Earlier tonight, the Angels declined Dan Haren's $15.5MM option for 2013, but not before an interesting week of speculation and a near-deal hours before the deadline. Here's a look at what Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto had to say about Haren and other issues concerning the club..
- Dipoto won't rule out talking with Haren or Torii Hunter, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. "Anything is possible. I can't say anything is likely," said the GM. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) gets the sense that there's almost no chance of Hunter returning after hearing Dipoto's comments.
- The GM said that the apparent departures of Haren, Hunter, and Santana reflect the club's desire for financial flexibility, not shrinking financial resources, Shaikin tweets.
- That financial flexibility won't necessarily give way to a massive deal for Zack Greinke as Dipoto says that the team is not isolated on him, tweets Shaikin.
- If Hunter is not in the picture in 2013, Peter Bourjos will be slotted as the starter in centerfield with Vernon Wells in reserve, Shaikin tweets.
looks like chicago was asking for too much
Maybe Haren’s back issues are worse than reported.
Could be that the Cubs were asking for a significant amount of cash along with Haren. If it was more than the buyout, then the math for the trade might not work out. Keeping in mind, Marmol’s contract for next year is close to $10M.
isnt trout the starting Center fielder? and if he isnt should the Manager be fired for not having him be the starting CF
Probably has something to do with him starting 67 games in LF. Bourjos should be allowed to play, rather than getting another big name free agent this year and the easiest/best way possible is, Trout to LF.
I get that I think a 1-2 of trout-pbj is awesome and would mess with pitchers like crazy but I would still think from a pure value (non eye test) trout should be in center(power, speed, great fielder, better arm) and pbj in left.
Bourjos is a better CF defensively than Trout, and has a better arm. That is the main reason when Bourjos was brought in as a defensive replacement Trout was moved to LF.
Bourjos main problem is hitting. Its still unknown whether with regular playing time if he will maintain a good BA and OBP.
Ummm … I think you should give Bourjos the credit he is due:
2010 – UZR/150 – 46.3 runs saved
2012 – UZR/150 – 39.1 runs saved
Trout
2012 – UZR/150 – 11 runs saved
Mike Trout is a tremendous defender. Peter Bourjos is arguably the best defensive outfielder in baseball. There aren’t many people who can play CF better than Trout – one just happens to be on the same team.
I was not taking anything away from pbj. In fact I feel socia should finally be fired because he does not play the right players enough(NAPOLI!) I just think from a pure value stand point trout in center makes more sense. Speed is even but trout has a better arm and from a selling tickets stand point. “Come see out elite center fielder” sounds better than “come see our elite left fielder”
in what universe does Trout have a better arm?
Speed is even. Bourjos has the better arm. That’s why they play Bourjos in center as a defensive replacement.
I totally agree with you on Napoli. That one move will end up costing the franchise millions upon millions of dollars in salary, lost opportunity and ultimately wins. There is just no way to spin that deal and I’m sure that big Mike was a part of that decision.
I disagree with you on Trout’s arm and on the marketing. There are plenty of huge name OF’ers that play in the corners. With Trout and Bourjos they can afford to cheat to RF and give both men plenty of space to run around and do their thing. Trout is amazing but Bourjos is a wizard. It says something of your defense when you become a defensive replacement for a guy who easily could have won the GG in CF this year.
There’s reports that Haren’s medicals are really bad. I’m starting to wonder if it’s not just a back and could be a shoulder
what about figgins and lackey for vernon wells (goes to red sox), mariners give 3.45 mill to red sox, the amount of (figgins+lackey)-wells. angels take on extra weight this year, more flexibility next year
I still think that there is a deal to be had for Wells. Something around Lackey (yes I know about the bad blood) or Zito could work. The Angels need another arm and have a surplus in the OF. Both the Giants and Red Sox could use another bat – especially one that could hit 25-30 HR’s.
People still look at the injured Lackey from 2010-11 and figure that is all there is. A healthy Lackey has potentially some upside. A healthy Wells and Figgins we already know has none.
It gets a bit old when some fans and writers keep just saying that Lackey is going to be no better than he was when he was throwing 170+IP needing TJ surgery and that probably isn’t the case. not throwing you into that crowd, but all to many fans and especially writers just keep dragging his name into the auto discard pile.
Lackey is an unknown. He might bounce back post surgery but it is no sure thing.
I was lumping him more in the crowd of overpaid starters who might have worn out their welcome AND teams that could use a power bat in the OF or off the bench. His average sucks but he can still hit 25-30 HR’s. It was only a few years ago that he was a 4 WAR player.
red sox get 8 mill from m’s, 2 mill from angles, and wells. angels get lackey and figgins, mariners get some scrub from the angels, financials and even everyone wins
The best news here is that Vernon Wells will be on the bench with Bourjos starting in CF. I happen to think the kid can hit but even if he can’t I’ll take that defense and speed all day long. The guy could be a 4 win player with just his glove. He’s that good.
All respect to Albert, trout franchise player, keep him in cf, bourjos gone within 2 years.
If the Angels really want to salvage any value with Wells, they should just trade him and $35m for one B prospect.
As a player, Vernon Wells might yield negative WAR.
A prospect yields 0 WAR.
At least a prospect won’t hurt the team…
Jays really screwed the Angels on that trade, especially considering Vernon hit 31 HRs for Toronto prior to the trade. Vernon has no value, his speed is near none existent, his fielding has declined, he can hit for power but he can’t reach base. No team would take that on unless you packaged him off with a top prospect.
This is about all the bad deals the Angels have done starting with trading for Vernon Wells. One bad move after another and they could only manage third place this season. If they don’t keep Haren and lose Greinke, they may have trouble keeping the Mariners and Astros from passing them in the standings next season.
Why so much Trout hate? The guy scored 129 runs in a 139 games, the guy is clearly their franchise player if he’s scoring that many runs and hitting with that much power as a leadoff hitter. The guy can steal if given a free pass aswell. Lets not forget all the insane homeruns the guy took away either this year.
Starting Bourjos in CF is not Trout hate. The Angels basically have TWO elite defensive centerfielders. That’s how they were able to still win a fair number of games in 2012 despite being stacked with flyball pitchers and self-described “home run” pitchers like Ervin Santana.
Bourjos has an edge in top speed and the stronger throwing arm. Trout OTOH is able to get more exposive running starts (why he’s so good at getting steals) and making spectacular home run robbing catches (which at Angel Stadium is possible in either the CF or the LF walls).
Their defensive ability is a push but Trout’s offensive production is WAY more valuable to the Angels, so it makes more sense to have him in LF where he’s less likely to get injured and/or get worn down.
Bourjos is an awful hitter, his OBP is atrocious. Defensive ability aside, having him in your lineup only worsens it.
I won’t argue with that, although at this time I’d rather the Angels spend any disposable cash on pitching as opposed to free-agent outfielders.
I also think there’s a better chance Bourjos rebounds to his 2011 offensive numbers with regular playing time than there is of Vernon Wells going back to his 2010 and earlier numbers.