8:58pm: "I can't qualify for everything you hear," said GM Jerry Dipoto to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez while reiterating that he is looking for overall pitching depth. "You never have enough pitching, so it's tough for me to say that there's not a time in this season where our situation may not change, but right now, we're very happy with where our pitching is."
10:25am: The Angels are "suddenly the front-runner" for free agent right-hander Roy Oswalt, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (on Twitter). The Red Sox remain in the mix, though the Rangers and Cardinals are fading out of the picture despite Chris Carpenter's neck problems.
Oswalt, 34, is reportedly willing to sign anywhere and is eyeing a midseason return. Earlier in the offseason he was said to only be interested in playing for a team close to his Mississippi home. Andy Pettitte's return to the Yankees for a $2.5MM minor league deal may have set the market for free agent pitchers coming back during the season, though Oswalt isn't coming out of retirement like his former Astros rotation-mate.
The Angels have reportedly been seeking pitching depth behind their strong front four of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, C.J. Wilson, and Ervin Santana, though they are said to be targeting out of options players and non-roster invitees. Oswalt at a salary similar to Pettitte's could be the bargain of the year.
Oswalt =’s Nytol.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
He can remain in hibernation for all I care.
Psst, you don’t need the ‘s after =. We would have gotten what you meant.
8mil for a year, doesnt deserve 10 after missing all of spring training.
…
Mystery team will probably swoop in.
Anaheim is closer to his home than Detroit I guess then according to his reckoning and of course Anaheim is offering/about to offer the same 10m the Tigers did earlier..
Well, I hope that’s not the case. The Angels already have one of the best, if not THE best rotation in baseball. Don’t need to also give them Oswalt..
The Angels??? Definitely not. I thought it was the Royals, Twins, Mets, or maybe the White Sox. However, the Angels might have the highest most overpaid rotation in baseball.
I won’t edit it, but yes it was sarcasm…
Uh-Oh.. I hope u have some asbestos..Undergarments on compadre.. Have a strong feeling some angels fans will be along soon to dispute that one and i ain’t gonna even touch it…
Bo Sox and Silver…. I apologize… Oswalt doesn’t bring out the best in me anymore. My sarcasm got ahead of me, again.
Sarcasm? I’ve got assume that’s what that was.
The Angels rotation.. it’s top 3 in the game IMO…
Agreed. The only rotation I’d put ahead of them right now is the Rays. Phillies are still up there too.
That’s how I feel about it, too.
Jealousy takes many forms.
Phillies beg to differ.
Phillies should shut their mouths. That would be a stronger 1-5 than the Phils.
EDIT: TBH, I’m not totally sure that the Angels are better than the Phils. My point was mostly that the Phils are not in some other tier above the Angels, they’re basically at the same rung on the ladder.
I’d take the Rays as the strongest 1-5 in baseball.
doc lee and hamels are the best top 3 in the game, and 2nd best isnt close
Reys=1 phillies =2 braves=3 maybe then the angles
I wouldn’t see Pettitte’s recent contract as a comparable for Oswalt. Pettitte is coming out of retirement after more than a year off. If anything a prorated portion (depending on when he returns) of a $5-8MM salary would seem more logical. Also, he will get a major league deal. It wasn’t too long ago that he was offered $10MM to pitch in Detroit.
Keep in mind that he could be creating leverage for himself, as the Rangers would not like to see the Angels get deeper.
well it’ll be a minor league deal, but only so that he has time to get ramped up in the minors- otherwise they’d have to start him in the majors on day 1.
Probably would take more than $2.5 mil to sign Oswalt.
When Paul Byrd can get 1.25m to sign in August (2009) to pitch half of a season and Clemens can get a pro rated 20m deal to pitch half of a season. The petite deal for 2.5m is an out and out steal for the Yankees.
The market might have changed some for oswalt and he has injury issues, but i still think he will find something now if he really wants to sign with any team in the 7-8m range. maybe even up towards the 10m he turned down a few months back from Detroit.
this guy is a primadonna. And getting older everyday. You can have him if he is this wishywashy.
In what world does making a decision based on the best scenario for your FAMILY being a primadonna?
In the world of an offended Tigers fan. Right Edward?
k. Just cant get past the circus. but….
WOW that will probably be the best 1-5 rotation. Angels are going all in this season.
I’d still take the rays rotation.
You could put Brian Tallet’s mustache in the 4th spot, and Brian Tallet himself in the 5th spot, and I’d still take the Rays’ rotation over all else.
You’d take a 3-man rotation?
For next year I’d take the Angels rotation. Long term I’d take the Rays, but with essentially two rookies (relative unknowns), and uncertainty about which Shields is going to show up, all they really have for sure next year is Price. Weaver, Haren, and Wilson were all in the top 9 in fWAR over the last two years (I know WAR isn’t the be-all-end-all, especially for pitchers, but you don’t do that without being really, really good).
Once the Ray’s rookies show what they really are, and show that they are acclimated to starting the majors, I would definitely prefer them over the Angels’ rotation, but I’m guessing that the Angels rotation will be better for next year.
“and uncertainty about which Shields is going to show up”
Not to mention on the road vs tough AL east teams. he has a knack for getting eaten alive at fenway.Seem like Maddon up until like last year was skipping his turn in the rotation when they visited Fenway a year or 2 so he would avoid pitching there.
What he said. I was not looking at all these stats but thinking along the same lines.
Hate to bash your opinion on this but: are you serious?
Jered Weaver
Dan Haren
CJ Wilson
Ervin Santana
Roy Oswalt
This is the kind of rotation that reminds me of the rotations the Yankees put together in the mid-to-late 90’s with Clemens (who one could argue was at a similar stage as Oswalt when the Yankees got him); David Cone; Kenny Rogers; Jimmey Key; David Wells.
The Yankees have the edge in comparison, but the rotation I just listed is about as close as you can get in this era.
What I find the most interesting is that anyone would argue against that rotation in this new age that emphasizes pitching and defense.
weaver, haren, wilson are all good pitchers, but have met their expectations.
Price, Hellickson and moore have been good and have yet to reach their potential.
Perhaps with oswalt it tips it in the favour of the angels, but as it stands right now, Price, Shields, Moore and Hellickson, to me at least combine to make the best rotation in the league .
As a Ranger fan I hope the Angels sign him.
So that your boys have ABSOLUTELY no chance of repeating, as opposed to just no chance?
That would be awful for you.
As a Mariners fan, me too.
LOL. Mariners scored the fewest runs last season and they are given a huge, unfair advantage over 16 other teams.
What advantage?
Keep laughing 🙂
Oswalt is washed up and will get hammered in the American League. I’m so happy he decided not to sign with Detroit and hope he never does. He hasn’t even been that great in the heavy hitting NL the past two years.
So they should sign him then right? lol
I’ll be even happier when the Tigers are ousted in the first round of the playoffs because they play in the worst division of baseball: the AL Central.
Yeah because what division you play in REALLY determines how you perform in the playoffs.
So with your logic, the Rays should win the World Series every year since they play in the AL East, the best division in baseball, right? Pretty sure Detroit knocked the Yankees out in the first round last year, so how’s that for playing in the worst division in baseball. How about them Phillies though?
Doubtful. Other than Texas/LAA the AL West is a terrible offensive division and outside of the AL EAST the only tough team is Detroit.
The difference between the AL/NL outside of the AL East is overblown.
Signing Oswalt would be a great thing for the Angels. First, they really could use the depth, not so much just to fill out the 5th spot but just in case of injury and such. You can pretty much count on someone going down on any pitching staff for a significant part of the season.
If (big if, granted) he did come back into any kind of solid form, he could open the door to trade away Santana if the right player came up mid-season. Maybe a closer or high end 3B? This also assumes that one of the current 5th spot candidates is tearing it up in AAA or as a long reliever.
At 2.5m it would be a steal, i think it would be closer to 5-6M.
Say it with me. You NEVER EVER EVER trade a serviceable starter for a closer.
especially one that gives you a 3.50 era over 220 innings.
The return would have to be very high for them to give up a starter like that.
I’m just wondering where all the “leave some players for other teams,” and “they’re just trying to buy a championship” comments are?
It’s not buying a championship if you’re still #2.
Odds to win the AL pennant:
Los Angeles Angels7/2
Texas Rangers11/2
YES! Just as I thought they would!
What plagues me is how the Angels keep finding the money to spare…you don’t spend a few to 5 or 6 million just because you could use some depth when your staff is already one of the top in baseball, the season is about to start, and you have already spent WAY more than you said you would. The Angels must really want to win right now…what if they don’t? Oswalt right now doesn’t impact their season much at all, so Angels save the money for a guy you will definitely need come midseason. If you are lucky, Oswalt will still be around and at a cheaper cost.
I have done a statistical comparison for this upcoming season between the Rangers and Angels:
Rangers team BA: .285 OBP: .353
RBI from starting lineup: 668
Angels team BA: .272 OBP: .345
RBI from stating lineup: 577
Rangers bullpen: 3.60 ERA, WHIP: 1.18
Angels bullpen: 3.73 ERA, WHIP: 1.31
This is just a few of the stats.
It doesn’t take an analysis to know the Angels rotation is better than the Rangers rotation, but the Rangers rotation is one of the younger ones in baseball.
The Angels win in the rotation…so spend the money on the lineup or bullpen where it is needed not where it isn’t. Need depth? That is what farm systems are for.
They did spend money on the lineup, his name is Albert Pujols. And if Morales can be even remotely close to what he was in 2009 (who knows what will happen there, still up in the air) then that’s two legit bats.
If they can grab Oswalt on a flier for the 5th rotation spot for a few million, who really cares. They also have Williams, Richards, Bell and a few other options for the 5th spot as well if Oswalt doesn’t do well.
All the “buying a championship” talk is bugging me because I know it comes from a place of ignorance. All Angels fans know that the positive changes that came from this off season were many seasons in the works – its happening now because we scored a great GM in Dipoto. The last few seasons we’ve attempted to sign a big bat but Reagins couldn’t pull it off. Dipoto got us Albert. Our other costly signing came in the form of CJ Wilson – it was costly but strategically brilliant. Its important to note that these two moves alone do not make a championship caliber team. the reasons we are Sports Illustrated’s pick to win it is because we made the right adjustments.
1. Trading Chatwood for Ianetta (no $$ spent and we doubled OBP from our last catcher.)
2. Moving Mark Trumbo to 3rd potentially (puts the power back at 3rd base for the first time since Troy Glaus. making room in the lineup for rookie of the year runner up just cushions the lineup even more)
3. The return of Kendrys Morales (2 years in the making we finally get our MVP Candidate back. Hitting behind Albert Pujols could give us two of the best bats in the game. Talk about a 1-2 punch. And no, $ is not a factor here. Im just gonna throw this in here: Vernon Wells cannot possibly have a worse season than he did last year – so i see another bat there as well)
4. The additions of both Latroy Hawkins and Jason Isringhausen (2 guys we signed for cheap who no one else would really bet on because of their age. It works for the Halos because these two vets will give Walden the mentoring he needs to become the games premier closer.
5. Sticking with the guys who didn’t stop fighting last season. (This is more my opinion but I think this team is championship caliber because the guys who are here from last year – mixed with adjustments = wins. The 2011 Angels, made up of a bunch of nobodies, kept it close all the way down to the wire. Any Rangers fan who says they had no worries at all has to be either crazy or a liar. The guys like Bourjos, Kendrick, Aybar, and Trumbo are starting to make names for themselves. With the additions of a few new guys and the adjustments we made we have a stellar team. Our rotation last year with Weaver Haren and Big Erv was one of the best 1-2-3’s in baseball and were keeping it like that again this year. One of the best.)
– A little long winded, but needed to be said. This team made 2 very big splashes this off season, but aside for the one day shopping spree in december; the reason were gonna be a great time is not just based on those moves. It was a collection of everything around it.
I think I’m the only person who mentioned them “buying” a championship, and it was a sarcastic directed at the people who say that about the Red Sox and Yankees every time they sign a backup infielder, or relief pitcher.
Everyone arguing in here are losers
I love you.
This would be a terrible signing for the Angels. They need a horse at the back of the rotation who will eat 200 innings. Oswalt will get injured a couple times during the year, and will throw off the consistency and continuity of the rotation. The Angels at this point need a reliable “stopper.” The injury risk of all of their pitchers (Ervin Santana’s past history, Jered Weaver’s poor “W” mechanics) increases their need for a proven horse, even if he is just a LAIM (league average innings muncher). Look elsewhere, Angels.
I highly doubt this actually happens. Even in the unlikely scenario that Williams and Richard don’t work out, Brad Mills is actually having a fine spring training, so we have a lot of options. That said, I wouldn’t mind, nor be pissed, if Oswalt comes. If anybody can do it, it’s JeDi.
Also to the people who think Morales won’t be good because he hasn’t “played” baseball in two years, you do realize he has been hitting and practicing for months now. Spring Training was for him to get his in-game timing back, not reintroduce him to the art of hitting. He’s looked good so far, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he puts up good numbers.
all he is looking to do is get on a playoff team with out doing the hard work during the season and just jump on a contender in july, i think this is classless of him if his body cant handle a full season retire