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Angels, Rivera agree to terms
December 19th, 2008, 11:31 am · 13 Comments · posted by Earl Bloom, staff writer
Outfielder Juan Rivera became the Angels’ first free-agent acquisition this winter when he and the Angels agreed to terms Friday on a three-year, $12.75 million contract through 2011.
“It’s good to have him back,” Angels general manager Tony Reagins said. “He’s going to be an important part of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Rivera, 30, spent the past four seasons with the Angels. He hit .246 with 12 home runs and 45 RBIs in 89 games this past season. The home runs all came in a 58-game span after July 2.
In four Angels seasons Rivera has batted .282 with 52 homers and 197 RBIs in 333 games.
Noting that Rivera “can play both corners of the outfield and also DH,” Reagins said the Angels plan to give him “significant at-bats and playing time.”
The last time the Angels deployed Rivera (pictured, with coach Dino Ebel) in such an extensive role, he delivered 23 homers and 85 RBIs while batting .310 in 2006 — the best year of his eight-year major-league career.
Rivera is the second Angels free agent to return to the fold. Left-hander Darren Oliver accepted the club’s offer of arbitration last week.
Related story:
Is Juan Rivera worth $12 million?
Report: Angels close to bringing back Rivera
Teixeira update: Touching all the bases
13 Comments
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I wonder if Jeff Miller is feeling stupid, right now. Considering that the re-signing of Juan Rivera, means the Angels now have THREE Venezuelans on the roster (Rivera, Izturis, and Escobar).
Good to have Rivera back. Let’s hope he can stay healthy, and have Rivera, Morales, and Napoli provide lots of offense over what the Angels had at the beginning of the 2008 season.
great, GREAT move by the Halos.
If Rivera can revert back to his 2006 form, we’ll be getting good production for relatively cheap.
Now if we can sign Tex and trade FIggins for some pitching, we’ll be set.
It’s not a headline move by any means, but it will help the Angels win more games next season.
Its great to have Rivera coming back. All this guy needs is consistant playing time and he gets really locked in. Considering GA won’t be taking away his ABs I am anxious to see him put up some career high numbers.
Rivera will never do for the Angels what GA has done for them. Don’t forget how many times this guy pops up with a runner at third and less then 2 outs and don’t even get me started on his grounding into double plays. GA will put up better numbers where ever he plays next year. I guarantee it. If you are A GA basher there is no way you are a real Angel fan. End of story!
This is great! know lets hope that he has more playing time in left field.. now that GA is gone …
GA, Thanks for the memories! I for one appreciate your ego-less play. You’re the consumate pro. Always prepped for play. Simply:
Thank you!
Nice! I hope a clause in the contract says NO WINTER BALL, please.
Hey “RA” you are defending GA but no one is attacking him here. No one said anything negative about GA but on the contrary are glad to see Rivera comming back. Bottom line is that Rivera (a) will cost about a third of what GA would, (b) is younger, and (c) will end up having very similar numbers at the end of the season given the ABs. With all that aggression and subjective outlook you give the impression of being a Dodger fan. . . not an Angel fan.
The theory… with all the speculation about the Angels possibly going after Pat Burrell or Adam Dunn, they decided to sign Rivera for cheap. This signals to me that Moreno might have had to up the offer for Tex, and are on the verge of a deal. Signing Rivera gives them security in left field, and gives them a little extra payroll cushion to be able to increase their Teixeira offer. The Red Sox would not have wasted their time flying to Texas last night if they didn’t plan on completing a deal with Teixeira, and somebody came in last minute and spoiled their fun. I wouldn’t put it past the Angels to outbid Boston and at least beat them at something for once.
Hey Mike V, Saying GA won’t be, “Taking away Rivera’s AB’s” anymore is attacking him. GA got those AB’s over Rivera because he is the better player. As for your reasoning why Rivera is a better choice for the future, on paper it sounds plausible, but plausible or not the one thing I know is GA deserved to finish his career as an Angel.
RA - Garret had his chance to keep his job in the playoffs. And he was horrible. Did you miss that? I like him too but he’s not consistent enough. Juan Rivera’s only problem is Mike Scioscia doesn’t play him enough. Hitters can’t get much going when they mostly sit on the bench. Juan needs to play fulltime. He’s been one of our best hitters in the past when he plays. He can do it again.
Ed - That winter ball accident was just a freak accident. Winter ball isn’t Juan Rivera’s real problem. His problem is not enough playing time. The clause should be he is guaranteed playing time.