois CF, 2-Abreu DH, 3-Crawford LF, 4-Morales 1B 5-Hunter RF, 6-Napoli C, 7-Kendrick 2B, 8-Callaspo 3B, 9-Aybar SS.
The Angels need to sign Crawford and sign a power arm for the bullpen. The defense would be much improved. Matsui will not be resigned. Trade Rivera for bullpen depth. Also may think about upgrading at 3B.
I’ve said it on every other site, might as well say it here:
1. Trade Mike Napoli for Jacoby Ellsbury. The RedSox get the catcher they need and save 5-6 million in the process of not signing Victor Martinez, who is worse than Napoli behind the plate. The Angels gets the speedy, leadoff LF they need, would save 1-2 million and would have the top OF defense in baseball.
2. Trade Juan Rivera for salary relief. He will be paid 5 million next year, so why not trade him for a prospect and eat 1 million of that, saving the Angels 4 million dollars. Trust me, there are plenty of teams out there willing to play Rivera everyday at 4 million.
3. Trade Howie Kendrick for a LHP prospect. The Angels are in need of those after the Callaspo and Haren deals. This will fil a need and save the Angels another 2-3 million in salary.
4. Release Jeff Mathis. He’s awful. This will save around 3 million in salary.
After arb, this brings the Angels team salary to somewhere around 109 million, 20 million less than it is this year. Now I go get the players I need.
1. Sign Adrian Beltre 4 years 44 million.
2. Promote Hank Conger
This brings the Angels payroll to 120 million (10 less than it is now) and here’s the 2011 Angels.
LF Ellsbury
DH Abreu
1B Morales
3B Beltre
RF Hunter
2B Callaspo
C Conger
SS Aybar
CF Bourjos
BENCH: Wilson (C), Izturis (IF), Willits (OF), Wood (IF).
ROTATION: Weaver, Haren, Santana, Pineiro, Kazmir
BULLPEN: Rodney, Walden, Jepsen, Bulger, Kohn, Rodriguez, Thompson
Younger, faster, more powerful, better defensively and cheaper.
i wonder if there would be any takers for Izturis. In my eyes, he and Callaspo are fairly similar players except Izturis can play short if needed. That could be a money saver as well. Also im not a fan of Abreu making $9 million to be a DH and to be honest he has not played well this year.
I cant stress enough. DO NOT TRADE KENDRICK! He has never not hit like a machine on any level when healthy. Next year will be his big breakout year.
I cant stress enough. DO NOT TRADE KENDRICK! He has never not hit like a machine on any level when healthy. Next year will be his big breakout year.
was he not healthy this year?
i wonder if there would be any takers for Izturis. In my eyes, he and Callaspo are fairly similar players except Izturis can play short if needed. That could be a money saver as well. Also im not a fan of Abreu making $9 million to be a DH and to be honest he has not played well this year.
According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Angels currently have a payroll totaling $121,113,867, so $109M would NOT be $20M less than now.
COTS never updated, they’re currently at 129 million.
COTS never updated, they’re currently at 129 million.
According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Angels currently have a payroll totaling $121,113,867, so $109M would NOT be $20M less than now.
Well though out, interesting lineup, and I assume you concede to allow the Red Sox overspend on Crawford to replace Ellsbury? However, as much as Ellsbury (along with Pedroia) have proven the Red Sox falling short this post season, why would they regress to a poorer lineup execution with Mike Napoli and give up the savings and control on Ellsbury? Ideal, your numbers are there but with bias to the Halos.
I’ve said it on every other site, might as well say it here:
1. Trade Mike Napoli for Jacoby Ellsbury. The RedSox get the catcher they need and save 5-6 million in the process of not signing Victor Martinez, who is worse than Napoli behind the plate. The Angels gets the speedy, leadoff LF they need, would save 1-2 million and would have the top OF defense in baseball.
2. Trade Juan Rivera for salary relief. He will be paid 5 million next year, so why not trade him for a prospect and eat 1 million of that, saving the Angels 4 million dollars. Trust me, there are plenty of teams out there willing to play Rivera everyday at 4 million.
3. Trade Howie Kendrick for a LHP prospect. The Angels are in need of those after the Callaspo and Haren deals. This will fil a need and save the Angels another 2-3 million in salary.
4. Release Jeff Mathis. He’s awful. This will save around 3 million in salary.
After arb, this brings the Angels team salary to somewhere around 109 million, 20 million less than it is this year. Now I go get the players I need.
1. Sign Adrian Beltre 4 years 44 million.
2. Promote Hank Conger
This brings the Angels payroll to 120 million (10 less than it is now) and here’s the 2011 Angels.
LF Ellsbury
DH Abreu
1B Morales
3B Beltre
RF Hunter
2B Callaspo
C Conger
SS Aybar
CF Bourjos
BENCH: Wilson (C), Izturis (IF), Willits (OF), Wood (IF).
ROTATION: Weaver, Haren, Santana, Pineiro, Kazmir
BULLPEN: Rodney, Walden, Jepsen, Bulger, Kohn, Rodriguez, Thompson
Younger, faster, more powerful, better defensively and cheaper.
If the Arte decided to go big (spend the extra money), I would love the Angels to sign Crawford, trade for Heath Bell, and trade for Dan Uggla (these three would add approximately $37M to the payroll). We would need to get ‘rid of’ Abreu, Rivera, Kendrick, and Mathis, if we were to keep Napoli. This could move $21M. It could pay off in the long run, just as Marcus’ idea (I also like his projected lineup, not too shabby).I would take Uggla over Beltre any day. Uggla earns less than Beltre will in 2011, and Uggla is way more consistent (offensively) than Beltre, 30+ HR in the last 4 seasons. With this team we could have a World Series ring by November 2011.
so play Uggla at 3rd? Scioscia will not go for that, plus the Marlins and angels have had trouble trading in the past (Cabrera). I love the local boy Heath Bell (Santa Ana), but not sure that the Pads want to part ways in the offseason, would probably be a deadline move if they fall behind.
Sorry, I’ve no idea why I wrote that (Uggla).The Padres might be willing to trade Bell, they needed offense (before the got Ludwick) and were willing to trade Bell before this year’s trade deadline. The Padres will be looking for a 2B in the offseason (as written in mlbtraderumors.com!), so maybe a deal that involves Kendrick? It would enable us to acquire Uggla (cross my fingers) and get a cheaper closer than Soriano.
Like I said, with the MLB commissioner’s office sniffing the stench behind the Stankees revenue skew to entertainment value, the Padres might retain Bell to their long-term investment with inclusion.
Baseball’s trials and tribulations explain why we’ve reached this point. But come on, to still go on without including “local” TV revenues shared among all teams making the game possible?! It’s making a divorcee out of me!!
Sorry, I’ve no idea why I wrote that (Uggla).The Padres might be willing to trade Bell, they needed offense (before the got Ludwick) and were willing to trade Bell before this year’s trade deadline. The Padres will be looking for a 2B in the offseason (as written in mlbtraderumors.com!), so maybe a deal that involves Kendrick? It would enable us to acquire Uggla (cross my fingers) and get a cheaper closer than Soriano.
so play Uggla at 3rd? Scioscia will not go for that, plus the Marlins and angels have had trouble trading in the past (Cabrera). I love the local boy Heath Bell (Santa Ana), but not sure that the Pads want to part ways in the offseason, would probably be a deadline move if they fall behind.
If the Arte decided to go big (spend the extra money), I would love the Angels to sign Crawford, trade for Heath Bell, and trade for Dan Uggla (these three would add approximately $37M to the payroll). We would need to get ‘rid of’ Abreu, Rivera, Kendrick, and Mathis, if we were to keep Napoli. This could move $21M. It could pay off in the long run, just as Marcus’ idea (I also like his projected lineup, not too shabby).I would take Uggla over Beltre any day. Uggla earns less than Beltre will in 2011, and Uggla is way more consistent (offensively) than Beltre, 30+ HR in the last 4 seasons. With this team we could have a World Series ring by November 2011.
Say that the Angels don’t sign anybody in the offseason and say resign Matsui, I think just the addition of having Morales in the line-up will take off a lot of pressure for guys to perform.
We’ve only won two games when trailing going into the 7th this season. That says a lot about how the team is not relaxed.
Plus they’re grinding gears with stealing 99 SB’s but being throw out 49 times(Probably half of those is Torii at 3rd haha).
And they’re grinding gears with stealing 99 SB’s but being throw out 49 times(Probably half of those is Torii at 3rd haha).
Another good point. Has Matsui’s typical stretch slugging as he’s healing off the knee surgery and appearing more nimble on the base paths given you second thought whether the Halos should retain him for next season? I’ve thought about it, but he’ll be a another year older (37), that’s typically a risky investment, and I think they should turn the page and try to re-establish that 2002 esque base path pressure execution best for their ballpark that Scioscia prefers. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been ticked off at Hunter, Napoli, and Rivera stupidly forcing that issue this year though, too. Part ways with Matsui, Napoli, and Rivera. I would consider Hunter, too, but the Halos are stuck with him and his contract while he might also be Crawford’s ticket to arrive.
Say that the Angels don’t sign anybody in the offseason and say resign Matsui, I think just the addition of having Morales in the line-up will take off a lot of pressure for guys to perform.
We’ve only won two games when trailing going into the 7th this season. That says a lot about how the team is not relaxed.
Plus they’re grinding gears with stealing 99 SB’s but being throw out 49 times(Probably half of those is Torii at 3rd haha).
And they’re grinding gears with stealing 99 SB’s but being throw out 49 times(Probably half of those is Torii at 3rd haha).