The Angels have reached an agreement with Howie Kendrick on a four-year contract, the team announced. The deal is worth $33.5MM, Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times tweets. It will cover the 28-year-old's final year of arbitration and first three years of free agency.
Kendrick is coming off of his best season to date as he hit .285/.338/.464 with 18 homers in 583 plate appearances. Earlier this week, GM Jerry Dipoto confirmed that he opened up talks with the agents for Kendrick and Erick Aybar. Like Kendrick, Aybar also has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining.
Last night, our own Mark Polishuk examined the second baseman's case for an extension. According to MLBTR's projections, Kendrick was set to earn $5.2MM in 2012 through arbitration.
By signing an extension with the Angels, Kendrick avoids having to contend with fellow second baseman Brandon Phillips on the open market next offseason.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the deal and Bob Nightengale of USA Today added the contract value.
Should be under $40 million. Otherwise the Halos made a mistake. IMO
I’m sure 4/36 or even 4/32 will do the trick.
Yep, I was just gonna edit and say anything over 4/36 would be a mistake. 4/32 is a good deal
This is bad news for the Rangers. The Angels are going to be a very tough team for the next couple of years.
They still need to add another piece to their offense to win the division though. But I agree, their future looks good
The Angels have a great rotation so I don’t think its as simple as who has the best offense. The Angels offense is not gonna be that much worse than the Rangers moving forward. If Trout develops correctly and Morales puts in a healthy season they might be even better.
I disagree. They can win the division with what they’ve got. Their rotation is great and there offense is pretty good. Vernon is gonna be better in 2012 (can’t possibly do worse) so that’s another weapon. Also, Kendry is an important variable. If he has a good year then that’s even more offense.
Yep. Not sure I like Aybar/Kendrick at the top, but this is still pretty good:
SS Aybar
2B Kendrick
1B Pujols
RF Hunter
DH Morales
LF Wells
C Iannetta
3B Callaspo
lol Vernon Wells a weapon………
Last year he wasn’t great- 25HR’s but still a horrible year offensively… 2010 was an AllStar pretty good year for him, if he can stay healthy and did what he did in 2010 then yeah we can give the Rangers a run for their money
If by “weapon” you mean “adequate 4th outfielder” as opposed to “$20MM DFA candidate”, then yes.
I see no reason why he can’t hit 25 homers/85 RBI with his career slash line. That’s a pretty good player.
stop using RBIs as a stat to define how good a player is
If by “weapon” you mean “adequate 4th outfielder” as opposed to “$20MM DFA candidate”, then yes.
If by “weapon” you mean “adequate 4th outfielder” as opposed to “$20MM DFA candidate”, then yes.
The Rangers are not too shabby themselves. I’m really stoked about the fact that we might have an intense, competitive rivalry. It’ll be fun to watch.
It is going to be an extreme dogfight for the division for a while, but there isn’t a clear cut favorite. The division has been won by either the Rangers or Angels the past five years.
especially if the rangers sign darvish….it will be very interesting
I wouldn’t be too worried if I were you. You still have the better line-up.
they just need to lock them up with extensions
take Angels System Napoli out of there and they’re done.
It’s probably gonna be more than “a couple years”…
There’s really not that many significantly better options out there, at least that they Angels can get, and Howie still has some upside. Jerry Dipoto really looks like he knows what he’s doing. Great move.
Oh also, Howard’s TV got their mascot locked up for 4 more painful years.
you think he has upside beyond 6 WAR? i doubt that
still a good deal assuming a reasonable salary, but he’s likelier to be a 3-4 WAR guy going forward than 5-6
I understand your point. But I watched most of the games last year, and Howie always hit the ball hard, but right at someone. I guess he’s just a really unlucky dude, but if some of those lines fell, his numbers would be much higher. But numbers don’t lie, so maybe Howie was meant to be a 3-4 war guy. I’m just saying, he has a legitimate chance at being better.
Howie is about to be that 5 WAR guy, defense pulling him to either side by half a win. He still strikes out too much, but that 33.5M (my yearly guess is 5-8-9-10, 1.5M bonus) seems just fine.
At 33.5M, this is a pretty sweet deal. Also, I don’t wanna seem TOO optimistic, but yes, Kendrick did strike out a lot. BUT his problem was the slow stuff. He could handle fastballs, but his sweet swing would always be messed up by a curve or a change. Why do I bring this up? If Kendrick was to bat in front of Pujols (which I hope he will, I think he could be the one to do the most damage) I think its a fair assumption that he would see more fastballs, in which case I would hope he’d put up even better numbers.
At 33.5M, this is a pretty sweet deal. Also, I don’t wanna seem TOO optimistic, but yes, Kendrick did strike out a lot. BUT his problem was the slow stuff. He could handle fastballs, but his sweet swing would always be messed up by a curve or a change. Why do I bring this up? If Kendrick was to bat in front of Pujols (which I hope he will, I think he could be the one to do the most damage) I think its a fair assumption that he would see more fastballs, in which case I would hope he’d put up even better numbers.
strikeouts will be waaaaay down hitting in front of Pujols. Everything else will go up. Several career years coming. Guy absolutely mashes fastballs, and he’s going to see a ton of fastballs.
The Mlbtr team makes a contract extension post about Howie Kendrick and then less than a full day the Angels extend him.
Someone throw them a cookie for that…
Psychic.
Thanks to this lady, I’ll never believe in psychics again…
HA!
A day or 2 before this post DiPoto said that they had contacted Aybar and Kendricks agent for extension talks, so might as well throw DiPoto a cookie too
Im cool with it, I can easily see him improve to being a .300 hitter with 15-20HR’s/year. I am very glad to see another homegrown talent signed to a multi-year deal.(Weaver)
Love it. Howie is a very solid player, just entering his prime. Great to have him locked in for the next 4 years
This is a great deal for the Halos now the right side of the infield is signed 4 yrs now get Aybar signed and find a 3rd baseman
Solid move. M’s are going to be in a hole this year for sure if they don’t get a bat or two.
Good move by the Angels, he’s a quality 2nd basemen, and those are really hard to find.
Now work a deal with Aybar.
Aybar isn’t nearly as important. I’d rather trade him for value and start Izturis.
Talking strictly money and not taking into account Kendricks preferences and security, this may turn out to be a poor financial decision on his part.
I love you Dipoto!
I concur with the majority of posts commending this move. Guessing like everybody else around 4/35. Very good deal for the Angels to lock up arguably the 2nd best 2B in the game.
Whoa…take it easy there
Cano then who? Ricky Weeks? Enlighten me.
Which kendrick will show up? 2011 or 2010.
Both were good. The 2010 Kendrick hit 41 doubles and had more RBI’s.
RBIs he says
in 2010 kendrick was a below average offensive player
Utley, Pedroia, Kinsler, u can make a case that brandon phillips is better too!
boom
I’d easily put Pedroia ahead of Cano, but those two, plus Kinsler and Zobrist, and maybe Phillips are better.
Pedroia is overrated… Heart isn’t a stat
But it should be. Along with “jumping before every defensive play”
But it should be. Along with “jumping before every defensive play”
Overrated? You do know he won an MVP award right?
Would he have won that if he were playing in Pittsburgh? Probably not he is a really good player but if he weren’t playing with Boston I doubt his year would have been deemed “MVP worthy” Youkilis, and Morneu had better years than he did- offensively
You said he only won the MVP because he played in Boston, but you suggested Youkilis should have won.
I like Pedroia because of his glove, bat and speed, which are all tops for his position. There’s no conceivable way you can put up an 8 WAR season and lead your position in UZR and wOBA and be overrated.
DP obviously got the nod over Youk because he plays 2b(a more difficult position) but my point was if he had the same year on another team like PIT or HOU or Kansas City then I do not believe that he would have gotten the MVP. I think a lot of people outside of New England were scratching their heads at that one
I rarely ever agree with the MVP selections, but it wasn’t like Juan Gonzalez, or Willie Hernandez. He was a good candidate and I’m not questioning it. Positional adjustment does count.
Pedroia gets as much recognition as he deserves. Cano is the overrated one, not because he isn’t a great player, he’s exciting as hell to watch, but 2B is a position of strength in baseball.
Would he have won that if he were playing in Pittsburgh? Probably not he is a really good player but if he weren’t playing with Boston I doubt his year would have been deemed “MVP worthy” Youkilis, and Morneu had better years than he did- offensively
Pedroia has owned Kendrick in just about every stat in just about every single season ever. and even if it’s a month, he’s still younger, in the bigger spotlight
I never said Kendrick was better than Pedroia. Just think that he is a bit overrated.
Neither should be RBI
Pedroia is overrated… Heart isn’t a stat
You can’t argue that he’s better than Cano, Pedroia, or Kinsler. Even without any advanced stats, everyone in their right mind would agree that those 3 are better…
and if we’re getting into WAR, he’s 8th in WAR over the past 2 years for 2Bs, and was 5th last year…
He is NOT arguably the 2nd best, he’s arguably in the top 5.
Thankfully for you, you won’t be playing on his team, Yu. HERRO.
Ian Kinsler… That guy has 30 HR power
Ian Kinsler… That guy has 30 HR power
Ian Kinsler… That guy has 30 HR power
Ben Zobrist is the best 2B in baseball, when he plays there. If he doesn’t, going off the last 3 years you have Utley, Cano, Pedroia, Kinsler, Phillips, R. Weeks, Uggla in front of Kendrick, who is coming off a breakout season and has a very high potential of being an excellent player over the next few years. Utley might be on a downward spiral and Uggla is what he is, but Kendrick isnt even top 5 because of how deep it is, and thats absolutely no slight on him, its that 2B is definitely the deepest talent pool in MLB, pretty much every team has a good player there.
You can add K. Johnson, J. Weeks, Ackley, Prado, Walker, Espinosa etc into the conversation, who are all very good/have high ceilings too. Kinsler/Kendrick/Ackley/Weeks the AL West holds it down, all 4 are game changers.
I would put Kendrick in front of Uggla because of Uggla’s poor defense. And as a Phillies fan, I must say, Chase is done.
Kendrick’s not an elite defender though, he’s just “good”. Better defenders than Kendrick include Pedroia, Zobrist, Phillips, Utley (even with the declining bat, his glove is still there), Kinsler, Ellis, Punto & Santiago.
Kendrick’s more than solid though, I love this deal, it could well be an underpay when all is said and done now Kendrick’s throws are being scooped by one of the best 1B defenders in the game. Wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he regularly goes 4-6 WAR every year of this deal.
Kendrick’s not an elite defender though, he’s just “good”. Better defenders than Kendrick include Pedroia, Zobrist, Phillips, Utley (even with the declining bat, his glove is still there), Kinsler, Ellis, Punto & Santiago.
Kendrick’s more than solid though, I love this deal, it could well be an underpay when all is said and done now Kendrick’s throws are being scooped by one of the best 1B defenders in the game. Wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he regularly goes 4-6 WAR every year of this deal.
I’d put Kendrick ahead of Uggla when you factor in defense. But otherwise that list is about right.
he’s not the 2nd best 2nd baseman in the game.
Then give me a name, Zacker.
In no particular order: Cano, Pedroia, Zobrist, Utley, Weeks, Kinsler, Phillips
Utley, Weeks and Kinsler all have injury concerns. Zobrist is a PT OFer. I can agree on Pedroia. Neutral on Phillips. At worst, 4th.
Even with injury concerns, Kinsler is still better. Cano, Pedroia, and Utley are better also.
kinsler is widely underrated
I’m an angels fan and i love howie but that post was absurd, cano pedroia, weeks, utley (when healthy), Phillips, zobrist, Sure Howie has the potential to be a 300 and 20hr guy but until he reaches that he’s behind these guys.
You left out Kinsler.
Throw kinsler near the top. And Howie has also has had his injury concerns
I like how for some strange reason people leave out a top 3 2B.
I know, Kinsler is widely underrated. He is a 30 hr 30 steal guy. Probably one of the best defensive 2b, along with Pedroia. Without him, the Rangers wouldn’t be nearly as good. Also a part of the best double play tandom along with Elvis.
Kinsler and Zobrist are two of the most underrated players going. Zobrist is the most underrated player of the last 20 years. He’s absurdly good at everything, being an elite defender at TWO positions, hitting for power, getting on base, steals bases, yet he’s not on anyone’s top 10 list. That blows my mind. If he’s not in your top 5, you are simply wrong.
Kinsler and Zobrist are two of the most underrated players going. Zobrist is the most underrated player of the last 20 years. He’s absurdly good at everything, being an elite defender at TWO positions, hitting for power, getting on base, steals bases, yet he’s not on anyone’s top 10 list. That blows my mind. If he’s not in your top 5, you are simply wrong.
Kinsler is criminally underrated….the rangers are so loaded that it’s easy for a guy like Kinsler to get lost in that mix…..
I know, Kinsler is widely underrated. He is a 30 hr 30 steal guy. Probably one of the best defensive 2b, along with Pedroia. Without him, the Rangers wouldn’t be nearly as good. Also a part of the best double play tandom along with Elvis.
I like how for some strange reason people leave out a top 3 2B.
I’m going to go way out on a limb here and say, if Kendrick hits in front of Pujols all season long, he’s going to put up some really impressive numbers. Fastball hitter that’s going to see a lot of fastballs.
Yes see San Francisco batting lineup 2001 when Aurillia started hitting ahead of Bonds(steroids aside)
Yes see San Francisco batting lineup 2001 when Aurillia started hitting ahead of Bonds(steroids aside)
Obviously you don’t follow baseball very closely. Zobrist can not only play the outfield well, he can also play 2nd, short, and first. A significant bargain at his salary.
I’ll still take R.Weeks, Utley, or Kinsler over Kendrick, injuries factored in.
I’d rather have a star with injury warts than a middling guy who just had a career year.
Both those guys play in hitters parks, Howie has started to be good enough to hone his skill to hit at Angels stadium which is a pitchers park… The real question is do you take Utley for the next 4 years(at his age) or do you take Kinsler playing at a park that is not Arlington? Utley is getting older(33) and looking at Kinsler’s Home/Road splits his Bave is 67 points lower OBP is 80 points lower and slugging is 114 points lower away from Arlington…. Now on my fantasy team I would probably still take Kinsler and Utley ahead of Howie but park factors do exist and not everybody can play in hitters ball parks
Kinsler is still great outside of Arlington…so people can stop using our ballpark as an excuse why they always get beat there.
Uhhh no. Career away from Arlington slash line .242/.315/.412… Not what anybody but a Ranger fan would consider great. Like I said in another post I would pick him for my Fantasy team but away from TX he is nothing special that’s a .727 OPS…..
What a 1-2 punch of awful comments.
Other players have injury concerns? In his first 4 years Kendrick averaged around 90 games played mostly due to injuries! That and when he was sent to AAA for a few weeks for sucking in 2009, but that hardly seems like a positive.
He’s been mostly healthy the last 2 years (Kinsler and Weeks have also had a fully healthy year within the past 2), but hes still an injury concern.
Over the last 4 years, Pedroia has 28 WAR, Utley, 26, Kinsler has 20 WAR, Phillips 17. Kendrick? 12.
If you are completley looking forward and knocking Utley for his potentially serious knee problem, then you can bring in guys without the track record like Ackely who is a reasonable bet to be better than Kendrick the next 4 years (independent of his park/lineup hurting his stats).
Another name dropper.
how about a sleeper pick…may not be better than any of these guys now but in a year or 2, i see Espinosa being on this list….over 20 HR’s and is really nice with the glove….he needs to clean up the batting average a bit though
good move by the angels.. especially with the news that its around 4/33.5.
As for aybar… if they dont get him at a good price id hate to say it but let him walk
Arbitration has killed baseball. Mediocre players making 4-5 million a year. Before arbitration they would be lucky to make the minimum salary.
Howie Kendrick is mediocre?
Apparently a 5.8 WAR is mediocre.
FACT: Owners are billionaires.
If the players weren’t making the money it would be in some owner’s pockets.
Good move. It’s hard to find quality second basemen on the open market. Time to lock up Aybar.
This is what I would prefer(Trumbo at 3b)
Bourjos
Kendrick
Pujols
Morales
Hunter
Wells
Trumbo
Iannetta
Aybar
Once Bourjos learns how to bunt and take a walk consistently and then learns how to steal bases then watch out he could be a real force as leadoff..
Learns how to bunt? I think Aybar and Bourjos were the best bunters in the league last year (in terms of hits), but i could definitely be wrong. I would also argue that Bourjos could steal a ton of bases but IMO Scioscia kinda held him up and needs to just give him the green light a la Figgins
Look at a guy like Abreu- not the fastest guy but he knows how to steal if that is a “thing”… With Pete’s speed as soon as he learns how to read pitchers and defenses then its 40, 50+ SB seasons for him. When he learns that then he will get the green light from Sciosc…edit- upon further review yes Bourjos had plenty of bunt hits last year…
Um, Trout’s ready to be an all star now and LAA is primed to win now and can use another all star. Wells is the 4th OF. Trumbo is worthless at everything in baseball except hitting HR, just trade him before the league figures it out. Callaspo is about 10000 times better a 3B than him.
Trumbo was a rookie, give him a chance 29HR’s and 89(?87?) rib’s says that he should be given a chance to figure it out…
RBIs are useless. The guy can’t get on base to save his life. He needs to at least hit league average, while maintaining power, to be considered anything but Mike Jacobs
Another Big Contract to the Angels payroll.
Another Big Contract to the Angels payroll.
Another Big Contract to the Angels payroll.
for the next year- yes.. but think of how many are coming off the books in few years… for example hunter and abreu coming off next year
for the next year- yes.. but think of how many are coming off the books in few years… for example hunter and abreu coming off next year
Yeah it’s nice to have a $150mil/year tv contract and 3mil+ attendance every year… Oh and a billionaire owner(not a ownership group) it is nice…
Yeah it’s nice to have a $150mil/year tv contract and 3mil+ attendance every year… Oh and a billionaire owner(not a ownership group) it is nice…
The Angels just got a new TV contract for 150 million a year more than they had, I think they can afford it.
DiPoto FTW!
(I don’t know what that means but I always see my kid type it when something groovy happens.)
It means Fairy Tale Wedding, not sure that applies here … or maybe it does
It means Fairy Tale Wedding, not sure that applies here … or maybe it does
Please disregard any fairy tale [weddings] you may hear about (uh, that means you too, @facebook-1369500443:disqus!) :p
It means “For The Win!”
[I was kidding. But thanks for the help. LOL (Laughing Out Loud)]
Ha!
That’s what I get for not asking for a sarcasm detector for Christmas! :p
DiPoto FTW!
(I don’t know what that means but I always see my kid type it when something groovy happens.)
I still can’t believe how no one ever talks about Ben Zobrist. He’s one of the top 5 players in the game according to every statistical category.
While it’s still shocking, I can think of a number of reasons.
He plays in TB, which still garnishes a fair amount of national attention what with 30+ games a year vs Boston/NY, and because TB has been successful the last few years. But it’s safe to say he wouldn’t have flown under the radar had he played in a big market from the get-go.
He’s overshadowed on his own team by the likes of Longoria/Shields/Price and even Moore/Jennings now, in terms of media attention and star power. He was never a heralded top draft pick, never made a top 10 prospects list (don’t quote me on this, i’m too tired to look up BaseballAmerica’s 2005-2006 list for Houston, the team he was drafted by).
He doesn’t have any real flare to his game. He’s a grinder/hustler/hard worker, which some people resonate with, but the vast majority of fans like the Cano’s of the world…guys who carry themselves with a certain swagger.
I may be going out on a limb here, but I think Maddon’s utilitarian use of Zobrist also hurts his recognition severely. I think many fans that are, how do i put this, sabermetrically-challenged, simply view him as an everyday utility player.
I agree with all that, but think he hits too many HRs to be called a grinder/hustler, those terms are used for small in stature (usually white for some weird/racist reason) guys who have crappy stats. He has beastly stats across the board. His BA is clearly defined by rises and falls in BABIP, he’s gotta be close to the most 5 tool player in the game.
Top five in every statistical category is definitely a stretch. He’s good, no doubt, but that is a serious exaggeration.
Where does it say top 5 in every statistical category?
In your original comment that I responded to, you said “He’s one of the top 5 players in the game according to every statistical category.”
Underrated, but which of these players is he better than?:
Pujols
Cabrera
Kemp
Braun
Votto
etc…
Good deal for the Angels. I think Kendrick could potentially be leaving some good $$ on the table, because i think he is going to have a big year hitting in front of Pujols. Wouldn’t surprise me if he hit .320, hits 20 homers and scores 100 runs.
Good deal for the Angels. I think Kendrick could potentially be leaving some good $$ on the table, because i think he is going to have a big year hitting in front of Pujols. Wouldn’t surprise me if he hit .320, hits 20 homers and scores 100 runs.
Aaron Hill is better…
Aaron Hill is better…
Uh… no.
2011 Kendrick – 5.8 WAR
Nice! Hope his acting improves though. Some of those local Howard’s TV commercials are a little tough to watch.
I think the angels are overated. Their offense last year was terrible, this year with pujols it might be average. They have a nice rotation but the bullpen isnt that good. The Texas offense is loaded beyond belief and they have a decent pitching staff and bullpen. The angels will miss the playoffs because of a lack of offense and texas will win the west again.
Solid analysis.
The Rangers were a whopping 5 games ahead of the Angels as late as Sept 22nd. The last week the Rangers got hot and the Angels went cold.
Since then the Angels have added the best hitter in baseball AND stole the Rangers top starting pitcher. Oh yeah – that black hole at C has been filled. Overall the Angels are much better while the Rangers have gotten worse. I think the teams are pretty close. Pretty hard to say that either team is clearly better.
You’re all forgetting that Howie also sells big screen TVs on the side. Juggling that along with being a MLB caliber 2B makes him best 2B in the game!!
Great signing good to know the angels have him for another 4 years